Yesterday was the first full day of nothing to do but relax. Finally.
Our first task was to load six of us into the Commander and head for Jerry's Rogue Jets, where we hopped on a jet boat to take us 52 miles up into the Wild & Scenic portion of the Rogue River. Fantastic. Everyone should make this trip.
We fit well enough in the Jeep, as we had nothing to carry but our jackets, cameras and a few liters of water bottles. Still, we needed to split-fold the third row for these items and put one person, 7-year old Sarah in her booster, back there while three rode in the second row. Unlike the others, Sarah didn't mind climbing in back.
After the jet-boat trip, we went to a friend's ranch to catch and release salamanders in their pond and feed blackberries to the goats. One the bumpy and scenic ranch roads, our average-height second row occupants griped that they couldn't see out the front windshield, as the stadium seating lined their eyes up perfectly with the folded-up sun visors and the rear view mirror.
Day 5 tally: 43.8 miles, 13.0 gallons added (174.3 miles since last fill-up), 13.4 mpg, $41.60 fuel cost
Dan Edmunds, Director of Automotive Testing @ 24,806 miles
tsgeisel says:
01:23 PM, 08/25/06
I was a bit bummed at first that you wound up not being able to take the Sedona. But the kind of data you're getting here is excellent - exactly what a long-term test (and blog) is for.
And I'm glad you're enjoying your vacation, too. That's a great picture, btw.
heidis says:
05:07 PM, 08/25/06
One of the long term drivers some time back lamented the lack of MP3 player input. If that Commander has the DVD player, you can use a simple mini-stereo plug to RCA cable from radio shack or such to pipe it through the aux input in the DVD player in the back. It's kinda sloppy but it works. There's supposed to be an iPod interface kit coming out for that integrated Nav/Stereo in the Commander that will work as far back as the '05 model year Grand Cherokee. Should be out anytime now as it is expected this summer.
thebigal says:
07:15 PM, 08/25/06
That's neat that you were at the Rouge.... I live near the Rouge here in Oregon. A lot of the customers I serve in my business live right on the River itself.
actualsize says:
08:01 AM, 08/27/06
Thanks for the photo praise, but I didn't take this one -- or more than half of the others. My wife Tracy deserves the credit. Big Al might recognize the location as the Lobster Creek Bridge, a one-lane job spanning high over the Rogue.
rennf says:
07:23 AM, 08/28/06
I agree with tsgeisel and many others who have praised the feedback provided by the authoris of this blog. Great job, everyone! For the particular case of this Commander, everything I'm seeing confirms that not only is this SUV not for me, it's given me valuable food for thought about the whole 3-row SUV vs. minivan question.
With gas prices the way they are I've kept a close eye on the '07 Honda Fit, and for a typical suburban scenario (zero towing, mainly groceries etc. with the occasional hauling of larger items) I keep thinking a car like that might be the answer. (an indirect pitch for acquiring a Fit for the long-term fleet? :)
rennf says:
07:28 AM, 08/28/06
Err, let me add that if more-than-5 seating were a must-have, that would knock the Fit out. I wasn't trying to imply it could go head-to-head with a minivan or SUV like the Commander. :) :)
ktoepke says:
12:34 PM, 08/29/06
rennf- A Fit is on our list of future long-term car purchases. Our Honda dealer is keeping us aprised of the Fits they receive, but none have been spec'd to our liking. We'll likely need to break down and order one soon.
Kelly, manager of vehicle testing