Jeep just debuted its very first fully-electric vehicle, the Jeep Wagoneer S. Built on the company’s STLA Large platform, the thing sends 600 horsepower and 590 lb-ft to a motor at each axle, yielding a 0-60 time of 3.4 seconds. It has 45-inches worth of screens inside and a super low 0.29 drag coefficient. But what I want to talk about is the Trailhawk concept version of the Wagoneer S, because it looks kinda badass, and it really looks more like a production car than a concept car.
Jeep just introduced the Wagoneer S and Wagoneer S Trailhawk concept in New York, and as marginally interesting as the regular Wagoneer S is, I — an off-road enthusiast — am more interested in the Trailhawk. Let’s take a quick peek (I’m going to have to keep this blog short, as it’s 2 AM in St. George, Utah, where I’m spending the night on my way to Moab in an Ineos Grenadier).
Interestingly, nowhere on the Wagoneer S’s or Wagoneer S Trailhawk’s press release is there mention of ground clearance, approach, departure, or breakover angles, so take that for what it’s worth. That’s extremely peculiar for a new Jeep, especially one purporting to offer real off-road capability. Road & Track does have some figures for the standard S, and they’re pretty weak, which isn’t surprising given that drag coefficient. From R&T:
The system provides the truck with about 6.9 inches of ground clearance, which falls a bit short of the Grand Cherokee’s 8.9. Furthermore, option the right suspension package on a Grand Cherokee and that figure jumps up to 10.9 inches. Based on the presence of a Wagoneer S Trailhawk concept, don’t expect to wait long before seeing a more capable Jeep EV. The Wagoneer S also provides approach, departure and breakover angles of 19.2, 23.4, and 14 degrees, respectively.
Still, the Trailhawk has 31.5-inch all-terrain tires, a raised suspension, and a unique fascias, so those number should go up a bit. Plus it gets , a rear locker for the rear drive unit andheavy-duty tow hooks.
From the front (see above), the thing looks badass. From the side, though?:
It’s aight. It’s a bit blob-ish. Not quite as squared off as I’d like. But it’s not bad. I do like the vehicle’s rear end, which looks like this:
That wide track, that tall rear bumper, and those flares really make the machine look aggressive from behind. As for the inside, here are a few peeks:
Oh, and in case you’re curious about what the standard Wagoneer S (not Trailhawk) looks like, here are some pics. I find its design mostly unremarkable:
I like the red interior. The rest gives off a megatron vibe with a Land Rover gun slit windows overlay. It’s a Stellantis production so ain’t gonna ever happen for me.
The Chrysler design office continues to do very well. Ralph Gilles knows his way about and can put good people in charge of designs. Even if their powertrains and fit and finish are rushed like hell leading to some quality issues, they still will look quite excellent until it falls apart, which will be fairly soon. I have massive respect for Chrysler engineering. They’re generally given fewer resources and less time than their GM and Ford counterparts, and they still get it right eventually ~3 years after launch. And then that tooling is run into the ground while still looking pretty pretty good (L and D platforms endured with minimal refresh)
It looks like a range rover that’s biting its lower lip so the upper row of teeth are showing…
It looks cool, but offroad? Not sure when tiny rear windows came into vogue, but they’re a serious impediment to proper offroading (not that you should be hooning in reverse all that often, but a clear view of obstacles that the backup camera can’t see on account of being in the air, like branches and the like, is nice).
That cockpit is not offroad-friendly, either.
From elsewhere:
That’s… it? My antique 1999 4Runner can tow 5k. 1,033 pounds is 4 Americans and 60 pounds of gear apiece. I’m having a hard time correlating the power ratings with the payload here. Are they intentionally under-rating it to meet the MPGe ratings?
There was an article earlier today fisking somebody else’s article about the need for us to just go all-in on EV. But this vehicle is the perfect embodiment of why EV adoption is struggling. I’m not sure what’s going on with the Jeep/Wagoneer brand these days, but this feels like an inflated cute-ute at a correspondingly inflated price. People who actually do Jeep-y things in their Jeeps might lean into EV adoption if something more barebones were offered at approximately half the price point.
