4xe curious

[GrayWolf.Overland]

Once you have learned to adapt your driving to the 4xe drivetrain, it is a hoooot. I had a 3.6 v6 JLU before my current 4xe so I will give you these points that are relevant to someone moving to a 4xe

• 4xe is a better commuter jeep. You will find an urge to keep it street local as much as possible as it gives you 42kms on electric-only per full charge - which is plenty for around town commutes, school pickups and grocery runs.
• When off-road, you need to learn to use the modes (electric, hybrid, e-save) based on the type of off-roading you do. If you need the most control - use e-save + put the shifter on manual when you are doing slow rock crawls and technical sections that require finesse/control. In washboards and fire roads, kick in on electric or hybrid and cruise along in silence.
• Use max-regen on every scenario other than long highway drives. You will learn to optimize coasting, braking and harvest the most out of regenerative braking once you get the hang of it.
• Get next to the hot rod cars on stop light and smoke them (4hi-auto and e-save -> uses all the torque and hp without throttling)

4xe is a wrangler through and though.. if you are some whose use case fits exactly who its made for (weekday commuter, weekend off-roader) - you will have a fantastic experience and will love driving this.

------------
37s, 2.5 lift, tires tucked in and street legal on all grounds.

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[Mifsuud]

To the points:

1. Offroad is great. Your option of electric and/or ice power. The extra weight is not an issue as it sits fairly low considering a wrangler's size.

2. This is my first unlimited Wrangler so I dont miss lost space. I can see the value. Currently I am awaiting the storage drawer from @wheelsfeels which will level the back. Recently installed side stasher bags from amaysinglife and XG Cargo Gamma bags. Unusable space is now storage. Both systems fit without issue.

3. Bought used. JLUR 4xe in November '22. Were I to get something new, I would investigate Willys 4xe lease.

4. 14k miles in Phoenix heat. 30 consecutive days of 110+ last year. Battery seems fine so far.

I telecommute several days a week. When I go to work my drive is 6.4 miles each way. I can make the daily drive and do a couple errands on a charge. The level 1 charger is basically an emergency back up. The level 2 speeds mean I can run weekend errands in the morning, charge, and use it again the same day.

Biggest complaint is the smaller gas tank. 17 gallons hurts on legit road trips.

 

[GrayWolf.Overland]

To the points:

1. Offroad is great. Your option of electric and/or ice power. The extra weight is not an issue as it sits fairly low considering a wrangler's size.

2. This is my first unlimited Wrangler so I dont miss lost space. I can see the value. Currently I am awaiting the storage drawer from @wheelsfeels which will level the back. Recently installed side stasher bags from amaysinglife and XG Cargo Gamma bags. Unusable space is now storage. Both systems fit without issue.

3. Bought used. JLUR 4xe in November '22. Were I to get something new, I would investigate Willys 4xe lease.

4. 14k miles in Phoenix heat. 30 consecutive days of 110+ last year. Battery seems fine so far.

I telecommute several days a week. When I go to work my drive is 6.4 miles each way. I can make the daily drive and do a couple errands on a charge. The level 1 charger is basically an emergency back up. The level 2 speeds mean I can run weekend errands in the morning, charge, and use it again the same day.

Biggest complaint is the smaller gas tank. 17 gallons hurts on legit road trips.

agreed, its 4.5 gallons smaller than the regular non-hybrid JLU. I got myself the trailrax mount and 4 gallon rotopax for long trips where the range anxiety is a real deal

 

[Mifsuud]

agreed, its 4.5 gallons smaller than the regular non-hybrid JLU. I got myself the

agreed, its 4.5 gallons smaller than the regular non-hybrid JLU. I got myself the trailrax mount and 4 gallon rotopax for long trips where the range anxiety is a real deal

I am planning the same in the future.

 

[USNvet]

I love my stick shift JLU sport. The only mod it has are KO2's and I love how it handles on nasty trails. Judging how the world is moving, my next Jeep will probably be battery powered to some extent. I rented a 4xe Sahara at the Denver airport a few months ago and only drove it on snowy paved roads for a few days so I didn't get a good feel for what it would be like to live with.

Wondering a few things from this community:

1. How do 4xe's do off road compared to gas powered ones? Are you aware of the extra 800 lbs? Two people I've talked to said no but I'd like more input.

2. I always have my rear seats folded down so I can haul bikes and stuff, but it seems like you loose a little space with the flipup seats. How much do you notice this lost space?

3. Did you buy or lease? Seems like Jeep has some strong incentives to lease but I've always financed in the past.

4. After a year or two, how does the battery hold up? How does it hold up in hot or cold temps?

New 4XE owner here, and first Jeep so can't answer all of your questions.

