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Chris Hall

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Today marks one month with my Wrangler 4XE. Still amazed and still impressed with the design decisions. It’s just a great overall vehicle. I have developed just a short wish-list. These are not complaints as much as just things I wish were possible.

1-Latching max regen. I would also like to see the max regen button moved to the steering wheel and give a button that could either be momentary or latching. The idea is a button that could be pushed for momentary then pushed and slid to a locked position for latching

2-Eco mode for the cruise control when in EV mode. I have found the cruise control is aggressive enough to cause an engine start. If I’m on back roads and come to a stop sign then hit resume after stopping, the vehicle wants to get back to speed fast enough to cause an engine start.

3-Engine start in EV mode only when the accelerator pedal is floored. I would like to see a way to set the bias in electric mode even more toward electric so that the engine would not start until the pedal goes all the way to the floor. Mercedes utilized a “drop down” button under the gas pedal. It causes the transmission to drop down a gear. Smarts do the same thing. It would be cool to see an “engine start” button under the accelerator pedal to prevent the engine from starting unless that button is pressed.

4-Some method of measuring electrical energy. On the trip odometer and the overall MPG screens, I’d like to see something to indicate miles per kilowatt hour. It would also be nice to see some method to track energy consumed during charging.

5-Larger glove compartment.

6-Slightly larger battery. I’d like to see around 35-45 miles of electric range.

7-Uconnect is horribly slow. I know this isn’t necessarily a 4XE thing but the Uconnect is just way slower than I think most consumers would expect in 2021. That seems like a point that should get some major work done on it. As it is right now, I have no plans to continue with the service once the free period runs out due to this issue.

8-The randomly appearing backup parking lines. This issue isn’t unique to the 4XE but it’s something Jeep should really get fixed.
Jeep Wrangler JL 1 month with the Wrangler 4XE 26077246-3B4E-487E-90F4-3758587C76FC
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LJ_3M121318

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For #3, youre saying like when you are on the freeway cruising at 60 with the pedal just lightly pressed that the engine will turn on when like at 61, and instead you rather have the electric stay on?
 

displayname

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Initially the 4xe didn't interest me, but I'll be watching it continue to develop over the next couple years. I like point 6, a 35-45 mile range. I think that's pretty attainable as battery tech continues to advance. That point would also cover longer commutes, which would really peak my interest.
 

Ratiogear

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Your videos have made me place my own order after much interest and internal debate. I'm glad you're still loving it and that these points are relatively minor.

Would love the increased range though.
 

RafaelK

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Today marks one month with my Wrangler 4XE. Still amazed and still impressed with the design decisions. It’s just a great overall vehicle. I have developed just a short wish-list. These are not complaints as much as just things I wish were possible.

1-Latching max regen. I would also like to see the max regen button moved to the steering wheel and give a button that could either be momentary or latching. The idea is a button that could be pushed for momentary then pushed and slid to a locked position for latching

2-Eco mode for the cruise control when in EV mode. I have found the cruise control is aggressive enough to cause an engine start. If I’m on back roads and come to a stop sign then hit resume after stopping, the vehicle wants to get back to speed fast enough to cause an engine start.

3-Engine start in EV mode only when the accelerator pedal is floored. I would like to see a way to set the bias in electric mode even more toward electric so that the engine would not start until the pedal goes all the way to the floor. Mercedes utilized a “drop down” button under the gas pedal. It causes the transmission to drop down a gear. Smarts do the same thing. It would be cool to see an “engine start” button under the accelerator pedal to prevent the engine from starting unless that button is pressed.

4-Some method of measuring electrical energy. On the trip odometer and the overall MPG screens, I’d like to see something to indicate miles per kilowatt hour. It would also be nice to see some method to track energy consumed during charging.

5-Larger glove compartment.

6-Slightly larger battery. I’d like to see around 35-45 miles of electric range.

7-Uconnect is horribly slow. I know this isn’t necessarily a 4XE thing but the Uconnect is just way slower than I think most consumers would expect in 2021. That seems like a point that should get some major work done on it. As it is right now, I have no plans to continue with the service once the free period runs out due to this issue.

