Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe Electric Car: All the Jeep You Want with None of the Gas Station Stops
Scotty Reiss
|
The march to electric driving continues, and compromise is not a part of it.
The all-electric Jeep isn’t here yet, but this one will tide you over until it is: The Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe (pronounced 4-by-E), priced from $57K-$74K. This is an electric hybrid Jeep with all the comforts and luxuries that we know and love in the Grand Cherokee, all the capability we need for ski weekends and surprise storms. It’s powered by a battery-driven electric motor that provides about 25 miles of all-electric driving and a gas hybrid that gets 23 MPG.
Plug it in every night, let the battery replenish and you can pretty much avoid going to the gas station during the week. It’ll recharge 100% in about 2.5 hours at a level 2 charger (about the same as a household dryer outlet) or overnight in a level 1 charger (a standard household outlet). At public charge stations, you can plug it into a level 2 outlet but not a level 3 DC fast charger. The Jeep’s charge system can’t handle the super fast charge level that DC fast charging delivers.
Then, you can use the electric motor only when you want. Pop it into e-save mode, and the gas-fed hybrid motor powers the Jeep. Therefore, when you need to get out of town and up the mountain, you can go the distance on the hybrid gas engine and reserve the electric charge for climbing up that mountain. Think about how nice it would be to listen to the birds and babbling brooks rather than the sound of a loud gas engine.
Related: The Jeep Wrangler 4xe Is an Incredible New Off-Roading Experience for Jeep Lovers and Converts Alike
The blue ‘e’ on the charge door is one of the few markers on this car that lets you know it’s electric. Photo: Scotty Reiss
The Power this Electric Jeep Produces is Impressive
The Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe actually has a smaller engine than any of its non-hybrid counterparts. However, it’s just as powerful as the V8 version. The 4xe produces 375 horsepower and 470 torque. Of course, it’s more fuel efficient than the V6 version. The 4xe gets about 23 MPG vs 19 MPG from the V6 engine. Additionally, it has about 6,000 lbs of tow capacity, roughly the same as any of the other engine options.
You can actually recirculate unused power to the battery and extend your all-electric driving range thanks to the regenerative braking options. In addition to the hybrid, electric and e-save modes, there’s a regenerative braking button that puts the Jeep Grand Cherokee into ‘super saver’ mode: Push this button, and you’ll feel the Jeep slow dramatically when you lift your foot off the accelerator. This is regen braking at work: it recycles power away from the wheels and back into the battery.
On our test drive, I was able to replenish the battery by about 15% just driving in stop-and-go traffic. I also almost never used the brake pedal. I really love this about electric driving. Leave the regen mode on, learn to drive mostly using your right foot on the accelerator and get more miles to a charge.
But that’s really the limit of how this SUV is different from other Jeep Grand Cherokee models. That’s because underneath it all, it’s a Jeep.
Related: Luxury On the Inside, Rugged on the Outside, The 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee May Be the Best Jeep Ever
Spotters from Jeep helped us to traverse the hillside safely. Photo: Scotty Reiss
Over the Mountain and Through the Creek…. Off-Roading We Will Go
On our test drive, we took off from downtown Austin and headed out to Llano, Texas where Jeep planned an off-road course. This made me see why off-roading is so attractive. I would turn around and go back rather than walk up that trail. It was slick, rocky and unforgiving. I could picture myself sliding down those hills on my rear end and frustrated at the thought of climbing back up. Just walking along the surface of these boulders was rough.
But in the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe, it was a completely different experience: comfortable, confident and capable. With the off-road mode set to ‘rock,’ the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe assumed its highest stance, 10.9” of ground clearance. We wove our way up the rock face, turned to cross the top, then turned again to head straight downhill, about 30 feet. The Jeep was a champ. With coaching from spotters who guided my wheels—which I could see in the front-facing camera—I was able to get two wheels off the ground at once and still move forward across a deep divide of boulders. It was quite impressive.
