When one of our cars was in the shop, the insurance was kind enough to spring for a two-week rental. But when we got there, this giant yellow monstrosity was parked outside the door. When we jokingly asked if we could drive it instead of whatever boring compact was on order, we were told for a few bucks extra a day it could be ours — so we went for it. What we didn’t know was that it was not only a Hybrid Jeep Wrangler Sahara edition, but it was also of the plug in variety. The staff didn’t know anything about how it worked, but there was a charger hiding in its holder in the rear compartment so we figured we’d give it a go. A quick look on the Internet told us the truck has a 375 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque from the hybrid powertrain, and is efficient to 49 MPGe. Not bad for such a huge vehicle.
View from the drivers seat in the Wrangler 4xe – 14850 Photo by Ari Kissiloff
Initial thoughts on entry were positive. Besides practically needing a ladder to get into the thing (there were mounts for running boards but none were fitted) we were greeted with an impressive instrument cluster that seemed more sophisticated than other Jeeps we’ve encountered. We subsequently learned this was part of the fact that Fiat and their design team was brought on when Stellantis acquired Chrysler, Jeep’s parent company. And the drive was very smooth, with the gas engine providing ample power for the more than 5,000 pounds it has to lug around. At this point, the battery wasn’t doing much as the rental company hadn’t bothered to charge it. So we made it home, I plugged its Level 1 charger into a regular 110v outlet, and forgot about it until the next day. Well, overnight it charged — enough to be able to switch to fully electric mode and drive from Ulysses into Ithaca and back. (It has a 25 mile range on a full charge in electric mode.) With a 17 kWh battery capacity for plug-in charging, this means it takes 17 kWh times 17 cents of electricity to “fill” it up, which comes to $2.89 to drive 25 miles. Far less than most conventional Wranglers with their 20mpg would pay. So if your daily driving is 25 miles or less, this is a great Ithaca car, with the ability to go out of town or get out on the trails whenever you want to add gas.
Jeep Wrangler 4xe – 14850 Photo by Ari Kissiloff
We did just that to test out on some of the single track in the Finger Lakes National Forest. We had originally planned to take the roof off, as it has a roll cage inside as well as the doors. (You can take the doors off, too, as the electric window controls are in the center console.) We even wanted to try to fold down the windshield. The rear storage has slots for all the bolts you have to remove to do all that. However the weather wasn’t quite cooperating, so we opted to just remove the two small panels over the front seats for a decent open-air experience. For future reference, when we researched this, it seems we would have had to add strap-on side mirrors that go with the doors, and the legality of driving without a windshield on NYS roads was somewhat suspect.
Wrangler with roof and doors removed – Courtesy Stellantis
A car with this clearance, tire size, and suspension, and low center of gravity handles spectacularly off road, as you might expect. The four-wheel drive system is the most sophisticated in any electric vehicle, with settings for two-wheel drive for dry roads, four-wheel drive for wet roads, and four-wheel Low for off-roading. We found the truck to have smooth handling, be responsive to steer, and felt safe no matter the speed or road condition.
Driving on regular paved roads felt much like driving any vehicle this size, except the acceleration with the electric motors was quieter and faster than on gas models. If you want to see the dozens of different drive mode combinations available, this excellent forum post has a helpful diagram.
Comparison of conventional and 4xe Wrangler – 14850 Photo by Ari Kissiloff
As with a lot of Jeeps, the entry price is high, but they are said to hold their residual value a lot better than similar vehicles. Starting price for the vehicle we drove is over $60k, but we have seen some places discounting them around $10k, perhaps taking advantage of the $7500 federal tax credit and the $500 one in NY, as long as other discounts.
For off-roading, this is probably one of the most versatile vehicles with the lowest cost per mile to operate. Surprisingly, it only offers 1.8 additional inches of clearance compared to the Subaru Solterra, which has far smaller wheels, but this is in part due to the fact that there is no transaxle or emissions system needed on the bottom of a fully electric vehicle. Of course, being a hybrid, you still need to maintain two systems, gas and electric, so you still need to budget in for oil changes, transmission and other fluids, etc. The brakes will probably last longer, though, since the regenerative charging system handles the hills here quite well and with highly reduced need to wear the brake pads. So you do need to factor that in to the price to drive this car, but we think it’s worth it for the right driver.
If you already have any kind of EV or are interested in getting one, join the Facebook group “ Ithaca/Tompkins EV & Hybrids Enthusiasts ” to discuss with other local enthusiasts.
There are several articles in this series for Drive Electric Week, September 27-October 6, 2024
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