8-The randomly appearing backup parking lines. This issue isn’t unique to the 4XE but it’s something Jeep should really get fixed.
Jeep Wrangler JL 1 month with the Wrangler 4XE 26077246-3B4E-487E-90F4-3758587C76FC
3 weeks into ownership on my end and from your list i find #1 the most annoying to me. Everytime I
start the car I need to remember to press the Max Regen. If I don't the car surprises me at the next stop sign by not stopping. Kind of dangerous.
 

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MaskedRacerX

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3 weeks into ownership on my end and from your list i find #1 the most annoying to me. Everytime I
start the car I need to remember to press the Max Regen. If I don't the car surprises me at the next stop sign by not stopping. Kind of dangerous.
Someone on another forum indicated this setting stayed toggled in pre-release models, so assuming that's true, maybe we'll get a software update to re-enable it (unless Jeep has some other motivation, like the design intent is for it only to be used on demand, in certain situations vs. all the time ...).

I'm the same, I love the extra "motor braking" you get, heck, I drive around town and only use the actual brakes to come to a completely dead stop.
 
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I agree with all of your points, esp #1 and #3. My buddy bought a Bronco Sport and was asked to participate in a conference call with Ford engineers and he said they really seemed to take his feedback to heart. Here's hoping Jeep do something similar with some of us 4xe owners.

Worst case, I expect the aftermarket programmers (Tazer?) will take care of the latching Max Regen button. I always forget to turn it on until I'm halfway through my drive. So annoying. Maybe they can also allow you to set the pedal input % which triggers the ICE.
 

Bren

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I've owned 3 EVs over the time that I've owned my JK (a BMW i3 and 2 Teslas), so I've had my eye on this. I've held off but helped a friend buy one and she got your EXACT spec. I drove hers and immediately called the dealer.

To add to your list, I'd like to see one-pedal drive. That's my favorite part of driving EV.

I don't care if Max Regen is a button on the dash, I just want it to stay on forever. Bury it in a menu for all I care. I'd rather that button be assigned to "Battery charge" mode, since that's something I'd turn on and off more than regen.

Also it really needs a DC Fast charging option. If I could get my ~25 miles back while I run into the store, that would be clutch. Probably 2-3 years away from that.

I'm hoping that battery module is hot swappable for a higher density model in a few years. Seems like it could be with the way it's installed.
 

four low

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I enjoy reading these real- time reviews and comments.
I'm hoping to have an all- electric 300 mile + range Wrangler in my lifetime, with an onboard air cooled bootstrap generator for emergencies. The First Generation is leading the way !
 

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SnB4xe

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I've owned 3 EVs over the time that I've owned my JK (a BMW i3 and 2 Teslas), so I've had my eye on this. I've held off but helped a friend buy one and she got your EXACT spec. I drove hers and immediately called the dealer.

To add to your list, I'd like to see one-pedal drive. That's my favorite part of driving EV.

I don't care if Max Regen is a button on the dash, I just want it to stay on forever. Bury it in a menu for all I care. I'd rather that button be assigned to "Battery charge" mode, since that's something I'd turn on and off more than regen.

Also it really needs a DC Fast charging option. If I could get my ~25 miles back while I run into the store, that would be clutch. Probably 2-3 years away from that.

I'm hoping that battery module is hot swappable for a higher density model in a few years. Seems like it could be with the way it's installed.
I find the Max Regen button is pretty darn close to 1PD.
I have 1PD on my Mach-E and don't like using it. Some people like it....some don't. Great to have the choice but in this vehicle it would be very hard to program since the 4xe has a traditional type automatic transmission. When a full BEV Wrangler is available then maybe 1PD can be a feature.

No way for DCFC on a battery pack this size. Not a usable one anyway. It would be a costly feature to add for little to no benefit. Not to mention that DC fast charging on a regular basis is a good way to wear out your battery. Even a 11 kw on board charger would be too much for this vehicle so that is why we are stuck with L2 at 30/32 amps.

