First All-Electric Jeep Test Driven: Is Avenger Rugged Enough?

Jeep is a brand people buy because they want to feel they can go anywhere, even if they mostly go to the shops. Realizing this, Jeep has evolved its cars over the years from the raw and rudimentary Willys to a much more luxurious and refined experience. With its first all-electric car, the Avenger, Jeep is taking that evolution a step further. Not only is this more of a compact family hatchback with an electric motor, but it’s also front-wheel-drive. Despite this, I found it still has plenty of Jeep credibility when I gave it a try at the UK launch.

Jeep Avenger: Jeep On The Outside

Even though it’s small and urban-oriented, the Avenger still looks like a Jeep. The classic slot grille at the front remains, although this is no longer an air intake. Instead, it’s now a design motif with a curve to aid aerodynamics. There’s the characteristic “gas can” look to the taillights, even if this is a tad paradoxical for an EV. You even get Jeep easter egg patterns hidden around the car.

The Avenger is based on Stellantis’s E-CMP2 platform, an evolution of the E-CMP used in its first all-electric vehicles such as the Vauxhall Corsa-e and Peugeot e-208. It was originally announced at the Paris Motor Show last year, and remains a platform that can also accommodate internal combustion engines (ICE) as well as EVs. But the motor power has been increased to 156hp and the battery size to 54kWh (gross – net is 51kWh).

That means it’s only a mild improvement over the original 136hp and 50kWh used by so many Stellantis cars, not the new platform generation that recently debuted in the Peugeot E-3008. But Jeep claims to have enhanced its implementation in many ways to improve its characteristics for its more off-road intentions. There’s also a 4xe all-wheel-drive version planned, although Jeep hasn’t announced exact timings for this yet.

Rather than just sticking some painted plastic in strategy places and calling it ruggedized, Jeep has placed tough plastic trim everywhere likely to receive a knock or scuff. This material is the same color all the way through, so if you do scratch it, there won’t be an unsightly different shade revealed beneath, and you won’t need to repaint. While this is officially aimed at countryside use, it will be just as beneficial in urban environments and car parks, particularly the trim on the doors.

Jeep Avenger: Durable Interior But Small

There are three trim levels at launch – Longitude, Altitude and Summit. All cars get a 10.25in infotainment screen supporting Apple Car Play and Android Auto plus some form of cruise control. Altitude makes the latter Adaptive, while Summit adds traffic jam stop and go plus lane centering, which isn’t quite self-driving but will take some of the onus off the driver to keep on track.

The front seats are comfortable, although none of the trims have electric adjustment as standard. This is a pricey optional extra even on the Summit car I drove. The cabin is built to be durable, with liberal use of tough high-quality plastic and seat material that is clearly intended to be wiped clean easily.

The controls are very traditional, with stalks for lights and wipers. The 10.25in infotainment screen sits on top of the dashboard in a way that makes you think it was an afterthought, although Jeep claims this is to make it equally accessible to the front passenger. The climate controls are mostly operated by robust discrete buttons, which will be welcome if you need to use them when wearing gloves. Jeep has also included a lot of storage space in the front cabin. The company claims all the cubbies and door pockets amount to a total of 34 liters of space, more than twice what is typical for most cars.

Although there is plenty of headroom in the back, the knee room isn’t so great. If you’re six foot and sitting behind someone in the front who is equally tall, you will be a bit cramped. There is a single USB-C port for rear passengers, but no air conditioning vents or controls.

The rear luggage space is also more hatchback than SUV, and less than many electric compact cars. The base space is 355 liters, and this only extends to 1,053 liters with the rear seats down. Putting that in perspective, the Peugeot e-208 has more with its rear seats down, and the Volkswagen ID. 3 a lot more with or without. The front-wheel drive Avenger can’t tow, either. It has no rating and no option for a hook. This is a bit of a surprise for a vehicle you may want to use to haul a trailer of camping gear or a small boat.

On the plus side, from the Altitude trim upwards there is a kick-release on the tailgate, and in my experience, it works very well. If you approach the car with your hands full of shopping bags, you’ll be able to get them in the back with ease. The boot lip is also made of the same durable plastic as the trim, so will withstand items that scrape as you load them, such as bikes. To go with this, there’s a washable mat available so you can put something dirty in the rear without spoiling your carpets.

Jeep Avenger: At Home On Tarmac But Some Off Road Ability

With just 156hp and 260Nm of torque, the Avenger was never going to win any EV performance records. On paper, its 0-62mph sprint time of 9.6 seconds and 93mph top speed are pedestrian. However, I found that it was dynamically better than these numbers would imply. The Eco mode is languid, but Normal is usable and Sport mode feels quite spritely. In this setting I found I could execute impromptu A-road overtakes successfully when I caught slow traffic. It’s no hot hatch like the MG4 XPOWER, but as a nippy little family car it fits the bill adequately. Although the weight is low thanks to the battery position, there is noticeable roll in corners due to the height of the vehicle, but I never felt threatened by understeer in corners. The weight of 1,615kg is high compared to an ICE equivalent but not significantly so for an EV in this class. The Avenger also feels planted at highway speeds.

As it is front-wheel-drive, the Avenger shouldn’t have the same off-road abilities as a full-fat Jeep. But alongside the Eco, Normal and Sport drive modes are Mud, Snow and Sand options. There are also hill descent and hill hold systems. Normally, you’d only find these on four-wheel-drive cars. However, Jeep stressed that these weren’t just for show. The Avenger was demonstrated using its Snow mode to traverse high alternating bumps that lifted at least one wheel entirely off the ground, yet Snow mode was able to send power to the drive wheel that had traction to keep things moving forward.

To help this, the car can cope with a 20-degree approach angle, a 32-degree departure angle, and a 20-degree breakover angle. It has a 200mm clearance and 230mm wading depth. So this may not be a 4×4, but you can take it off the beaten track with some confidence. However, all these abilities will also do well in urban environments, such as tight multistorey car parks and terrible city streets. The ride quality is relatively soft (albeit firmer than your average family hatchback), so potholes and speed bumps aren’t too troublesome.

Jeep Avenger: Mediocre Range And Premium Price

However, one limit on how far you might want to take the Jeep Avenger off the beaten track is the range. The WLTP rating is 249 miles, and you need to be running in the weedy Eco mode to achieve that. In the mix of modes and road types I drove during my testing, my economy varied between 3 and 4 miles per kWh. That’s decent, but with a 51kWh usable battery you’ll be hard pressed to get much more than 200 miles of real-world driving out of this car unless you make liberal use of the disappointing Eco mode.

That’s enough for the occasional long-distance jaunt, and the 100kW DC charging means it only takes 24 minutes to replenish to 80% from 20%. There’s also 11kW AC charging, which takes 5.5 hours to go from zero to full (or around 8 hours on a 7kW AC wall box). In other words, this is an urban and commuting car mostly, which you can take for longer journeys on the odd weekend, rather than a vehicle you will want to do extensive distances in regularly.

That’s a bit of a drawback for a rugged off-roader. The small rear passenger space and luggage capacity also bias the Avenger more towards city small family usage than trekking across the wilderness with your adult friends. Its sweet spot would be for someone who lives in a town with nearby woods or beaches, who generally wants to hit the supermarket, park at the gym and take the kids to school, but also take a few bikes to the forest or out onto the sand. With prices ranging from £35,700 ($44,300) for the base Longitude trim up to £39,600 ($49,100) for the Summit, it’s not cheap, and the MG4 is more reasonable, with better range, if you just want a small family EV. But if you do fancy a little outdoor capability, there’s enough Jeep in the Avenger to make it worth considering.

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