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How Far Can a 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe Go on Electricity Alone?

How Far Can a 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe Go on Electricity Alone? Plug-in hybrids are an interesting option for many buyers – those who aren’t quite ready to indulge in an all-electric ownership but still want a way to drive most of the time without burning any gas. By combining a hybrid powertrain and a battery large enough to power the vehicle for a period of time before returning to regular hybrid operation, PHEVs offer the benefits of an EV during short trips without the range or charging concerns on long trips.

This is the formula Jeep uses for its plug-in hybrid “4xe” system, available on the 2022 Grand Cherokee SUV. We wanted to see how well you can drive the Grand Cherokee 4xe on battery power alone — and how it works when you do — and were pleasantly surprised by our results.

How Far Can a 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe Go on Electricity Alone?

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ride

My test car was a base Grand Cherokee 4xe, but the 4xe drivetrain is available on five trim levels: Base, Trailhawk, Overland, Summit and Summit Reserve, with increasingly nicer interiors and various off-road capabilities and standard features. Even the base model isn’t cheap: It starts at less than $60,000 (including destination fee), but it includes things like the Uconnect 5 multimedia system with navigation, leather interior, all-wheel drive, a passenger-side dashboard with a touchscreen and a panoramic sunroof. . My test car also had the Luxury Technology Group package and black paint job which brought the price tested to $64,785.

The Grand Cherokee 4xe uses the same powertrain found in: a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission that also includes two electric motors and a thermally managed lithium-ion battery pack. One of the engines is a booster starter generator that replaces the alternator; The other is sandwiched between the engine and transmission, replacing the transmission’s torque converter, and used for electric propulsion.

The general system produces 375 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque, so there’s no sag in the acceleration department when you dial it in to deliver the beans. The standard Quadra Trac II all-wheel drive system with a two-speed transfer case and a low-range gear ratio of 2.72:1 and a creep ratio of 47.4:1 means it still retains great off-road capability, while a maximum towing capacity of 6000 pounds means it can still tow boats. campers, car trailers, or just about anything a regular Grand Cherokee canister that is equipped with a V-6 engine.

Three driving modes are available in the 4xe: Hybrid, allowing the SUV to select the combination of gas and electric power to use; electric, which keeps the Grand Cherokee in electric mode until the battery runs out or you do something like ground acceleration and you decide to engage the gas engine for extra oomph; and eSave, which will continually run the gas engine to maintain the battery’s state of charge. The latter can return power to the battery while driving. It is useful when you want to drive on city streets in electric mode (where it is more efficient) versus the highway.

The SUV was EPA-rated before the gas engine started, with a total range of 470 miles. But how far can we get to electricity alone?

The Road

The standard route I run to test the electric range of PHEVs runs from the Cars.com office in Detroit in Ann Arbor, Michigan to a grill in Dearborn, Michigan and back. The total distance of about 70 miles includes plenty of stop-and-go suburban streets and a few four-lane divided highways, but no freeways or motorways and no speeds over 55 mph.

The air conditioning was turned off to reduce energy consumption, the windows were turned on to reduce aerodynamic drag, and the Max Regen button was pressed to increase the amount of power restored when the throttle was raised. The tires were inflated to the cold pressure recommended by the manufacturer, and the car was switched to electric only mode. The weather was perfect: a sunny mid-1970s summer day in Michigan with no rain. After making sure the Grand Cherokee 4xe had a full fuel tank and a full charge of its battery, I proceeded to do so.

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Results

Upon starting up, the Grand Cherokee 4xe told me it only had 27 miles of electric range – but what I discovered is that if you drive it normally, keeping acceleration at moderate levels and not doing any drag racing, you can actually get a Grand Cherokee 4xe It does 33 miles on electric power alone before turning on the gas engine. And even when you’re back in business as a hybrid, it will still run in electric mode when possible, as in starting from a stop.

Recharging the Grand Cherokee 4xe when its battery runs out takes about two hours on a 240-volt charger, but takes much longer on a traditional 15-amp household plug — or when using a portable SUV charger. Since my 240V home charger was on the fritz during this test, I had to rely on the portable charger plugged into a standard wall outlet when charging the SUV at home, and charging the 17kWh battery took about 14 hours. This is fine if you’re plugging it in as soon as you get home from a daily business trip and plan to leave again in the morning, but it’s an overall suboptimal charging solution. The 240V charger gets the job done fast.

How Far Can a 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe Go on Electricity Alone?

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how to drive

Driving a Grand Cherokee 4xe … interesting. In electric mode, the mode is generally quiet, smooth and smooth. The eight-speed automatic transmission looks unusual with electric drive, but it shifts smoothly and does not cause any problems. In hybrid mode, the transmission is less smooth; This transmission combines with all of the electricity And the Gas thrusters can lead to some jerky responses, especially in sudden moments of acceleration when the transmission kicks in and both the electric and gas engines are running.

This can lead to some neck-biting movements and unusual acceleration characteristics, but these situations are fairly rare. However, the setup isn’t as smooth as those using a continuously variable automatic transmission, which in my experience tends to mix petrol and electric drive better.

conclusion

The Grand Cherokee 4xe can cover most people’s daily commute in electric mode – and be ready to do it again the next day after recharging at home. Alternatively, she can tow a wagon across the suburb without charging it once in comfort and style with five people on board. It’s not cheap, but few SUVs are cheap anymore.

If you’re looking to save an amount or two on fuel but never plan to plug it in, the average fuel economy I saw when driving in hybrid mode was about 30 mpg, which is fine for a large 4×4 SUV like this And much better than the V-6’s 22 mpg rating. But like most PHEVs, it’s best for someone who can do most of their flights in electric mode only. Keep it in that area, and it can go as far as categorizing it.

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