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Grand Cherokee 4xe MPG, Drive Modes and More

Tony

Active member
I am in the process of conducting some fuel economy tests under various conditions and drive modes. In an earlier thread I promised to post my results and have included them here. This is from my first evaluation.

Conditions: Driving in Hybrid Mode and starting each segment with a full charge.
Total Segments 5
Miles driven on battery 231.8
Miles driven on gasoline 287.3
Total miles traveled 519.1
MPG from trip computer 27.9
For reference, the projected range before refueling was 96

Filled tank and took 17.31 gallons
519.1 / 17.31 = 29.98 mpg

Some comments: I realize that the outcome can vary considerably depending on the ratio of miles traveled on electric vs. gasoline. Also that the mpg results should improve as the vehicle accumulates more miles. Started my testing with only 70 miles on the odometer.

My sense is that my Grand Cherokee does not perform like a typical Hybrid in that without charging it cannot compare to most Hybrids that generate more electric energy for improved fuel economy. That being said, I did not purchase this vehicle solely for fuel economy but more for utility. I am in the process of conducting two more evaluations. The one currently, is to start with depleted electric power and a full tank. This time driving in E-Save only. Since I started without any electric power, this will be a way to measure the amount of electric power that in being generated.

My next exercise is to start under the same conditions only this time in Hybrid. I’m interested in comparing the results. I will not be charging in either of these two cases. I will post the results as they become available. I would appreciate hearing form others on this subject.

Tony
 

Jake22

Well-known member
I'd appreciate hearing from others on this subject.
4xe's are a short lived gap filler. Jeep's still struggling with '22 production.
I just don't see the value...I'll wait for the upcoming EV.
No point in your testing, other than personal curiosity.
 

Tony

Active member
Actually, it is personal curiosity. Right now I'm running in E-Save mode which is essentially gasoline mode and I see that I'm generating more electric energy than I thought would be the case. Just started this today, no data yet. I will keep posting results in the event others may find the data of interest.
 

sikclown

Active member
The one currently, is to start with depleted electric power and a full tank. This time driving in E-Save only. Since I started without any electric power, this will be a way to measure the amount of electric power that in being generated.
We don't have full access to the battery so you will never actually have it fully depleted and even with Battery Save I am not sure there is a way to 100% defeat any electrical assistance. But you will get a better approximation of gas mileage without the benefit of visible electric assistance.

I am at 930 miles on my Grand Cherokee 4xe and current MPG is at 38.1 but I got this vehicle because my use case fits what it is designed to do. I just put in my first tank of gas (they filled it up at the dealership when I got it, so second tank) @ 800 miles and have used 47 miles of gas out of the 130 on this tank. I charge nightly.
 

Tony

Active member
Thanks sikclown, when I finish with a little more experimentation, I will be doing the same, charging nightly. I’m waiting for an electrician to run a 220v line for me. Most of my driving is local so I anticipate getting the benefit of a plug in hybrid.
 

hcl

Well-known member
Actually, it is personal curiosity. Right now I'm running in E-Save mode which is essentially gasoline mode and I see that I'm generating more electric energy than I thought would be the case. Just started this today, no data yet. I will keep posting results in the event others may find the data of interest.
I find these results very interesting, and relevant to my decision on whether to go 4xe or not. Until charging stations are nearly as plentiful as gas stations, it looks like the PHEV provides a good improvement in fuel economy, and for most city commutes, a fully electric solution. I'd also be interested in acceleration comparisons with the V6, since I understood the electric does give it a boost off the line. I'd also like to know about any service issues, since this now entails maintenance of 2 power generators. To me, the PHEV offers the best of both worlds, and remains preferable to a full EV until the charging infrastructure catches up.
 

sikclown

Active member
I find these results very interesting, and relevant to my decision on whether to go 4xe or not. Until charging stations are nearly as plentiful as gas stations, it looks like the PHEV provides a good improvement in fuel economy, and for most city commutes, a fully electric solution. I'd also be interested in acceleration comparisons with the V6, since I understood the electric does give it a boost off the line. I'd also like to know about any service issues, since this now entails maintenance of 2 power generators. To me, the PHEV offers the best of both worlds, and remains preferable to a full EV until the charging infrastructure catches up.
This is completely unscientific and all anecdotal BUTI drove a 2022 GC Overland V6 around for about a week when my old car was in the shop and my GC Summit Reserve 4xe is much quicker to me in Hybrid mode. In Electric mode there is a perceptible delay between flooring it and the Engine actually moving it. In Hybrid it is nearly instantaneous and it takes off. Biggest complaint is the 2.0 sounds meh but I no longer notice my disdain for it.
 

Tony

Active member
I agree with, and appreciate, all of the previous comments. This will conclude my experimenting with different modes/settings. I thought it would be interesting to measure the amount of charge created by driving in e-Save Mode. Starting with a full tank of gas and depleted electric, I reset Trip A, began driving and was quite surprised at how fast I was accumulating electric energy. As “sikclown” indicated, we don’t have full access not can we fully control a lot of what is going on and this experiment proves that. I found that after accumulating electric charge to a level of approximately 83%, I stopped generating electric power and began consuming gasoline. This occurred after diving 72.6 miles. At that time I took a screen shot of Trip A (shown below), switched to Hybrid and reset Trip A. By doing this I now wanted to confirm my suspicion that running in Hybrid is really running in Electric Mode until all electric energy is depleted. Not the case with a typical Hybrid.

Phase 1 Trip A.jpg

The second screen shot of Trip A, running strictly in Hybrid Mode, shows that I ran 16.4 miles strictly on electric and then started consuming gasoline. At this point both electric and gasoline will be used and although I still had 4% battery available I terminated my experiment.

