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4xe review by a "Jeep Guy"

11187 Views 20 Replies 12 Participants Last post by combs1945, 10 mo ago

eLECTRICON

Discussion Starter · Jul 17, 2021 (Edited)

I'm a "Jeep Guy". I didn't buy the 4xe because it was a hybrid. I bought it for the 475ftlbs of torque and 375hp. Which is the same torque and 100hp less than the 392. The talk of the extra weight from the battery didn't scare me at all. I was actually thinking it would perform better off road with the added weight to the back. Counter weight to the engine, keeps your ass on the ground. You cant listen to all these EV'ers on the forums and social media, they have no experience with the 4xe. I immediately went 4-wheeling strait from the dealer. After that I knew what I wanted for modifications. I ripped it apart on day 2. Cut crap off to make stuff fit and wa-la. 3.5" Teraflex lift and 35" tires with Falcon aDapt shocks. I took it out to Moab, UT on the Jeep Badge of honor trails and 8,750mi later still performs like new. I defiantly had to retorque suspension and steering bolts but your supposed to do that on every vehicle after the break-in period. The fact the it had electric power was a bonus for me. I did Hells Revenge in All Electric in 4L and it performed better than any of my other Jeeps. It just flawlessly dominated a 8-10 level trail. No gas or brake......it crawled on its own and regen brake going down. In silence I "mapped the earth" hearing noting but rocks crunching, birds chirping, rivers running and the occasional side-by-side buzzing up behind me. The problem is people are looking for EV comparability. That's not what Jeep was doing here, strictly upgrading an already off road capable machine. It was made for Jeep enthusiasts not for EV'ers. This is our family car and everyday driver. I'm a single dad of three loving the Jeep Life!.

Wheel Tire Car Vehicle Hood

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Shakes

· #2 · Jul 17, 2021

Totally agree with you! That’s a great testament to the build of this vehicle.
I also believe that however or whatever your reason for buying is, it’s ok to use how you wish. Hell, if you are a soccer mom and want a Rubicon with all the bells and whistles to drive around town in? Good for you! That’s your right, you paid for it and can use it however you want.

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blutz

· #3 · Jul 17, 2021

@eLECTRICON love your posts. I've been following you on other forums. I just ordered my Rubicon 4xe and intend to mimic some of your mods as well as beat it to hell on the trails in CO, UT and AZ. My crew will be 8 and 11 yo girls. See you out there sometime hopefully ~

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eLECTRICON

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jul 18, 2021

blutz said:
@eLECTRICON love your posts. I've been following you on other forums. I just ordered my Rubicon 4xe and intend to mimic some of your mods as well as beat it to hell on the trails in CO, UT and AZ. My crew will be 8 and 11 yo girls. See you out there sometime hopefully ~

Thanks! I want to go back to all three of those places! Be safe my friend! 🙏

Reactions: 1

Wonderdan

· #5 · Jul 18, 2021 (Edited)

Love the post… I feel the same way… I used to have a built JK and it just didn’t check enough boxes for the family.

Off road in complete silence is an experience I look forward to doing more, I don’t think I will ever own an 100% EV for backcountry however. I do foresee my canam XRS going all electric in a few years and me hauling a 200kw battery in the back of my F250 to recharge it, the pedal to ground torque efficiency makes you legitimately feel like a better dirt driver/drifter in so many ways.

I’ve been saving the EV for areas I like to dirt drive…though sometimes my ev-save doesn’t seem to activate and I have to do it more than once. To me this means when I'm given the chance to after market upgrade this battery technology/range in 5 years I will…I got the 10/100k ESP because it was only $2500 and that seemed reasonable.

EV enthusiasts have a lot of opinions, but now that we all are getting some form of an EV I’m starting to realize most ppl have a pretty superficial relationship with automobiles… Wrangler ppl have a genuine interest in their cars… Im looking forward to the future when all the ‘usual’ gear heads instead of telling us how to get 5more lbs of boost will know how to regulate voltage and how to regen a battery with a winch

I actually have a Volvo XC90 PHEV…yes they have a bit smoother drive train but that’s mostly because it’s muted by the weight, air ride and 1000 lbs of insulation.

So kudos to Jeep… this Ford fan boy was set to deliver a Bronco this month and this quickly changed my mind. Ford has fixed a lot of the annoying bits but this was a game changer for justifying taking up one of my garage space. They did a terrible job marketing the 4XE… no one knew it was coming… but I predict it will drive its own success. Yes it may brick itself one day 100 miles from anywhere but so could a Dana 30 axle

High density PHEV is my choice everyday and all day over full electric… we can have our cake and eat it too.

