4xe gateway drug?

[j.o.y.ride]

Seriously overdue edit. After a few days the CEL was flashing multiple times and on steady. Dealer did extensive testing and the final result is cylinder 3, at least just that cylinder, is blown and needs a new engine. The car had about 300 miles on it when the first flashing CEL happened.

Luckily we leased to get the full $7500 credit. Details ensue on back pages.

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Got a 4xe Grand Cherokee Trailhawk 2 weeks back for the wife. Fuck it's awesome. But I 0% want that drivetrain in the Gladiator, it would be wildly inadequate. It's barely adequate in the GC on the highway at speed with AC. It's fine for us in the GC because that's not too too common to do long long highway drives and we will deal. We drive to Vegas and places but it's a few times a year. Most everything else the 4xe battery is fine for us.

But in the truck I don't think I would make it 10 miles away on the highway without running out of battery. Overall it just is NOT the driving experience I want in my truck. Sure the allure of the silent off-roading and torque on demand seems like a great idea for the Gladiator. But in reality the rest of the driving will suffer and you're going to be lucky to be at any trailhead with enough battery to actually do anything meaningful off-road.

So... I really want a Rivian R1T now. If I didn't just get the GC I would for sure consider selling this for the R1T. And if I didn't need to upgrade my electric panel and didn't want to sell my place and move I would just go for it.

Just a place holder for maybe 1-2 years from now in going to Rivian (if they are still around).

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[Stan H]

?

 

[AmosMoses]

The rivian is probably my favorite electric vehicle that came to fruition. No doubt in 10 years the battery tech is going to get much better.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

The torque and HP of our Wrangler 4xe blows my JT out of the water. The torque and HP exceeds that of a 5.7 hemi.
It's wild in the mountains. It doesn't even downshift where on the exact same highways on the same hills and mountains my JT has to keep shifting. The Wrangler sprints right up and doesn't downshift. The torque is amazing.
The 2.0 coupled with the electrics is far stronger than the 3.6.

It's literally able to take the same highways as a diesel would just as easily.
Where the 3.6 must downshift to make the grade, the 4xe does not.

It's barely adequate in the GC on the highway at speed with AC.

I can't see that. We drove our 4xe from Iowa to Florida and back, and going down we were keeping up more than the speed limit.
I've made the exact same trips taking the exact same highways from and to the same places and my JT struggled more. the 4xe didn't even breathe hard in the mountains.

They'll have to improve the range a lot, and keep the same payload (or better) and the same towing (or better) than my current JT but I suspect it's not only possible, but coming.

We leave it in hybrid mode all the time with max regen.

No way am I ready to go full electric with a truck - not a chance. Not until they have a whole lot better range per charge. I want to be able to drive 1,000 miles on a charge.
Until then, it's hybrid.

I've basically compared apples to apples on the exact same trips, same drivers, same highways, same speeds.

 

[RobertRinAustin]

The torque and HP of our Wrangler 4xe blows my JT out of the water. The torque and HP exceeds that of a 5.7 hemi.
It's wild in the mountains. It doesn't even downshift where on the exact same highways on the same hills and mountains my JT has to keep shifting. The Wrangler sprints right up and doesn't downshift. The torque is amazing.
The 2.0 coupled with the electrics is far stronger than the 3.6.

It's literally able to take the same highways as a diesel would just as easily.
Where the 3.6 must downshift to make the grade, the 4xe does not.

I can't see that. We drove our 4xe from Iowa to Florida and back, and going down we were keeping up more than the speed limit.
I've made the exact same trips taking the exact same highways from and to the same places and my JT struggled more. the 4xe didn't even breathe hard in the mountains.

They'll have to improve the range a lot, and keep the same payload (or better) and the same towing (or better) than my current JT but I suspect it's not only possible, but coming.

We leave it in hybrid mode all the time with max regen.

No way am I ready to go full electric with a truck - not a chance. Not until they have a whole lot better range per charge. I want to be able to drive 1,000 miles on a charge.
Until then, it's hybrid.

I've basically compared apples to apples on the exact same trips, same drivers, same highways, same speeds.

My buddy has a wrangler 4xe and I completely agree. It's also really quick, shockingly quick for a wrangler. I'd be interested in a JT 4xe.

 

[j.o.y.ride]

Oh yeah the torque and driving is great in hybrid mode. Don't get me atl all wrong it's awesome.

But I have zero belief it will hold up in the truck especially when people lift and put larger tires on.

I bet it'll be 20 real world miles of electric battery and then it's churning gas to produce electricity and defeating the purpose. Less range with lifts and tires etc. Maybe 10-15 on a worked on vehicle.