Phase 2 Trip A.jpg

Below is a screen shot of Trip B showing a combination of both phases of this evaluation.

Phase 2 Trip B  Combined.jpg

A Cluster view of the overall MPG rating from start to finish. No external charging was used, only the electric power generated by the vehicle.

MPG Summary.jpg

A few comments. For someone wanting the economy of a Hybrid and running much more that a few miles each day, other options may be better. For someone wanting to store electric power for the trails or for driving limited miles each day and then charging, this would be a great option. The latter describes how I will be using my Jeep. I also agree with “hcl” that a full EV version down the road makes sense. For me, I first want to see extended battery range in addition to an expanded infrastructure.
 

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  • Phase 2 Trip B  Combined.jpg
    Phase 2 Trip B Combined.jpg
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hcl

Well-known member
This is completely unscientific and all anecdotal BUTI drove a 2022 GC Overland V6 around for about a week when my old car was in the shop and my GC Summit Reserve 4xe is much quicker to me in Hybrid mode. In Electric mode there is a perceptible delay between flooring it and the Engine actually moving it. In Hybrid it is nearly instantaneous and it takes off. Biggest complaint is the 2.0 sounds meh but I no longer notice my disdain for it.
Thanks. That's useful to know. You'd think the reviewers would cover that, and some have vaguely suggested the 4xe is quicker, but this is the first direct, (though not exactly measured), comparison I've seen.

As far as fuel efficiency goes, it looks like you only got a significant improvement in Hybrid mode on short trips between charges that used more battery than gas. In longer trips, it looks like you didn't get much better than the ICE mileage. It seems, as you indicated, Hybrid just uses up all of the electric, then switches to fuel. Is there no regeneration in Hybrid? Does running in e-Save mode with a full charge give better than Hybrid mileage?
 
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Jake22

Well-known member
Hybrid just uses up all of the electric, then switches to fuel.
Bottom line..the only reason these are even being built is to improve Corporate Average Fuel Economy. Consumer pays a premium for an overweight vehicle with additional electronics, wiring & plumbing. Imagine owning one when the warranty expires, not to mention the depreciation factor.
 

Tony

Active member
Thanks. That's useful to know. You'd think the reviewers would cover that, and some have vaguely suggested the 4xe is quicker, but this is the first direct, (though not exactly measured), comparison I've seen.

As far as fuel efficiency goes, it looks like you only got a significant improvement in Hybrid mode on short trips between charges that used more battery than gas. In longer trips, it looks like you didn't get much better than the ICE mileage. It seems, as you indicated, Hybrid just uses up all of the electric, then switches to fuel. Is there no regeneration in Hybrid? Does running in e-Save mode with a full charge give better than Hybrid mileage?
Yes, their is regeneration in Hybrid, the first part of my evaluation shows that after driving 72.6 miles I generated 83% power or a 23 mile range. I did not test running in e-Save mode starting with a full charge. I started with a depleted battery because I wanted to see how much electrical energy would be generated. Running in e-Save mode after a full charge would yield a very high MPG but wouldn't last very long. I found that running in Hybrid mode gave me around 23 mpg.
 

Tony

Active member
Bottom line..the only reason these are even being built is to improve Corporate Average Fuel Economy. Consumer pays a premium for an overweight vehicle with additional electronics, wiring & plumbing. Imagine owning one when the warranty expires, not to mention the depreciation factor.
You might be right and they can certainly do better on fuel economy.
 

GCOverland

Well-known member
Consumer pays a premium....

Not really.

I just leased one yesterday (I now own two WLs) - LOL! The lease was cheaper on the 4xe than on a regular one. I got a total discount of $12,000 towards this lease with the huge junk of it coming from the $7,500 tax break that is instantly passed on by Chrysler Financial.

I got a 4xe Trailhawk, MSRP just short of $70K. Leased it for 39 months/12k miles per year. Put $2k down, got a wheel & tire insurance plus an additional service contract. Monthly payment: $793.

This is hard to beat these days for such a vehicle. My MY20 Summit Reserve was almost $3K cheaper but the lease on that one a year ago would have been north of $1,000.

So yes, there is a premium on the 4xe but absolutely no need to pay it. I would have preferred an all electric solution as well but you can't get what's not available.
 

GCOverland

Well-known member
Would you conclude that your overall range, with a full charge and a full tank, is still longer with the greater weight?

The weight is not the issue in this case - it's the fact that the 4xe comes with a smaller gas-tank.

My gut tells me that the V6 has the bigger range but due to a slightly better MPG performance and the 25 mile electric head-start, it's pretty close.

This is also what fueleconomy.gov is suggesting..
 

hcl

Well-known member
This shows the 2022 model, (when the gray interior and off road group were available, sigh), but this is the most complete review of the 4xe Overland, or WL74 in general I've seen. It includes nearly every control and display option in 1:20 mins.
I don't think he mentioned this, but is the dash layout and all of the individual settings retained with each of the 3 seat/user profiles?
 
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hcl

Well-known member
The weight is not the issue in this case - it's the fact that the 4xe comes with a smaller gas-tank.

My gut tells me that the V6 has the bigger range but due to a slightly better MPG performance and the 25 mile electric head-start, it's pretty close.

This is also what fueleconomy.gov is suggesting..
It's pretty evident that full EVs are hindered by extreme cold, but I assume that's not a factor for PHEVs since they can run on gas until the battery thaws. But has anyone seen a difference in the water depths the PHEV can handle. Jeep PR claims: All high-voltage electronics are sealed and waterproof. The Trail Rated Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe is capable of water fording up to 24 inches. But I wonder how long those seals last.
 
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