4xe

[Jurfie]

Dang. My electricity costs $0.09/kWh CAD…steps up to $0.14/kWh if we don’t conserve. Gas works out to $6.09/gal CAD ($4.80/gal USD).

I also work from home and moving to a remote island that is 15 km (<9 miles) from one end to the other next month.

A PHEV is a no brainer for me.

 

[Mass_Mopar]

Dang. My electricity costs $0.09/kWh CAD…steps up to $0.14/kWh if we don’t conserve. Gas works out to $6.09/gal CAD ($4.80/gal USD).

I also work from home and moving to a remote island that is 15 km (<9 miles) from one end to the other next month.

A PHEV is a no brainer for me.

What island? Sounds like a bicycle is the answer!

First few commuting trips we're seeing 25+ miles on electric only, nearly all backroads. Jeep is estimating 26 miles all electric range when fully charged. It was a nice day out so no HVAC draw.

 

[SlickRope]

What island? Sounds like a bicycle is the answer!

First few commuting trips we're seeing 25+ miles on electric only, nearly all backroads. Jeep is estimating 26 miles all electric range when fully charged. It was a nice day out so no HVAC draw.

That's pretty good especially for a Rubicon. At first I was against the EV but after seeing it preforms as advertised it's defiantly something to think about. Can you let us know what your average MPG's are after a few weeks/months? Also, if you have any issues, I'm sure many are scared that they wont be reliable.

OOOO and Sweet color. The Jeep looks awesome.

 

[NatersXJ6]

Do you miss the space under the seat or the ability to fold flat? I have a lot of stuff under the seat and that actually caused some pause as I was thinking about how and where storage would work, I’m guessing a drawer that made the back level with the higher seat would solve that issue.

 

[Mass_Mopar]

That's pretty good especially for a Rubicon. At first I was against the EV but after seeing it preforms as advertised it's defiantly something to think about. Can you let us know what your average MPG's are after a few weeks/months? Also, if you have any issues, I'm sure many are scared that they wont be reliable.
OOOO and Sweet color. The Jeep looks awesome.

I'll try the average MPG thing but so far from what I can tell it's impossible to tell an apples-to-apples comparison with a gas version. It's entirely dependent on your use-case, how often you charge, etc. Physics tells us that after depleting the battery, it should get worse MPG than a standard 2.0L because it's ~500lbs heavier, BUT supposedly it never truly depletes the battery, it always maintains a base 15% charge even on long road trips, so all of the hybrid features still work when your battery is displaying <1%.

I'll post up if we have any issues. Our "basic" 3.6L/8spd auto '18 wrangler dropped a valve and had a leaky valve cover gasket (both replaced quickly under warranty) but still far from trouble free. Our '14 had a ton of issues as well but never actually left us stranded. We'll see how the 4xe makes out.

Thanks - we're loving the color after having red, tank green, and white... Gecko is really a fun color.

Do you miss the space under the seat or the ability to fold flat? I have a lot of stuff under the seat and that actually caused some pause as I was thinking about how and where storage would work, I’m guessing a drawer that made the back level with the higher seat would solve that issue.

Yes. Probably the #2 drawback after the stupid high price of these things is the cargo space is significantly less. Good thing the driving experience more than makes up for it. We take a winter trip every year into the North Maine Woods where we sleep in the back of the jeep, and a drawer/cabinet to level off the cargo area will definitely be needed this year...

Attached are some pics of the various rear seat configurations.

 

[Mass_Mopar]

Update - took our first roadtrip towing our small trailer. 255 miles round trip - we started with a full charge and recharged at our destination before coming home. Got 35 miles electric, the balance on gas, and averaged 14.4 MPG per the trip computer. Mainly highway with a nice chunk of 2 lane roads. In comparison, our 2018 JLUR with the 3.6/8spd (almost identical configuration) got 13 MPG towing the same trailer in similar conditions.

We also had our first glitch - got the check engine light last week when we started it up for the trip home from work. Jeep drove fine and after charging it up the next day it was fine. Took it to the dealer to check the stored codes, it had several loss of comm codes for various modules and a circuit ground to battery code. I checked, all of our fuses and relays were all seated (common issue from the factory) so for now we're assuming it was a glitch. We'll see how things go.

 

[billiebob]

Can't believe there is no chatter about what's possibly a ground breaking overland vehicle. Never understood why hybrids have not been used more in truck applications. My concern would be them having all the bugs worked out.

