MOAB, Utah and AUSTIN, Texas – The Jeep Grand Cherokee the rollout took the better part of a year to fully realize, but with the launch of the new 2022 Grand Cherokee 4xe plug-in hybrid, it’s over but the proverb is crying. Well, at least until Jeep car start stuffing Storm inline-sixes under the hood. Anyone want to bet on that timeline?
So the basics. The Grand Cherokee 4xe’s powertrain is upgraded quite a bit directly from the Wrangler 4xe. They produce the same amount of power (375 horses) and torque (470 pound-feet). “Plug in mixture“It’s a catchphrase, so you’d be forgiven for expecting that the powertrain itself is inherently complicated, but mechanically it’s pretty straightforward.
At the nose, there’s a 270-hp 2.0-liter inline turbocharged engine (essentially the same one used as a turbocharged four in the Wrangler). Sandwiched between that and the eight-speed automatic transmission is a 100 kilowatt (134 hp) electric traction motor. This motor effectively replaces the transmission’s torque converter, with clutches on either side to control the power flow.
Electricity is stored in a pair the battery (17.3 kilowatt-hours total) mounted on either side of the Grand Cherokeeof the drive tunnel and drive shaft, it’s a special bit of the packaging. Since this is a Grand Cherokee, the 4xe system is mated to Jeep’s “Quadra Trac II” 4×4 system with a two-speed shifting transmission. All told, the combination is good for a slightly better EPA-certified all-electric range than the Wrangler (26 miles versus 22), a much more powerful 6,000-pound trailer. sledand 47.4:first information collection rate.
In the Grand Cherokee’s hierarchy, the 4xe looks outstanding on paper. It has more power than the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 (and 60s/s faster), offers an all-electric mode, covers a better range than the 3.6-liter Pentastar if you don’t take advantage of it. all that- electric mode (23 mpg combined vs 22) and still works all the Jeep stuff. There’s even a Trailhawk with all the off-road bells and whistles, and yes, you can off-road it in pure EV mode.
That’s great for a Mid-size two-row SUV, and although the 4xe is the most fuel-efficient Grand Cherokee, that weight has implications beyond the consequences of basic physics. This is an SUV, so that 500 pounds comes out of the 4xe’s towing capacity, or 6,000 pounds. That may be respectable for the segment, but it’s 1,200 pounds less (a basic aluminum sedan, pretty much) than the towable Hemi. Weight problem.
But let’s flip that over again. Sure, extra volume isn’t always good (though not always, if you believe Porsche or Bentley), but that mass was added low, where Jeep engineers tried to centralize the Grand Cherokee’s center of gravity. Even in the petrol-powered model, the front axle is driven through the Pentastar V6’s oil pan. That strategy allows for the engine to be placed lower in the vehicle without compromising off-road ability; The same principle is working here.
On the road, the 4xe carries its extra weight. I’ve driven it twice now – once outside of Austin, Texas and again around Moab, Utah. The former was a fairly simple affair involving driving on a country highway interrupted by a brief (albeit entertaining) off-road excursion, followed by a race against an elk. Young, ambitious. Almost no damage was done, but the incident justifies how important that extra weight is. Even going no more than 35 mph on a dirt road, that 4xe needs a few serious “woofs” to come down from a trot. Killer pack, really.
More information is available later, for Moab is also location for my non-hybrid Grand Cherokee drive late last year, gives me a chance to get the same ground coverage as before, only this time with the hybrid powertrain. In Moab, 4xe is king. Although it is located in a river valley, the elevation of Moab is above 4,000 feet. The V6s and V8s feel less active at those altitudes than they do near sea level, but the 4xe’s electric traction motor doesn’t need to suck in air to generate power and its engine benefits. From turbocharging, it is possible to feed more, less dense air into the combustion chamber more efficiently than a naturally aspirated induction system.
I’ve been trying to retrace my steps since last year, but with a new twist – I decided to reset my trip’s computer before climbing the La Sal Mountain Loopback sections. This is also the period that makes me call Pentastar V6 enough but not energizing. 4xes are much more eager to attack ramps and easily back off when ramps are in the other direction. The hybrid powertrain gets some credit here thanks to the Max Regen feature, which latches onto the traction engine’s regeneration brake at maximum resistance, allowing reasonable single-pedal driving.
The Jeep’s one-pedal drive calibration maxes out at 0.25g, which is enough to brake even downhill when you just lift the gas, but it takes a while to come to a complete stop without brake help. Friction. The beauty is that this mode does an admirable job of converting excess energy downhill into stored electrical energy. As a result, I averaged 29.4 mpg during the 42-mile drive up and down the mountain. Despite hitting 26.4 miles on battery and 16 km on gas, I still had 44% battery left (or 14 miles, estimated) when I parked the 4xe. I started the climb with much less.
In terms of momentum, that low focus pays dividends. Understeer is the name of the game if you start pushing too hard, but the 4xe’s nose will surprisingly warn against inputs unless you’re intentionally over-driving. Remember, the hybrid system thrives on braking, and without the e-axle in the rear it takes time to react to your whims. Drag it in, find it pointing somewhere safe, roll decisively back on the throttle and the 4x tailgate will get the job done for you.
Since the off-road-focused Trailhawk version of the Grand Cherokee is available in 4xe guise, it’s no surprise that Jeep wants to show off its capabilities. All its off-road bits have done the conversion from Grand Cherokee Trailhawk V6, so you can still disable the electronic rocker bar, electronic rear limited-slip differential, all-terrain tires, multiple Selec-Terrain driving modes, skid plates, tow hooks and an anti-glare roof decal. . 4xe has a ground clearance of 0.4 inches (10.9 inches compared to 11.3 inches of the non-hybrid version), 2.1 degrees of breakthrough angle and 0.2 degrees of departure angle for the non-hybrid version. If you’re in there deep enough for any of this to matter, you should probably bring a Wrangler.
My 4×4 gasoline-only experience is behind the wheel of a 3.6-liter Trailhawk, which weighs almost eight hundred pounds less than Trailhawk 4xe. Let it sink in – like 4xe maybe in soft sand or mud. Thankfully, neither was plentiful for either of my rides, and the instant torque from the 4xe’s electric motor caused its weight to fade toward the background – almost.
The movement on the rock is slow, the technique makes it stand out. Jeep has clearly beefed up the 4xe’s air suspension to help control all that extra mass, but when things get tough, it’s hard to ignore the amount of vehicle the system has to manage. One wrong action can damage the bottom of the 4xe (where the battery and fuel tank are) hard on an unforeseen or invisible overhang. While that electric motor torque can obscure a 4xe’s lift from a stop, adjusting it in situations where a large compression event might take place requires more ingenuity and forethought. a little bit.
I call the Jeep Wrangler 4xe the best example of a 4×4″ convertible, and fans of consistency will be pleased to note that the same holds true for the Grand Cherokee. It’s not perfect, nor is it necessarily the Grand Cherokee that’s right for every buyer, especially since its base price plus destination has it. knock on the door 60,000 dollars. A Limited V6 4×4 will be about $10,000 cheaper, albeit with less standard equipment. But for those who are looking to shell out the big bucks for a luxury midsize SUV that will allow them to kick-start their daily gas routine without giving up. road trip flexibility, 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe is a killer pack. But please, keep it figurative.
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