Why the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk beats the Dodge Demon

We're going to get one thing straight right off the bat: The Dodge Demon is undeniably the star of the 2017 New York Auto Show. It takes guts to unleash an automobile designed for the road that's too fast to use on a dedicated race track, and clearly, FCA's got those guts. That out of the way, here's why the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk (also from FCA) is actually a more enticing prospect for nearly anyone looking for a brand-new street-legal muscle car.

Let's talk performance. Yes, the Dodge Demon does 0-60 in 2.3 seconds, and that's way faster than the 3.5-second estimate of the Trackhawk. But, even putting aside the argument that 0-60 measurements are overrated, the Jeep will still hit 60 miles per hour in about the amount of time it takes you to say "zero to sixty in three-point-five seconds." That's not just impressive; it's quicker than a Chevy Corvette Stingray.

You can't talk about performance without also thinking about how easy it is to achieve. To extract the most from the Demon, you'll need race gas, a fresh pair of cheater slicks, a pre-stage burnout to heat up those tires, and enough gumption to keep your foot on the gas even as the front tires lift off the ground. Plus you'll need to plan ahead, building boost and then calling up the trans brake to get all the torque ready for launch. To accomplish the Trackhawk's maximum acceleration, you just need to enable launch control, mash the pedals, and let the all-wheel-drive system work its magic.

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Kiran Upadhyay

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