Took the 4xe on its first road trip and the gas milage was a shock

[PatriotX]

Boy am I glad I have no inclination to drive around with a near useless 600 lb dead-weight 48v battery. While I like silence, there is no fribben way I'm trading down that much gas mileage just to be able to drive a couple dozen miles (at best) using the electric motor.

Happy motoring...
Jay

Let’s line up side by side and take off. You’ll see how much dead weight it is.

{sigh}

The 4xe is always doing the hybrid thing. 100% or >1% indicated. It’s always going to be quicker, have more torque, and get better mileage in about 75% of use cases than your V6.

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[Bmeister]

I like the 4xe, but its benefit is short trips close to home, stop and go traffic….long distance it really has no efficiency added value, more so the opposite actually….

Having Wranglers with the 3.6, 2.0t and now 4xe, I respectfully disagree. The 375hp and 470 ft-lbs of torque help for passing semis and hyper-milers in a blink. The 4xe useable power is more impressive for 50-70 than 0-60, IMHO, and still yields about the same highway mpg as our 2.0t JLU Sport did. The 3.6 is worse in either comparison.

 

[Jumper]

2023 4xe with 37s and 1200 miles on the odo. Left town with almost a full tank and 100 charge. Hit the freeway, set cruise to 81 and watched the "needle" drop like a rock. 140 miles later (with a big head wind) and we were well under 1/4 tank and averaging just over 10 mpg. 14.1 gallons later and we were back at it. Can't remember if I reset the trip at that point, but I think so. 11.2 miles to gallon later we were on red for our next stop (still at 81 mph). Filled "Earl" up again and were back at it. this time it was 70 and under to our destination miles away and on our third tank of gas. Though we were now getting 14.4 miles to the gallon. Distance total to destination was between 230 and 260.

Trip home, I left the trip computer alone and we didn't have near as much head wind and we stayed at about 14.4 miles to the gallon for the trip home. Put it on e-save charging for the drive home. 230ish miles and it charged to 60 percent.

This is my dash info from my 2021 JLU w/3.6 and 8spd AT

 

[STLJonny]

'22 Sahara Unlimited w/3.0 EcoDiesel, 35"s and a 2 1/2 lift. I do mainly around town driving and usually average in the 24-27.5mpg range (I have a heavy foot around town).

After having a '14 Unlimited with the 3.6/AT, I wouldn't ever go back to that 3.6 (mileage and acceleration took a crazy hit when I put heavier/larger tires & wheels, and a lift on).

 

[Jumper]

Last week drove my stock 4xe Sahara from @Mitch@OurismanClarksville Jeep to Long island (270 miles...) Full tank and full electric, tried to take it easy and maintain 65-75mph (until the damn GWB and Cross Bronx and Cross Island and LIE CRAWL...) I got 21mpg on the trip.

I’m originally from Valley Stream! Also Elmont and Queens Village!

 

[Ratbert]

Frankly, I don't even know how anyone can tolerate driving at 80mph in any Wrangler. The noise alone is deafening.

I much prefer the ride - for a number of reasons, not only MPG - at around 65mph, tops.

Do you do that in the left lane when the speed limit is 80?

 

[ras815]

Do you do that in the left lane when the speed limit is 80?

No, why would I? The left lane on a double-lane (or more) highway is and should only be used for passing other traffic. Setting ACC at 65ish and cruising in the right lanes is a highly enjoyable driving experience in a Wrangler. Less noise, smoother ride, better MPG, etc.

I do find it somewhat funny when I see folks flying along in a lifted, soft-top Wrangler at 80mph, knowing that they are setting money on fire, but hey - that's their prerogative!

 

[Ratbert]

2023 4xe with 37s and 1200 miles on the odo. Left town with almost a full tank and 100 charge. Hit the freeway, set cruise to 81 and watched the "needle" drop like a rock. 140 miles later (with a big head wind) and we were well under 1/4 tank and averaging just over 10 mpg. 14.1 gallons later and we were back at it. Can't remember if I reset the trip at that point, but I think so. 11.2 miles to gallon later we were on red for our next stop (still at 81 mph). Filled "Earl" up again and were back at it. this time it was 70 and under to our destination miles away and on our third tank of gas. Though we were now getting 14.4 miles to the gallon. Distance total to destination was between 230 and 260.