In fact.....I think it is incredible that Max Regen is so effective on this vehicle. It must be using the gears in the transmission to achieve the retardation effect because normally the regen level is heavily determined by the motor size and battery capacity. The Teslas have larger batteries and powerful motors so they can operate with a very aggressive regen level. Something like a Chrysler Pacifica PHEV or Fusion PHEV with the power split transmission won't have as much regen because of their relatively small motors and air cooled battery packs.

Just like when accelerating......aggressive regen creates a lot of heat so that thermal gain has to be managed by the cooling systems. Keep that in mind when enjoying this vehicle.
 

Sahara4xe

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Been loving my 4XE, and have pretty much the same thoughts, my backup camera either loses the lines or totally does not work at all. Do wish it had a little more range, but still very happy with the 4XE, excited to take it on a more serious off road trail and see how it does. Only regret was not getting the ACC, my local dealer only just got this one and out of like 20 dealers was honoring the national offer lease price, so did not have much choice. very happy with the soft top as well, bring it down almost every ride.
Jeep Wrangler JL 1 month with the Wrangler 4XE Screen Shot 2021-04-29 at 10.58.21 AM
 

SnB4xe

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Been loving my 4XE, and have pretty much the same thoughts, my backup camera either loses the lines or totally does not work at all. Do wish it had a little more range, but still very happy with the 4XE, excited to take it on a more serious off road trail and see how it does. Only regret was not getting the ACC, my local dealer only just got this one and out of like 20 dealers was honoring the national offer lease price, so did not have much choice. very happy with the soft top as well, bring it down almost every ride.
Jeep Wrangler JL 1 month with the Wrangler 4XE Screen Shot 2021-04-29 at 10.58.21 AM
Great looking Jeep!
We didn't get ACC either. I have a Mach-E and it is the first vehicle that I have owned with Adaptive Cruise, Intelligent Cruise, Blind Spot warnings, collision warning with brake assist, 360 camera etc. Love having all that stuff. It would have been nice to get ACC on our 4xe but we were limited with the selection on the lot. We didn't pre-order so we had to just take our chances of finding something on the lot. We literally drove around various dealerships until we found one that was willing to make a deal at MSRP or better. We got slightly better than MSRP but it was just slight.

We found two dealers that had the exact spec we wanted but one wanted $12k over MSRP and the other didn't understand how the incentives worked. The 3rd dealer said they had vehicles in stock but when we got there they were still in transit. :(
The 4th dealer was the charm and we ended up with our first non-Ford electrified vehicle. :)

The 4xe is going about the PHEV concept in a whole different way. Seemed strange to me at first but then a Jeep has a much different use case (at least how it is designed to be used anyway....) So, I am interested to see how well this works in the real world.

I have only had this thing for less than 48 hours so very early still.....
But I can already tell that Jeep did not compromise on what a Jeep is. What I mean is that most manufacturers electrify a vehicle and they make compromises to get the maximum range. That usually means lighter materials, less than appealing body designs, reduced cargo capacity and lowered to the ground for aero. The Wrangler didn't do this and this is why we are only going to see 25-30 miles of EV range around town. I can work with that. At least it still is a Jeep. :)

20210503_073443.jpg
 

Joe98

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I have a feeling the reversing camera issue is specific to the 4xe. It seems a common issue with the 4xe but uncommon with petrol Jeeps.

Considering the extra weight of the vehicle, I wonder if you did say, a 300 mile trip, that the 4xe would use more petrol rather than less?
 

whitebear

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I have a feeling the reversing camera issue is specific to the 4xe. It seems a common issue with the 4xe but uncommon with petrol Jeeps.

Considering the extra weight of the vehicle, I wonder if you did say, a 300 mile trip, that the 4xe would use more petrol rather than less?
my 2018 jl rubicon back camera resets and shows lines when it wants to lol also i think my 8.4 uconnect is slowly dying it randomly resets and freezes its better then when i first had it tho. i remember i use to have to disconnect the battery once a week to reset it most dealers won't do it out of not wanting responsibility if it breaks. and android auto is basically useless it rarely works for me anymore i just have a tablet mounted off my dash board since bluetooth works fine for music
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