The all-new Jeep Avenger is the brand’s first-ever battery electric vehicle (BEV) and it has been designed and built in Europe. Despite the lack of an internal combustion engine, it embodies Jeep brand DNA, thanks to its unique combination of capability, style, functionality, and technology.
This particular Jeep Avenger is the top-of-the-line model, ‘Summit’, which offers extra features including 18” Diamond Cut Alloy Wheels, Heated Windshield, Privacy Glass, LED Projector Headlamps, LED Taillamps, LED Foglamps with Cornering Function, Glossy Black 7 Slot Grille, Bi-Colour Roof, and a Sunroof.
The Jeep Avenger has Permanent Magnet Assisted Synchronous Reluctance electric motor with 115kW of maximum power and 260Nm of maximum torque that offers modest acceleration of 0-100km/h in 9 seconds and a maximum speed of 150km/h. The transmission is a Single Speed Reduction Gear and apart from feeling that the brake pedal was long and soft feeling there was nothing noteworthy with regards to the powertrain. The Avenger is the first front-wheel drive Jeep vehicle equipped standard with Selec-Terrain and Hill Descent Control. The drive modes available include Sport, Normal, Eco, Sand, Mud, and Snow, and I spent the week in Normal mode.
The claimed WLTP driving range is 390km with a Certified Combined Cycle Consumption of 158Wh/km. For my week I calculated my usage to be 167Wh/km or 16.7kWh/100km giving me a maximum range of 324kms. The 54kWh Nickel Manganese Cobalt battery in the Jeep Avenger supports three different charging modes and is equipped with a CCS COMBO Type 2 socket that enables both domestic/public AC, and public DC fast charging, with the latter at a rate of 100kW in dedicated public stations. The vehicle comes standard with a Mode 3 charging cable for both public and domestic slow or semi-fast AC charging.
The charge plug is located at the rear of the vehicle on the passenger side and a light near the plug illuminates green when charging is in progress. The claimed charging time for a 11kW AC charger from 0-100% is 5 hours 34 minutes and for 100kW DC 20-80% charge this drops to just 24 minutes.
The keyless entry is on the driver’s side front door only and the keyless push button start sometimes took multiple attempts to start the vehicle. On the interior, the Summit has little luxuries including leather accented seats, 6-way power driver seat adjustment with 2-way power lumbar support (but no memory positions), basic massaging function on the driver’s seat, 6-way manual passenger seat adjustment, heated front seats, and a 10.25” Instrument Cluster Display that has a nice-looking design.
The 10.25” infotainment touchscreen is standard across the Avenger models as is Wireless Apple CarPlay and Wireless Android Auto. The Wireless Android Auto worked well for me and did not drop out during my week driving the Avenger and this is an improvement from other Stellantis vehicles that I have recently driven. Media sources include AM/FM radio, DAB+, and smartphone with a 6-Speaker Sound System. At front of centre console there is a wireless phone charger for compatible devices, one USB-C port, one USB-A port and one 12V socket.
The voice control is summoned by pressing the microphone button on the steering wheel or infotainment screen or by saying ‘Hey Jeep’ and the animation that appears is the iconic Jeep grille. The functionality of the voice control worked well for changing the radio station and making a phone call, but not for setting a destination on the sat nav. The advice the Jeep gave me was that I should connect my ChatGPT account for a better experience.
There are some design features I love about the Avenger and some that I don’t like, but let’s start with the good bits. The Avenger has a fun design and there’s Easter Eggs a plenty inside and out of the vehicle for you discover. I also like that there is no gloss black plastic in the cabin and that the single zone climate control has physical buttons.
On the downside the Max A/C was not up to the task of cooling the cabin on a hot day and this is compounded by the thin blind over the sunroof, which really needs to be more opaque. The storage in the cabin is also a bit hit and miss, you do get a long ledge on the passenger side of the dash, but the front glovebox is so small it doesn’t even fit the owner’s manual and service booklet and these have to be stored in the map pocket behind the front seat. The drink bottle storage cubby in the front doors is only suitable for small drink bottles, but larger bottles do fit in the cubby near the armrest or the deep pocket near the wireless phone charger. The cup holders are located under the arm rest and they are deep so this makes it difficult to get your coffee cup out. I also didn’t like the noise that the indicators made when I used them.
