4xe Fuel Efficiency and Range Reality

[DewHawk]

There’s been so much back and forth over how efficient vs inefficient the 4xe really is that I figure it’s time to do a reality check on real world observed MPG and range data.

Regardless of your powertrain, we all know the MPG gauge on the JL and JT is more of a guess-o-meter than a reliable source of info. That holds especially true of the 4xe given that it calculates the electric range into this as well by displaying theoretical MPGe.

Since I’m one of the chosen few that’s due for battery recall and forced to avoid plugging in, I figure this is a great opportunity to get some fresh data on real fuel economy and range that I’m seeing beyond what the battery pack can handle.

I know most are gonna come in here saying something like “if you bought a Jeep for fuel economy then you’re the devil”, but this is one of my biggest issues with the 4xe from the stand point of using it to go off road and get to remote areas while still having enough range to make it back to a pump.

So, here’s what I’m seeing after a fresh fuel up today of 91 octane with an estimated 86 miles of range remaining prior:

Doing the math, that puts me right around 17.15 mpg and 21.92 mpge. Keep in mind, I’m running around on 37’s (with wheels weighing in around 99lbs a corner) with a full size spare, stock gears, full metal Cavfab front and rear bumpers, and Metalcloak 2.5” GC suspension. Not bad considering how heavy the 4xe is right from day 1 of its life in your hands.

If you believe everything you’ve read on the internet that doesn’t show actual data, this shouldn’t be possible at all. I should be seeing significantly worse fuel economy and range across the board, especially since I run around on 30psi day to day mixed city and highway use.

The thing that kills me here is the total range. Take the electric miles out of the equation and we’re talking roughly 306 miles on gas alone just pounding the pavement. Even with the electric miles added in, that’s still not much better at around 367. Consider what you’re gonna see once you hit the trails with 4L engaged. Overlanding becomes a real exercise in forward thinking since you’re now planning around the trip distance and your fuel capacity with your extra gear weight. Carrying extra fuel via rotopax or cans is gonna become a MUST in most situations like this.

I’d like to see the rest of the 4xe owners here submit their own data for comparison sake and really show just what this platform can do beyond the published numbers and bs claims. I still maintain that it’s perfect for short trips and commutes. Going the distance is where it falls on its face compared to the other drivetrains (apart from the 392, but if you’re running a premium guzzling V8 JL, you knew what you signed up for anyway. I’d be shocked to see if the 392 manages better range in mixed use like this).

Thanks for humoring me and let’s see just how different the numbers really are.

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[Yogi1956]

Did you have your Jeep programmed for the 37’s? The mileage numbers look pretty good with the mods you’ve done.

Our stock ‘24 Rubicon X 4Xe with winch has a worst tank of 21.5 and a best of 26 mpg with mixed amounts of combined city/highway miles.

Once the electric is gone it stays in the high teens low 20’s on the freeway. In the city, it’s more mid teens but will put 6/8 miles back in the battery in full regen and 4h.

I believe you’re always getting some battery assistance even at 0% and the extra power is always there which made the deal work for us along with almost $16,000 off of the MSRP. The 392 wasn’t in the budget but the 4Xe’s power is the best by far over our previous ‘18 V6 and ‘21 JLU Rubicon.

 

[DewHawk]

Yes, I recalibrated for the 37’s with JScan. Since mine measure as a true 37, I didn’t have to adjust based on 1/4” inaccuracy like some might have to. It’s amazing to me that you program that kind of accuracy in for tire size on its own. It’s also how I managed to set my TPMS down to 25 so I know when to actually fill them back up. ?

Oh no doubt, the energy reserve is always a constant 15% from the battery pack regardless of if you charged it or not. The system is always maintaining that minimum to make sure it can produce the same power output from the electric motors. That’s another aspect a lot of the community seems to get hung up on is thinking it’s just dead weight being lugged around when the battery shows 0. It’s never just dead weight.

 

[WannFly]

I was just going to say that you are getting pretty great mileage considering the tires. My bone stock shows about 350 with full gas and full charge. I never ran the numbers like you did since my other truck is a V8 RAM 1500 and I am used to crappy mileage. My other hobby uses AvGas, let's not talk about how much a 40-year-old Lycoming engine drinks and let's not compare fuel purchase slips lol.

I do see your concern about running out of gas in the boonies, but how much better mileage does a 3.6L Gas engine provide. I plan on carrying extra gas anyway.

Edit: You arent the only one. Mine is in the recall list too waiting to blow up

 

[DewHawk]

I was just going to say that you are getting pretty great mileage considering the tires. My bone stock shows about 350 with full gas and full charge. I never ran the numbers like you did since my other truck is a V8 RAM 1500 and I am used to crappy mileage. My other hobby uses AvGas, let's not talk about how much a 40-year-old Lycoming engine drinks and let's not compare fuel purchase slips lol.

I do see your concern about running out of gas in the boonies, but how much better mileage does a 3.6L Gas engine provide. I plan on carrying extra gas anyway.

Edit: You arent the only one. Mine is in the recall list too waiting to blow up

I can certainly understand the avgas reference. Between being a private pilot driving a propeller driven SAM and working on F16’s for a living, fuel efficiency isn’t exactly something I wanna start crunching numbers on for that side of my life. ?

