The Wrangler 4xe, FCA US’ most popular plug-in hybrid despite years of selling PHEV minivans, has been out long enough for people to get some idea of how much money they may save by driving one, versus the standard gasoline engines. The four-cylinder-turbo-plus-motor 4xe system generates nearly the same acceleration as the big 392 V8, with roughly the same EPA mileage as the base V6 gasoline engine.
Allpar member and longtime moderator valiant67 purchased two 2023 Wrangler 4xes, both in Sahara trim, coincidentally made around an hour apart from each other. The two vehicles are in different service cycles, though, with the first one seeing mostly highway use and the second traveling urban and rural roads with little highway travel.
According to this Allpar member, the cost to charge the batteries fully is around $1.05 (but just 15¢ with the local utility’s overnight rates). The Jeeps come with regenerative braking, so the batteries are not limited to power from the plug; they act as a normal hybrid-electric when the initial charge is used. As he wrote, even when the charge indicator shows 0 miles, the motor can accelerate from 0-10 mph before the engine is needed; “it’s not like you’re just hauling around extra weight once it gets to 0 miles. You’re still getting a economy and performance boost.” He rated performance as good, though not as satisfying as the Hemi Challenger.
As for costs: the 4xe is a pricey option, but the Wrangler is a heavy fuel user without it. The EPA ratings are either 18 city and 23 highway (20 combined) with the base V6; or 21 city and 24 highway with the gasoline-only turbo four-cylinder. That’s a three mile per gallon advantage without even adding the hybrid feature, which raises economy to 20 mpg combined without electric power, and 49 MPGe with it; electric power lasts around 22 miles, according to the EPA, which estimated annual fuel prices at $2,100 total (assuming $2.51 to charge the battery). The base V6 has a reported annual fuel cost of $2,850. (Costs are based on $3.77/gallon pricing.)
This owner, though, reported 29 mpg in gasoline mode with the mostly-highway Wrangler and around 27 mpg with the mostly-not-highway model. Between that and the lower electricity costs, the 4xe cost-benefit equation is hard to argue with—especially considering that the 4xe is the second fastest powertrain available for Wranglers. The high mileage of the 4xe compared with the 392 (13 city, 17 highway, 14 combined) results in a $2,850/year savings, according to the EPA. That’s a hefty savings.
The math on the 4XE depends alot on what your electric rate is. Here in CT delivered cost per KWH is around $0.26. At around 14 KWH useable battery the 4XE would need around $3.64 worth of electricity which means your gas or electricity will cost about the same at the moment. Now the original poster is showing around .07 a KWH which would change the numbers alot, even at .13 it makes sense but at .26 there isn’t a good financial backing .
The 4xe is indeed quite pricey, but since the performance is close to the 392, that should also be considered. Comparing to the base V6 isn’t quite fair. The Rubicon 392 starts at, get this, $82,495.
The 4xe starts at $54,735 for the Willys. The ordinary Willys starts at $42,585. (Four-door in both cases, I think.) Since I can’t have both on the same page on their “compare” section, I don’t know if the 4xe comes with other stuff. That would put the price at $12,000. ‘Course a lot of the savings depends on the kind of driving you do. The biggest Jeep sales area is the NYC area, and in NYC and tightly packed suburbs, the 4xe would be a much bigger savings since there’s far more stop and go traffic where hybrids work best, and more short-mile-long-time trips where BEVs stay in electric mode the whole time. If you’re more of a rural-midwestern buyer, the financial savings won’t be there.
Jeep makes WAY too many Wrangler variants.
re: “As for costs: the 4xe is a pricey option,…”
>>> That’s nice real-world info, very interesting. It would also be nice to include the upcharges for all of the engine options over the base engine, to roughly determine the payback periods and/or to make tradeoff judgment between performance and cost.
Bought a 2022 3.6L Sahara Altitude. 4xe was too heavy at 5100#’s.
Looking to flat tow behind RV.
Had a 3.6 Rubicon in 2018. Was satisfied with the engine. There weren’t any 2.0L available when we bought, plus I never drove one to see if pickup was ok!