Jeep Cherokee Chief 5,900 c.c. RHD

VEHICLE: 1979 RHD 'Cherokee Chief,' purchased 1982 for £3,500. (low mileage).

BACKGROUND: Some vehicles have a massive 'solid' presence eg. Ford 'Excursion,' Dodge 'Viper' pick up truck etc. and on first seeing this vehicle in its customised colours and large Indian Chief's badge on both front wings I simply had to have it. These were the days when station wagons had not yet caught on in the U.K. and basically the only other noteable vehicle out there was the 'Range Rover.'Sadly the new 'diluted' range of Jeeps on the road in the U.K. are a very sad reflection of their earlier counterparts.

REPORT: Driving the vehicle home I became immediately aware of its dynamic acceleration up to 50 mph, the constant tyre roar from the wheels in permanent 4WD (no 2WD option), and the ultra light steering wheel - so typical of many American vehicles. I always find this type of steering set up unnerving.

The vehicle had been fitted with a complex hydraulics system (an after-sales fitment) designed to level the vehicle in certain driving situations. I never used it so cannot comment on its effectiveness.

The vehicle suffered from several electrical faults, but such may have originated from the electrics having been interfered with when the hydraulics system was fitted earlier.

The other main bad points have all been mentioned save only for the amusing problem that birds regularly entered the massive air intake pipe which they loved for nesting purposes!

I used the vehicle for two years - but only occasionally and for fun only. It was amusing to see pedestrians turn round to look at the vehicle 100 yards before I arrived. The tyre noise really was something else! A little bit like driving a Countach and pedestrians a quarter of a mile away looking for a low flying aircraft.

This vehicle is a very low geared vehicle and so petrol consumption starts to fall immediately one gets the wrong side of 50 MPH. It is the only vehicle I have ever driven where one can visibly see the fuel guage falling when normally driven at 70 MPH.

Once bored with the vehicle I found it impossible to sell and so swopped it for an almost new 'Alfasud' which I easily sold on. But, not before the Jeep's gear box collapsed whilst I tried to keep the battery fully charged pending sale; a local garage collecting it on a pick up truck; it coming off the truck and getting badly damaged on a telegraph pole; the garage hiding the fact and secretly re-building it over the next seven months whilst declaring that they were encountering problems on sourcing a new gearbox. But that's another story for another day!

It would be wrong to recommend this vehicle to any 'every day buyer'but will recommend it as it is so unusual and fun to drive that only a madman (like me) would, in any event, take one on.