Photo: fueleconomy.gov
With the Blue Oval soon to deliver one of the most anticipated off-road vehicles of this decade, Jeep needed to respond appropriately to preserve the Wrangler's fame intact. One of the best ways to strike back was to deliver two powertrain options the 2021 Bronco won’t have—a hulking V8 and a frugal plug-in hybrid option.
As far as the PHEV is concerned, it turns out it doesn’t come with the same official EPA blessing as the company initially thought because the range and efficiency ratings are slightly worse than initially anticipated. For example, the 2021 Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid has been rated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as capable of covering 21 miles (34 km) in zero-emissions mode.
That doesn’t compare favorably to Jeep’s initial estimates of a fully electric range of 25 miles (40 km). Mind you, not even that was a particularly stellar figure, especially when considering the 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder gasoline engine paired with a couple of electric motors will yield a total range of 370 miles (over 595 km) when used in hybrid mode.
Additionally, it’s not a great number considering the Wrangler 4xe’s rather large battery pack of 17 kWh. Naturally, the hybrid powertrain does come with a good 49 MPGe rating from the EPA for the combined city/highway driving cycle, which is the best among all available options.
On the other hand, the gas-only rating is just 20 mpg (11.7 liters per 100 km), which again doesn’t compare favorably with the 3.0-liter diesel Wrangler Unlimited (25 mpg/9.4 liters per 100 km) or even the regular 2.0-liter Wrangler (23 mpg/10.2 liters per 100 km).
That said, it’s a lot more efficient than Jeep’s V8 option, naturally. That’s also valid for the latter's total range of 301 miles (484 km), even though Jeep’s Wrangler 4xe range of 370 miles (595 km) again doesn’t come close to the initial expectations of almost 400 miles (644 km).
Interestingly, as far as the official pricing of the 4xe and the rumored quotation for the Wrangler 392 are concerned, the former presents itself as the highest available step (including in terms of performance, actually) before stepping into HEMI territory. Sure, 375 horsepower aren’t equal to 470 hp, but for many, that may just be enough.
That doesn’t compare favorably to Jeep’s initial estimates of a fully electric range of 25 miles (40 km). Mind you, not even that was a particularly stellar figure, especially when considering the 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder gasoline engine paired with a couple of electric motors will yield a total range of 370 miles (over 595 km) when used in hybrid mode.
Additionally, it’s not a great number considering the Wrangler 4xe’s rather large battery pack of 17 kWh. Naturally, the hybrid powertrain does come with a good 49 MPGe rating from the EPA for the combined city/highway driving cycle, which is the best among all available options.
On the other hand, the gas-only rating is just 20 mpg (11.7 liters per 100 km), which again doesn’t compare favorably with the 3.0-liter diesel Wrangler Unlimited (25 mpg/9.4 liters per 100 km) or even the regular 2.0-liter Wrangler (23 mpg/10.2 liters per 100 km).
That said, it’s a lot more efficient than Jeep’s V8 option, naturally. That’s also valid for the latter's total range of 301 miles (484 km), even though Jeep’s Wrangler 4xe range of 370 miles (595 km) again doesn’t come close to the initial expectations of almost 400 miles (644 km).
Interestingly, as far as the official pricing of the 4xe and the rumored quotation for the Wrangler 392 are concerned, the former presents itself as the highest available step (including in terms of performance, actually) before stepping into HEMI territory. Sure, 375 horsepower aren’t equal to 470 hp, but for many, that may just be enough.
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