At the Paris Motor Show on Monday, Jeep unveiled its first fully electric vehicle, the new Avenger. Designed specifically for the European market, this subcompact SUV promises efficiency and capability in a stylish package.
The first of an entire range of all-electric Jeeps, the new Avenger features a 400-volt powertrain that was developed by Emotors, a joint venture between Stellantis and Nidec Leroy-Somer Holding. Offered only with front-wheel drive, this vehicle is graced with 156 horsepower and 192 pound-feet of torque. That’s not a lot of giddy-up, but the Avenger is a small vehicle, more than 6 inches shorter than the already-tiny Jeep Renegade, so this SUV should offer more-than-adequate performance.
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As for the all-important battery, it has a capacity 54 kilowatt-hours and is built by Stellantis. This pack mounts under the rear seat, so it should not eat into the passenger compartment. During development, the battery was tested for nearly 1.25 million miles, so it should stand the test of time once the Avenger arrives in customer hands.
On the WLTP cycle, this all-electric SUV is expected to offer 400 kilometers of range, about 250 miles on a charge. In urban driving, the Avenger should, naturally, offer even more range, up to 550 km (342 miles). These numbers aren’t particularly impressive, especially if this Jeep were tested on the much more stringent EPA cycle, but as an urban runabout for the European market, these figures should be more than enough.
When it’s time to charge up, the Avenger supports 100-kilowatt DC fast charging. This can add 30 km of range to the battery in just 3 minutes. Going from 20 to 80%, a more useful example of this SUV’s charging capability, can be achieved in a claimed 24 minutes. The Avenger has an 11-kW AC charger onboard that can take the battery in from completely empty to 100% full in about 5.5 hours.
The Avenger comes standard with a Selec-Terrain system and hill-descent control — it’s the first front-wheel drive Jeep with these features. There are six selectable modes including Normal, Eco, Sport, Snow, Mud and Sand. Naturally, you can’t expect this SUV to climb mountains like a heavily modified Wrangler, but it should still be reasonably capable, thanks, in part, to good approach, departure and breakover angles of 20, 20 and 32 degrees, respectively.
Protecting against damage from low-speed impacts, the Avenger features 360-degree body cladding and the headlights are mounted higher up, so they don’t get damaged in urban fender-benders.
Inside, passengers are treated to a strongly horizontal dashboard with a large, open storage cubby. There’s also a standard 10.25-inch touch screen on the dashboard. Depending on configuration, drivers will get either a 7- or 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster. Naturally, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are standard, and both can connect to the infotainment system wirelessly, so feel free to forget your charging cable.
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Other valuable technology includes adaptive cruise control with lane centering. Front and rear parking sensors with automatic parking capability, blind-spot monitoring and automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection are some other available driver aids.
The new Jeep Avenger will be assembled at a Stellantis plant in Tychy, Poland. Starting today and running through Nov. 30, customers can reserve a 1st Edition version of this SUV, so act soon if you want to experience Jeep’s first all-electric vehicle.
