What do we think of this little electric Jeep SUV?
We’ve seen an electric Wrangler “Magneto” concept, but this looks like a production-ready shot at the first Jeep EV to hit the streets. It emerged as part of Stellantis’ “Dare Forward 2030“: a presentation covering “how Stellantis employees will engineer the new era of mobility”. The focus, as we’ve been hearing nearly industry-wide over the past few years, is a goal to achieve a near-total BEV portfolio within the next decade, and carbon neutrality by 2038.
Part of that plan begins with this small, yellow Jeep EV. Beyond the visual reveal, the company did not disclose much information, including what this car’s name might be nor any technical specs on what EV powertrain it plans to house in this diminutive crossover. To my eye, this car looks like a cross between the Renegade and the Compass, and sort of sized between the two. In true Jeep style, you get the seven-slotted grille (or at least a facsimile of one), plenty of cladding all around and nice, chunky wheels. You also get the rear door handles hidden up in the C-pillar — a Toyota C-HR-like move I’m not a huge fan about, but you may well feel differently about that on the styling front.
So, what do we think this Jeep EV will bring to the table? In Stellantis’ modern language, this car will most likely sit on the “SLTA Small” platform, with a relatively small battery size to suit. That platform can accommodate units anywhere between 37 and 82 kWh, and it’s reasonable to think this will have something on the higher end of that range, with its SUV profile. Stellantis claims up to 310 miles on even the Small platform, though we’ll have to see how that shakes out when Jeep launches a full production model debut.
As the Magneto suggests, off-roaders will see more cars catered to their needs in the coming years as well. “Pure Offroad UVs”, as Stellantis refers to them, should be in the pipeline from 2024, as are “Lifestyle Family SUVs”. If this is more of a straight-up replacement to the Renegade, we may even see a Trail Rated (Trailhawk?) version of this car, too.
We should know more on this as-yet-unnamed Jeep in the next year or so, as it makes its way toward series production. Stay tuned for more updates!
Correction 3/1/22: An earlier version of this post referred to Stellantis’ plan as “Date Forward 2030”, rather than “Dare Forward 2030”. That’s been corrected — apologies for the typo.
