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NXTGENAutomotive

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I had a '24 Wrangler Rubicon X 4Xe, which turned out to be a lemon and got bought back. It is actually my profile picture.

In California last year, that was pretty much all you could readily get on a lot without custom ordering. My first choice would have been the 2.0T non PHEV.

Here are a few observations from having one:

  • These seem to be either good or bad from the factory. If you get a good one, they can be solid and if they aren't, they are trouble. Plenty of people have solid ones but there are a lot of troubled ones out there.

  • Mine had 5 miles on it when I got it. At 25 miles I had my first error. By 1,000 miles it was brick, towed from my house and sat at the dealer for 6 months. It had the HV battery and a few major modules replaced, about $9,500 in repairs. Once I got it back, less than 10 miles later the errors were back. It was bought back at full price with a lemon law attorney and it was replaced with a full gas XR Rubicon that has been solid so far.

  • If you do very short trips and it lives on the charger, you can save some gas and it is useful. For longer trips or not living on the charger, it is not good on gas. I think this shocked a lot of 4XE owners. They advertise great mileage, but it has to constantly live on a charger. My 2.0T XR does about 20 on the HWY with 35s. The 4Xe on a road trip would average about 13mpg on 33s. The extra bracing and battery was about 900 pounds heavier than a regular gasser.

  • It never got the range fully electric they said.

  • Despite having the the heavier-duty rear that Jeep said could tow 5,000 on the Wrangler, it had the standard towing capacity of 3,000. The main reason was GVWR, as it was almost 1,000 pounds heavier than a regular gasser. The 4XE did tow well, used it a few times. The electric TQ is nice and the battery re-gen works very similar to a diesel exhaust brake slowing down.
All in all, if I had the choice I'd take the 2.0T non hybrid every time. I've never owned a Toyota (20 cars so far), but if I wanted a hybrid I'd get one of theirs.
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ShadowsPapa

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I had a '24 Wrangler Rubicon X 4Xe, which turned out to be a lemon and got bought back. It is actually my profile picture.

In California last year, that was pretty much all you could readily get on a lot without custom ordering. My first choice would have been the 2.0T non PHEV.

Here are a few observations from having one:

  • These seem to be either good or bad from the factory. If you get a good one, they can be solid and if they aren't, they are trouble. Plenty of people have solid ones but there are a lot of troubled ones out there.

  • Mine had 5 miles on it when I got it. At 25 miles I had my first error. By 1,000 miles it was brick, towed from my house and sat at the dealer for 6 months. It had the HV battery and a few major modules replaced, about $9,500 in repairs. Once I got it back, less than 10 miles later the errors were back. It was bought back at full price with a lemon law attorney and it was replaced with a full gas XR Rubicon that has been solid so far.

  • If you do very short trips and it lives on the charger, you can save some gas and it is useful. For longer trips or not living on the charger, it is not good on gas. I think this shocked a lot of 4XE owners. They advertise great mileage, but it has to constantly live on a charger. My 2.0T XR does about 20 on the HWY with 35s. The 4Xe on a road trip would average about 13mpg on 33s. The extra bracing and battery was about 900 pounds heavier than a regular gasser.

  • It never got the range fully electric they said.

  • Despite having the the heavier-duty rear that Jeep said could tow 5,000 on the Wrangler, it had the standard towing capacity of 3,000. The main reason was GVWR, as it was almost 1,000 pounds heavier than a regular gasser. The 4XE did tow well, used it a few times. The electric TQ is nice and the battery re-gen works very similar to a diesel exhaust brake slowing down.
All in all, if I had the choice I'd take the 2.0T non hybrid every time. I've never owned a Toyota (20 cars so far), but if I wanted a hybrid I'd get one of theirs.
Wow - we got 20 to 21 mpg in Florida, otherwise, 16 to 18 with typical of around 17 on the highway at interstate speeds (75 or so) - but - it's a BRICK. And it's a Rubicon.
How many JLU Rubicons out there get over 16, 17, or 18 mpg, let alone 20, at highway speeds? (that was a trip from central Iowa to lower Florida, then back up to St. Augustine, then back to Iowa)

My wife can get 25-27 miles out of battery alone, but it depends a lot on weather. It's almost always windy here, and that matters when driving a brick, and we're in hills - many hills, that also matters.

I find even with my JT - MPG isn't very good until I leave this part of Iowa or get into Illinois, for example. Then I notice a quick increase of 1+ mpg.

