Jeep is traversing greener turf with a new plug-in Wrangler hybrid with 25 miles of electric range.

The 2021 Wrangler 4xe hybrid also heralds Jeep’s North America electrification strategy.

The plug-in Wrangler’s turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, two electric motors and a TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic transmission deliver a combined 375 hp, an estimated 49 mpg-e and 470 pound-feet of torque. Combined city/highway gasoline fuel economy is rated at 20 mpg.

We’ve collected some early reviews from the automotive media.

“he Wrangler’s integration of gas and electric power is excellent. The 4xe seems to always know where the power should come from and puts that source at the fore with little hesitation. Aside from the lack of engine noise when running in EV mode, it’s hard to tell the Wrangler is even a PHEV when under throttle.

“Rather than mounting the motors directly to an axle, engineers attached one to the front of the turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder as a belt-driven generator — like what Ram offers on its eTorque mild hybrids. The other motor, which is responsible for electric drive, lives at the front of the transmission housing and replaces the gearbox’s torque converter. This approach yields seamless hand-offs from gas power to electric and back again.

“That said, under electric power alone the Wrangler’s already leisurely straight-line performance is slower still. You’ll enjoy a brief surge of torque off the line, but with just 134 horsepower and 181 pound-feet from the transmission motor, the Wrangler runs out of steam quickly. Dig into the throttle enough and the gas engine will kick on, even in electric-only mode.

“Performance is far brisker with the gas engine and electric motors working in tandem, where the Wrangler 4xe conjures up 375 hp and 470 lb-ft of torque. The abundant and immediate twist makes freeway passes a less stressful affair than in a V6 model, and the clever integration means seamless performance the rest of the time.

“The only other major impact the powertrain has on the broader Wrangler package are the regenerative brakes. Jeep has tuned these stoppers well, avoiding the poor low-speed manners found on other hybrids and crafting a package that rarely feels different than any other Jeep. “Really, the engineers deserve praise for building a plug-in hybrid Wrangler that feels so similar to the familiar ICE-powered SUV.”

— Brandon Turkus, motor1.com

“hen the gas and electric powertrains are working in harmony, this Wrangler drives well enough, but transitions between pure electric driving and hybrid operation are can be slow and jarring. If the battery is depleted or the driver asks for more power than the electric motor can deliver, the inline-four often jumps into action with all the grace of a middle schooler at their first dance. There are pregnant pauses long enough that you might ask out loud, ‘What the hell is happening?’ before the Jeep starts accelerating with any urgency. Other times the engine makes a rushed, jerky entrance. Driving the Wrangler 4xe in suburban traffic is a constant reminder that calibrating two powertrains to behave as one is more than twice as complicated as tuning a single propulsion source.

“An Electric mode remaps the accelerator so that the gas engine kicks on only if you flatten the right pedal. Annoyingly, if you always want to start out driving electrically, you’ll have to switch into this mode every time you start the 4xe. But you probably won’t, because driving that way, you’re moving a 5318-pound brick with just 134 horsepower. That’s enough to keep up with traffic, but treating the 4xe as an EV doesn’t have the same fun, torque-rich punch we’ve come to associate with electric driving.”

— Eric Tingwall, Car and Driver

“he 4xe is a Wrangler first and a hybrid second. Despite the space-aged electrified powertrain, this vehicle is still a benchmark-caliber off-roader. Hard-core Rubicon models come standard with a Rock-Trac four-wheel-drive system and a two-speed transfer case with 4:1 low-range gearing. Rugged Dana 44 axles support both ends of the vehicle and are fitted with electrically locking differentials for added traction in gnarly conditions. Enhancing suspension articulation, the front sway bar can be disconnected at the push of a button.
“The 4xe Rubicon’s approach angle is 43.8 degrees and its departure measurement clocks in at 35.6. The breakover angle is 22.5 degrees. Ground clearance checks out at an impressive 10.8 inches. Along with skid plates, Rubicons also feature rock rails to protect their lower bodies from damage. Additionally, this particular example is dressed up with the $1,745 steel bumper options group, which upgrades the vehicle with rugged metal bash bars at both ends.”
— Craig Cole, Roadshow by CNET

“eep appears to have kinks to work out with the hybrid system. I experienced a few moments of minor hesitation on many trips, usually when cold while slowing to about 5-10 mph. But on Day Six, the powertrain nearly stalled out entirely when flooring it onto a two-line highway and then later at a stoplight came a long moment of hesitation and then a burst of power.
“A check by the Jeep engineering department revealed no obvious problems, so 2021 buyers should keep this in mind and consider themselves beta testers — another Jeep tradition since 1942.
“The whirring from the engine compartment may strike the Jeep aficionado as strange, but they’ll like it at the Wawa. It’s nice to not have to end a Wrangler review with ‘muttermutter 15 mpg muttermutter.’ Not only did I have the fun of a Wrangler for a week, but I can report 30 mpg in a week of a lot of just-unplugged driving. Drivers using their 4xes for longer trips will probably use more fuel.
“The 4xe gets no special Consumer Reports category, so it’s stuck with the same 2 out of 5 predicted reliability. That’s probably generous, on both counts.”

— Scott Sturgis, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“eep made sure the 4xe not only delivered the capability Wrangler buyers expect — but that electrification enhanced that capability. As with other Wranglers, the 4xe can ford up to 30 inches of water; we drove it lengthwise down a deep creek, and didn’t need to put the Jeep in a gigantic bag of rice like a wet smartphone afterward.

“The electric motor’s instant torque is a boon when rock crawling. We scrambled over some rural Texas rock formations in a 4xe Rubicon model using electricity only, and, here, the motor delivered precise throttle response from small pedal inputs. In the four-wheel drive’s low-range setting (a 4:1 crawl ratio in Rubicons), drivers can adjust their speed using only the transmission’s manual shift mode, each successive gear upping the crawling speed. And while the EV motor is quiet — almost jarringly so — in 4Lo it spins up enough to make a mild whirring noise that rises in sync with pedal inputs, offering an engine-adjacent ear-foot feedback loop.

“An excellent use case for the E-Save mode? Holding onto a full charge until you reach an off-road trail, where you can then hump rocks in Electric mode (Jeep says the battery delivers several hours of off-roading) all afternoon, leaving plenty of gas in the tank for the trip home or making it to potentially faraway gas stations. Or not — Jeep is installing solar-powered public chargers at trailheads across the U.S., so you can juice up before or after a dirt session.”

— Alexander Stoklosa, MotorTrend