IMO Jeep’s weakness is not preparing their service network to work on these, they should have done what Tesla did when it started and make regional hubs with ppl that actually know what they are doing… unacceptable service turn around times.

I feel like what Jeep did here was give me all the excuses I needed to convince my wife and still keep my pickup, easy parking, 7500 tax credit, work commuter EV, no death wobble(yet), doesn't feel dangerous trying to pass anymore. She still holds the crash test rating "no curtain airbags" over me mainly because Bronco addressed that.

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JeepNerd

· #6 · Jul 19, 2021

eLECTRICON said:
I'm a "Jeep Guy". I didn't buy the 4xe because it was a hybrid. I bought it for the 475ftlbs of torque and 375hp. Which is the same torque and 100hp less than the 392. The talk of the extra weight from the battery didn't scare me at all. I was actually thinking it would perform better off road with the added weight to the back. Counter weight to the engine, keeps your ass on the ground. You cant listen to all these EV'ers on the forums and social media, they have no experience with the 4xe. I immediately went 4-wheeling strait from the dealer. I broke the passenger mirror and dented the tailgate on day 1 of ownership. After that I knew what I wanted for modifications. I ripped it apart on day 2. Cut crap off to make stuff fit and wa-la. 3.5" Teraflex lift and 35" tires with Falcon aDapt shocks. I beat the crap out of it in Moab, UT on the Jeep Badge of honor trails and 8,750mi later still performs like new. I defiantly had to retorque suspension and steering bolts but your supposed to do that on every vehicle after the break-in period. The fact the it had electric power was a bonus for me. I did Hells Revenge in All Electric in 4L and it performed better than any of my other Jeeps. It just flawlessly dominated a 8-10 level trail. No gas or brake......it crawled on its own and regen brake going down. In silence I "mapped the earth" hearing noting but rocks crunching, birds chirping, rivers running and the occasional side-by-side buzzing up behind me. The problem is people are looking for EV comparability. That's not what Jeep was doing here, strictly upgrading an already off road capable machine. It was made for Jeep enthusiasts not for EV'ers. This is our family car and everyday driver. Im a single dad of three 6,7,and 8yrs of age. I'm no soccer mom!!! View attachment 1224

Love seeing the 4xe getting really used! Any good online resources pointing to places to torque for steering and suspension? Would be nice peace of mind to put a torque wrench on each after reading others issues with loose bolts.

Reactions: 4

Archnemysis

· #7 · Jul 19, 2021

Wonderdan said:
… Im looking forward to the future when all the ‘usual’ gear heads instead of telling us how to get 5more lbs of boost will know how to regulate voltage and how to regen a battery with a winch

This… and I don’t think we are too far off from that either. Considering how there was almost no marketing of the 4xe, but sales skyrocketed on their own, I think it is a good indication the market really wants to see this space develop. What starts off as niche communities can rapidly turn into mass market appeal. Everyone from you tubers to journalists to manufacturers are driven by data and clicks today. As interest climbs, it feeds the snowball.

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nivcrawls

· #8 · Jul 26, 2021

I have never done off-roading before getting my 4xe (other than growing up in the sticks in the foothills of the rockies, lots of offroading by default up there, but never had a serious 4x). I took my jeep off-road literally on day one, on way home from the dealer, and got it mudded up right away. I have been out at least 1x a week since, including some fairly hairy stuff. I went out with a buddy who is a serious long term off-roader, and he has a Toyota FJ, lifted and modded, and he was just repeatedly blown away by what this bone-stock 4xe can do (much of which his FJ could not). Yesterday I crawled a gully that had stopped two polaris's cold. I am getting in trouble on the regular because I am clearing obstacles that turn other vehicles around, then the trail pretty much peters out (heavy undergrowth in the PNW, any serious trails = pinstriping) I don't have enough background to say "is the stock 4xe Rubicon ready to offroad?" but I have several 100 hard trail miles under her (stock 33") tires and zero problems. Here's yesterday crawling mine creek in Washington State (photo is at our lunch stop just before the video was shot)..

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Shakes

· #9 · Jul 26, 2021

Love it. Great job!

