JEEP 4XE

the encore

In last month’s issue, Simon took one for the team and headed over to Italy to test Jeep’s new hybrid Renegade, the 4xe (4-bye). Fortunately, I wasn’t left out of the frivolities, as Jeep invited down to Abergavenny for the UK launch. Okay, not as glamorous as Italy, but not as far, either.

After a rather lovely stay at the Angel Hotel in Abergavenny, I made my way towards a farm deep in the Black Mountains where the launch was to be held.

After the usual checks I was given the option of the Limited or Trailhawk model, I opted for the latter, and after a presentation we set off around a homemade off road course. To be fair, it wasn’t as naff as it sounds, the folks had created some tricky obstacles for us to negotiate and test the Renegade’s abilities.

If you’re a regular reader, you may remember that last year I was invited for a days laning around Yorkshire with Ardent Off-Road and Storm Jeeps. I joined them in a Renegade Trailhawk, and despite everyone driving highly modified Jeeps, the Renegade easily kept up with the others. I was impressed.

Anyway, back to the launch. Engaging low box, the route began with a long, steep ascent made of loose dirt and stone, which was almost demeaning for the Renegade as it made light work of the climb.

Next we entered the small forest via a steep drop at a peculiar angle. I stopped to survey the angle, pressed the Hill Descent Control button, prodded the accelerator and gently eased my way towards the trees in full control. The steepness of the decent and damp grass meant that the Renegade wanted to toboggan down at a great speed of knots, but the electrics did a fabulous job of keeping everything under control. Likewise on some of the other steep sections, it was like a Mountain goat.

Seriously, you may think the Renegade’s a glorified Fiat 500L, but it isn’t, it can handle to rough stuff better than most, especially in the Trailhawk guise.

To make it even better offroad, all Renegade 4xe trims have the Jeep Active Drive Low system. The new plugin hybrid technology further enhances its off-road capability, with the combination of both the electric motor and petrol engine resulting in more torque. Trailhawk 4xe with 240hp, for example, boasts an increase in torque output up to 50% versus the 170hp diesel Trailhawk model.

Traction to the rear axle isn’t provided by a prop shaft, but instead through a dedicated electric motor. This allows the two axles to be separated and control the torque independently in a more effective way than a mechanical system, with traction being delivered to the rear wheels immediately when needed. Being honest, I couldn’t tell, but whilst negotiating the wet off-road route, power when I needed it was seamless.

After messing around at more strange angles, it was time time to take the 4xe on the road. Bypassing Abergavenny I followed the A465 and Crickhowell Road until the ever clear sat-nav told me to turn left towards the twisty and picturesque B4560, where I began to have a little fun.

As Simon wrote last month, the 1.3-litre turbo petrol engine has two output levels: 130hp and 180hp, or 190hp and 240hp when combined with the electric motors. On full chatter, acceleration can be described as relentless and you can easily find yourself hitting licence losing speeds if you’re not careful.

I’d be lying if I didn’t say that the Trailhawk 4xe was a total joy, and with 240bhp on tap, it was a bit of a hooligan. Or was that me?

It isn’t all about foot down oomph either, the Renegade Trailhawk handle the corners without hardly any roll, to the point you’ll never notice its extra height, it was always planted firmly on the road, no matter how much I pushed it.

Jeep UK are now working with TentBox to supply roof-top tents for their range of vehicles.

From hooligan to bumbling along at 60mph in cruise, the 4xe is a comfortable and pleasant place to be. You have three modes to choose from, Electric, Hybrid and E-Save. Electric means just that, you have a range of up to 26 miles and a top speed of 81mph. Hybrid is the default mode when the car is started. It’s designed to manage and use the system in the most efficient way. E-Save is the mode for maintaining battery charge or for charging it while driving using the petrol engine

As Simon mentioned last month, the 4xe range stars at £32,600 for the Longitude model, £34,500 for the Limited and £36,500 for the Trailhawk. The Renegade 4xe offers Jeep’s off road pedigree with a new, eco twist.