So just earlier this week, Jeep announced the first-ever BEV, the battery electric vehicle. So, first for Jeep’s lineup, a full electric vehicle: the Wagoneer S. Last month, in our Jeep news, we talked about the Wagoneer S and some comments there. This Jeep has 600 horsepower and 617 foot-pounds of torque. It does 0 to 60 in about 3 seconds, so it’s probably going to be dubbed the world’s fastest SUV. The new Grand Cherokee Limited 5.9 LX was the fastest SUV in the world back in ’98. Again, we talked about that in the previous Jeep news last month.
The first all-electric Jeep is finally here. Last month, we said that the starting price was going to be about 90 grand. We learned that with the launch edition, the starting price is going to be in the 70s, and it will include a Level Two charger that comes with it. So, a few things to talk about with this battery electric Jeep: The new Wagoneer S is going to have a 300-mile range, and you’ll be able to charge it from 20% to 80% in just over 20 minutes, obviously with the right DC charger. Nonetheless, that’s still pretty impressive.
The biggest downfall I see right now is it’s still another high-priced vehicle. Jeep needs to bring in some vehicles that are more obtainable to the general public. But there’s good news, so let’s talk about that in a second. Before we discuss the more affordable Jeep vehicles that are coming, and since affordability is on everybody’s mind, let’s talk about the Jeep Gladiator 4xe. We mentioned that in last month’s video as well. We know the Gladiator 4xe is coming. There’s been some mutterings about other opinions people have. I personally think there will be some changes to the Gladiator compared to the Wrangler 4xe. In a lot of ways, it makes sense for the Gladiator to mimic what’s already here on the 4xe Wrangler because we already have this platform built.
Having said that, for the 2025 model year, we know there are a lot of changes coming down the pipeline for the 4xe platform. I think it doesn’t make a lot of sense to stick a Gladiator 4xe out just for a few years. So, will there be changes to the Gladiator? Is that why they kind of held on? The Gladiator’s got a little more room. Will they change where the battery goes? We’ve talked about this Ram Charger system that works. Will it pull some of the technology from that? I think it’s going to be interesting to see how the 4xe Gladiator gets launched. I won’t be overly surprised if it has different technology than the 4xe Wrangler, but I guess time will tell on that one.
Let’s talk about affordability when it comes to the Jeep lineup. In February of last year, February 2023, after 49 years, the Jeep Cherokee was discontinued. Rumor has it they are bringing the Jeep Cherokee back. We don’t know the price on that yet; it just got announced. But the Jeep Cherokee was a great affordable vehicle. Again, 49 years ago, it was modeled off of the Jeep Wagoneer, so history is kind of repeating itself a little bit. The Jeep Cherokee was definitely a great affordable vehicle, and I hope it does come back because that market, I think, has a little hole in it as far as the Jeep platform goes.
Going back to a full electric Jeep—not in the States, but there is a Jeep Avenger that is for sale, and there is a rumor that the Jeep Avenger will be brought to the States. They are estimating that the Jeep Avenger will have a sale price of about $25,000. If that holds true, it would be the cheapest full electric vehicle on the market. Jeep would own that segment. If we do get this $25,000 Avenger, maybe they’ll call it something different when they bring it to the States, but it will be the cheapest full electric vehicle in that market segment. It would be cheaper than the Equinox, the Volvo, and the newly announced Kia EV6, which are all in the low to mid-30 price ranges. Having a mid-$25,000 vehicle is going to be huge. I really do hope they bring it to the States because I think consumers would really enjoy having a vehicle that’s obtainable in that under $30,000 price range.
If you look at the Chevrolet Trax, you can get one for under $30,000 with heated seats, a heated steering wheel, Apple CarPlay, all the amenities, and it’s under $30,000. Jeep needs something in that segment, and I think it would be a home run with electrification. Jeep still says that by 2025, every Jeep product they have out there is going to have a 4xe or electrified version of it as an option. The Wrangler already has it, and we know the Gladiator is coming.
But let’s talk about full electric. What is your thought if the Wrangler were to only go full electric? Or what happens if the Wrangler goes to this Ram Charger-style platform where there’s a generator under the hood but it’s still powered by electric motors? If it goes a way where you can no longer buy a gasoline-powered Wrangler, are you still interested in the brand? I feel like this is the one brand that is very loyal and maybe very stuck in its roots. We are hard people to change, right? I would never have ever considered in a million years owning a hybrid vehicle or even electric for that matter, but the Wrangler 4xe was a good bridge for myself, and I know I’m not alone on that one. I personally don’t know that I’m necessarily ready for full electric.
Having said that, I’m not necessarily fully against this Ram Charger style where you have a generator engine under the hood because the beauty of that is you are never tethered to a cord. You can still travel about, and you’re not waiting to charge somewhere, but you get the beauty of the extra range and economy. Jeep’s bringing out the Recon in the next few months. That’s going to start at about 60 grand as well, so again, another high-dollar vehicle that maybe tries to compete with someone who is ready for full electric and wants something like a Wrangler that you can take the doors off.
I’m curious, what are your thoughts on all these new vehicles coming into the Jeep lineup? Are you EV, PHEV, BEV, or ICE? ICE stands for internal combustion engine, PHEV for plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, and BEV for battery electric vehicle. Which one suits your needs? Are you a true Jeep enthusiast who has had a Jeep since forever and wants that internal combustion engine only? Comment below.
And let’s not forget, Jeep still has that Hurricane motor out on the sideline that they’re putting in trucks. Maybe they’ll surprise us and put that Hurricane motor in the Wrangler. So, thanks for watching. Comment below what you think Jeep’s got coming. What are your thoughts on some of the new vehicles? Give us a comment, give us a like, give us a subscribe, and we’ll see you on the next video.
Leave A Comment