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Wonderdan

· #10 · Jul 27, 2021

nivcrawls said:
I have never done off-roading before getting my 4xe (other than growing up in the sticks in the foothills of the rockies, lots of offroading by default up there, but never had a serious 4x). I took my jeep off-road literally on day one, on way home from the dealer, and got it mudded up right away. I have been out at least 1x a week since, including some fairly hairy stuff. I went out with a buddy who is a serious long term off-roader, and he has a Toyota FJ, lifted and modded, and he was just repeatedly blown away by what this bone-stock 4xe can do (much of which his FJ could not). Yesterday I crawled a gully that had stopped two polaris's cold. I am getting in trouble on the regular because I am clearing obstacles that turn other vehicles around, then the trail pretty much peters out (heavy undergrowth in the PNW, any serious trails = pinstriping) I don't have enough background to say "is the stock 4xe Rubicon ready to offroad?" but I have several 100 hard trail miles under her (stock 33") tires and zero problems. Here's yesterday crawling mine creek in Washington State (photo is at our lunch stop just before the video was shot)..

View attachment 1344

Welcome great post

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PdxHighAltitude4xe

· #11 · Jul 27, 2021

eLECTRICON said:
I'm a "Jeep Guy". I didn't buy the 4xe because it was a hybrid. I bought it for the 475ftlbs of torque and 375hp. Which is the same torque and 100hp less than the 392. The talk of the extra weight from the battery didn't scare me at all. I was actually thinking it would perform better off road with the added weight to the back. Counter weight to the engine, keeps your ass on the ground. You cant listen to all these EV'ers on the forums and social media, they have no experience with the 4xe. I immediately went 4-wheeling strait from the dealer. I broke the passenger mirror and dented the tailgate on day 1 of ownership. After that I knew what I wanted for modifications. I ripped it apart on day 2. Cut crap off to make stuff fit and wa-la. 3.5" Teraflex lift and 35" tires with Falcon aDapt shocks. I beat the crap out of it in Moab, UT on the Jeep Badge of honor trails and 8,750mi later still performs like new. I defiantly had to retorque suspension and steering bolts but your supposed to do that on every vehicle after the break-in period. The fact the it had electric power was a bonus for me. I did Hells Revenge in All Electric in 4L and it performed better than any of my other Jeeps. It just flawlessly dominated a 8-10 level trail. No gas or brake......it crawled on its own and regen brake going down. In silence I "mapped the earth" hearing noting but rocks crunching, birds chirping, rivers running and the occasional side-by-side buzzing up behind me. The problem is people are looking for EV comparability. That's not what Jeep was doing here, strictly upgrading an already off road capable machine. It was made for Jeep enthusiasts not for EV'ers. This is our family car and everyday driver. Im a single dad of three 6,7,and 8yrs of age. I'm no soccer mom!!! View attachment 1224

Super cool! We have zero experience 4x4’ing and this is our first Jeep. Anyone else around Portland who wants to meet up amd ride some trails?

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HungryHound

· #12 · Aug 10, 2021

eLECTRICON said:
I'm a "Jeep Guy". I didn't buy the 4xe because it was a hybrid. I bought it for the 475ftlbs of torque and 375hp. Which is the same torque and 100hp less than the 392. The talk of the extra weight from the battery didn't scare me at all. I was actually thinking it would perform better off road with the added weight to the back. Counter weight to the engine, keeps your ass on the ground. You cant listen to all these EV'ers on the forums and social media, they have no experience with the 4xe. I immediately went 4-wheeling strait from the dealer. I broke the passenger mirror and dented the tailgate on day 1 of ownership. After that I knew what I wanted for modifications. I ripped it apart on day 2. Cut crap off to make stuff fit and wa-la. 3.5" Teraflex lift and 35" tires with Falcon aDapt shocks. I beat the crap out of it in Moab, UT on the Jeep Badge of honor trails and 8,750mi later still performs like new. I defiantly had to retorque suspension and steering bolts but your supposed to do that on every vehicle after the break-in period. The fact the it had electric power was a bonus for me. I did Hells Revenge in All Electric in 4L and it performed better than any of my other Jeeps. It just flawlessly dominated a 8-10 level trail. No gas or brake......it crawled on its own and regen brake going down. In silence I "mapped the earth" hearing noting but rocks crunching, birds chirping, rivers running and the occasional side-by-side buzzing up behind me. The problem is people are looking for EV comparability. That's not what Jeep was doing here, strictly upgrading an already off road capable machine. It was made for Jeep enthusiasts not for EV'ers. This is our family car and everyday driver. Im a single dad of three 6,7,and 8yrs of age. I'm no soccer mom!!! View attachment 1224

Totally agree. Did pretty much the same, but with no mods. Moab, CO, WY, MT, etc... our goal was to cross a mountain pass on a fire road or trail going from state to state or city to city. Did it most places. It is, however, distressing to see how many former BLM or Forrest Service roads are being closed and sold to private parties. Big Sky, Montana is dead to us now. Only one decent trail that's just an in-n-out surrounded by private land. Don't bother going there, definitely NOT Jeep friendly. We missed 4 planned trails due to locked gates that my wife wouldn't let me collapse with the winch. These were through roads too!

