Jeep’s plan to electrify its lineup by 2022 is well underway. In July, the brand revealed the Renegade and Compass 4xe PHEVs. Soon, they’ll be joined by another – the Wrangler 4xe. We first heard about Jeep’s electrified boxy off-roader in January with the automaker promising to share more information later this year. Time is running out, but it appears Jeep will fulfill its promise, announcing today it’ll reveal the Wrangler 4xe this December.
Jeep’s first plug-in hybrid doesn’t boast the most range or best fuel economy but it still excels at being a wrangler the new jeep wrangler 4 xe plug-in hybrid is the brand’s biggest step yet into the realm of electrified driving offering up to 21 miles of electric range per charge no a big battery hasn’t magically transformed the jeep into a smart powered eco
Car the improvements aren’t even that great when you look at the numbers but electrification also hasn’t cost the 4xc seemingly any of the off-road capability or performance that we’ve come to expect from the wrangler and its trail rated badge if anything it’s better than ever electric blue tow hooks at the front and rear visually differentiate the 4xe from more
Conventional wranglers perhaps more so than the subtle charging port mounted high on the front driver’s side fender the blue theme also extends to the trail rated badges and other graphics across the boxy body to the casual observer the 4xe doesn’t look very different especially when bathed in a healthy coat of mud but of course there are bigger changes hidden
Beneath the surface the 4xe is powered by jeep’s 2-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine helped by a small starter slash generator motor it is similar in design and function to the e-torque mild hybrid motor though this one operates at 400 volts rather than 48. sandwiched between the gasoline engine and the standard eight-speed automatic transmission replacing the
Torque converter is the larger main electric drive motor a pair of clutches tie it to the gearbox and the gasoline power plant allowing the combustion engine to be completely decoupled from the wheels for full electric driving downstream you’ll find the same four-wheel drive system two-speed transfer case and locking differentials as the non-hybrid wrangler for
The more off-road capable 4 xe rubicon altogether you’re looking at 375 horsepower and a very generous 470 pound feet of torque the hemi-powered rubicon 392 has the same peak torque and more power but the precise control and instant torque of the electric motor combined with the 4×4 system’s low speed crawling hardware makes the 4xc the more capable wrangler over
Extremely technical terrain according to jeep electric mode uses battery power only for up to 21 miles of mostly silent driving at an epa estimated 49 inch the default hybrid mode blends in gasoline power once the battery is depleted while esafe prioritizes the combustion engine to preserve or generate charge for the battery which is useful for saving a bit of
Low speed ev range for the end of a highway stretch the epa reckons your economy will drop to around 20 mpg once the battery is depleted which is surprisingly 2 mpg worse than the non-hybrid wrangler with the same engine boosted by the initial electric range i finished a day of testing at 24 mpg combined there’s also a max reagan setting that can be applied to
All three modes it’s close to a one pedal driving mode giving a full 0.25 gs of regenerative braking on lift but still creeps forward at very low speeds jeeps engineers have done a good job tuning the feel of this mode the amount of reagan or engine braking feels consistent regardless of the battery state and or the chosen e select mode plugging into a 240 volt
Level 2 charging station like the jeep 4 xe charging network trailhead chargers juices the wrangler’s battery pack in around 2.5 hours at a regular 110 volt home wall outlet that stretches to just over 12 hours from flat of course the most important thing about the 4xe is that it’s still a wrangler it still must deliver on the go anywhere capability that name
Commands to test this i swapped into a more rugged rubicon model with its 33-inch tires dropped into four low locked the diffs and engaged full electric mode to tackle an off-road course the journey started by fording water 30 inches deep without electrocuting anyone involved the entire high voltage electrical system is sealed and waterproof plus the battery pack
Is actually tucked in the cabin beneath the rear seats where it is climate controlled and protected from bumps punctures and scrapes and while the 4xc’s phev hardware adds quite a bit of weight to the wranglers package about 770 pounds more than a comparably equipped rubicon v6 the batteries position actually improves weight distribution shifting quite close to
A 50 colon 50 split depending on trim and lowering the center of mass slightly for a more planted feel even at severe angles creeping along was made easier with the latest generation celex speed control smoothing out hill ascents and descents but the throttle was remarkably sensitive and easy to modulate even without it perhaps the most enjoyably odd part of the
4xe off-road experience was just how absolutely and strangely silent the powertrain was even when hauling itself out of the mud and up ridiculously steep climbs as much as i love the sound of a powerful ice hearing the scrub of the tires over the terrain added an unexpected dimension to the crawling experience and i particularly enjoyed being able to more easily
Hear my spotter’s commands and the nature surrounding the trail of course that meant the occasional thunks or scrapes from the undercarriage when exploring the limits of the 4xc’s 10.8 inch ground clearance and 22.5 degree breakover angle were also much more pronounced the 2021 jeep wrangler 4xe starts at 49 490 for the base sahara including a 1 495 destination
Charge that’s about 8 825 more than a similarly spec sahara v6 but up to seven thousand five hundred dollars in plug-in tax rebates and any state-specific incentives should ease the sticker shock the more rugged rubicon and feature-laden high-altitude modes i tested start at fifty three thousand one hundred and ninety dollars or fifty five thousand and seventy
Four dollars respectively the jeep wrangler four xe is just an okay plug-in hybrid its range and fuel economy are pretty weak but with frequent charging in shorter trips there’s still plenty of potential to bend the rules of your mileage may vary to your benefit however the 4xe is truly the most capable technically advanced and eco-friendly wrangler ever and
Its ability to quietly and confidently tackle the great outdoors with a nod to environmental responsibility is currently unmatched at least until the electric trucks arrive so so subscribe to auto tv foreign
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2021 Jeep Wrangler 4xe Rubicon By AUTO TVliveBroadcastDetails{isLiveNowfalsestartTimestamp2021-04-26T184515+0000endTimestamp2021-04-26T185630+0000}
