Australia, meet the Jeep that changes everything

Jeep is a brand best known for its big, thirsty, off-road-capable 4x4s, but its first-ever electric vehicle is almost the complete opposite.

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It’s the brand-new 2024 Jeep Avenger – a city-sized, electric-powered, light SUV designed to tackle the wilds of your inner suburbia rather than 'big' Australia.

But while it might prioritise the urban adventure over the rough stuff, the brand's first electric vehicle for the Australian market borrows important Jeep attributes that set it apart from its electric competitors.

Here's what you need to know...

That’s a big milestone for the brand, which is beginning to offer more hybrid variants of its vehicles. But the introduction of a full-electric vehicle is a hallmark moment in any car maker’s plans, and Jeep is making a big deal of the Avenger’s introduction.

According to the brand, the Avenger will deliver a 400km range based on its European testing. Jeep also says it’ll take 24 minutes to charge from 20 to 80 per cent based on a maximum charge rate of 100kW. It uses a 54kWh battery pack that supplies power to a 115kW/260Nm motor.

It’s front-wheel-drive only, but the brand also offers petrol-powered variants of the Avenger. Though there are no plans to introduce the petrol Avenger in Australia, the brand hasn't ruled it out either.

Electric vehicles have long remained out of touch for everyday Australians until recently, when we’ve started to see more affordable models, particularly out of China.

Jeep wouldn’t comment specifically on what the Avenger will cost when it finally makes its way to Australia, but “with our other vehicles [Jeep does not] traditionally compete with [entry-level] markets,” a brand representative told Drive.

“We’re really trying to position ourselves as a premium offering, but we will try to be as aggressive as possible on price.”

With that in mind, it may be priced closer to the $50–$60,000 mark like other premium-leaning electric vehicles such as the Cupra Born or Tesla Model 3.

That price would slot in more affordable than its stablemates such as the Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Despite the Avenger being a Jeep – traditionally a purveyor of large off-road vehicles – it’s a car that was designed for small suburban streets like the kind you’ll find all over Europe.

It is Jeep’s smallest-ever model, despite packing a hefty battery pack under the metalwork, and its dimensions place it roughly in line with the Toyota Yaris Cross, size-wise.

The car is made at a Stellantis (Jeep’s parent company) factory in Poland, and its looks and styling were created at the brand’s design studio in Turin, Italy.

Even though it’s not meant to be a dedicated off-roader – wait for other electrified Jeep models such as the Recon for that – the brand has included protective plastic cladding all around to ensure the bodywork doesn’t get brushed by trees and the like.

It also has a 200mm ground clearance, 20-degree approach angle, 20-degree break-over angle, and a 32-degree departure angle.

Interior-wise, the Avenger’s design catches the eye with big 10.25-inch screens and a cabin-wide coloured dash panel. There’s also coloured ambient lighting to amp up the space’s appeal.

The two screens utilise a new Jeep infotainment software – different to the old Uconnect system – which has the capability to connect to your phone in order to update the owner about range information, provide vehicle status, and can even remotely lock and unlock the vehicle.

Thankfully there are still physical controls for things like volume and temperature controls – which we love.

Small SUV bodies make interior comfort and storage a tricky prospect, but Jeep has made over 30 litres of storage space available between cubbies, like a ridiculously deep glove box, lidded centre console tray, and centre console bin.

There is no shortage of design Easter eggs on the Jeep Avenger, a trait the brand has become known for with its other models.

These include a child looking through a telescope at a constellation within the windscreen surrounds, cute seven-bar grille motifs found on each wheel, a compass with coordinates emblazoned on the radar sensor, and a ladybug casting within the roof.

If that’s not enough of a conversation point, Jeep offers customisation and accessories to spruce up the Avenger. There are graphic stickers that can be applied to the bonnet, seven-slot grille, and even the roof.

There are also two-tone colour options that add a black roof and side mirrors.

Jeep has told us the Avenger is due in Australia in the second half of 2024, some 18 months behind its European release. More information about the Jeep Avenger line-up, and how it’ll be priced, will become available as the car’s launch nears.

How the Jeep Avenger fares once it has landed and launched in Australia is another matter, but the model is already winning praise following its introduction in Europe this time last year.

It recently became the European Car of the Year in 2023, and various other international publications have awarded the Avenger.