A family grocery around town vehicle it's awesome. A worked on off roader I can't see it not shutting itself on the way to a trail unless your trail is your back yard.

Even in the stock GC it got basically the same highway mileage as my truck which is lifted with 35s on 3.73. 16.5 at 80-90.

 

[keithcroshaw]

The torque and HP of our Wrangler 4xe blows my JT out of the water. The torque and HP exceeds that of a 5.7 hemi.
It's wild in the mountains. It doesn't even downshift where on the exact same highways on the same hills and mountains my JT has to keep shifting. The Wrangler sprints right up and doesn't downshift. The torque is amazing.
The 2.0 coupled with the electrics is far stronger than the 3.6.

It's literally able to take the same highways as a diesel would just as easily.
Where the 3.6 must downshift to make the grade, the 4xe does not.

I can't see that. We drove our 4xe from Iowa to Florida and back, and going down we were keeping up more than the speed limit.
I've made the exact same trips taking the exact same highways from and to the same places and my JT struggled more. the 4xe didn't even breathe hard in the mountains.

They'll have to improve the range a lot, and keep the same payload (or better) and the same towing (or better) than my current JT but I suspect it's not only possible, but coming.

We leave it in hybrid mode all the time with max regen.

No way am I ready to go full electric with a truck - not a chance. Not until they have a whole lot better range per charge. I want to be able to drive 1,000 miles on a charge.
Until then, it's hybrid.

I've basically compared apples to apples on the exact same trips, same drivers, same highways, same speeds.

That's encouraging.
I really like the idea of the 4xe but I've seen some harrowing tales of issues along with Brad from Trail Recon giving up on his due to issues.
Other than driving into work two days per week all of my travel is very short distance so that part is super enticing to keep it in electric mode around town.
My previous company I worked for was in town so I'd rarely have to buy fuel if I had stayed, I'd probably spoil the fuel in the tank with how few miles I had on my JK...
I want to say I'm sticking with this Sport JT for a long time but if I could one day get a decent deal on a new 4xe Rubicon JT if the used market does what it did when I traded in my JK I wouldn't be opposed to jumping.

 

[ChrisNLA]

Sounds like a 4XE Gladiator would be great for my use.

* I have been on stock 33's with a leveling kit for a year - plan to stay that way for a while or maybe even indefinitely.
* My commute is roughly 9 miles round trip, so I could commute all electric and run the gasser for when I leave town.
* My towing is always well under 3,500 pounds.
* My wheeling is pretty mild. In a year I've only done a handful of blue trails at Merus in Texas. The rest of what I play with lately is forest roads, general camping, etc.
* Rarely am I ever in a place where sustaining speeds of 80-90 MPH is in the realm of possibility (maybe for short periods, under a few miles - also, I have an SS Camaro for grossly exceeding the speed limit in my area, which is no higher than 75).

Also, hydro blue with a black top looks excellent on that GC, but I am probably biased.

 

[Pescatoral Pursuit]

Where the 3.6 must downshift to make the grade, the 4xe does not.

I don't understand, especially in the historical context, why so much is made over an 8-speed automatic transmission attached to a V6 in a 5000 lb vehicle: downshifting to manage a grade.

 

[bleda2002]

Oh yeah the torque and driving is great in hybrid mode. Don't get me atl all wrong it's awesome.

But I have zero belief it will hold up in the truck especially when people lift and put larger tires on.

I bet it'll be 20 real world miles of electric battery and then it's churning gas to produce electricity and defeating the purpose. Less range with lifts and tires etc. Maybe 10-15 on a worked on vehicle.

A family grocery around town vehicle it's awesome. A worked on off roader I can't see it not shutting itself on the way to a trail unless your trail is your back yard.

Even in the stock GC it got basically the same highway mileage as my truck which is lifted with 35s on 3.73. 16.5 at 80-90.

We've got it in a 3 inch lifted Sahara on 37s and we get 21ish all electric mpg around town. It takes some recalibration of your thinking on what the hybrid is supposed to do though. No hybrid is made for super highway cruising mpgs, it's not their forte as they aren't scavenging wasted energy off the brakes and their battery which is half a gallon of gas in the 4xe is going to run out fairly quick even with the 40-50mpg efficiency the electric motors get helping. If you drive all highway, get a diesel honestly.

Instead the goal is to use the electric where the gas engine is inefficient, starts, stops, hard acceleration, and to scavenge power back during stops. On steady state drives the gas engine is what you get since that's where gas is most efficient. So city you'll see great mpgs, highway you should basically wash against the pure ice version.

