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The Jeep brand, which belongs to the new Stellantis Group (Fiat-PSA), is now launching the compact SUV model Renegade with a plug-in hybrid drive.
Photo: Alberto Giorgio Alquati / Jeep
The first impression:
Due to the brawny appearance and the handy format, the Jeep Renegade looks like a large toy car - only that there is now a power connection.
What
the manufacturer says:
For Francesco Cimmino, head of drive development at Jeep, the Renegade 4xe and its big brother Compass are "the pioneers of a green evolution" at Jeep.
Of all things, the brand that cultivates the desire for the rough with its off-road vehicles should become the pioneer of e-mobility in the former Fiat-Chrysler FCA (now Stellantis)?
Cimmino does not contest the fact that competitors such as Hyundai-Kia, the VW Group or the new sister brands Peugeot and Opel are much further ahead.
"As early as next year we will be offering at least one electrified drive in all model series, and the first fully electric Jeep is also in the works," says Cimmino.
For him, electrification and off-road driving are not a contradiction in terms.
On the contrary: Jeep is so convinced of the 4xe drive concept that not only the diesel versions were retired when the new models debuted.
"All-wheel drive is only available in this series with plug-in hybrid technology," says the Jeep man.
We noticed that
the Jeep Renegade is designed a bit more rustic than other models of the brand.
Hidden details like the silhouette of the very first Jeep on the edge of the windshield and the stylized grille on the speaker cover are nice.
Something like that belies the fact that the car is basically a compact SUV like so many others.
The ambience and equipment do not differ significantly from competitors such as the Hyundai Kona, the Kia Stonic, the Ford Puma or the VW T-Roc.
The space available is also comparable.
When it comes to propulsion, however, the US brand is taking a different course.
This is hardly noticeable at first: In the "hybrid" mode activated by default, the road is a little sluggish, very similar to the other PHEVs.
In the "sport" setting, things get livelier, the part-time electrician balances effortlessly between gasoline and electric machines.
But when the asphalt ends, the Renegade continues to drive comfortably: While many competitors save themselves the all-wheel drive or do away with it in their eco-models, the Jeep Renegade likes to give the little bastard.
When the car is presented, Francesco Cimmino sends the test drivers on a “jungle track” through the undergrowth.
The additional torque from the electric motor is just what the Renegade needs when digging through the mud or climbing ramps.
The driver does not need to fear an empty battery.
The system is programmed in such a way that the electric motor never runs out of juice.
Should the supply of electrical energy run out, the gasoline engine simply turns a little higher and drives a generator in addition to the front wheels, which produces electricity for the electric motor in the rear.
Even when the car is in the water up to the parapet, Cimmino remains very cool.
"We sealed the battery and protected it particularly well so that there were no restrictions on the terrain."
But Jeep has not only optimized the partially electric Renegade for the terrain, but also for the city.
At the Fiat headquarters in Turin, the developers have already stored protection zones in the navigation system: When the jeep drives into them, it automatically switches to electric mode and continues to generate electricity without emissions.
You have to know that:
The 4xe models have been on the market since autumn and cost at least 38,200 euros: There is a new 1.3-liter four-cylinder turbo gasoline engine in the front, which is powered by an electric belt starter.
It is available with 130 or 180 hp.
There is also an e-machine in the rear with an output of 44 kW (60 hp) and a battery with a storage capacity of 11.4 kWh under the rear seat and in the former transmission tunnel.
That is enough for 50 kilometers in the WLTP cycle.
If both machines work, the Renegade develops an output of 190 or 240 hp.
The top speed of the more powerful variant is 199 km / h, purely electric up to 130 km / h are possible.
At least in the questionable system of test bench measurements, the consumption of the most economical version is 1.9 liters per 100 kilometers.
Jeep also offers the drive technology with a system output of 240 hp for a surcharge of 4,000 euros in the more modern and larger Compass model.
We won't forget that:
the agonizingly long charging stops.
Because the standard version of the Renegade draws electrical energy with a maximum of 3 kW, fast chargers are taboo for it.
It takes around three and a half hours for the battery to be fully charged again.
And even with the optional 7.4 kW charger, it takes more than an hour and a half - the jeep takes far too much time.
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