[Yawnie'sPapa]

My wife comes from a long line of Grand Cherokees. They have all had the 4.0 or later, the 3.6. I own my second Gladiator. Not a total stranger to Jeeps.
I recently made the mistake of showing her a Wrangler Sahara in a dealer show room that was "purple" (reign). I was sort of teasing her because for a long time she has said "I want a purple Jeep". We know Grand Cherokees are always conservative colors. No can do unless you go Wrangler. Well, expecting some comment like "nice" or hey, purple, she said "how much" and then "I want one". Does she? We'll find out......
So now my hours are spent trying to find her a loaded Wrangler Unlimited in reign. Must have body color roof, body color fender flares, and all the safety and convenience stuff. No black.
Most of my searches, I'd say 3/4 of what I see out there are 4xe. I'd never thought of that power train, I've been a 4.0 or 3.6 person myself so even as a former mechanic, don't know a lot about them so when I tell her I can't find any with the 3.6 I am further tasked with learning about the 4xe. Fine, my son traded his Compass for an Audi EV SUV so why not.......
My questions, finally, how would a 65 year old woman do with a 4xe? She's a "get in and go" person (handicaps mean I'd have to install steps and such) but for the power train - she's been asking about dealing with batteries, how far can she drive and special considerations - how will it do in Iowa winters at sub-0 temps, and so on.
Are these a young person's Jeep, or - taking into consideration age, physical handicap, arthritis and all - and cold winters, should I tell her she just can't have a purple Jeep (because none exist with our options that aren't 4xe) or at least consider one for her?
Must have Selec-Trac and it appears that's another plus for 4xe - that all seem to have that t-case. She can't shift a transfer case back and forth like I've done for years.
Thoughts? Realities of the 4xe us old timers LOL
(power is not a problem, my garage is wired for 220 welders and such with a 60 amp service)

 

[Mllcb42]

If you go in understanding that in the winter, you may have limited access to electric only mode, depending on temps, etc, then all she has to do is put it in 4 auto, leave it in hybrid, and go.

There can be some benefits to micromanaging modes to make it always do what you think it should be doing but it is far from necessary.

 

[diesel_dave]

If she's not interested in the specific benefits (and some negatives) of the 4xe powertrain and just wants to use it like a regular ol Wrangler, then I think she'll really like it. As long as it doesn't get below around -20 where you are, it will more or less be like any other powertrain. Below around that temperature you have to plug in or it won't let you start the engine for various reasons. If she wants to deal with plugging it in every day, she'll benefit from the economy improvements but if she doesn't, that's okay too. It will run along indefinitely powered by the gas motor just at a slightly lower economy than a regular 2.0L.

Long story short, it should be fine but maybe ask the dealer for an overnight test drive or check Turo. I almost rented a local 4xe on Turo to drive for a few days but decided I was going to get one anyway so just skipped that.

 

[CW Spook]

Another Iowan here. I think she'll be fine. We bought our 4xe, which is mostly "my" car just so my 75-yr old wife would have her choice of which vehicle to drive, as she was too short to get the clutch pedal depressed on my previous JK 6-spd. She hasn't driven the 4xe much, but knows she can if for some reason her new Mach-E isn't available.

The only thing to watch out for is the issue of very short ICE engine runs that can lead to oil dilution and the need for more frequent oil changes, but that could also occur in a regular 2.0. I micro-manage mine by watching the oil temperature and doing whatever is necessary to get it up to 180-190 degrees even on short trips into town, but that's just because I'm an old geek and like to prove you can get through an Iowa winter without encountering the FORM message.

 

[Robinred]

