Gazelle
Well-Known Member
I preordered mine in Nov of '20 before pricing was released, so I have a very early build. It's had some issues which I fully expected. The vast majority won't be as troublesome, but you'll still encounter the odd lemon.
Design wise, the things about the 4xe that may prove frustrating have to do with the rear seat due to the interior battery, the extra weight, and some peculiarities under hood and in the suspension.
The rear seat doesn't fold the same way your Sport S does. If you're 6' tall and want to sleep in the back, you won't fit due the rear seat bottom folding up against the front seat back. This leaves large hump between the front seat back and the folded down, rear seat back. Secondly, the rear seat's backrest is about 7" taller than the rest of the rear cargo area. You can make or but a platform that levels out this area, but your Sport didn't require any mods to use all of the cargo area or to sleep in the back.
Next is the extra weight. Most of the time you won't notice this, or it may even prove useful to give the Jeep a more planted feel on road. However, when on loose sand or deep&soft snow it becomes more challenging to float on your tires. Climbing over rocks can also be a bit more of a challenge. However, in wet, slushy snow you may actually benefit from a better ability to reach the road given the identical tires on your Sport vs the 4xe.
Under hood differences (it's packed full!) prevent many of the common accessories or their mounting locations from being used. The passenger side under hood has extra cooling system reservoirs for instance.
If you're looking for skid plates, make sure they're specifically designed for the 4xe since many of the bracket locations are different.
Finally, because of the extra weight, you need to make sure any springs or shocks are intended for the extra heft of the 4xe. Most exterior bolt-ons will transfer between Gas & Hybrid models, but don't even bother trying to swap suspension bits.
Design wise, the things about the 4xe that may prove frustrating have to do with the rear seat due to the interior battery, the extra weight, and some peculiarities under hood and in the suspension.
The rear seat doesn't fold the same way your Sport S does. If you're 6' tall and want to sleep in the back, you won't fit due the rear seat bottom folding up against the front seat back. This leaves large hump between the front seat back and the folded down, rear seat back. Secondly, the rear seat's backrest is about 7" taller than the rest of the rear cargo area. You can make or but a platform that levels out this area, but your Sport didn't require any mods to use all of the cargo area or to sleep in the back.
Next is the extra weight. Most of the time you won't notice this, or it may even prove useful to give the Jeep a more planted feel on road. However, when on loose sand or deep&soft snow it becomes more challenging to float on your tires. Climbing over rocks can also be a bit more of a challenge. However, in wet, slushy snow you may actually benefit from a better ability to reach the road given the identical tires on your Sport vs the 4xe.
Under hood differences (it's packed full!) prevent many of the common accessories or their mounting locations from being used. The passenger side under hood has extra cooling system reservoirs for instance.
If you're looking for skid plates, make sure they're specifically designed for the 4xe since many of the bracket locations are different.
Finally, because of the extra weight, you need to make sure any springs or shocks are intended for the extra heft of the 4xe. Most exterior bolt-ons will transfer between Gas & Hybrid models, but don't even bother trying to swap suspension bits.
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