Today at the Washington DC Auto Show, Chrysler finally announced the pricing and availability of the new Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD. Their first "full sized" diesel will go on sale in March and range from $38,475 for the 4x2 Limited model to $45,395 for the 4x4 Overland. Diesel powered Grand Cherokees have been available in Europe for many years but this is the first time you could buy one in the US market. Unlike the VM Motori engine previously offered in the Liberty, this 3.0L V-6 is built by Mercedes-Benz and is essentially the same engine used in a variety of Mercedes models.

The clean diesel is rated at 215hp and 376 lb-ft of torque, while getting 20/25 mpg city/highway for the two-wheel drive models. The four-wheel drive versions lose one mpg on the highway. The strong low end twist of the diesel allows for a towing capacity of 7,400 lbs while the a full tank can stretch for 450 miles. Like the Cummins diesel powered Ram pickups, the Grand Cherokee will leave the assembly plant filled with a B5 biodiesel blend. The Chrysler press release is after the jump.

[Source: Chrysler]