Yeah, and this thing would qualify for the federal rebate next year except for the price. They should have required a minimum EV only range (50-100 miles) to qualify for a rebate.

Please I hope he does not crash this like the Tesla

A Volt's only rated at 53 miles of range. 100 miles doesn't make much sense. Even 53 miles is more than most people need for daily driving, especially those living in warmer climates. The point of a PHEV is to reduce gas use, not completely replace it. The best case is that all of your daily use miles can be done in electric mode. The average commute distance in the US is 32 miles round trip, so on average, 32 miles will work best for the most people. Adding a larger battery means increasing the cost of the vehicle, increasing potential warranty repair cost, adding significantly more weight and taking up more space which could intrude on the passenger cabin or the cargo area. More weight means needing a heavier / more powerful engine to move the car for when the battery runs out of charge. More torque may mean a heftier transmission and/or axles. You also need a heftier suspension, wheels, and brakes to manage the vehicle's heavier weight. This vehicle is already over 5300 lbs. I imagine doubling the battery size would add another 1000 lbs when all is said and done. Of course, to get 50 miles of range, Jeep wouldn't be able to just double the battery size. The efficiency of the vehicle would drop with modifications and added weight, so they'd likely need to increase the battery capacity by 110-120% to offset the additional weight and component changes. All of that added weight would absolutely be felt by the driver. Large heavy SUVs aren't really the best use case for PHEV powertrains if the goal is to replace all commuter miles with electric miles, although using a PHEV powertrain here does still significantly reduce the vehicle's gasoline use, improves the owners fuel costs, and should significantly improve maintenance costs. I imagine for average driver would get 40+ mpge, which is double what the gas only version gets. That means significantly fewer gas fill ups, significantly fewer oil changes and other engine maintenance What Jordan doesn't mention here is that to add fully electric powertrains to vehicles of this size would take a significant amount of battery cell capacity... which we don't currently have. While I'm sure it's fun to say that "in this one vehicle's case, at this price, a full BEV powertrain would be better"... but ... we simply can't produce enough of them. The fact that BEV options are available has made it so everyone wants them, but in reality, not everyone can buy one due to lacking supply. Society would have been better off if BEV options didn't exist... yet.

@@updlate4756 Battery weight is about 15lbs/kwh, so doubling it would add around 250 lbs. If more PHEVS shifted to primarily electric drive with a gas range extender, they could eliminate the transmission and driveshaft system and go with a smaller gas motor. The weight saved there could add a decent bit of battery capacity.

@@steinwaymodelb The pack is 280 lbs, so doubling it would add another 280 lbs. You'd also have to consider the amount of space it would take up, as the current battery is already intruding on storage space. A gasoline engine would have to be pretty powerful to charge the battery to extend the range in this vehicle, and I imagine it would be less efficient than just using the engine to power the wheels. This isn't comparable to a range extended vehicle like the BMW i3, where BMW did everything they could to make the vehicle lighter and more efficient. The i3 only weighed 3300 lbs with the range extender, which would be over 2000 lbs less than the 4XE. They also added the extremely narrow tires to improve rolling resistance, something you likely couldn't do on the 4XE. The aero wasn't great on the i3 because it was meant as a city car, but this 4XE in comparison is the pits, which would hurt its range on the highway. Between the weight savings and lower rolling resistance, the i3 could get away with a small engine to charge the battery. That wouldn't be the case here. I also imagine that if you're ever towing with this SUV, you'd need the engine to assist in pulling the load.

The Grand Cherokee 4×e is 5325 lbs, with the extra weight, less aerodynamic, plus no electronics in newer vehicles probably add to that.

Yes it’s heavier but has much more battery capacity. Point was, why 25 miles? What’s so special about 25 miles. Is that somehow the extent that a plug-in will ever do. After ten years, 25 miles?

@@hitchcock1960 25 miles is roughly the optimal size battery to both increase overall efficiency without adding too much weight and cost (and meet criteria to qualify for PHEV incentives)... But even from a consumer, buying an extra 5 grand in battery to save $1 or two on every 20th trip you take in the thing for most people isn't worth it and that cost and return of value has to be balanced. Putting giant batteries in things that don't need them is how you end up with $100k crossovers that sit on the lot while your production and r&d numbers are through the roof, which is every auto makers biggest nightmare as the economy slows down.

It design to go off road as well. if it just front wheel drive it would be more efficient but i has.a capable 4x4 system with air ride.

Agreed, less than 50 km isn't enough unless someone has charging at both home and work and this is coming from someone who drives a gen 2 Volt. 100km would be perfect, with how advanced batteries are these days that should be pretty easy. then again that range is probably the best they can do considering the shape of these Jeeps and the tires they use.