The only problem was a common one with the JLU and Grand Cherokee - mystery transmission leak. That was resolved by Jeep replacing the transmission. It's been trouble-free since then. (other than the cheap 12 volt battery not holding a charge and the parasitic draw that all Jeeps have pulling it down if not driven every day)
 

NXTGENAutomotive

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Wow - we got 20 to 21 mpg in Florida, otherwise, 16 to 18 with typical of around 17 on the highway at interstate speeds (75 or so) - but - it's a BRICK. And it's a Rubicon.
How many JLU Rubicons out there get over 16, 17, or 18 mpg, let alone 20, at highway speeds? (that was a trip from central Iowa to lower Florida, then back up to St. Augustine, then back to Iowa)

My wife can get 25-27 miles out of battery alone, but it depends a lot on weather. It's almost always windy here, and that matters when driving a brick, and we're in hills - many hills, that also matters.

I find even with my JT - MPG isn't very good until I leave this part of Iowa or get into Illinois, for example. Then I notice a quick increase of 1+ mpg.

The only problem was a common one with the JLU and Grand Cherokee - mystery transmission leak. That was resolved by Jeep replacing the transmission. It's been trouble-free since then. (other than the cheap 12 volt battery not holding a charge and the parasitic draw that all Jeeps have pulling it down if not driven every day)
Im out west so it’s hilly in southern CA. My highway drives were between So cal and Phoenix. My 2500 Ram Cummins did way better

On a full charge if the commute was mostly up hill
maybe you’d get 15 miles on a full charge.

Freeway speeds are pretty quick here, and it would not do full electric much and would often switch to gas.

When we swapped our Gladiator for the Grand Cherokee, I also went for the 3.6 vs the 4Xe.

If you drive 10 miles to work and they have a free charger, and it’s a warm climate, you could get like 40 mpg-e per tank. In cold weather they don’t like driving full electric. Maybe generation 2 will be a step up
 

ShadowsPapa

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Im out west so it’s hilly in southern CA. My highway drives were between So cal and Phoenix. My 2500 Ram Cummins did way better

On a full charge if the commute was mostly up hill
maybe you’d get 15 miles on a full charge.

Freeway speeds are pretty quick here, and it would not do full electric much and would often switch to gas.

When we swapped our Gladiator for the Grand Cherokee, I also went for the 3.6 vs the 4Xe.

If you drive 10 miles to work and they have a free charger, and it’s a warm climate, you could get like 40 mpg-e per tank. In cold weather they don’t like driving full electric. Maybe generation 2 will be a step up
My wife gets to town and back on a charge - sometimes has a mile left, sometimes it kicks in the ICE a mile from home. It varies.
It has to be really cold before it refuses to run in electric mode - but then, you can also "pre-condition" the batteries, too - where the charger will actually function to warm the batteries before you take off.
 

NXTGENAutomotive

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My wife gets to town and back on a charge - sometimes has a mile left, sometimes it kicks in the ICE a mile from home. It varies.
It has to be really cold before it refuses to run in electric mode - but then, you can also "pre-condition" the batteries, too - where the charger will actually function to warm the batteries before you take off.
Anyone who wants to take a stab at 1 in Wrangler from…. What was legit near 80k out the door a year ago could be had for half or less with low mileage.

We go through cars often for development and we don’t lease, we buy them outright. I’d never buy one again but if you get a wild lease deal!
 

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ShadowsPapa

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our 2023 JLU Rubicon 4xe was only about 70K MSRP/full sticker price.
 

NXTGENAutomotive

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our 2023 JLU Rubicon 4xe was only about 70K MSRP/full sticker price.
Correct and then there is sales tax, license, registration and doc fees.

There are new 24s in our area at lots with an MSRP of 72 that are offered at 49 and they sit…
 

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Correct and then there is sales tax, license, registration and doc fees.
minimal with a trade. Here, you only pay sales tax on the difference between your trade value and the new vehicle price. License - depends - varies widely by state and if you have a similar trade. Doc fees are limited to $180 here.
Full tax would be around 3,500 or so. Much less with a trade of any value.
So even with all of that, we're not even close to 80K. Might hit 74K
 

NXTGENAutomotive

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minimal with a trade. Here, you only pay sales tax on the difference between your trade value and the new vehicle price. License - depends - varies widely by state and if you have a similar trade. Doc fees are limited to $180 here.
Full tax would be around 3,500 or so. Much less with a trade of any value.
So even with all of that, we're not even close to 80K. Might hit 74K
Mine was a sticker of 72,xxx and an out the door price of 79,xxx.