In answer to question 3., I was expecting to buy outright, but the IRS decided 2024 Wranglers didn't qualify for the full $7500 EV credit. That tax credit is actually a two part deal and 4XE's do qualify for half the credit of $3750. The dealership finance guy said they can apply the full $7500 discount to a lease, plus there was another $2500 or so credit from the state of CA, or somewhere else, so as a CA resident you might check into that. For a $10k discount I went for the lease, and was told many buyers do that, then pay off the lease early.

Re Q2., You will lose a few inches in length of cargo space due to the fold up rear seat bottoms, and maybe around 8 inches in height, but just over the folded forward seat backs. I've even figured out how to fit a sleeping platform for one inside without removing any of the seats, as long as I can get by with 74" in length!

One of the 4XE pluses for me is the 120v power box. I expect to use a high wattage induction cooktop and a coffee maker when out camping, and that big battery should last several days if I arrive using e-save. Plus, although not very efficient, that turbo charged generator sitting under the hood can be used to recharge the EV battery if need be!

 

[Bandit59]

I love my stick shift JLU sport. The only mod it has are KO2's and I love how it handles on nasty trails. Judging how the world is moving, my next Jeep will probably be battery powered to some extent. I rented a 4xe Sahara at the Denver airport a few months ago and only drove it on snowy paved roads for a few days so I didn't get a good feel for what it would be like to live with.

Wondering a few things from this community:

1. How do 4xe's do off road compared to gas powered ones? Are you aware of the extra 800 lbs? Two people I've talked to said no but I'd like more input.

2. I always have my rear seats folded down so I can haul bikes and stuff, but it seems like you loose a little space with the flipup seats. How much do you notice this lost space?

3. Did you buy or lease? Seems like Jeep has some strong incentives to lease but I've always financed in the past.

4. After a year or two, how does the battery hold up? How does it hold up in hot or cold temps?

I have had both. My 23 gas powered drove better. Seems like you could feel a weight difference. The buying or leasing thing not sure. Seems 4xe might lose value faster. But if you are wheeling the body scrapes will decrease the value. Mine got about22-25 miles battery only

 

[JessicaF]

1. How do 4xe's do off road compared to gas powered ones? Are you aware of the extra 800 lbs? Two people I've talked to said no but I'd like more input.

I do not own a 4xe but I rent various trims of the Wrangler often when I do photography in the southwest. Since I often revisit the same places, I was able to assess the difference. I have to admit that I definitely noticed the additional weight compared to gas only trims. The biggest difference I noticed was in deep sand - the Jeep sinks more into the sand and I had to use 4Hi earlier than in the lighter gas trims. Also, on loose surface the stopping distance is longer. On off camber slippery inclines, the rear slips more and earlier. On wash boarded roads, the 4xe felt more stable, less "dancing" than gas models. I was also greeted more often with a plethora of error messages that came and went away (probably the dust got into the pressurized gas tank seal ?). I noticed the additional weight much less in a Willy's trim than on a Rubicon. This is to be expected as the Rubi is heavier but not that much heavier. Overall, I must say that the 4xe Jeeps took me everywhere I needed to go and never let me down but then I did not do anything hard core

One major difference that you did not ask about is the shorter range due to a smaller gas tank and higher fuel consumption, which affects trips a LOT. Being in a rental, jerry cans are not an option. I had to refill more often, basically whenever I could (Death Valley ouch). On average with a mix of off road and on road driving 1:3, my range was around 290m. A gas trim would have over 400m, so this is a significant difference for overlanding. When overlanding, I had no time or opportunity to charge, hence the overall MPG was actually lower than what I typically see in gas trims (17.x -19). Even if I was able to charge every day, it extends the range to, say 330, which is better than 290 but still way lower than 400+ on gas models.

I hope this helps.

 

[Deleted User 38384]

So according to your advice, we should just shut this forum down.

The whole idea is that the original poster wants feedback from those that have experience with these vehicles. What better place to come to than right here?

I was thinking the same thing. It was basically a 'go away' response!

These post usually descend into irrational anti EV rants, from people that don't own a 4xe.

More on point. The 4XE is great if you drive short distances daily. If you're going to be doing a lot of highway driving, 20 plus miles each way, there's definitely better engine options.

Get you a hard top and throw a roof rack up there to put your bikes on.

It's not like a Tesla, the second it gets cold you're not going to lose a third of your all electric miles. Though like others have said, the heater core will eat up a lot more electricity than the AC will.

 

[mcjeff]

As a former Tesla owner, and now a 3.6 Rubi owner, I actually regret not going with the 4xe quite a bit.

