So I rent about 90-120 days a year for work in any given year, and typically I either get German sedans (Audi, BMW) or large American SUVs (Expedition, Suburban, Grand Wagoneer, Explorer) depending on how far I’m traveling and what gear I have to take with me. Well, last week I got to the lot a little late so it was pretty well picked clean. They had a bunch of Nissan Rogues and Jeep Grand Cherokees.
Well, they did not mention all the Jeeps were 4xe models. Right off the bat, the battery showed less than 1% charge. Awesome, no EV or hybrid modes for me at least to start the trip. I don’t think there’s anything that needs to be said about the GC itself; it’s pretty well-known it’s a nice, well-appointed vehicle. This one had heated leather, the big moonroof, and the Alpine stereo (thankfully!) and the big infotainment screen. So that part of the rental was nice. Playing around on Jeep’s website, this is a ~$71k vehicle, for reference.
So, back to that >1% battery and the powertrain. As people likely know, I’m not a huge EV fan, since I have almost no “city” driving nor time to charge EVs when I’m on the road. The Jeep has a “hybrid”, “electric”, and teaser “e-save” mode that on-screen promises to save battery (but it LIES!). So, I thumb the E-save button and hit the road in sport mode, which is the only way to mostly disable the EV side, and also hit the button to enable max regenerative braking. After nearly 700 miles of city, local roads, and interstate, the battery had charged to 80%.
I decided to give the EV side a shot. With 81% battery, I drove gingerly, never exceeding 50% battery effort, for a 22 mile round trip, with the cruise set to 55. Upon arriving, the battery had fallen to just 7% remaining. So if I had this as only an EV, I could only make one trip to town and back on a full charge. Unreal IMO, to take the base price of a GC from $36,495 to $60,490.
On the engine side, the driving experience was fine power wise, about what you’d expect, but it certainly doesn’t accelerate like 375HP… even my F150 on the stock tune will smoke this thing. The issue was, the engine was NOISY, and sounded like a platoon of boot-making elves with hammers after ripping a few lines of blow. I have a video I may attach. If you’re even considering this vehicle, make sure you listen to it before purchase. It’s that bad.
In the end, it averaged 23.2mpg over 1650 miles that ranged mostly from 50-75mph. Not exactly going to save you any money if you thought a 4cyl PHEV is a fuel saver… the Grand Cherokee itself is a really nice vehicle. The powertrain IMO is an absolute disgrace, considering I’m currently sitting in a ‘24 Expedition Limited that has the same MSRP and is better appointed, and is getting 21.6mpg over similar driving, plus it can tow nearly 10k.
I’ll give the GC 3 out of 5 stars; the full 2 missing stars are because of the engine and silly PHEV choices Jeep made. They didn’t commit to either; and therefore, both choices suffer mightily.
Well, they did not mention all the Jeeps were 4xe models. Right off the bat, the battery showed less than 1% charge. Awesome, no EV or hybrid modes for me at least to start the trip. I don’t think there’s anything that needs to be said about the GC itself; it’s pretty well-known it’s a nice, well-appointed vehicle. This one had heated leather, the big moonroof, and the Alpine stereo (thankfully!) and the big infotainment screen. So that part of the rental was nice. Playing around on Jeep’s website, this is a ~$71k vehicle, for reference.
So, back to that >1% battery and the powertrain. As people likely know, I’m not a huge EV fan, since I have almost no “city” driving nor time to charge EVs when I’m on the road. The Jeep has a “hybrid”, “electric”, and teaser “e-save” mode that on-screen promises to save battery (but it LIES!). So, I thumb the E-save button and hit the road in sport mode, which is the only way to mostly disable the EV side, and also hit the button to enable max regenerative braking. After nearly 700 miles of city, local roads, and interstate, the battery had charged to 80%.
I decided to give the EV side a shot. With 81% battery, I drove gingerly, never exceeding 50% battery effort, for a 22 mile round trip, with the cruise set to 55. Upon arriving, the battery had fallen to just 7% remaining. So if I had this as only an EV, I could only make one trip to town and back on a full charge. Unreal IMO, to take the base price of a GC from $36,495 to $60,490.
On the engine side, the driving experience was fine power wise, about what you’d expect, but it certainly doesn’t accelerate like 375HP… even my F150 on the stock tune will smoke this thing. The issue was, the engine was NOISY, and sounded like a platoon of boot-making elves with hammers after ripping a few lines of blow. I have a video I may attach. If you’re even considering this vehicle, make sure you listen to it before purchase. It’s that bad.
In the end, it averaged 23.2mpg over 1650 miles that ranged mostly from 50-75mph. Not exactly going to save you any money if you thought a 4cyl PHEV is a fuel saver… the Grand Cherokee itself is a really nice vehicle. The powertrain IMO is an absolute disgrace, considering I’m currently sitting in a ‘24 Expedition Limited that has the same MSRP and is better appointed, and is getting 21.6mpg over similar driving, plus it can tow nearly 10k.
I’ll give the GC 3 out of 5 stars; the full 2 missing stars are because of the engine and silly PHEV choices Jeep made. They didn’t commit to either; and therefore, both choices suffer mightily.