I’m not necessarily saying my fuel economy is bad in the 4xe, quite the opposite really. That being said though, when it comes to absolute range, I’d be ponying up for the 3.0 to move out of the 4xe for my long term solution (and to remove the hybrid maintenance as a complication altogether since I wrench on my own $hit). Having something like 500 miles of range would pretty much blow up that whole worry of planning trips out into the wilderness.

Edit: the likelihood of blowing up is extremely low, but it would make things considerably easier to deal with in terms of replacement. ?

 

[BXFXJeep]

Pure city got me 77 miles filled back up 5 gallons, so I'm back to some charging here and there.

It doesn't really matter to me, my 18 JL got me those mpg pure city driving also.

In the summer I got 20+ mpg on a pure 400 mile highway trip using e-save Hold, which is about the same with my 18 JL.

Both stock Sahara, both with the same 33" Falken Wildpeak MT.

This last 77 miles was done on Rubicon 4xe 33" wheels.

 

[OutdoorSpace]

I have a massive spreadsheet that I have been tracking every fill up over the last 32k miles. Not only at-the-pump data, but also Trip A battery miles and fuel miles (reset after each fill up), along with other info.

Two interesting data points:

MPGt = Trip A total MPG (the MPG for total miles driven… battery and fuel)

MPGf = Trip A fuel MPG (the MPG if just looking at fuel miles for Trip A)

For both these, I divide by the gallons recorded at the pump to get MPG

MPGt average = 37.7
MPGf average = 17.4

I am at about a 60% electric / 40% fuel mix over the 32k miles.

So the 4xe is a pig when you look at pure fuel, but overall with electric the efficiency is there not to mention it’s hella fun to both drive and wheel.

 

[WannFly]

I can certainly understand the avgas reference. Between being a private pilot driving a propeller driven SAM and working on F16’s for a living, fuel efficiency isn’t exactly something I wanna start crunching numbers on for that side of my life. ?

I’m not necessarily saying my fuel economy is bad in the 4xe, quite the opposite really. That being said though, when it comes to absolute range, I’d be ponying up for the 3.0 to move out of the 4xe for my long term solution (and to remove the hybrid maintenance as a complication altogether since I wrench on my own $hit). Having something like 500 miles of range would pretty much blow up that whole worry of planning trips out into the wilderness.

Edit: the likelihood of blowing up is extremely low, but it would make things considerably easier to deal with in terms of replacement. ?

Great to meet another PP and a APIA nonetheless!! I was looking at 392, but was just way too much especially since not too long ago before I bought the Jeep I had to buy the entire new shiny Garmin 750Xi stack lol

 

[lindaspins]

I've actually found my offroad mileage to be much better than highway-not surprising, really, since slow speeds are where hybrids really shine.

 

[BillMcC]

Why the 91 octane? There is no benefit to higher octane in the 2.0.

 

[DewHawk]

Why the 91 octane? There is no benefit to higher octane in the 2.0.

False. You're thinking of the 3.6 with that statement.

Besides that, I've noticed mine run much smoother on 91. I already fill up my other 3 cars with 91 because they require it; saving a few pennies by putting mid grade in my daily isn't worth it in my book.

 

[BillMcC]

False. You're thinking of the 3.6 with that statement.

Besides that, I've noticed mine run much smoother on 91. I already fill up my other 3 cars with 91 because they require it; saving a few pennies by putting mid grade in my daily isn't worth it in my book.

I stand corrected. I looked it up before I ordered in Nov but apparently didn’t read the recommendation all the way through.

 

[cColson]

Our 2022 Eco diesel gets 29 on great day and normal city stop and go average around 24 to 26 MPG.

 

[yarmo]

Our 2022 Eco diesel gets 29 on great day and normal city stop and go average around 24 to 26 MPG.

Yeah. I know this is a 4xe thread, but to anyone reading this thinking about getting a Wrangler wanting maximum range from the factory, you'll get that with the diesel. Even with the smaller tank I've gotten just shy of 500 miles of range out of one tank running 35s, steel bumpers, skids, winch, etc.

If someone wants to engine swap a 4xe with the 3.0 I would be all over it regardless of how heavy it would be lol

 

[DewHawk]

I’m not necessarily saying my fuel economy is bad in the 4xe, quite the opposite really. That being said though, when it comes to absolute range, I’d be ponying up for the 3.0 to move out of the 4xe for my long term solution (and to remove the hybrid maintenance as a complication altogether since I wrench on my own $hit). Having something like 500 miles of range would pretty much blow up that whole worry of planning trips out into the wilderness.

Our 2022 Eco diesel gets 29 on great day and normal city stop and go average around 24 to 26 MPG.

Yeah. I know this is a 4xe thread, but to anyone reading this thinking about getting a Wrangler wanting maximum range from the factory, you'll get that with the diesel. Even with the smaller tank I've gotten just shy of 500 miles of range out of one tank running 35s, steel bumpers, skids, winch, etc.

Somehow I knew the Diesel owners would feel a disturbance in the force and chime in. ?

Back to the primary topic:
Still waiting to see real data get posted up on the 4xe front. This is more of an exercise in proving whether or not these wild claims of stock 4xe’s getting $hit fuel economy are actually real with actual data to reference, not just the typical ‘well my 4xe drank a full tank of fuel in 15 minutes because I didn’t charge it and it got mad at me’ nonsense that seems to pop up on a regular basis. There’s some genuine good that can be done here to put reliable info out beyond “my gauge said so”.

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