From there, the spotters sent us back down the hill and through a creek to base camp where we could find some shade and water. Although, I was happy to just stay in the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe. It is posh and pampering and completely comfortable. That’s just what you expect from the Jeep Grand Cherokee. (Oh, and I wasn’t the only one who didn’t want to walk the route. The spotters got up there in Jeep Gladiators.)
Related: What the Heck is “Trail Rated”? This is Where Jeep Gets its Off Road Chops!
A view of the front cabin in the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe. Photo: Scotty Reiss
Interior Pampering — at Any Trim Level
The 4xe model line is a premium line, outfitted accordingly. The four trim levels offer many or all of the pampering high-tech features that Jeep introduced in its redesigned 2022 lineup.
The panoramic sunroof in the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe is a standard option. Photo: Scotty Reiss
- The base model 4xe ($57,700) includes the new UConnect multimedia system, three dashboard screens (driver, multimedia and passenger screens), leather seating, a panoramic sunroof, heated front and rear seats, and an Alpine audio system.
- Buyers can upgrade to the Trailhawk ($62,485) with more off-road capability including low range off-road assist, enhanced off-road modes including sport, rock, snow, and mud/sand, air suspension with 4.7” of range, skid plates and blue tow hooks.
- The Overland edition ($65,760) adds premium details like 20” wheels, gloss black exterior details, electric seat release buttons to fold the rear seats, a motion-activated liftgate, Nappa leather seats and door panels, An-Teak interior trim, vented front seats, and a McIntosh premium audio system.
- The Summit edition ($69,820) adds Berber floor mats, Oak interior trim and massaging seats, active driving assist features including drowsy driver detection and active drive assist, and a 360-degree surround camera with rear lens washers. Summit buyers can add the reserve package with Palermo leather, open pore waxed walnut trim, and ultra suede trim on the ceiling.
All 4xe models have blue-trimmed and accented exterior details such as the Jeep logo, trim badges and the 4xe logo on the charge door. All carry a $1,795 destination charge.
Related: Luxury On the Inside, Rugged on the Outside, The 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee May Be the Best Jeep Ever
Energy options in the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe include electric settings (L) and regen braking mode (R). Photo: Scotty Reiss
How Far Can You Go on a Tank of Gas?
Well, that depends on you. Consider that the average driver drives 29 miles per day. 25 of those miles are driven on electric, and 4 are driven on gas, at 23 MPG. You’d use about 1.25 gallons of gas a week as long as you recharge the Jeep every day. With a 24.6 gallon tank (and, assuming you don’t let the fuel level go below ‘E’) it would take you more than four months to use all that gas, or more than 4,000 miles. Imagine getting gas only 3 times a year!
The reality, however, is not likely to be so lofty. Using the same assumptions but also factoring in weekend, holiday and vacation driving, you should be able to go weeks or months between fill-ups as long as you charge the Jeep every day.
However, without plugging in the 4xe, its estimated 23 MPG will take you 100 miles further on a tank of gas than the Grand Cherokee’s gas engine counterpart, about 550 miles or so. Add in the electric charge, and you can go about 575 miles on a tank + charge. But it’s completely plausible that you can drive 1,000 miles between fill-ups. In the Jeep world—and the over $3 per gallon of gas world— that is quite impressive.
Related: MPGe, kWh, 4xe? Everything You Need to Know About Electric Car Lingo
The center screen is wide and clear, and the forward camera shows you the trail ahead. Photo: Scotty Reiss
That’s Pretty Far… For Now
The promise of electric driving is pretty great. Regulate your energy usage. Charge up at home instead of the gas station. Get more power and faster acceleration than a gas engine. Reclaim miles in crawling through rush hour traffic. Climb a mountain, and hear the birds chirping and the roaring of the creek. Until we have full electric driving, it’s good to have the option of all these advantages, the fuel economy to go further and the premium look and feel of the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe, too.
The Jeep’s badges are outlined in blue, a subtle signal that this car is electric. Photo: Scotty Reiss
Disclosure: I was Jeep’s guest for this test drive. Accommodations were provided, and the off-road course was mapped out for us, but all opinions are my own.
The Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe with its blue tow hooks. Photo: Scotty Reiss