We pushed it hard on our last trail outside of Colorado Springs and slid over some lone boulders on the trail that were impossible to avoid with wheel placement. I was a little worried about the seemingly exposed oil pan on the 2.0 engine, but then I realized I could drive out of the trail in electric mode even if I smashed all the oil out of the Jeep. It's kind of a cool concept for self rescue.

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michail

· #13 · Aug 16, 2021

Sad to hear about Montana as such. Montana has some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. Along with a few of the worst ones too. But the former outweigh the later.

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HungryHound

· #14 · Aug 16, 2021

michail said:
Sad to hear about Montana as such. Montana has some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. Along with a few of the worst ones too. But the former outweigh the later.

Virginia City is a much better home base for running trails. Big Sky seems to be a Cali relocation town.

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IdahoJOAT

· #15 · Oct 8, 2021

I'm actually kind of curious about this as I was perusing YouTube recently looking for footage of a 4xe on the Rubicon Trial... finding none. Some Moab, not as much as I thought there'd be.

Anyone have a report? There's even a charger there.

HungryHound

· #16 · Oct 8, 2021

IdahoJOAT said:
I'm actually kind of curious about this as I was perusing YouTube recently looking for footage of a 4xe on the Rubicon Trial... finding none. Some Moab, not as much as I thought there'd be.

Anyone have a report? There's even a charger there.

No official Jeep charger in Moab as far as I know. I raised a stink about the one in town not being in service because of permitting issues, and it got removed as a result instead of handled as a customer incentive. I was told it was put in under a temp permit during Jeep Easter Safari and had to be shut down. Hopefully, they put it out of town somewhere near some of the farther trails (maybe north) since Fins-n-Things is not that far from the City's charging stations.

We were there 2 weeks and only spent a half day in the park where Fins and Hells Revenge is located. To me that area us like the Disney World of Offroading. Lots of obstacles but also waaaay too many people. Enjoyed the trails out in the desert much more. Quiet and still challenging in spots with easier work-arounds if you like to keep the paint on the bottom of the frame.

Charles Wells book is a great tool for planning Moab. Plan a long day to do Onion Creek and grab dinner or lunch at the Paradox resort in Gateway. You can take the highway back and it's an easy, but enjoyable trail with 20-plus water crossings. A great first day trip out of Moab IMHO.

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IdahoJOAT

· #17 · Oct 8, 2021

HungryHound said:
No official Jeep charger in Moab as far as I know. I raised a stink about the one in town not being in service because of permitting issues, and it got removed as a result instead of handled as a customer incentive. I was told it was put in under a temp permit during Jeep Easter Safari and had to be shut down. Hopefully, they put it out of town somewhere near some of the farther trails (maybe north) since Fins-n-Things is not that far from the City's charging stations.

We were there 2 weeks and only spent a half day in the park where Fins and Hells Revenge is located. To me that area us like the Disney World of Offroading. Lots of obstacles but also waaaay too many people. Enjoyed the trails out in the desert much more. Quiet and still challenging in spots with easier work-arounds if you like to keep the paint on the bottom of the frame.

Charles Wells book is a great tool for planning Moab. Plan a long day to do Onion Creek and grab dinner or lunch at the Paradox resort in Gateway. You can take the highway back and it's an easy, but enjoyable trail with 20-plus water crossings. A great first day trip out of Moab IMHO.

I really appreciate your intel. I was planning a Moab trip last fathers day, and while it didn't materialize, I never heard this kind of talk.

I was referencing the Rubicon Trail charger though, tbh.

HungryHound

· #18 · Oct 8, 2021

IdahoJOAT said:
I really appreciate your intel. I was planning a Moab trip last fathers day, and while it didn't materialize, I never heard this kind of talk.

I was referencing the Rubicon Trail charger though, tbh.

Yeah, I figured that too. I haven't done the Rubicon since they came out with the 4xe. They're supposed to put one in the camp about halfway thru the trail.

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eLECTRICON

Discussion Starter · #19 · Jan 15, 2022

JeepNerd said:
Love seeing the 4xe getting really used! Any good online resources pointing to places to torque for steering and suspension? Would be nice peace of mind to put a torque wrench on each after reading others issues with loose bolts.

Thank You! I haven't had any issues.

eLECTRICON

Discussion Starter · #20 · May 8, 2022

I now run a Rock Krawler 3.5" No Limits Lift with 4.5" springs in the rear and 37" BFG KO2s.

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