A little over a month ago, Jeep dropped its EV plans on us. It showed us three EV models that Stellantis says are coming in the near future. Today, one of those models made its debut, but exclusively for the European market. Jeep has introduced the Avenger as its first EV for production.
Some of you might be wondering why Jeep would show us its big EV plans only for them to make the U.S. wait. North America is Jeep’s biggest market, but its first EV goes to the Old Continent.
There’s a good reason for it: the Avenger is tiny. Jeep says that the Avenger measures just four meters in length. For those who don’t use the metric system, that means the Avenger measures just 157.4 inches long. The Renegade, the smallest Jeep that was sold in the U.S., measured 166.6 inches long. For this thing to be just over nine inches shorter than a Renegade is a big deal. Jeep is trying to capture some of that sweet B segment SUV market share in Europe.
Power for the Avenger comes from a brand-new electric propulsion system made by Emotors. Emotors is a collaboration between Stellantis and French electric motor manufacturer Nidec Leroy-Somer Holding. Stellantis says it produces 400V and makes 156 horsepower and 191 lb-ft of torque. A Stellantis-made 54 kWh battery gives the Avenger 400 km (248 miles) of range in Europe’s (notably generous) WLTP cycle. The company says that range increases to 550 km (341 miles) on the urban cycle.
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Charging the Avenger is pretty fast too, the company says: “100 kW Mode 4 cable in direct current, connected to fast public charge, three minutes of charge is enough to provide travel distance of 30 km; or 24 minutes is sufficient to charge the batteries from 20 to 80 percent charge.”
Stellantis also makes a pretty big claim regarding the Avenger’s range and European driving habits. “Considering that European users travel 30 km on an average per day, it is likely that the vehicle can be driven for days before recharging.” Impressive if true.
All this talk of EV capability, and some may be wondering where the Jeep capability is in all of this. Don’t fret, off-road enthusiasts. This thing is still a Jeep. A strange one, though.
For one, no four-wheel drive option is offered. The Avenger is front-wheel drive. But Jeep has equipped it with standard Selec-Terrain driving modes and Hill Decent Control. Jeep also says that those features, “together with the impressive approach and departure angles and the vehicle’s ground clearance, make it a benchmark in the segment.” There are six Selec-Terrain modes: Normal, Eco, Sport, Snow, Mud and Sand. With the lack of four-wheel drive though it’ll be interesting to see how the Avenger actually handles the different kinds of terrain.
Europeans interested in the Avenger can preorder the First Editon now or they can register their interest. Preorders for all other trims start in January 2023.