Considering a 4Xe but have some basic questions

[alex_navarro]

Hi everyone, I’m looking at picking up a 4Xe but have a couple of basic questions. First, how does the car behave in hybrid mode?

Does the battery last longer than 22 miles in hybrid mode or is that pretty much it? It would be ideal if the battery provided some level of assist but spread out over a longer range

The gas engine appears to be the same 2.0L engine in non-hybrids. Does it feel underpowered at all when running just the ICE?

Does the max regen function charge the battery any meaningful amount in regular driving?

I appreciate the responses.

Sponsored

 

[Terpsmandan]

The range is listed as the distance that it will travel with battery alone. If you are going less than 20 miles, you can get there on just the battery. However if you are in a colder climate and need heat, it comes from the ICE and the engine will burn gasoline to make that heat and power the car, and not use the traction battery to propel the Jeep. I have a plug in Prius and I would run most of the traction battery down to about 0.5 mile remaining. At that point I switched to hybrid and the 0.5 miles of the battery would be available when I wanted it and if I were decelerating or going down a hill, the hybrid system would convert the kinetic energy into electricity and goose the traction battery a little and I might get another mile or two until i did it again. As far a acceleration, the 2.o turbo is quite quick by itself and when using both it's the second quickest to 60 when stock behind the 392. Hope that helps

 

[misanthropic789]

Battery life is also dependent on temperature. I was getting 25+ when it w@s warmer.

the hybrid mode basically uses the battery first. If you floor it the ICE will kick in to supplement. There are ways to conserve battery but there isn’t a true 50/50 type mode. It’s one or the other. However there is some battery that isn’t included in that and will kick on at times.

the max regen does almost nothing in my experience. I mean I am sure it helps, but not in a meaningful way.

one of the reasons I bought a 4xe is that it is zippy, and that is the case for the ICE as well as electric. My husband has an older nonhybrid unlimited and it cannot get out of its own way. We got hit once because it didn’t have enough get up and go to get out of the way. my Jeep does not have that problem at all. I love the power.

 

[alex_navarro]

The range is listed as the distance that it will travel with battery alone. If you are going less than 20 miles, you can get there on just the battery. However if you are in a colder climate and need heat, it comes from the ICE and the engine will burn gasoline to make that heat and power the car, and not use the traction battery to propel the Jeep. I have a plug in Prius and I would run most of the traction battery down to about 0.5 mile remaining. At that point I switched to hybrid and the 0.5 miles of the battery would be available when I wanted it and if I were decelerating or going down a hill, the hybrid system would convert the kinetic energy into electricity and goose the traction battery a little and I might get another mile or two until i did it again. As far a acceleration, the 2.o turbo is quite quick by itself and when using both it's the second quickest to 60 when stock behind the 392. Hope that helps

Thanks. But my understanding is that the 2.0L ICE will never run by itself, correct? Meaning that even when the battery runs down to 0% you still get the full 375hp and 470lb torque. is that right or is there any scenario where just the ICE is powering the car?

 

[Storm Cloud]

The number of miles you get out of the battery will vary, depending on your driving style and your Jeep setup. More weight/bigger tires will lessen the range. I can tell you that on my Jeep, I get 21 miles out of the battery, and I'm running steel bumpers, a winch, 37" tires and extra weight from step sliders and an aftermarket lift. I didn't do testing before I added my mods, so I can't say how much range I lost, but I'm pleasantly surprised with how much I still have.

I've never felt that the Jeep was underpowered at all, whether fully charged or fully drained. It's really quick and it surprises a lot of people that have driven it with me.

The max regen doesn't do anything noticeable when you are running in hybrid. There is a setting you can use, when you put the Jeep in e-save mode with battery charging that will charge you up, but it is pretty slow and will only noticeably help if you are doing a lot of downhill driving. That being said, if you're already at 0% charge, I don't see a reason why you shouldn't try it out. It does give you assisted braking, which is just a different feel. Some like it and some hate it.

You are correct that the Jeep is ALWAYS a hybrid. Meaning, you always have both the battery and ICE working together. Even when your battery shows 0%, there is still some in reserve to assist in your regular driving.

I can tell you that I absolutely LOVE mine and have never had a vehicle that made me smile as much as this one. I've had luxury cars for the past 15 years, and I never looked back to check them out every time I walked away in a parking lot like I do the 4xe.

 

[alex_navarro]

The number of miles you get out of the battery will vary, depending on your driving style and your Jeep setup. More weight/bigger tires will lessen the range. I can tell you that on my Jeep, I get 21 miles out of the battery, and I'm running steel bumpers, a winch, 37" tires and extra weight from step sliders and an aftermarket lift. I didn't do testing before I added my mods, so I can't say how much range I lost, but I'm pleasantly surprised with how much I still have.