My wife comes from a long line of Grand Cherokees. They have all had the 4.0 or later, the 3.6. I own my second Gladiator. Not a total stranger to Jeeps.
I recently made the mistake of showing her a Wrangler Sahara in a dealer show room that was "purple" (reign). I was sort of teasing her because for a long time she has said "I want a purple Jeep". We know Grand Cherokees are always conservative colors. No can do unless you go Wrangler. Well, expecting some comment like "nice" or hey, purple, she said "how much" and then "I want one". Does she? We'll find out......
So now my hours are spent trying to find her a loaded Wrangler Unlimited in reign. Must have body color roof, body color fender flares, and all the safety and convenience stuff. No black.
Most of my searches, I'd say 3/4 of what I see out there are 4xe. I'd never thought of that power train, I've been a 4.0 or 3.6 person myself so even as a former mechanic, don't know a lot about them so when I tell her I can't find any with the 3.6 I am further tasked with learning about the 4xe. Fine, my son traded his Compass for an Audi EV SUV so why not.......
My questions, finally, how would a 65 year old woman do with a 4xe? She's a "get in and go" person (handicaps mean I'd have to install steps and such) but for the power train - she's been asking about dealing with batteries, how far can she drive and special considerations - how will it do in Iowa winters at sub-0 temps, and so on.
Are these a young person's Jeep, or - taking into consideration age, physical handicap, arthritis and all - and cold winters, should I tell her she just can't have a purple Jeep (because none exist with our options that aren't 4xe) or at least consider one for her?
Must have Selec-Trac and it appears that's another plus for 4xe - that all seem to have that t-case. She can't shift a transfer case back and forth like I've done for years.
Thoughts? Realities of the 4xe us old timers LOL
(power is not a problem, my garage is wired for 220 welders and such with a 60 amp service)

I just got my first Jeep. Sahara 4xe. I love it. I’m 66 bad knees but I found a way to easily get in. I live in the Midwest and it’s been cold. But she is doing great! I’m still in the breaking in mode. It’s been in the high teens to 30s and no problems. I have wanted a Jeep since I was 18. Couldn’t see getting a 2 door if I can’t get back there myself. I have a Hugh smile on my face when I get in. The best!,

 

[John S]

My wife comes from a long line of Grand Cherokees. They have all had the 4.0 or later, the 3.6. I own my second Gladiator. Not a total stranger to Jeeps.
I recently made the mistake of showing her a Wrangler Sahara in a dealer show room that was "purple" (reign). I was sort of teasing her because for a long time she has said "I want a purple Jeep". We know Grand Cherokees are always conservative colors. No can do unless you go Wrangler. Well, expecting some comment like "nice" or hey, purple, she said "how much" and then "I want one". Does she? We'll find out......
So now my hours are spent trying to find her a loaded Wrangler Unlimited in reign. Must have body color roof, body color fender flares, and all the safety and convenience stuff. No black.
Most of my searches, I'd say 3/4 of what I see out there are 4xe. I'd never thought of that power train, I've been a 4.0 or 3.6 person myself so even as a former mechanic, don't know a lot about them so when I tell her I can't find any with the 3.6 I am further tasked with learning about the 4xe. Fine, my son traded his Compass for an Audi EV SUV so why not.......
My questions, finally, how would a 65 year old woman do with a 4xe? She's a "get in and go" person (handicaps mean I'd have to install steps and such) but for the power train - she's been asking about dealing with batteries, how far can she drive and special considerations - how will it do in Iowa winters at sub-0 temps, and so on.
Are these a young person's Jeep, or - taking into consideration age, physical handicap, arthritis and all - and cold winters, should I tell her she just can't have a purple Jeep (because none exist with our options that aren't 4xe) or at least consider one for her?
Must have Selec-Trac and it appears that's another plus for 4xe - that all seem to have that t-case. She can't shift a transfer case back and forth like I've done for years.
Thoughts? Realities of the 4xe us old timers LOL
(power is not a problem, my garage is wired for 220 welders and such with a 60 amp service)

well…. My wife loves hers. She named it Miss Firecracker. I was unsure at first but can’t get her out of it. She is 73.

 

[Yawnie'sPapa]

Thanks to all for the replies. I'm finding no good reason to not consider a 4xe and frankly, that's all I am finding in the Wrangler Unlimited in reign. Of over 300 I've seen in searches, all but a dozen or so are 4xe.
It seems that's all dealers are ordering. Also can't find the body color 3 piece hard top. They've ordered 3/4 of them with the fancy power roof that adds over 4200 to the price, but that's another topic.
As long as the 4xe system isn't likely to leave my wife stranded anywhere, and as long as it starts and gets her there and back, I'm good with it (and won't mind the pep I've read about, either)

 

[Mllcb42]

Thanks to all for the replies. I'm finding no good reason to not consider a 4xe and frankly, that's all I am finding in the Wrangler Unlimited in reign. Of over 300 I've seen in searches, all but a dozen or so are 4xe.
It seems that's all dealers are ordering. Also can't find the body color 3 piece hard top. They've ordered 3/4 of them with the fancy power roof that adds over 4200 to the price, but that's another topic.
As long as the 4xe system isn't likely to leave my wife stranded anywhere, and as long as it starts and gets her there and back, I'm good with it (and won't mind the pep I've read about, either)

Have you considered ordering one equipped as you want?

