2022 Jeep Wrangler 4xe Rubicon Off road Drive | The first Wrangler plug-in hybrid
102022 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon 4xe.
The first Wrangler plug-in hybrid is uniquely Jeep, even if the electric modes are fussy
It sounds almost too good to be true. A Wrangler — the real Jeep amongst more and more pretenders — fully off-road-capable and yet totally — OK, sort of — green, with 10.8 inches of ground clearance and 35 kilometres of fully electric range. It’s able to ford 30 inches of water despite having two electric motors. It boasts both LT285/70R17 BF Goodrich KO2 All-Terrain off-road tires and 4.8 L/100 km (59 MPGe). Like I said, it sounds almost too good to be true.
Technologically, that stream of good news continues. The Jeep’s powertrain consists of one of Stellantis’ most sophisticated motors, a turbocharged 2.0-litre four with double overhead cams, direct fuel injection, and variable valve timing. Mate it to two electric motors and it sounds pretty high-tech to me. The gas engine accounts for 270 horsepower all by itself, along with 295 pound-feet of torque.
Just by themselves they’re impressive numbers, sufficiently so that Jeep sells plenty of Wranglers powered by the turbocharged 2.0L all by its lonesome. Throw in the electric motors’ combined 178 hp along with 220 lb-ft of torque for the promise of some serious low-end, rock-crawling grunt, and one has the promise of an off-road machine that is both mean and green.
The specs certainly bear that out. Jeep claims a total of 375 hp and 470 torques for the combination of one ICE engine and two electric motors. Factor in the 17.3 kilowatt-hours of lithium-ion battery and an eight-speed automatic transmission and you have the promise of 35 kilometres of electric-only range and a six-second scoot to 100 kilometres an hour. Impressive stuff.
For the most part, the 4xe delivers. So, for instance, after a short weekend ride — made all the shorter by Ontario’s enhanced stay-at-home rules — I can attest that, in certain conditions, the 4xe, even in its heaviest Unlimited Rubicon guise, can indeed accelerate with elan and achieve, with more temperate throttle application, 35 klicks in EV mode (actually, it was 34 km, but who’s going to quibble over one lousy kilometre?).
Unfortunately, it can only achieve both those feats — the “almost” qualifier in the sentence I started this Range Finder review with — under specific conditions. Oh, the power’s all there. In fact, there’s enough torque from the combined might of motors and engine that the 4xe can net a 6.0-second zero-to-100-km/h time — the quickest amongst Wranglers until the Hemi version finally arrives — in 4Hi, those 470 lb-ft of torque so overwhelming the BF Goodriches that the traction control system has to step in all the way to 30 km/h or so. Electrified it may be and emissions-reduced Jeep may boast, but the first impression of the 4xe is how sporty it feels.
Read more: https://driving.ca/reviews/road-test/range-finder-2022-jeep-wrangler-unlimited-rubicon-4xe
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