Yeah but you don't need to run on 100% electric to be efficient, even if only 80% of the trip is battery you have big savings. More battery adds significant cost and weight on an already heavy and expensive rig for limited benefit on only certain trips... Engineers and bean counters have figured out an optimal size for the product, it is what it is.

"More and more getting 50 miles of ev range".... such as? Most PHEVs don't get 50 miles of range, especially SUV PHEVs. PHEVs from 3-5 years ago aren't much different than today because physics doesn't change. Batteries are still heavy. Rolling resistance and aerodynamics aren't impacted by time but rather by weight and vehicle exterior design. If you're wondering why the gen 2 Volt got 53 miles of range and this one doesn't, even though the batteries are nearly the same size, then that's simple. The Volt is a compact car that's fairly light and aerodynamic that they stuffed a huge battery into, compromising the rear seat space. I've owned one for 3.5 years now. To get 53 miles in a vehicle the size of the grand Cherokee, you'd need a battery that's over double the 18.3 kWh capacity of a gen 2 Volt. The weight of this 5300+ lb behemoth would likely need to increase by another 1000 lbs once you factor in a larger engine to move the higher weight, and a more robust suspension and braking system to handle the weight. And I'm sure the driver would realize the vehicle is 1000 lbs heavier too. Then of course I imagine the price of the vehicle would jump another $10k.

@@updlate4756 most BYD and Li motors get 50 to 100 miles. If it works for the Chinese it should work here. Stellantis (F!CA) was just lazy to secure affortable battery supply as they did not believe electrification will pick up untill last year.

​@@najibyarzerachic Range estimates put out by BYD / Li ion are using the NEDC cycle, which of the three major range standards is by far the most optimistic. There's a good reason why Europe has moved away from NEDC and towards WLTP. NEDC uses perfect lab conditions to measure the range. WLTP considers a more realistic driving cycle. The ranges discussed above are for EPA, the least optimistic of the three. No, most of BYD's offerings are not 50-100 miles. 'Some' of their PHEV offerings claim 50-130 miles using NEDC. No idea what they get in WLTP or EPA... Some sites claim that NEDC can add 25-30% more to the range estimates versus WLTP, so 50 miles in NEDC could only be 40 miles with WLTP, and even less for EPA. BYD uses lower energy density LFP cells in their BEVs. Not sure if they're using those same cells in their PHEVs. If they are, then those battery packs are heavier and take up more space than a Nickel based chemistry. On the plus side, they're also significantly cheaper. BYD's also able to tout lower prices because they're building their vehicles in China with cheaper labor. IMO, imports of these vehicles to Western nations shouldn't be done without significant tariffs to offset the labor cost advantage which can cause an upwards transfer of wealth and job losses in the West. It's bad for Western economies. That's why up until a couple of years ago, large scale Chinese exports to Western nations just wasn't done; with Tesla recently leading the pack to mass export cars from China to Europe. Now other Chinese OEMs are trying to jump on the bandwagon. Building these vehicles in the West would necessarily cost more and require OEMs demand higher MSRPs. It's possible to jam a larger battery into a PHEV... but is it a good idea? It usually doesn't make sense to go above 50 miles of range. Most people's daily range needs is below that distance, so giving the vehicle more range is just adding weight and taking up more space for no real purpose. Those that drive over 50 miles per day are the exception, not the norm.

What has been you experience with the e-tron? Reliable? Cost effective? I'm sure it's a pleasure to drive.

Had a PHEV before and now an Audi e-tron as well. Brilliant SUV and drives wonderfully.

It is close to one pedal but not quite. He had max regen enabled as the light looked to be on. I don't run it as I prefer to coast to a stop, only time I would probably enable it is on down long grades at a higher speed to maximize the regen. I just tried max regen and low gear coming down Mt. Washington in New Hampshire and it was slowing me down to a crawl.

Mine is still a glitchy at times.

I do like the EV hold mode in the Gen 2, so I can save the battery for city driving when I get to my destination after a highway road trip. It still uses the battery for hybrid mode in hold mode so I get much better economy.

No one us gonna take a 70k luxury vehicle trail bossing. This is literally for people in PHEV states only. I would buy this car used it lease it. However I think its fabulous.😊

Depending on the PHEV the ICE is very understressed since the electric motors take the brunt of acceleration load, and the ICE is typically just used for cruising. With todays ICE tech and using good quality oil and gas the ICE should last much longer than the average person owns a car. I agree the ICE used should be smaller, like a tiny turbo I-3 and 100 km worth of EV only range would be perfect.