 

[Yawnie'sPapa]

Have you considered ordering one equipped as you want?

Sure, and I would in a heartbeat if you could still order reign/purple. It was limited edition and I didn't even know it had been available until I saw one in a dealer's show room. I've not seen any on the street or in the wild so had no idea. But the sales guy I ordered both of my Gladiators through looked and reign was no longer listed on his computer.
I special ordered my first Gladiator - a 2020 - in 2019 just how I wanted it. Then of course 2 model years later there were other things I wanted so I traded for my 2022 - another special order.
I asked about the Wrangler in the show room and asked - can you get one of these with these other options. Scott, eager for a 3rd sale to me, sat down and was pulling up the wish list and came to color - reign was gone.

 

[Yawnie'sPapa]

Two other quick questions -
My wife does a remote start (detached, unheated garage) when it's really cold out, like below 20, 0, whatever. That way it's started to warm up.
Obviously there's no remote start on these as far as getting the engine running 2 to 3 minutes before taking off to have heat - how do the heaters work in these? Fast??

Then range - she droves down into Missouri for her favorite quilt shops with friends now and then. She's really proud of the almost 500 mile range of the GC. 24 gallon tank, 24-25 mpg, 26 on slower rural roads.
She can make the trip down and back and have gas to spare. She doesn't like stopping at gas stations out in nowhere land alone or even with friends. Not always safe. So she wants to be able to drove 160-200 miles down, and back again on the same tank.
Doable??

 

[Mllcb42]

There is heat from the gas engine and there is an electric coolant heater. It'll use the electric coolant heater unless it's cold enough it needs to run the engine for heat. Heat comes fast.

Worth noting that currently the electric coolant heater is probably the most common failure item on these. It is covered by 8 year warranty, but they do fail and when they do, you lose electric only mode in the cold.

You won't get 500 miles on a single tank. Expect more like 350. It's a much smaller tank.

 

[Yellow4xe]

Two other quick questions -
My wife does a remote start (detached, unheated garage) when it's really cold out, like below 20, 0, whatever. That way it's started to warm up.
Obviously there's no remote start on these as far as getting the engine running 2 to 3 minutes before taking off to have heat - how do the heaters work in these? Fast??

Then range - she droves down into Missouri for her favorite quilt shops with friends now and then. She's really proud of the almost 500 mile range of the GC. 24 gallon tank, 24-25 mpg, 26 on slower rural roads.
She can make the trip down and back and have gas to spare. She doesn't like stopping at gas stations out in nowhere land alone or even with friends. Not always safe. So she wants to be able to drove 160-200 miles down, and back again on the same tank.
Doable??

My wife wanted 4 things when we got our 4xe:

• Yellow
• Sky one touch top
• Leather seats
• Heated seats (cold weather group)

We open the sky one touch top a lot, sometimes with the heated seats. If it gets too chilly, we just close it. My wife LOVES the power top.

I usually keep it in the garage. On a business trip, I did the remote start when it was about 30 degrees. Since it wasn’t plugged in, the engine started to warm it up.

If she’s going on a 320-400 mile trip, she will need to stop for gas.

 

[Yawnie'sPapa]

There is heat from the gas engine and there is an electric coolant heater. It'll use the electric coolant heater unless it's cold enough it needs to run the engine for heat. Heat comes fast.

Worth noting that currently the electric coolant heater is probably the most common failure item on these. It is covered by 8 year warranty, but they do fail and when they do, you lose electric only mode in the cold.

You won't get 500 miles on a single tank. Expect more like 350. It's a much smaller tank.

Thanks for the info. A guy on the Gladiator forum who has a Wrangler 4xe said similar about the range - he said 320 was pushing it. 17 gallons??