But the nice thing is at all times you have what would actually be a 5-6 liter V8 worth of power. So the fact that it still gets 3.6 mileage on the highway, 20-30 city, but has V8 power on tap is what makes it really intoxicating for me.

 

[LouisvEarlleJT]

I don't understand, especially in the historical context, why so much is made over an 8-speed automatic transmission attached to a V6 in a 5000 lb vehicle: downshifting to manage a grade.

Same. It's almost like it catches people off guard but that's how it's supposed to work, heck, that's how it has to work.

 

[BAT]

Got a 4xe Grand Cherokee Trailhawk 2 weeks back for the wife. Fuck it's awesome. But I 0% want that drivetrain in the Gladiator, it would be wildly inadequate. It's barely adequate in the GC on the highway at speed with AC. It's fine for us in the GC because that's not too too common to do long long highway drives and we will deal. We drive to Vegas and places but it's a few times a year. Most everything else the 4xe battery is fine for us.

But in the truck I don't think I would make it 10 miles away on the highway without running out of battery. Overall it just is NOT the driving experience I want in my truck. Sure the allure of the silent off-roading and torque on demand seems like a great idea for the Gladiator. But in reality the rest of the driving will suffer and you're going to be lucky to be at any trailhead with enough battery to actually do anything meaningful off-road.

So... I really want a Rivian R1T now. If I didn't just get the GC I would for sure consider selling this for the R1T. And if I didn't need to upgrade my electric panel and didn't want to sell my place and move I would just go for it.

Just a place holder for maybe 1-2 years from now in going to Rivian (if they are still around).

I thought Rivian was going out of Business

 

[Coldtoes]

Oh yeah the torque and driving is great in hybrid mode. Don't get me atl all wrong it's awesome.

But I have zero belief it will hold up in the truck especially when people lift and put larger tires on.

I bet it'll be 20 real world miles of electric battery and then it's churning gas to produce electricity and defeating the purpose. Less range with lifts and tires etc. Maybe 10-15 on a worked on vehicle.

A family grocery around town vehicle it's awesome. A worked on off roader I can't see it not shutting itself on the way to a trail unless your trail is your back yard.

Even in the stock GC it got basically the same highway mileage as my truck which is lifted with 35s on 3.73. 16.5 at 80-90.

From my perspective and understanding of what your saying it sounds like your expectations are following marketing info but out of alignment with the design intention of a PHEV hybrid. A 4XE is not an electric vehicle with a engine backup. It's a gas vehicle with electric support. Marketing says 'Go enjoy off roading in silence" and "Look there is an all-electric mode", but much like projected MPG, you have to take the numbers presented and adjust them for real-world use. Battery only driving is a small use-case, short in-city drives, and only works off road if you've saved the battery to get there and once there will only last a short while. I see it as a novelty, not a true expectation of use. From my perspective at least, I see the 4XE's design intention is to provide V8 HP/Torque, with 4cyl MPG. That is the real point. All of the electric use cases are fun very short side benefits. Marketing loves to promote things that are questionable, just look at how often they show Jeeps plowing through mud... and then look at how many alternators have been killed by doing just that in real life.

I really hope this doesn't come across as offensive, I'm just trying to share my perspective that a shift in expectations may bring a lot more appreciation and enjoyment of the 4XE system. Comparing a 4XE to an all electric truck is apples to oranges. Both are good, but they have different use cases and are very different trucks.

BTW that's a great looking GC!

 

[Deleted member 57233]

Oh yeah the torque and driving is great in hybrid mode. Don't get me atl all wrong it's awesome.

But I have zero belief it will hold up in the truck especially when people lift and put larger tires on.

I bet it'll be 20 real world miles of electric battery and then it's churning gas to produce electricity and defeating the purpose. Less range with lifts and tires etc. Maybe 10-15 on a worked on vehicle.

A family grocery around town vehicle it's awesome. A worked on off roader I can't see it not shutting itself on the way to a trail unless your trail is your back yard.

Even in the stock GC it got basically the same highway mileage as my truck which is lifted with 35s on 3.73. 16.5 at 80-90.

Sounds perfect for my use. I ride a bike around town 95% of the time. On the rare occasion I need to drive to pick up something large, it's usually no more than 10-15 miles round trip. And the trails are 1 mile from my driveway. I go to Moab once or twice per year which is the most highway driving I do at 8ish hours each way.

 

[j.o.y.ride]

I thought Rivian was going out of Business

they supposedly have cash through 2025

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