The rear door handles are integrated into the C pillar, so may be too high for young children to reach them easily. For them the Avenger has two ISOfix/three rear tether child seat restraint points, but the width of the rear seat would most likely limit you to a maximum of two car seats. I found that there was adequate head and leg room for me in the rear seats, but taller individuals would find the headroom tight. I did feel that the seats lacked under thigh support though and my knees were sitting up high.
Features are somewhat limited for rear passengers as there is no fold centre arm rest and no drink bottle storage cubbies in the rear doors and no rear air vents. There is one USB-C port located between the two front seats and even though it’s a BEV it still has a transmission tunnel. The Avenger does have rear floor mats, but they small so almost pointless.
The Avenger Summit has gesture open/close boot or you can open/close it from the key fob or the button in the cabin without an issue. The same can’t be said for the button on the tailgate, which worked intermittently and would only sometimes attempt close the boot when I pressed it. When it did actually shut it didn’t fully lock so when I started driving on multiple occasions the indicator on the dash told me that the boot was still open so I had to pullover and press it firmly to close it. I gave up trying to use the powered close and would just manually close the tailgate down instead.
The boot fits the weekly shop with ease and it has two hooks and one light in the boot space area. If more space is required the rear seats have a 60:40 split fold mechanism with the latch on the seat shoulders, but the seats do not lie flat when you lower them. The boot floor can be propped open and there is some under floor storage in the boot for tyre repair kit and the Mode 3 charging cable that comes as standard. If you want a Mode 2 charging cable that plugs into a standard 240V plug for home charging you will need to purchase one separately.
The Jeep Avenger line-up has a 3-star (2024) ANCAP safety rating with an Adult Occupant Protection score of 79% and a Child Occupant Protection score of 71%. Dual frontal, side chest-protecting and side head-protecting airbags are standard.
Standard active driver assist systems on the Avenger Summit include Traffic Sign Recognition, Lane Keep Assist, Blind Spot Assist, Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Centering, Autonomous Emergency Braking with Vulnerable Road User, and Driver Attention Assist. ANCAP tests of the autonomous emergency braking (AEB) (Car-to-Car) system showed GOOD performance with collisions avoided or mitigated in many test scenarios, including AEB Junction Assist where the test vehicle can autonomously brake to avoid crashes when turning across the path of an oncoming vehicle. The AEB system does not react to when crossing the path of another vehicle or in head-on scenarios, and hence AEB Crossing and AEB Head-On tests were not conducted. ANCAP tests of lane support system functionality showed GOOD performance in lane keep assist scenarios, and ADEQUATE performance in the more critical emergency lane keeping scenarios. The overall ANCAP safety assist score is 54%.
For convenience you get Automatic Headlights, Automatic High Beam System, and Rain Sensing Windscreen Wipers. Plus, a standard rear-view camera and a 360-degree view camera with front, side and rear parking sensors, but annoyingly while you are trying to manoeuvre and look at the cameras it puts chevrons around the vehicle and you can’t see what is happening.
The Jeep Avenger has a 5 Year/100,000km warranty, an 8 Years/160,000 km battery warranty and Lifetime Roadside Assist (when your vehicle is serviced through Jeep). Scheduled servicing for the Avenger is every 12 months or 12,500km, whichever comes first. Capped price servicing for the first five services is priced at $250 each.
Just as the Avenger’s Living Lightning is able to transform himself into electrical plasma and uses his electrokinesis powers to protect the planet, this BEV has a simpler quest. The Jeep Avenger Summit starts at $60,990 plus on-road costs and with the optional premium paint in Lake my Avenger was $61,980 excluding on-road costs. You can Build & Price your Avenger online and view available stock or visit your preferred Jeep dealer for more information.
| Pros | Cons |
| The Easter Eggs | Multiple design misses on the interior |
| Physical buttons for the climate controls | The tailgate operation |
| Improved operation of Android Auto for a Stellantis vehicle | The reversing camera display |
Photographs by Driven Women Magazine.