My daughter has a 1997 Grand Cherokee. I have an Icom dual-band mobile mounted in the same spot. She's not in like with that location, either. I was thinking about moving the radio chassis under the rear seat or into the cargo area, then using a remote control head kit to just mount the control head somewhere up on the dashboard.
I had a work Cherokee, not a Grand, that was a fleet vehicle. Frankly, I liked that better because it had a lot less plastic inside and we were able to mount some equipment down the middle. I had several different types of vehicles over the years, so I think this particular model had a tray that came up from being bolted to the right side of the transmission hump to hold a Midland radio and a Whelen siren with light controls. Even then, there was another secondary radio hanging from under the glove box. My daughter would never stand for having something like that in hers, but think about it for yours. The only drawback is that I could not conceal the equipment (it was a marked vehicle with a lightbar, anyway, so there was nothing to conceal).
The big plastic center console seems to be common in vehicles now. As it ages, the only thing plastic does is break. I've got self-tapping screws through the broken plastic parts of her door and in some parts of the dashboard.