Trip home, I left the trip computer alone and we didn't have near as much head wind and we stayed at about 14.4 miles to the gallon for the trip home. Put it on e-save charging for the drive home. 230ish miles and it charged to 60 percent.

I could have missed it, but have you adjusted your computer to let you know that you have 37s? If you haven't and your speedo says that you're doing 81 then you're actually going quite a bit faster. That is, you're getting better mileage than the dash claims. Your transmission is also not shifting at the points that it's designed for.

 

[Ratbert]

What do you think the efficiency would be in other vehicle categories at 80+ mph with strong headwinds? I think you'd be surprised at the low MPG you'd get across the board, from sedans to SUVs and everything in between. Most vehicles simply aren't optimized for efficiency at those speeds. A Wrangler just happens to be particularly bad at it.

One of the 'features' of my 4xE is encouraging me to drive at 55-65 mph on highways. How often do you really need to be somewhere 10% faster anyway? Enjoy the ride instead.

Going from 55-65 to 80+ is 10% faster? That's some "interesting" math

 

[theblackshjeep]

Noob Jeep owner here! Been driving a 2023 Wrangler Sahara 4xe for a little over a month now. At 1200 miles, avg MPG is 23.6 and rising every trip (started at like, 14mpg from the dealers and didn't have a charge for the first week of driving). Everything still stock.

So something I haven't seen mentioned here yet, that has definitely impacted my avg MPG, is the ever-so-annoying FORM. When driving mostly electric, or short distances, or in general, not turning on the ICE for long enough durations, the 4xe will be forced into FORM and you will not be able to use electric-only mode and your ICE will always be running until FORM is cleared. For me especially, this absolutely kills me, as my daily drive consists of the office, the gym, and my house, all within a 15mi radius, so I can do the full round trip during the weekdays off mostly just battery.

At 1200 miles, I've already been forced into FORM twice. The first time, before I even hit 500 miles, right after I had E my first tank of fuel and filled up a full tank, I was put in FORM the next morning and it didn't clear for a few days and by then, my tank was depleted down to half. Then a few days later (around 750ish miles), I was forced into FORM again, burning about 1/3 of a tank this time. There are methods to clear FORM, but none of them worked (I did not try an oil change or resetting my oil life...few more days of FORM and i might have though haha)

When driving local streets, I'm pretty much always in Hybrid (I accelerate a little too hard to ever put it in Electric only, the battery would get eaten up after a few stop and go's lol). For high speed ways and longer drives (over 55+ / over 50+ mi), I will get up to a comfortable traffic speed in Hybrid (normally 70-80 anywhere in my state) and switch to E-save (maintain, not charge)...I found I can maintain 25-30mpg pretty consistently in E-save if I'm only maintaining speed, and I'm able to save the battery for when I get off the freeway. I have found that even very slight inclines absolutely bricks the MPG. Other than changing PHEV modes, I try not to drive thinking about my MPG, because who buys a Jeep for MPG? but still it's hard not to when it's constantly on the EVIC lol.

I'm glad I ran into this post though...gave me additional considerations for getting a lift kit and/or new wheels and tires.

(first post, try not to be too mean)

 

[SavannahAL]

I feel made the right choice for me.
I'm getting 28mpg with my EcoDiesel with off-road tires but no lift kit.

I don't understand why the diesel was not Wrangler's number one seller.
Maybe most Americans grew up with gas vehicles and are not familiar with diesels?