As a business we got the clean air federal rebate of $7500 despite not being a lease, so that brought the purchase price eventually down to 71,xxx.

If I still had it I could get in high 30’s for it.

as stated, I would absolutely never touch one again personally, but to each their own. 👍
 

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Appreciate the comments above from multiple perspectives. I put 30k miles on my Jeep per year and would love to lower my fuel cost, but while I take many short trips i also drive ~100 miles a couple times per week, and 13mpg for those trips won’t work.

I’m off the pavement every day, and I use the bed at least every week. So the big question is do I:

1) Buy a hypothetical 4xe Gladiator and suffer the potential crushing depreciation.

2) Buy a used or heavily discounted new Wrangler 4xe and work around the lack of a bed maybe via Armorlite in the cargo area.

3) Buy a used Lightning and get the mpg and the capability but giving up the roof and doors off features I love :(
 

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Appreciate the comments above from multiple perspectives. I put 30k miles on my Jeep per year and would love to lower my fuel cost, but while I take many short trips i also drive ~100 miles a couple times per week, and 13mpg for those trips won’t work.

I’m off the pavement every day, and I use the bed at least every week. So the big question is do I:

1) Buy a hypothetical 4xe Gladiator and suffer the potential crushing depreciation.

2) Buy a used or heavily discounted new Wrangler 4xe and work around the lack of a bed maybe via Armorlite in the cargo area.

3) Buy a used Lightning and get the mpg and the capability but giving up the roof and doors off features I love :(
Of those options I would choose the second, with the solution for the lack of a bed being a 5x8 or 6x10 utility trailer that the Wrangler 4xe could pull. You'd have the plug in hybrid advantages, available now, all the Jeep features you love, and with the trailer attached the largest cargo area with a useful payload.
 

bleda2002

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Appreciate the comments above from multiple perspectives. I put 30k miles on my Jeep per year and would love to lower my fuel cost, but while I take many short trips i also drive ~100 miles a couple times per week, and 13mpg for those trips won’t work.

I’m off the pavement every day, and I use the bed at least every week. So the big question is do I:

1) Buy a hypothetical 4xe Gladiator and suffer the potential crushing depreciation.

2) Buy a used or heavily discounted new Wrangler 4xe and work around the lack of a bed maybe via Armorlite in the cargo area.

3) Buy a used Lightning and get the mpg and the capability but giving up the roof and doors off features I love :(
13 mpg is bull shit unless he's doing 85 up hill lol. I have a 4xe on 39s gets 15 on the highway 70-80 mph in Florida. Basically the same as my gladiator on 38s

We had to have the battery replaced as part of the recall, other than that 4 years so far of great ownership. Liked it enough we bought out the lease and plan on keeping it until 2028 when the next gen wrangler comes out.
 
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ShadowsPapa

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13 mpg is bull shit unless he's doing 85 up hill lol. I have a 4xe on 39s gets 15 on the highway 70-80 mph in Florida. Basically the same as my gladiator on 38s

We had to have the battery replaced as part of the recall, other than that 4 years so far of great ownership. Liked it enough we bought out the lease and plan on keeping it until 2028 when the next gen wrangler comes out.
The problem with his comments include - the JT will include the next generation of transmission which not only gets more mpg but better battery life, and - our stock Rubicon JLU 4xe does 16 on a bad day going against the wind in the hills, otherwise 19-20. (21 at some times in Florida)
I would also suspect the "massive depreciation" will mellow over time. We were in a weird time when government and industry were pushing different directions, and the cost to create such vehicles was higher than it will be in the future. They'll get cheaper with competition.
 

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The problem with his comments include - the JT will include the next generation of transmission which not only gets more mpg but better battery life, and - our stock Rubicon JLU 4xe does 16 on a bad day going against the wind in the hills, otherwise 19-20. (21 at some times in Florida)
I would also suspect the "massive depreciation" will mellow over time. We were in a weird time when government and industry were pushing different directions, and the cost to create such vehicles was higher than it will be in the future. They'll get cheaper with competition.
Not to mention people quote depreciation against an MSRP because they were the COVID car buyers who thought paying more than MSRP was a deal. Now with 25%+ off of MSRP to start the depreciation really isn't that high
 

ShadowsPapa

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Not to mention people quote depreciation against an MSRP because they were the COVID car buyers who thought paying more than MSRP was a deal. Now with 25%+ off of MSRP to start the depreciation really isn't that high
I note that other companies are doing some pretty heavy discounts as well.
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