I want something capable, not something cool. 600HP might look great on paper, but pair it with “Can handle only 3 overweight Americans and 1 large dog before exceeding the GVWR” and people are going to get turned off.
It looks like a BZ4X/Solterra that’s been eating a lot of pizza and started wearing Affliction shirts
The interior looks good, the exterior, especially the front 3/4 shot, makes me think of an updated Cherokee. It’s not bad, but not great either.
Trailhawk should have some sort of air ride and 12″ of ground clearance minimum while in “offroad mode”.
The Trailhawk variant slaps, the vanilla version, not so much.
Also can we stop doing the squangle, squircle dodecahedron steering wheels? Why?
Disagree on the slapping but agree on the steering wheel.
“No, no, just make it look like everything else out there but give it slotted looking lights so people know it’s a Jeep.”
Snarky comments aside, I don’t like the screens on the interior but those red seats are killer. Can red make a comeback as an interior color please?
I’m not a fan of candy red, but some deep maroon would be soo hot.
A “bit blob-ish?” It’s just a pseudopod away from menacing Steve McQueen and his friends.
It’s got a Range Rover sport vibe going on.
That’s some bad hat Harry
This is “badass” in the same way that the ass of someone who has to wear Depends every day is bad.
Sometimes bad is bad – Huey Lewis
When I see the sloped roof hidden by the spoiler – I think “that looks super cool”. Then I am disgusted by it and myself. As an suv, it becomes far less useful with that shape. How far forward is the hinge for the lift gate? how far can you hang off the back of the roof rack before the spoiler hits when opened? It doesn’t even look like a bike rack could fit.
Just think of it as a sport wagon then.
For a company that wants to sue the pants of anyone trying to use their trademark grill, this design sure downplays said grill. It looks pretty unremarkable to me. This could be any other boring ass SUV on the road.
Relevant XKCD.
Ultimately though, I think you’re right. This fits within the “Wagoneer” brand Jeep was trying. Now that it’s defunct, this doesn’t look like a Jeep, and it’s going to pay the price for it, I think. If they could have styled it like a “traditional” Jeep, they might have kept some of that brand cache. Since it only hints at being a Jeep, and looks otherwise like everything else, it’s yet another expensive midsize SUV in a market that is probably oversaturated by this point.
Jeep has stated that they want this to compete with the MYP, which lol is a 4 year old car at this point.
Lets compare:
1300 lbs heavier than the MYP (5700 vs 4400)
Similar or worse range despite having a 25% larger battery (300 miles on 100KWh vs 320 on ~80 KWh)
20K more (71.5k vs 51.5k)
Also doesn’t appear to have an optional towing package…. sigh
I mean COME ON. I’m begging for an actual competitor here… not some halfassed half-baked effort that just gives people ammunition to say eVs ArE toO eXPenSIvE.
Half-baked is the goal. “Look, we tried, but people don’t want EVs. We’re gonna go stick Hellcats in things some more.”
You are right, it is just frustrating.
I say as an owner of a 2020 MY LR
I’m frustrated with the state of EV competition, too. I have an Equinox EV on order, and I went and put hands on one…I was planning on ditching Kia, but nothing sells an EV6 better than sitting in some of the lackluster competition. I just want a few really solid options at the reasonable end of the market.
I feel that. I mean tbh right now this MY is our primary car (my wife has an 09 Bug…) for basically everything, so roadtripping keeps me pretty locked to superchargers. I just hate that the competition is so bad in practice.
I’m not old enough to find the Ionic 5 anything other than a grotesque mess. But the EV6 does catch my eyes.
Ironically because this is the main vehicle, having a normal sized tow hitch even with like a 1500-2000 lb rating is a pretty big deal to me. Between the right kind of bike racks, and small trailers for 4’x8′ sheets or long lumber… I mean I can fit 2by4by10s in my car, but it’s stupid and I find a trailer well secured to be much more comfortable for everyone.
Sometimes I see a mess, sometimes I see something I like, but it just doesn’t quite come together for me. The capacitive “buttons” are the deal-killer for me. The EV6 using the same knobs for volume and heat is a little annoying, but it’s something I can live with, plus the styling and range are better.
