HungryHound
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So after doing mild runs around the farm to get to know my JLUR4xe, we headed out west. Did engineer's pass from Silverton to Ouray, CO today and found a few quirks concerning the 4xe portion of the offroad arsenal.
First, it wants to run hybrid and rev the crap out of the 2.0 engine in 4-lo. So much so, it was annoying. Shifted from auto to manual shifting to get the rpms down. Hill decent is nice, but you can't really leave it engaged unless you plan to spend all day on a 5 mile trail. I'm sure these annoyances are the same for the ICE Rubicons too.
When selecting electric-only prior to shifting into 4-lo or using hill descent, the Jeep was much more predictible and enjoyable. I found that running in auto instead of auto-stick was much better. Regen braking eliminated the need for downshifting as was necessary when the engine was running. The power output climbing was phenomenal. Hill descent wasn't really necessary either in electric-only mode since regen did the work.
Headed to Moab next, but I'm already impressed with the improved pedal feel and offroad manners of this hybrid over ICE mode.
Note: I've done thousands of miles offroad in TJs and CJs, but this is my first JL so the electro-wizardry is foreign to me as compared to human-only inputs.
Update: sway bar disconnect is nice. Automatically re-connects above 20mph on straight dirt sections, then disconnects again before you get back into technical areas. Slower than about 15moh and flat area.
Coming down a steep gravel hill, max-regen KICKED-IN the ABS. Did that in both 2wd hi and 4wd hi-auto.
Doors off still "lock" above 20 mph which is nice with a cargo box in the back. You never mess with the locks unless you want to get something out of the back.
Rock crawling in electric is as phenomenal as expected. Quiet and torquey without the usual engine rev and overshoot when you crawl over an obstacle.
Discovered a drawback today to all that torque. Started spinning up a rock ledge so I let my foot off the skinny pedal, but the Jeep still wanted to go. Had to hit the brakes to stop the bunny-hopoing. Locked-in the rear diff and it climbed up just fine.
First, it wants to run hybrid and rev the crap out of the 2.0 engine in 4-lo. So much so, it was annoying. Shifted from auto to manual shifting to get the rpms down. Hill decent is nice, but you can't really leave it engaged unless you plan to spend all day on a 5 mile trail. I'm sure these annoyances are the same for the ICE Rubicons too.
When selecting electric-only prior to shifting into 4-lo or using hill descent, the Jeep was much more predictible and enjoyable. I found that running in auto instead of auto-stick was much better. Regen braking eliminated the need for downshifting as was necessary when the engine was running. The power output climbing was phenomenal. Hill descent wasn't really necessary either in electric-only mode since regen did the work.
Headed to Moab next, but I'm already impressed with the improved pedal feel and offroad manners of this hybrid over ICE mode.
Note: I've done thousands of miles offroad in TJs and CJs, but this is my first JL so the electro-wizardry is foreign to me as compared to human-only inputs.
Update: sway bar disconnect is nice. Automatically re-connects above 20mph on straight dirt sections, then disconnects again before you get back into technical areas. Slower than about 15moh and flat area.
Coming down a steep gravel hill, max-regen KICKED-IN the ABS. Did that in both 2wd hi and 4wd hi-auto.
Doors off still "lock" above 20 mph which is nice with a cargo box in the back. You never mess with the locks unless you want to get something out of the back.
Rock crawling in electric is as phenomenal as expected. Quiet and torquey without the usual engine rev and overshoot when you crawl over an obstacle.
Discovered a drawback today to all that torque. Started spinning up a rock ledge so I let my foot off the skinny pedal, but the Jeep still wanted to go. Had to hit the brakes to stop the bunny-hopoing. Locked-in the rear diff and it climbed up just fine.
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