Jeep teases incoming plug-in Wrangler 4xe in new videos

“So quiet you can hear your own breath,” and “blend in with nature” aren’t advertising taglines traditional Jeep Wrangler buyers would expect from the hairy-chested US brand.

But this being the incoming plug-in hybrid Wrangler 4xe – first shown at January’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas – Jeep’s latest online teaser videos are emphasising quite how blissful silent off-road exploring can be. 

It needs to. Jeep’s previously stated it aims to offer an electrified version of each model in its line-up by 2022, with the Wrangler plug-in due by year’s end.

Has Jeep gone soft? Is it ostracising a gun-totin’ chunk of traditional Wrangler buyers? Possibly, but the response to Jeep’s drive towards electrification has generally been met with enthusiasm, if social media and Jeep forum comments are to be believed.

According to MotorTrend.com, Mike Manley, chief executive of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), revealed in a shareholder meeting that the Wrangler 4xe was due later this year, as originally planned before Covid-19 struck. “The vehicle will arrive in our showrooms by the end of this year and in Europe and China early next year,” he said.

Nothing confirmed for Australia at present, and we’re certainly down the pecking order for a Wrangler 4xe considering our poor EV infrastructure, lack of government incentives and Australia’s sagging Jeep sales in recent years. To compound matters, the typical PHEV price premium would make the 4xe an expensive proposition.

Speaking with EV Central, Jeep Australia’s Managing Director Kevin Flynn was encouraged by the plug-in developments arriving in other markets.

“We are excited about these technical developments and advances and are monitoring the take up of electrification in Australia,” he said. “We will be ready to launch our PHEV strategy as soon as consumer appetite, regulations and infrastructure suggests the time is right.”

Jeep’s pushing the Wrangler 4xe’s silent travel capabilities in its teaser videos, but exactly what will power the off-roader and how much all-electric range it offers haven’t been disclosed.

Jeep’s Renegade 4xe plug-in is on sale in Europe (soon to be joined by a Compass 4xe) using a 95kW 1.3-litre turbo four-cylinder petrol alongside a 44kW electric motor and 11.4kWh battery. Off-road focused Trailhawk versions up the ante with a 133kW version of the same engine alongside the electric motor. Combined power is 139kW for normal versions and 177kW the Trailhawk.

For these models, Jeep claims an all-electric range of around 50km and that the battery pack can be charged in two hours using a 7.4kW wallbox.

The same engine clearly wouldn’t do in the burly Wrangler. Most likely would be pairing an electric motor with the Wrangler’s current 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol (not seen in Australia at present) or the 3.6-litre V6 petrol. 

Jeep’s first global PHEV was the Chinese market only Commander large SUV. It uses two electric motors with 13kWh battery alongside an “adapted” 2.0-litre turbo petrol, and has an ell-electric range of 70km.

Speaking to media late last year, Jeep Global President Christian Meunier said Jeep was going all in on electrification as soon as 2022. 

“Our mission is greenest SUV brand in the world, but also the most capable and most fun to drive off road and on road,” Meunier said.

The global boss said all Jeep models would be electrified by 2022, meaning full electric or plug-in hybrids would be available in every model in its range, alongside conventional internal combustion versions.  “That means we’re going to be pretty serious about it; Jeep is not going to be what it is today,” he said.

Marrying Jeep’s renowned 4×4 abilities with electrification would make the product “the best ever,” while maintaining the 80-year-old brand’s DNA.

Various car makers – including Jeep – have said they expect electrification to make 4x4s more capable off-road.

“They can be zero emission for at least 50km for the plug-in hybrid,” he said. “You’ll be able to go off road in silence in nature, and that’s pretty cool stuff.”