The Jeep Avenger won ‘Best Family SUV’ and ‘European Car of the Year’, but does the the iconic car maker’s first all-electric offering live up to the hype? We took it to Tasmania for a week to find out.
Not all EVs are created equal. Some of them are incredibly expensive. Some of them look a bit horrible. And some of them (you know the ones) are the brainchild of problematic billionaires. The brand-new Jeep Avenger—Jeep’s first foray into the EV market, would you believe it—is none of those things. So we put it through its paces on a week-long road trip through Tasmania.
If you’re reading this, it’s very likely you’re looking for a little more from your car than the average EV fanatic. You care about the planet, of course. And you’re probably pretty prone to a weekend (or weekday) dabble in the great outdoors. You need a bit of space for your camping/kayaking/hiking gear, but you don’t want a tank you have to lug around town. You probably don’t own an EV (yet!) because you’ve been waiting for the right car to come along.
For you, the Jeep Avenger may present an interesting opportunity.
Inside, the Avenger dishes up ample legroom in the front and back, and the driver takes up a reasonably low, sporty driving position. The cabin feels bigger than it is thanks to a minimalist design and the fact that Jeep didn’t overcook the tech or features—the Avenger has everything you need and nothing you don’t.
Dual 10.25-inch infotainment and driver screens give you access to all the mod cons (including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), with all the key cabin and driving functions accessible via a couple of rows of simple buttons. Where some EVs require thumbing through a screen to turn your aircon up or down—the Avenger makes it possible with the click of a button.
There’s a nice little shelf space on the passenger side, which makes the ideal storage compartment for binoculars, cameras and your dog-eared copy of the Australian Bird Guide (Revised Edition). There’s also a gigantic storage compartment in the center console that offers the perfect hidey-hole for a six-pack of non-alcoholic post-adventure refreshment (BYO ice packs).
The car has a range of a little under 400 kilometers, which is plenty for most day-tripping purposes, and the rapid rollout of EV charging infrastructure in Tasmania meant we were never too far from a decent charging station.
As you’d expect, there’s a whole bunch of tech under the hood that we don’t need to get into, but the upshot is that the Avenger is very efficient as far as EVs go, and serves up energy consumption of 15.6 kWh per 100 kilometers. The Avenger’s battery also offers ‘top energy density’, which sounds very impressive, and the battery can withstand temperatures ranging from minus 30 degrees to 40 degrees celsius. It charges quickly too—we found we’d get from 20% charge up to 70-80% within 20-30 minutes on a fast charger. Just enough time to grab a coffee and/or a scallop pie from your favorite Tassie bakery.
The longest drive we did was from Hobart all the way back to Devonport before we hit the North West Tasting Trail—clocking in at 285 kilometers. We left with 80% on the battery and stopped for a quick 20-minute top-up (and pie stop) at Campbell Town’s fast charger which gave us all the juice we needed to go the distance. EV charging still takes longer than filling up a tank with petrol, but unless you’re in a massive hurry then taking an enforced half hour rest stop is pretty nice to be honest.