2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Carvana (opens in a new tab) calls 2016 the sixth model year of the fourth-generation (WK2, 2011 to 2021) Grand Cherokee and says it is not a redesign but brings meaningful mechanical updates and several new special editions, with targeted styling, safety and equipment changes, new technology on the SRT and standard smartphone integration on the Laredo E and Limited. Car and Driver (opens in a new tab) reports that Chrysler's 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 essentially becomes a new engine in the 2016 Grand Cherokee, with 11.3:1 compression up from 10.2:1, eight-hole ignition coils, platinum-tipped spark plugs, new valve springs and low-tension piston rings, and an engine stop-start system with a faster starter motor.

Autocar (opens in a new tab) adds a new 75th Anniversary model and a SRT Night edition, with safety features such as adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning with automatic braking, cross-path detection and blind-spot monitoring on the special editions. KBB lists fuel economy from 13/19 to 19/26 mpg city and highway, and EPA rates the 2016 Grand Cherokee at 15 to 25 mpg combined and $2,950 to $5,150 a year in fuel.

NHTSA lists nine recall campaigns for the 2016 Grand Cherokee. The brake and driveline ones are 16V168000, a left front brake caliper that may crack because it was made from an incorrect material, 16V249000, a brake transmission shift interlock solenoid with a loose electrical connection, and 17E061000, where the supercharger mounting bracket may contact and damage the ABS line and leak brake fluid. The engine ones are 16V814000, a fuel rail crossover tube that may have been damaged in assembly and leak fuel, 18V332000, a short circuit that could prevent the cruise control from disengaging, and, on the 3.0-liter EcoDiesel, 20V475000 and 23V411000 (a crankshaft position sensor tone wheel that may delaminate and stall the engine), 20V699000 (an EGR cooler that may crack and let coolant vapor combust in the intake manifold) and 22V406000 (a high-pressure fuel pump failure that may introduce debris).

Owners have filed 310 complaints with NHTSA on this model year: power train with 78, engine with 76, electrical system with 61, unknown or other with 31, fuel and propulsion system with 28 and service brakes with 25. Consumer Reports (opens in a new tab) lists the recalls for the 3.6-liter built at the Saltillo plant and several for the 3.0-liter diesel among the year's notable problems.

Kelley Blue Book (opens in a new tab) puts used 2016 Grand Cherokee prices at $9,725 for the Laredo E to $30,100 for the SRT Night at a dealership, with trade-in values of about $5,325 to $21,900 and private-party values of about $8,775 to $27,500. The spread is wider than for most SUVs because the lineup runs from the Laredo to the SRT, and the diesel's recalls deserve the most attention.

EPA rates the 2016 Grand Cherokee at 15 to 25 mpg combined and $2,950 to $5,150 a year in fuel. The 2016 Ford Explorer rates 18 to 22 at $2,850 to $3,450, the Dodge Durango 17 to 21 at $2,950 to $4,200, the Toyota 4Runner 18 to 19 at $3,300 to $3,450 and the Chevrolet Tahoe 18 to 19 at $3,300 to $3,450. On EPA figures the Grand Cherokee has the widest spread of fuel economy and fuel cost of the five.