For better, for worse?

CAN a car be better and worse than its rivals at the same time?

That's the question that's been troubling me all the way back from Wetherby, North Yorkshire, where I've just been on one of the SMMT's test driving days. Thanks to having the A1(M), some sweeping A-roads and lots of twisty little country lanes just a stone's throw away, it's the perfect place to put some new motors through their paces and come to some contrived conclusions.

Last year it was the revelation that I'd rather have Suzuki's stonkingly good Swift over the rapid Lexus IS-F that got me, but this year it's Jeep's new Grand Cherokee, the big 4X4 bruiser you see pictured above. It is - and bear with me on this one - better than one of its key rivals despite being a bit worse.

I know this because I took it for a spin just after being let loose in BMW's X3, which aside from the £40,000 pricetag is annoyingly brilliant. Its 3.0 litre diesel quietly offers up all the punch you'd ever ask for, it's beautifully built, takes corners amazingly well for something so high-rise and even looks better than its slightly awkward predecessor. If you're in the market for a £40k off-roader, you really can't do much better.


But....but..... I'd rather have the Grand Cherokee, a car which - despite also having a 3.0 litre diesel unit - is thirstier, more roly-poly around the roundabouts and slower on the straights. Quantatively speaking it's not as good as the £5k cheaper X3, but it's the car I'd rather have because it has an indefinable X factor to it, a certain shine that makes it feel special.

I'll put it to you this way; on the X3's centre console is the circular silver switch which gives you access to BMW's iDrive system, which is a thing of technological beauty. Glance at the same space in the big Jeep and you're met with a chunky switch which lets you choose whether to conquer sand, rocks, mud or the M62. It's the little things. The X3 looks like an off-roader, but the Jeep - for better and worse - feels like one.

In that sense, the Grand Cherokee's a lot like the Wrangler I drove last year, because while it doesn't tick as many as the boxes you can't help but develop a bit of soft spot for it because it makes you smile. So it's worse than the X3, but it's also better.

Which would you rather have?

A full video report from the SMMT North test day will be posted on Life On Cars later this week.