• Yellow
• Sky one touch top
• Leather seats
• Heated seats (cold weather group)

We open the sky one touch top a lot, sometimes with the heated seats. If it gets too chilly, we just close it. My wife LOVES the power top.

I've found a couple of perfect matches except they have the sky one-touch top and I'm trying to find out if a dealer will swap tops. If they can remove that and put on a 3 piece hard top, I'd buy the hard top.
My wife doesn't even open the sun roof on her Grand Cherokee, and on the prior one I think I'm the one that opened it and later she closed it.

I've got a couple guys trying to talk me out of a 4xe - saying they are nothing but trouble, Jeep should be sued and so on, complaining about poor winter mileage (well, duh - sorry - that's any engine LOL) and a few other things that they hated about them but I never thought this old muscle car gas guzzler guy who loves the sound of a gas engine with plenty of HP would ever even consider looking, let alone almost leaning in that direction now. I guess my son has had a bad influence on me.

 

[Mllcb42]

A guy on the Gladiator forum who has a Wrangler 4xe said similar about the range - he said 320 was pushing it. 17 gallons??

It will come down a lot to driving style, etc. Some people do better than others. It's rated at 21 miles electric and then 20 mpg, so 320 is totally plausible.



I look at it this way... you can get a regular 2.0t jeep, pay more money for comparably equipped, get equally poor gas mileage in the winter/on long distances, have many of the same jeep quality concerns, not save tons of gas when it's warmer out, and have a much, much lower powered drivetrain... but why?

 

[Yawnie'sPapa]

If a person actually plugs it in, takes off with full tank of gas and uses it as intended - a "hybrid", is that the best mpg in typical weather and driving?
I see all sorts of numbers, often ranging 30 mpg and higher.
If the tank was 17 gallons and you could get 30 mpg it would be a lot closer to 500 miles per tank.
Or am I thinking badly?

I'd never expect the 49 or even 45 but I have seen talk of 30 mpg.

 

[Mllcb42]

If a person actually plugs it in, takes off with full tank of gas and uses it as intended - a "hybrid", is that the best mpg in typical weather and driving?
I see all sorts of numbers, often ranging 30 mpg and higher.
If the tank was 17 gallons and you could get 30 mpg it would be a lot closer to 500 miles per tank.
Or am I thinking badly?

I'd never expect the 49 or even 45 but I have seen talk of 30 mpg.

View attachment 8909

Be careful, it's rated at 49 mpge , not mpg. Mpge is a measurement of efficiency for electrical use.

Rather than reading "49 mpge", what you should really read is "1.45 mpkWh". Mpge is a travesty of a unit.

The 4xe is a phev, so if you hop in and do a 300 mile trip without messing with drive modes, it'll basically do the first 20-25 miles in all electric, using 0 gas. After that is up, the gas engine will fire up, and you'll get 20ish mpg from that point forward.


If you ask me what mpg I get, the answer I'll give is about 22mpg, 37mpg, and about 70mpg.

When the gas engine is running, I get about 22mpg. If I go off what the dash says, it says about 37 mpg, because it tries (and does a poor job) of factoring in an equivalent mpg value for the electricity used. If I look simply at the gallons of gas put in and divide by the total miles driven, I get around 70 mpg.

Ultimately, all those values are basically worthless as they reflect more of what kind of drives I do rather than the actual efficiency of the vehicle.

 

[Yawnie'sPapa]

Be careful, it's rated at 49 mpge , not mpg. Mpge is a measurement of efficiency for electrical use.

Rather than reading "49 mpge", what you should really read is "1.45 mpkWh". Mpge is a travesty of a unit.

The 4xe is a phev, so if you hop in and do a 300 mile trip without messing with drive modes, it'll basically do the first 20-25 miles in all electric, using 0 gas. After that is up, the gas engine will fire up, and you'll get 20ish mpg from that point forward.


If you ask me what mpg I get, the answer I'll give is about 22mpg, 37mpg, and about 70mpg.

When the gas engine is running, I get about 22mpg. If I go off what the dash says, it says about 37 mpg, because it tries (and does a poor job) of factoring in an equivalent mpg value for the electricity used. If I look simply at the gallons of gas put in and divide by the total miles driven, I get around 70 mpg.