I’d look at a used EQS for the good highway range, but the insurance premiums are so much higher and the controls are all screen-based. Plus it’s more money for a used Mercedes than a new Kia.
Well not THOSE EVs.
Now lets see what China’s got for < $20k
Sorry I conflated MYP and MYLR range. Though tbh, the MYP is a stupid vehicle that no one should buy, and the comparison against the MYLR AWD is even more abysmal outside of ‘lol speed’.
I like it. Wonder if the Grand Cherokee refresh will take on some of these styling cues.
Just as long as they don’t use the existence of this appearance package as an excuse to not make the Recon.
Dammit jeep, all we want is for you to make something offroad capable that isn’t a wrangler.
My understanding is that the Recon is still coming. have you read otherwise?
No, I haven’t heard otherwise, but it does seem like something chrysler would do.
Wonderful. Another $70k+ psudo-luxo midsize SUV that will sell in limited numbers mostly due to price. More ammo for the “See, no one wants electric cars!” crowd.
Also, I concur, Jeep’s naming conventions of late are idiotic. No one understands them.
I still don’t understand the naming convention for this. They have a wagoneer / grand wagoneer which are basically the same vehicle, and then the wagoneer S which is completely different (2-row EV vs. 3-row gas hog). Outside of the type of people who read car blogs who is going to be able to keep them straight?
Should’ve just called it the grand cherokee EV.
But that wouldn’t justify the price they want to ask. They want Wagoneer buyers for this, not Grand Cherokee buyers (never mind that the GC 4xe is already up pretty close to this).
They already tried to push the GC upmarket (upper trims get into the $70k range), and while it’s a nice car it’s not worth what they’re charging for a Jeep. They have to offer 10-15% off to keep them moving. It’s not like the current Wagoneers have been smash hits either.
Trying to make Jeep a luxury brand when Stellantis has 3 other luxury brands in the US alone dying on the vine makes no sense to me.
Yeah, the GC is too far upmarket, but this gets to look like a nice deal on a Wagoneer instead of a high-end GC. In any case, it sort of feels like they know Jeep is the only remaining success in their stable, so they want to see if they can milk it for that sweet luxury money.
What are Stellantis’ purported three luxury brands?
Alfa? (a rebadge Dodge)
Chrysler? (what’s left under that marque?)
Maserati – I’d would agree there.
Ferrari was spun off with an IPO.
Yes, and your point is exactly what I mean. They have 3 brands that they’ve let wither into irrelevance instead of giving them fresh things to sell like this. They claim Chrysler is going to be an EV brand, where is the Chrysler version of this car?
I had to really look to tell this isn’t a facelifted GC. I thought maybe they retired the ‘Cherokee’ name to start using ‘Wagoneer’. That said, I still don’t get Wagoneer vibes from this. Even the gargantuan luxo-barge looked very slightly more like the vintage namesake. There’s also the (lack of) grille; like they just had to add the GC face but wanted a full EV look so they half-assed it at the top with some cooling vents at the bottom. Either lean into the 7-slot or don’t!
You’re right. This looks like a GC. It was likely designed as an electric GC. But they really want to push the limits of pricing, so they’ll call it the Wagoneer so that buyers can stomach the price and feel they are getting something more “premium” than the GC.
It’s pure marketing drivel and shouldn’t work. The Wagoneer hasn’t been selling well because it’s not worth the money and those buyers want something better. This will also fail.
Wagoneer was supposed to be its own brand, now it just means luxury jeep. doesn’t mean it makes much sense though.
Looks a hell of a lot better than the current Wagoneer.
But $72,000? (checks bank account) I’m out. Not that I was ever in…
That steeply sloped rear glass with the wing above it is pretty interesting. It probably cuts into cargo space, but I guess it’s for aerodynamics.
Reminds me of an older Range Rover Sport. I really dislike that trend; it takes such a huge bite out of cargo space and utility. One of my favorite things about my 4Runner is the near vertical rear window. It makes the interior essentially a big box, I can fit a ton of stuff in it (or comfortably sleep in it).
Looks like one of those cartoon baleen whales. A big smile of krill-sucking teeth with eyes on the side of its head.
In the last image where the lights are on, I definitely see it.