I've never felt that the Jeep was underpowered at all, whether fully charged or fully drained. It's really quick and it surprises a lot of people that have driven it with me.

The max regen doesn't do anything noticeable when you are running in hybrid. There is a setting you can use, when you put the Jeep in e-save mode with battery charging that will charge you up, but it is pretty slow and will only noticeably help if you are doing a lot of downhill driving. That being said, if you're already at 0% charge, I don't see a reason why you shouldn't try it out. It does give you assisted braking, which is just a different feel. Some like it and some hate it.

You are correct that the Jeep is ALWAYS a hybrid. Meaning, you always have both the battery and ICE working together. Even when your battery shows 0%, there is still some in reserve to assist in your regular driving.

I can tell you that I absolutely LOVE mine and have never had a vehicle that made me smile as much as this one. I've had luxury cars for the past 15 years, and I never looked back to check them out every time I walked away in a parking lot like I do the 4xe.

That’s really good to hear. Thanks so much. Now I’m excited!

 

[BXFXJeep]

The 4xe is a PHEV, it's intended use is for mostly short trips that will use the battery, Regen(Max) works best in stop and go traffic, if you are always moving, there is nothing to Regen, it's that simple.

In cold weather, right now it's around -3⁰c - 1⁰c in Toronto, I use the heated steering only, I don't put the HVAC on, when it rains or get damp the Wrangler will fog up requiring the defroster, when I turn it on the battery melts away fairly quickly, if your trip is very short it's a non issue, I don't have a home charger, so depending on the distance I'm going, I'll decide if to hit e-save and run the gas, depending on the temperature, turning on the HVAC will keep the ICE on and sip the battery, some people including myself like this mode, some refer to it as blended hybrid.

The vast majority of my trips are short local so I rarely run the ICE, but I really like it when the ICE is fired up, one of the reasons I like how the 4xe behaves in sub zero temps like around -15⁰c.

This is what my January looks like so far. My km is kind of high because I did a couple of highway trips. Usually my km is around 100 or less. 25,000 km is also nuts in 14 months, I usually do about 16,000 a year, but this Wrangler is cheap to run on battery, so I just joy ride aimlessly.

 

[Bill_BCNtoNY]

I’m quite happy with mine - echo all that @Storm Cloud said!

Go test drive one if you can and see the zippiness in Hybrid mode for yourself. If you floor it (safely, of course!) that’s the level of performance you will see with a depleted battery. From personal experience you’ll always feel that torque ?

 

[Jeeperz Kreeperz]

The gas engine appears to be the same 2.0L engine in non-hybrids. Does it feel underpowered at all when running just the ICE?

The 2.0 turbo certainly has some pep on its own. But the 4xe is a heavy rig. The hybrid battery and other hybrid components add something like 800 pounds to the non-hybrid equivalent Wrangler. When only the ICE is running, and under light throttle, it doesn’t feel incredibly fast or torquey. But when you punch it, you have BOTH the ICE, and electric motors, and the 375hp and 470lb ft of torque are impressive. When you test drive, be sure to have the transfer case in 4H Auto. This will give you access to full power. When in rear wheel drive, you will NOT have access to full power.

Does the max regen function charge the battery any meaningful amount in regular driving?

There is some debate on this forum about the amount max regen helps/hurts MPG. I‘m not a big fan, and therefore don’t use it often. But I love it in the following unique situations:
1. When towing. It feels like an extra brake controller. Very helpful.
2. When descending a steep and/or long hill. Max regen slows the Jeep with no need for friction brakes - thus saving wear/tear on the brake components, and providing a modest charge to your hybrid battery.
3. In snow/ice. The one-pedal driving provides a subtle form of braking that is less likely to trigger ABS or a skid.

Thanks. But my understanding is that the 2.0L ICE will never run by itself, correct? Meaning that even when the battery runs down to 0% you still get the full 375hp and 470lb torque. is that right or is there any scenario where just the ICE is powering the car?

As explained above, there are definitely times when you will run on just ICE; or just electric; or some combination of both. In addition, there are three driving modes. But it’s best to remember that the vehicle is always a hybrid in all three situations - it’s just that each mode favors one form of propulsion over the other, as follows:
1. Hybrid: The vehicle will decide when to use ICE, and when to use electric. If my right foot is not too heavy, it seems to favor electric, so I find this will burn through my electric range fairly quickly. However, it will call for ICE if I get on the accelerator too much, or too quickly.
2. Electric: The vehicle will default to using electric in most cases. Some situations that will trigger the ICE to kick in: If I REALLY get on the accelerator, or if it is very cold, and needs to heat the cabin or hybrid battery.
3. E-Save: The vehicle will default to ICE in most cases. However, it will switch to electric when I slow down to a crawl in a parking lot, or come to a stop. Note: E-save has two modes: One that uses the ICE to increase the charge of the hybrid battery, and one that simply seeks to keep the hybrid battery at its current state of charge. These settings are found in the UConnect screen.