 

[BeachNJeep]

I just clocked 999 miles in my Rubi 4xe. My efficiency reads: 697.8 electric miles and 302.7 hybrid miles. Avg 32mpg (mostly city and short distance driving). What I've found, and this is only on a small 180 mile drive, is that in hybrid mode, I drive with the batteries 100% until about 30%, then turn on E-save and charge the batteries. When I reach 60% - 80%, go back to hybrid and repeat the process. When the ICE motor is running at a constant speed, like with cruise control on a flat stretch of road, I use it as a generator and Re-gen the batteries. I get what I call battery assist every 80 miles with about 10 to 11 miles of battery EV driving. That helps with the overall mpg. But, I'm running stock Rubi 33's with the stock lift. My '18 Sport S with 3.5" lift, 35's and 6spd got about 14 mpg average (stop and go killed mpg) and on trips to Mexico (about 250 miles) I got around 18 mpg without any winds. With winds, I dropped to 14 mpg. In pure hybrid mode, <1% battery, I still get battery assist on flat stretches and stop/start at lights.

Also, even with no battery charge, I still get the EV boost. It's a 17kw battery, but the EV only uses 15kw. 2kw is reserved for the hybrid power train, just like any other hybrid (Prius, KIA, etc.) and is constantly being recharged and drained. So there is some inherent efficiency there, but not for 80 mph driving. My KIA Optima hybrid cut out hybrid mode for any speed over 70 mph, so I'm sure the Jeep is the same.

BTW, in 4H auto with traction control off and just mashing the pedal, I get runs to 60 in the mid to high 5's all day long, even with the battery at <1%. I hear the Sahara is even quicker since it's lower and with street tires...

 

[BeachNJeep]

I feel made the right choice for me.
I'm getting 28mpg with my EcoDiesel with off-road tires but no lift kit.

I don't understand why the diesel was not Wrangler's number one seller.
Maybe most Americans grew up with gas vehicles and are not familiar with diesels?

The cost of diesel is crazy expensive, especially in California. I, too, would have loved the diesel, but the cost of fuel and the fact I don't take long road trips often, left the 4xe as the most logical choice. However, if the lotto genie decides to grant me my 3 wishes, a diesel Gladiator kitted out for overlanding would be in my future.

 

[BXFXJeep]

Boy am I glad I have no inclination to drive around with a near useless 600 lb dead-weight 48v battery. While I like silence, there is no fribben way I'm trading down that much gas mileage just to be able to drive a couple dozen miles (at best) using the electric motor.

It all depends how the 4xe is used, with my previous 3.6 JK and JK I used to get about 14mpg on a good day, most of that was city driving, when I went on long distance trips I would get 22mpg+, most of the time on the highway I would be gunning it.

Pre 4xe I would go to Costco every week usually to fill up, Canadian prices is $1.50CAD a liter, or about $4.30 a gallon.

So conservatively I was spending $450CAD$325USD a month.

Since I got the 4xe, I top up half a tank once a month (Nov-March) in the winter.

This is my February usage, mind you I'm driving a bit more now than I did with the past 6cyl JKs & JLs, more because it doesn't cost me much to drive the 4xe(free or cheap electric)

Granted I have not done any long distance trips with the 4xe since I got it, other than the 60 mile drive home from the dealer, but I didn't check what went on mpg wise.

i did not get the 4xe to save the planet, and all that fun stuff, I just wanted to get in on the scam of driving for cheap to free.

So 2022 I saved over $5,000CAD$3,600USD not buying gas.

 

[MallBrawler]

You always have the i4T and electric motors when needed, even when it says you're >0% on the battery. The big difference is that once you reach that point, the system will sap some energy to keep the battery at it's 15% reserve, but you're never without the extra power though.

I drove from Central FL to Baltimore and back (there's a thread in here somewhere with my numbers) and averaged ~24mpg @70-75 mph (no lift, stock Sahara tires). I did it again a few months later with the 392 take offs and got about the same. I did play a little along the way and noticed a HUGE drop in MPG with a headwind and/or increasing speed to 80+.

I'll consider doing another long trip but with closer-to-stock sizes but I did not recall getting anywhere near 24mph on stock (I drive ~70 on the highways). A 392 take off is slightly wider than a Rubicon so we'll see what difference it makes. My tires extend past the fender quite a bit but I do not think 1" outside is going to make that big of a difference

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