Ultimately, all those values are basically worthless as they reflect more of what kind of drives I do rather than the actual efficiency of the vehicle.

Perfect. Glad I asked. So those who talk of 30 mpg aren't necessarily off - it depends.
There's a decent YT video out there a fellow is running his 4xe (Rubicon, I think) one some trails (some rather rough) and he ran over 10 miles on all electric which I think was pretty amazing considering the use of the steering, the hills, how tough it is to get over rocks and boulders and climb out of ravines and so on.

I used to work for government and the state cars were Prius and Honda and I got used to the engines running much of the time, in fact, most of the time. Come to a stop, the engine stopped (like ESS) and the electric simply assisted giving crazy good mpg. I could hit some of our remote offices without needing gas. But the engine ran a lot, especially taking off. Push the pedal and the engine started.
Apparently these are a lot different.
I didn't realize that they ran in all electric mode until the batteries were down to 1% or whatever. I figured the electric was an assist and the engine ran most of the time like the hybrid state cars.

 

[Mllcb42]

didn't realize that they ran in all electric mode until the batteries were down to 1% or whatever. I figured the electric was an assist and the engine ran most of the time like the hybrid state cars.

Think of a phev like a normal hybrid, but with an extra chunk of electric only upfront. You still get the electric assist the rest of the time, but when the battery is full, you can just skip the gas engine.

In other words, when the battery reads <1%, the 4xe turns into a "normal" (aka "mild") hybrid.

Now, because it's a wrangler, it's not particularly efficient as a mild hybrid, especially on the highway.

 

[FL4xe]

She can make the trip down and back and have gas to spare. She doesn't like stopping at gas stations out in nowhere land alone or even with friends. Not always safe. So she wants to be able to drove 160-200 miles down, and back again on the same tank.
Doable??

It will have a lot to do with terrain and driving style.

We have made several trips between FL & N. Ga (~630 miles) with one stop for refueling (gas) after leaving with a full charge. The GA side was mostly through small towns (55 mph & lower), the FL side was mostly highway (I-95).
The highway travel is best run with E-save as the battery is best used for lower speeds, (the Wrangler doesn't do well economy wise above 70mph).
Our GC easily made the same trip but I don't remember the mpg we got so it doesn't really help n the comparison.

Is there time and ability to charge at her Missouri destination?
(Just a thought.)

 

[Kannmess]

My wife comes from a long line of Grand Cherokees. They have all had the 4.0 or later, the 3.6. I own my second Gladiator. Not a total stranger to Jeeps.
I recently made the mistake of showing her a Wrangler Sahara in a dealer show room that was "purple" (reign). I was sort of teasing her because for a long time she has said "I want a purple Jeep". We know Grand Cherokees are always conservative colors. No can do unless you go Wrangler. Well, expecting some comment like "nice" or hey, purple, she said "how much" and then "I want one". Does she? We'll find out......
So now my hours are spent trying to find her a loaded Wrangler Unlimited in reign. Must have body color roof, body color fender flares, and all the safety and convenience stuff. No black.
Most of my searches, I'd say 3/4 of what I see out there are 4xe. I'd never thought of that power train, I've been a 4.0 or 3.6 person myself so even as a former mechanic, don't know a lot about them so when I tell her I can't find any with the 3.6 I am further tasked with learning about the 4xe. Fine, my son traded his Compass for an Audi EV SUV so why not.......
My questions, finally, how would a 65 year old woman do with a 4xe? She's a "get in and go" person (handicaps mean I'd have to install steps and such) but for the power train - she's been asking about dealing with batteries, how far can she drive and special considerations - how will it do in Iowa winters at sub-0 temps, and so on.
Are these a young person's Jeep, or - taking into consideration age, physical handicap, arthritis and all - and cold winters, should I tell her she just can't have a purple Jeep (because none exist with our options that aren't 4xe) or at least consider one for her?
Must have Selec-Trac and it appears that's another plus for 4xe - that all seem to have that t-case. She can't shift a transfer case back and forth like I've done for years.
Thoughts? Realities of the 4xe us old timers LOL
(power is not a problem, my garage is wired for 220 welders and such with a 60 amp service)

Don’t purchase a 4xE they are having terrible terrible recall issues