Underneath, the Grand Cherokee still sits atop live axles. The trend among competing sport-utilities is to use independent suspensions for better highway performance. But the Jeep's live axle is only a drawback on paper. The Jeep retains its unitbody integrated truck frame-and-body design. This unusual design strategy - also used by the smaller Jeep Cherokee and the Nissan Pathfinder - results in a platform that is lighter and more rigid than it would be using more traditional designs. With adjustments for similar equipment, Jeep says the new Grand Cherokee is about 50 pounds lighter overall. Less weight and a tighter turning radius help make the Grand Cherokee more maneuverable.

Steering is quick but isolated, despite a thorough restructuring of the front engine cradle and front suspension and steering component mounts. When you turn the wheel you can't feel how much the front tires want to slip on pavement. You don't really steer the Grand Cherokee as much as guide it. But that's the same for all of the top-selling sport-utilities. Like them, the Jeep is still a truck, sitting tall, rolling side-to-side in corners and high winds.

The biggest improvement in the ride of the Grand Cherokee is a newfound tendency to stay pointed straight ahead. A triangle link that replaces the Panhard rod locating the rear axle is directly responsible for this improvement. Careful tuning of suspension and drivetrain mounts allows the live axles of the Jeep a lot of compliant movement. The axles move and pivot on large bumps and dirt holes where the independent suspensions of other SUVs reach their limits of travel and ultimately toss about the occupants inside.

With the 4.7-liter V8, the Grand Cherokee accelerates smoothly, with none of the mechanical grumbling and roaring of the previous engines. With single overhead cams on each cylinder bank, the 4.7-liter V8 produces 235 horsepower. Torque is down slightly from the big overhead-valve V8s, so you lose a little performance at the drag strip, but you gain peace and tranquility. Aided by its relative light weight, the Jeep feels faster and more responsive than most six-cylinder SUVs as well as the huge Tahoes and Expeditions.

The four-speed automatic transmission shifts unobtrusively. Hurrying up a mountain or around weekend-warrior crazies is a breeze with the higher second gear.

Grand Cherokees with the six-cylinder engine come with Jeep's renowned Selec-Trac system. In full-time mode, the vehicle is in four-wheel drive with a planetary differential allowing the front and rear axles to turn at different speeds. This works well in heavy rainstorms or in the winter when roads are partially covered by snow and ice. In part-time mode, the center differential is locked to provide maximum traction in severe traction conditions.

Order the optional V8 and you get the clever Quadra-Trac II system. It uses a simple but effective automatic locking center differential that apportions torque to the front wheels whenever the rear wheels slip.

A third four-wheel drive system, the Quadra-Drive system, is optional on both the 6-cylinder and V8 models. Quadra-Drive is the same system as Quadra-Trac II, but it adds hydraulically locking front and rear differentials. By using three differentials, the system automatically sends torque front-to-rear and side-to-side whenever a wheel slips. It can lock all four wheels together for maximum traction. If just one wheel has the slightest bit of grip, the Quadra-Drive system can keep the Grand Cherokee moving -- a real benefit when it's icy.

None of Jeep's three available four-wheel-drive systems need any input from the driver for four-wheel-drive operation. And all three systems come with a low-range set of gears that can be used for serious low-traction situations.

Grand Cherokee requires fewer try-and-fail attempts to conquer off-road obstacles. It will instill trail-driving confidence you never had, particularly if you know a few off-road skills, such as lifting both feet off the pedals while the Jeep is engine-braking down a mud-slicked embankment, or keeping both feet on both pedals while creeping over a pile of wet logs.