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SDJEEP4PAPA

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Interesting comparison, but you missed one very important aspect of the 392... Paddle Shifters !

I have a plug-in Prius, and an EV Nissan Leaf and while I can think of several words to describe them like Efficient, Maintenance free, Fuel free (see below), quiet etc... "Fun" is not one of them.

I had a Chevy SSR 6 Speed Manual that was a blast, put the top down and hear that big V8 roar thru the gears, it was exhilarating, but not very practical, a little rain and those big back tires were like skis on snow... I have ordered a 392 because it will be as much fun as the Chevy SSR but a whole lot more practical too. Its got FUN written all over it...

I can understand why someone would choose the 4xe especially if it is going to be your daily driver, but unless you live in Texas or have Roof Top Solar, be ready for a nasty little surprise when you get your electric bill and see that you are now in the top tier of electricity pricing. EVs are great if you have RTS or live in a State with very low cost power but otherwise not sure they are much better than gas, for sure they are going to be better than a Big Block V8 but maybe not the V6 operating cost wise...

Finally, I don't know why anyone would worry that the Jeep can't go over 90... who is driving Jeeps at 100+ MPHs... I very seldom every got my SSR into 5th let alone 6th gear... all the fun is between 1 and 3...

Cheers
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michail

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Interesting comparison, but you missed one very important aspect of the 392... Paddle Shifters !

I have a plug-in Prius, and an EV Nissan Leaf and while I can think of several words to describe them like Efficient, Maintenance free, Fuel free (see below), quiet etc... "Fun" is not one of them.

I had a Chevy SSR 6 Speed Manual that was a blast, put the top down and hear that big V8 roar thru the gears, it was exhilarating, but not very practical, a little rain and those big back tires were like skis on snow... I have ordered a 392 because it will be as much fun as the Chevy SSR but a whole lot more practical too. Its got FUN written all over it...

I can understand why someone would choose the 4xe especially if it is going to be your daily driver, but unless you live in Texas or have Roof Top Solar, be ready for a nasty little surprise when you get your electric bill and see that you are now in the top tier of electricity pricing. EVs are great if you have RTS or live in a State with very low cost power but otherwise not sure they are much better than gas, for sure they are going to be better than a Big Block V8 but maybe not the V6 operating cost wise...

Finally, I don't know why anyone would worry that the Jeep can't go over 90... who is driving Jeeps at 100+ MPHs... I very seldom every got my SSR into 5th let alone 6th gear... all the fun is between 1 and 3...

Cheers
One thing I like to point out is to not think of the 4xe as an efficient vehicle, it's a fun, inefficient PHEV that can do 1000+ miles between gas station visits in daily driving.

For a couple of weeks it was the fastest Wrangler ever made, is the slowest crawling Wrangler ever made, the quietest Wrangler ever made, and lowest center of gravity Wrangler.

My electric gas equivalent is about $1 less than petrol as of today. But electric is my premium performance fuel.

The press and others keep trying to compare it to a Prius, which is just so wrong and unfair. The Wrangler 4xe fails hard at being a Prius.

As strange as it may seem, I'd love to own both a 392 and a 4xe. I've been a V8 guy, love the sound, but I also love the sound of nature. I've merged on to the interstate enough times sounding like I'm in a NASCAR race with everyone in a 5 mile radius being able to hear, to be over it. :D
 

ThirtyOne

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This Just in , The super awesome 4XE needs a $12,500 Incentive to get people to buy it. Just like all new super popular vehicles that just came out they put on a huge rebate. Like the large rebates on the new corvette, This is all normal for a Brand new Exciting model. 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣 I wonder how much the rebate will be on the 392? 😂🤣😂🤣
The tax incentive is there to promote the transition to fuel efficient vehicles. And that's because of a dilemma. You can't get the cost of the new technology down until you get scale. And you can't get to scale unless you lower the price to consumers.

And remember, the tax dollars come from us anyway. So it is just a way of saying "instead of paying these dollars in taxes to the government, I am going to spend them on a fuel efficient vehicle." So who wouldn't want to have more say in where their money goes as opposed to just trusting the government to spend it wisely?

I really don't understand the hate for the 4Xe. It is basically a 5.7 package for the Wrangler without an MPG penalty. Why isn't that a good thing?
 

Flieger

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For some reason, many people like to bust the 4Xe's chops because it's more money and not efficient. How about we look at a Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid and compare it to the Rubicon 4Xe.

Keep in mind, this is a tomato vs bone-in ribeye steak comparison. Prius is an aerodynamic high mileage sedan. The Rubicon 4Xe is a fully functioning Wrangler Rubicon 4x4 on fat and tall wheels with the same off-road specs, including water fording, as any other Rubicon and the aerodynamics of a brick Federal style house.