The vast majority of my day driving would be covered by battery range, and I have to stop every 20 minutes for gas anyway on longer trips (so the smaller capacity tank wouldn't have made much of a difference). I get about 300 miles per tank, which is right inline with what some others have said w.r.t. 4xe gas range.

 

[alphawolff]

The 4XE drives well, wheels well, and has great torque.

It's two issues are excessive tire wear due to the additional weight, and very sub par reliability. It does have an insanely long warranty, but I would still lease it with the current incentives based on its relatively bad reliability history.

It's also perfect if you have a small commute but still want that jeep experience

 

[BXFXJeep]

It's not like a Tesla, the second it gets cold you're not going to lose a third of your all electric miles. Though like others have said, the heater core will eat up a lot more electricity than the AC will.

Cold range is a none issue in a PHEV, it has a tank of gas, need heat, fire up the gas engine and burn fossil like a cave man

Not sure why anyone would buy a PHEV and expect to never run that gas engine regularly, what happens one day when it's needed and it fails ?

That's one of the problem people expect BEV like range from a PHEV, need electric range but a Tesla.

 

[Deleted User 38384]

Cold range is a none issue in a PHEV, it has a tank of gas, need heat, fire up the gas engine and burn fossil like a cave man

Not sure why anyone would buy a PHEV and expect to never run that gas engine regularly, what happens one day when it's needed and it fails ?

That's one of the problem people expect BEV like range from a PHEV, need electric range but a Tesla.

Agreed.

If they ever make a non plug-in hybrid Wrangler, I'll be the first one in line!

Sign me up for a 38 MPG Wrangler! 700 mi to a tank! ?

 

[BXFXJeep]

The 4XE drives well, wheels well, and has great torque.

It's two issues are excessive tire wear due to the additional weight, and very sub par reliability. It does have an insanely long warranty, but I would still lease it with the current incentives based on its relatively bad reliability history.

It's also perfect if you have a small commute but still want that jeep experience

Excessive tire wear contradicts small commute, also who cares about tire wear when you are getting 470 torque.

The 4xe is definitely not a direct replacement for the 3.6 or 2.0T, it's a premium product.

As for reliability that is directly tied to incompetent service, same problem all Wranglers have when they go to dealerships for service, this forum is littered with non 4xe dealership service horror stories.

I've had 5 Wranglers over 30 years and none ever an issue, most likely because they never went back to the dealership for service, take your Wrangler to the dealership for a small issue, they will definitely mess up your Wrangler.

Hopefully Jeep gets to wrangle service away from dealerships as they fail to grasp the future.

 

[PatriotX]

The 4XE drives well, wheels well, and has great torque.

It's two issues are excessive tire wear due to the additional weight, and very sub par reliability. It does have an insanely long warranty, but I would still lease it with the current incentives based on its relatively bad reliability history.

It's also perfect if you have a small commute but still want that jeep experience

I wheel this thing hard, most of the time with a rooftop tent and often loaded up to max GVWR

At 32,000 miles, my tires are on track to hit the wear bars at 50,000.

The ‘excessive tire wear‘ story is just that. Two loops around the country might be a small commute, for some.

Lifetime mileage so far a fraction over 21MPG per Fuelly.

As for reliability that is directly tied to incompetent service, <snip> take your Wrangler to the dealership for a small issue, they will definitely mess up your Wrangler.

Hopefully Jeep gets to wrangle service away from dealerships as they fail to grasp the future.

We will see what falls off of it during the unlimited mileage warranty period. I hope the semi-trained monkeys get more practice on the 4xe by then.

 

[evo8904]

I love my stick shift JLU sport. The only mod it has are KO2's and I love how it handles on nasty trails. Judging how the world is moving, my next Jeep will probably be battery powered to some extent. I rented a 4xe Sahara at the Denver airport a few months ago and only drove it on snowy paved roads for a few days so I didn't get a good feel for what it would be like to live with.

Wondering a few things from this community:

1. How do 4xe's do off road compared to gas powered ones? Are you aware of the extra 800 lbs? Two people I've talked to said no but I'd like more input.

2. I always have my rear seats folded down so I can haul bikes and stuff, but it seems like you loose a little space with the flipup seats. How much do you notice this lost space?

3. Did you buy or lease? Seems like Jeep has some strong incentives to lease but I've always financed in the past.

4. After a year or two, how does the battery hold up? How does it hold up in hot or cold temps?

1. Zero issues offroad. Tons of low end torque.

2. You do lose space due to the battery.

3. leased but will buy once the interest rates come down.

4. No issues with my battery. The bug thing that I noticed in the cold is when you run the heater, your range will reduce quickly.

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