I think the big issue is going into the unknown. People might be willing to experiment at home with some solar or heat pumps or .... but when we go on vacation we just want 2 weeks of convenience. Only a tiny portion of us are willing to test new things away from home.

Hybrids in truck applications for travel/vacation. For starters it's a hybrid with 2 power sources. Its gonna cost more and only appeal to a few commuters.... very few travellers. 100 years ago the horse was more common than the car. Expect another 25 years before alternative energy becomes common travelling. Long before we vacation with sustainable energy we need to be commuting with it.

 

[Jupiter58]

Hmmm, barely 10% better fuel mileage on a very short trip? Mileage would go down more if you went any distance. Plus more issues. The 4xe primarily is for people with very short commutes (20 miles) to see any significant justification for the extra price.
I certainly don’t consider it ground breaking. Maybe Instagram worthy.
You could do the same trip in a 150 lightning with twice the comfort , twice the room and infinite mpg.
Now, the rivian, that is ground breaking.

Keep testing the 4xe though. You could provide real life data on it. Are you planning any trips of more mileage?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mass_Mopar]

I think the big issue is going into the unknown. People might be willing to experiment at home with some solar or heat pumps or .... but when we go on vacation we just want 2 weeks of convenience. Only a tiny portion of us are willing to test new things away from home.

Hybrids in truck applications for travel/vacation. For starters it's a hybrid with 2 power sources. Its gonna cost more and only appeal to a few commuters.... very few travellers. 100 years ago the horse was more common than the car. Expect another 25 years before alternative energy becomes common travelling. Long before we vacation with sustainable energy we need to be commuting with it.

After driving the hybrid wrangler for 1100 miles, going back to the gas-only powered cherokee feels like driving a dinosaur. It's slow and the gas engine runs all the time so it's louder. The ones who don't migrate to the new tech are missing out on some fun performance benefits.

Edit - the plug in hybrid is also kinda the sweet spot for people hesitant to go full electric. No range anxiety for long roadtrips with the benefit of electric-only for the majority of your around-town trips.

 

[Mass_Mopar]

Hmmm, barely 10% better fuel mileage on a very short trip? Mileage would go down more if you went any distance. Plus more issues. The 4xe primarily is for people with very short commutes (20 miles) to see any significant justification for the extra price.
I certainly don’t consider it ground breaking. Maybe Instagram worthy.
You could do the same trip in a 150 lightning with twice the comfort , twice the room and infinite mpg.
Now, the rivian, that is ground breaking.

Keep testing the 4xe though. You could provide real life data on it. Are you planning any trips of more mileage?

All fair points - like I said before, on longer trips theoretically the 2.0L should get better mileage since it's not also hauling around the weight of the electric components - the hybrid shines on shorter trips of ~25 miles, which if you live in the suburbs probably covers at a large proportion of your trips (vast majority of our trips fit inside the electric range).

Also on the price point - these qualify for the 7500 fed rebate and in some states a state rebate. You still have to pay the up-front purchase cost but depending on your income tax situation you may end up with a sizable chunk back. When they were first released the math worked out to be slightly cheaper than an equivalent Rubicon - but with way more power available. I haven't re-run the math since Jeep raised the MSRP on the 4xe models by another 2-3000 in the past 6 months so it may very well be more expensive now, even with the rebate taken into consideration.

The lightning is definitely going to be a big player - I love the front trunk almost as much as the electric power. The Rivian is very cool but the bed is way too small - the SUV version might prove to be more usable. Like an electric Defender 110.

We've put 1100 miles on our 4xe so far - 750 electric, 350 gas per the trip odometer, and our average MPG is showing as 30.8 MPG. I think the jeep is factoring in electric-only miles in that figure so I'm not sure if it really means anything. The display doesn't show miles per KW which I think would be a better measure of your electric-only miles. There are a good number of people with 5 and 10k+ miles on these and having no issues.

It's a boat load of fun, I'd highly recommend it.

 

[billiebob]

Got 35 miles electric, the balance on gas, and averaged 14.4 MPG per the trip computer. Mainly highway with a nice chunk of 2 lane roads. In comparison, our 2018 JLUR with the 3.6/8spd (almost identical configuration) got 13 MPG towing the same trailer in similar conditions.

This makes my day.

My 2006 TJR towing 2000# in the mountains gets the same gas mileage.
Bought it for $12K a year ago. I thought long and hard about a new eco diesel thing but guys with them said they only get great milage empty, towing they all get the same 13-15mpg....

ps, I love the TJs, this is my third. I put on 24,000 miles every year, towing for at least 12,000 miles.

pps.... I have an '05 TJR with 250,000 miles on it, it needs some work and paint.... I'm thinking Gecco Green.