@@anydaynow01 Oil should be changed according to manufacturers schedule regardless of hours used. Radiators get leaks. Belts degrade. Etc.

The UK gets a Compass 4XE.

If you drive 15000 miles/year 90% of your driving is under 25 miles and you recharge after every trip, it will take about 2 years, maybe 2 1/2 (rough calculations) to recoup the premium for the EV. I know this from owning a Pacifica Hybrid. I drive about 5 miles on EV for every 1 in gas, and about 20,000 miles/year. I'm saving around $175/month @$3.50/gallon, or about $2000/year. I think that would save a little less with the Jeep, but still, over the life of the vehicle - say 5 years - you're going to end up saving $5+k over the gas vehicle. Not going to the gas station every week is a nice perk too.

Sadly ...... oh well.

That's the only way to offset the loss on the cost of the hybrid powertrain though, they've already bean counted the cost of the hybrid as low as they can possibly upsell the customer on, but after all the r&d and production cost, they can really only make money if it's paired with an already profitable upper trim... it's expensive to essentially put two powertrains in a car.

It's not a bad price. The base version starts at $60,300, but I'd get it with the tech luxury package which brings it up to $62,600 . Not sure if it's eligible for an EV credit. The one Jordan is testing is fairly loaded and came out to $75k... but I wouldn't say it's necessary to option that way. I mean, that passenger screen is cute, but I'd never buy it... The HUD and nightvision is cool, but it's not critical.

@@tazeat It's competitive in the segment.

@@updlate4756 it is indeed eligible for the 7.5k ev credit

I leased mine and got the tax credit right on the spot. Monthly payment is now lower than the regular one.

Yes, this.

I am averaging, overall, 28.5 mpg over 3000 miles. That is plugging in and charging the battery to full every night. My commute is 60 miles round trip and I am 60% battery/ 40% engine. I think there are a lot of misconceptions about the vehicle. Once the EV capability (26 to 28 miles) is done, the vehicle still operates in hybrid mode, not just on the engine. The engine usage will be more but it maintains battery that you can't access for hybrid driving. I have heard 15% of the battery pack is reserved for this. I dive in hybrid mode and these are the number I am am seeing. Of course, driving styles and vehicle settings may effect this. Sport mode prioritizes engine. Battery save prioritizes engine. Battery gen tanks you mpg and is a generator while you drive and puts charge back into the battery.

It takes me 40 miles to get to work lol

BMW X5 45e

Buying for dreams and not for actual use I suspect.

Totally depends on your use case. Those of us in rural areas cover a lot more mileage. Charging infrastructure is near non existent in my area. 46 miles one way to work and take long trips. One day it will be here, but straight BEV isn't for everyone yet. Love the power though.

@@wb3550 but a Plug In Hybrid with a 200 mile range and a small generator with a small gas tank would work.

This fits my use case ideally. The 28 mile electric range covers my daily commutes and most around town driving I do, and I'll use gas for the occasional longer weekend trip. I actually wouldn't want a larger battery that will add more weight & expense. I don't think a small generator would be able to keep up with the average power demand, especially when towing 6000lb as the grand cherokee is rated.

I can see it being viable to some people with short commute. But I’m with you in terms of 2 power sources from Jeep - cuz it is technically a hybrid. I don’t think they have the reliability of a hybrid as a Toyota. They should go full EV with this haha

What country?

The US infrastructure needs to expand. Until then our PHEV Rav 4 will have to do.

The X5 PHEV uses the same 6 cylinder as the ICE which was a great call on their part! Agree downgrading the engines on PHEVs is unfortunate.

Lol…. This is a significant bigger vehicle and also way more capable for things like off-road, overlanding…….. way more practical than a modelY

Does your model y has air suspensions!?

@@carholic-sz3qv I don’t have a model Y. And most people with these super capable SUV’s just use them to go to work, run errands, and pick up the kids. Please don’t pretend most use their Jeeps for anything else. If you and you friends do, then good for you. I’m talking about MOST people.

@@carholic-sz3qv you’re right in that they are not the same size. Model Y has more cargo capacity.

@@Bum_Hip the bigger Cherokee has more cargo capacity and it’s much more usable than the tesla lol…..

EVs eliminate gas use, PHEVs mitigate gas use. Not everyone can go EV right now for a multitude of reasons, so I think PHEVs of all types (sedans to off readers) can really help out now until we make more progress on EVs and infrastructure. I think PHEVs are a great compromise for the time being. I love my X5 45e and average 55mpg over 20k miles!

Hi, you appear to have caps lock on. It makes you look ridiculous. Also, why do you make up stuff that isn't true?

Everything you said is simply not true. You are dellisional.