I think some critics will be very surprised. This is a limited comparison, just looking at the battery and power unit performance.

Battery and Federal PEV Tax Credits*:
Prius plug in Hybrid: 8.8 kWh ($4168 Federal PEV Tax Credit)*
4Xe: 17.3 ( $7500 Federal PEV Tax Credit)

*specs supplied by Toyota and Jeep, PEV credit source by IRS.gov
Toy: https://www.toyota.com/priusprime/features/mpg/1235/1237/1239
Jeep: https://www.jeep.com/wrangler-4xe/specs.html
IRS.gov: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/plug-in-electric-vehicle-credit-irc-30-and-irc-30d

Battery-only range:
Prius PEV 25 miles.
4Xe PEV 21 miles.

Net Power (EV plus engine)
Prius PEV: 121hp, 105 ft/lbs torque
4Xe: 375 hp, 470 ft/lbs of pavement wrinkling torque.

That Jeep can engineer a fully functioning Rubicon that gets within spitting distance of a Prius's EV mode range is amazing.

Now, the Prius gets that range on 8.8 kWh vs 17.3 kWh, but that is a function of weight and aerodynamics, both of which the Prius PEV has huge advantages with over the 4Xe.

But hey, this is a tomato/bone-in ribeye steak comparison after all!

From looking at this (pretty ridiculous) comparison, it is clear what the average PEV is; A highly efficient city car with the focus on efficiency. It's clear what the average PEV is not; A high performance vehicle.

The 4Xe is clearly a high performance vehicle. Efficiency is given as long as performance does not suffer. The 4Xe is still a Wrangler, and with nearly 500 foot pounds of torque it's clear what it is not. The 4Xe is not a high efficiency vehicle. It's a Wrangler that offers many people the chance to get better efficiency from their Jeep Wrangler ownership, with the added bonus of a ton of power and torque.

Even Wrangler shoppers that are not attracted to the 4Xe have to see that the 4Xe is an amazing piece of engineering.

Now, how efficient is the 4Xe for owners?

That depends. If your total daily commute is 20 or so miles and charge every night, you will have amazing efficiency and totally spank the EPA and Jeep ratings. If you drive 40 miles a day and plug in every night you will cut your fuel use in half.

Not bad for a Rubicon!!

Anyway, a fun little ridiculous comparison.

Below is a pic after I left the house. It started at 29 miles on the battery. We get better than rated miles because when we use the 4Xe in daily commuting we know how to hyper-mile, an EV driving technique. Easy acceleration from a stop, not a drag strip launch. If safe, uphill let the car decelerate a bit paying attention to the power used meter keeping it constant, then on the downhill, use the power meter to hold the power constant and let the car accelerate keeping average speed the same. Look ahead and try to time the stop lights. Use maximum regen braking.

The power gauge on the 4Xe is a fantastic tool for hypermiling.

That an owner can get more power, and more efficiency in a fully functioning no-compromise Rubicon is really amazing.
Jeep Wrangler JL 4xe vs 392 - Quick Comparison IMG_2793
 

S2k Chris

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Apples to apples with equipment, my (ordered) 4xe Rubicon is a little cheaper (inc. tax credit) than a gas Rubicon when you consider standard LEDs, Alpine, 8AT, etc, all of which I would have ordered.

And then you add in:

1. I’ll almost never use gas since I WFH and most of my driving is within 10 miles of my house

And

2. I hunt, and there will be nothing better for hunting than creeping through the woods in near-silence, not spooking every deer in a 5 mile radius.
 

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REDSEAL199

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It's also not a rebate. It's an income tax credit. Currently, it's 7,500.

The 12,500 credit would kick in for purchases on or after January 1, 2022. So you wouldn't see that until April 2023. Your taxable income also has to be high enough to get the full credit.

The 4xe does have a few nice things going for it
  • Superior crawling ability to any wrangler
  • Lower center of gravity and a near 50/50 weight distribution for improved handling. Heavy but not compared to the 392
  • Ability to drive in nature while topless and silent
  • Extra inch of lift
I'd not judge it as an efficient vehicle, because it's not. But I do have 800 miles on my current tank of gas and I'm at 50% on the fuel gage. That's even including 4 hours driving on trails.
It also has heavier axles!
 

rallydefault

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I really don't understand the hate for the 4Xe.
It's different.

That's...

That's pretty much it.

I don't know about you, but I've never used anything in my life that's run off this new-fangled "battery" nonsense.
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