 

[Mass_Mopar]

This makes my day.

My 2006 TJR towing 2000# in the mountains gets the same gas mileage.
Bought it for $12K a year ago. I thought long and hard about a new eco diesel thing but guys with them said they only get great milage empty, towing they all get the same 13-15mpg....

ps, I love the TJs, this is my third. I put on 24,000 miles every year, towing for at least 12,000 miles.

pps.... I have an '05 TJR with 250,000 miles on it, it needs some work and paint.... I'm thinking Gecco Green.

Great looking TJ... and I don't think you can go wrong with Gecko! It's crazy to think they get the same mileage towing when the '21 weighs 5200 lbs and the '06 was around 3750. Unreal how heavy modern cars have become...

I had a 98 Cherokee, 2 dr, 4.0L / 5spd canadian spec. It was light and fun but slow in the mountains when we loaded it for camping. I never towed with it but I wasn't all that confident in it's ability to stop in a hurry or pass anyone going up a hill. May have been the gearing though, I think stock it was geared pretty tall.

 

[billiebob]

Great looking TJ... and I don't think you can go wrong with Gecko! It's crazy to think they get the same mileage towing when the '21 weighs 5200 lbs and the '06 was around 3750. Unreal how heavy modern cars have become...

I had a 98 Cherokee, 2 dr, 4.0L / 5spd canadian spec. It was light and fun but slow in the mountains when we loaded it for camping. I never towed with it but I wasn't all that confident in it's ability to stop in a hurry or pass anyone going up a hill.

thanks, I love it
Power.... Not a hill I cannot hold 60mph on towing. I might be in 3rd gear and 4500rpm but I have never felt a need for more power.
I love driving, love the challenge of pushing the limits.

I used to drive Super Bees in BC... Most competitive driving ever. We all had 500HP, 18 speed transmissions, were governed at 65mph, and weighed 140,000 pounds. The only way you passed another Super Bee was by not missing a shift or holding the hammer down longer into a corner.

There have been times driving a TJR on bald BFG KOs.... read that road racing slicks on a Jeep..... that I've beat and passed BMWs who failed to hold the hammer down on fresh 2 lane blacktop. I grew up driving 4 cylinder Cortinas and Datsuns... same thing... ya might not win off the lights but ya could kill a Goat once the road got curvy.

Personally I love the challenge of being "underpowered". The new over the top diesels, hemis etc are flat out boring. Drive any of them hard and you will lose yer license.

60 years ago a 5 axles semi might have only had a 270HP gas engine with a 5 speed AND a 4 speed transmissions. They went everywhere man..... today trucks are specced with automatics lol....

Off topic but This is my all time favourite shifting video..... enjoy

 

[billiebob]

Going back further to 5 speed main transmissions plus a 4 speed auxiliary transmission,,, when 270HP was the best you could buy and you only hauled weight by shifting.... often

The 5 speed was like any 5 speed. The 4 speed offerred DEEP reduction, 1st gear, on a construction site or logging road. 2nd was low range once you hit a road. 3rd was direct, empty you could shift 1st thru 5th with the main while the auxiliary tranny was in 3rd... And 4th was overdrive.....

You shifted thru the main say 2nd gear, then shifted thru the auxiliary tranny, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, then caught 3rd in the main and dropped to 2nd, in the auxiliary..... then 4th,,,, then 5th ..... ratios overlapped and there was never a boring moment...... distracted driving was never an issue.


sometimes the old cheap videos are best, I love old trucks.


Then theres........... its so much faster to shift if you use 2 hands and steer with yer elbow.


From the days a trucker wore a uniform.





Then for the guys running cross country or the Eastern Seaboard ther were trucks that added a 2 speed axle so 5speed main, 4 speed auxiliary, 2 speed axle..... 40 gears to pick....

My favourite is the 4 speed 3 speed auxiliary... It lost the deep reduction but was a sweetheart to drive.....
My ultimate live on board expedition vehicle would have the 4/3 combination with an old gas straight six like a 750 cubic inch on an old fire truck chassis..

 

[billiebob]

I drove an old fire truck, ladder truck with no water tank so it was incredibly light, it had a 750 cubic inch gas straight six engine, it was cab forward, no roof, it was an incredible truck..... it only needed a 4 speed tranny and it felt like a Corvette.

I have always thought what an incredible motor home it would make.