Hope this helps!

 

[BXFXJeep]

One of the problems with flooring the 4xe is that it puts load on a cold engine, the engine should be warmed up before flooring it.

 

[alex_navarro]

The 2.0 turbo certainly has some pep on its own. But the 4xe is a heavy rig. The hybrid battery and other hybrid components add something like 800 pounds to the non-hybrid equivalent Wrangler. When only the ICE is running, and under light throttle, it doesn’t feel incredibly fast or torquey. But when you punch it, you have BOTH the ICE, and electric motors, and the 375hp and 470lb ft of torque are impressive. When you test drive, be sure to have the transfer case in 4H Auto. This will give you access to full power. When in rear wheel drive, you will NOT have access to full power.

There is some debate on this forum about the amount max regen helps/hurts MPG. I‘m not a big fan, and therefore don’t use it often. But I love it in the following unique situations:
1. When towing. It feels like an extra brake controller. Very helpful.
2. When descending a steep hill. Max regen slows the Jeep with no need for friction brakes - thus saving wear/tear on the brake components, and providing a modest charge to your hybrid battery.
3. In snow/ice. The one-pedal driving provides a subtle form of braking that is less likely to trigger ABS or a skid.

As explained above, there are definitely times when you will run on just ICE; or just electric; or some combination of both. In addition, there are three driving modes. But it’s best to remember that the vehicle is always a hybrid in all three situations - it’s just that each mode favors one form of propulsion over the other, as follows:
1. Hybrid: The vehicle will decide when to use ICE, and when to use electric. It seems to favor electric, so I find this will burn through my electric range fairly quickly. It will call for ICE if I get on the accelerator too much, or too quickly.
2. Electric: The vehicle will default to using electric in most cases. Some situations that will trigger the ICE to kick in: If I REALLY get on the accelerator, or if it is very cold, and needs to heat the cabin or hybrid battery.
3. E-Save: The vehicle will default to ICE in most cases. However, it will switch to electric when I slow down to a crawl in a parking lot, or come to a stop. Note: E-save has two modes: One that uses the ICE to charge the hybrid battery, and one that simply seeks to keep the hybrid battery at its current state of charge. These settings are found in the UConnect screen.

Hope this helps!

That helps a ton. Thank you. That kinda sucks about needing to be an n 4H to access all the power. Not sure Wranglers are designed to be run in 4H most of the time on road and I suspect it also reduces gas mileage.

 

[alex_navarro]

One of the problems with flooring the 4xe is that it puts load on a cold engine, the engine should be warmed up before flooring it.

I was wondering about this. Especially in winter, I would think you’d want the oil to at least circulate for a few seconds prior to running it.

 

[Jeeperz Kreeperz]

One of the problems with flooring the 4xe is that it puts load on a cold engine, the engine should be warmed up before flooring it.

Agreed. On my commute, I start using e-save on back roads, about a mile before I jump on the highway (I want all available HP and torque, and that means ICE+electric). That way when I get to the on-ramp and punch it, the ICE is already warmed up. Once on the highway, I switch back to electric and leave it there for the rest of the trip to work.

 

[Jeeperz Kreeperz]

That kinda sucks about needing to be an n 4H to access all the power. Not sure Wranglers are designed to be run in 4H most of the time on road and I suspect it also reduces gas mileage.

Just to be clear, this is not part-time 4H. You are absolutely correct that you would not want to use part-time 4H 24/7, or on dry pavement. I’m referring to “4H Auto”. It’s more of a software controlled AWD that only sends power to front axle as/when needed. Perfectly fine to use it all the time. There may be a very small MPG penalty. Not certain on that. Here’s a pic showing the different drive modes:

 

[Storm Cloud]

That helps a ton. Thank you. That kinda sucks about needing to be an n 4H to access all the power. Not sure Wranglers are designed to be run in 4H most of the time on road and I suspect it also reduces gas mileage.

The 4xe can be run in 4H Auto all the time. I have had mine set since day 1 and never looked back. If you look at some of the 4xe Fans videos on YouTube, a lot of work was done testing the mpg difference and it’s negligible. From what I recall, Jeep engineers were going to eliminate 2h altogether because of how little a difference it was.

Sponsored