Jeep Avenger EV review

We’ve driven a lot of new Stellantis cars lately and some of them feel awfully similar in the cabin, with the same switch placement and infotainment screens.

But what makes the Avenger stand out is that Jeep has been rather brave and added lots of little touches to make it different, and to hark back to its roots.  

Of course, it has all the usual bits and pieces you’d find in a modern car such as a central 10.25-inch infotainment screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a seven-inch driver’s display and safety features such as a rear-view camera and parking sensors.

But the Avenger’s party trick lies in the details, which may be missed by the untrained eye.

Surrounding the cabin are lots of little Jeep nods to its heritage, which the brand has included for many years.

From the Willys Jeep grille on the dashboard to the little man looking through a telescope on the windscreen, it’s something a little different – and we like different. 

It’s also got a nifty storage solution in the front that we haven’t seen in a car before. Between the driver and passenger seats, there’s a cubbyhole covered by an iPad-like case flap.

This may not sound very special but it’s functional, meaning you can hide valuables out of sight – and avoid any crumbs getting in there.

It’s a simple yet effective piece of design from Jeep. 

Another feature that we long for in most other cars has made it to the Avenger.

Not only is the steering wheel covered in useful physical buttons, but there’s also a line of switches underneath the central display that feel very tactile and firm.

These control things like the radio volume, A/C, heated windscreen and temperature.  

While we think this is useful, the secondary row of buttons below isn’t as handy. We have nothing wrong with the gearbox functions being operated by buttons like on the Fiat 500, but our gripe is with the positioning, which seems quite far away from the driver – if you have shorter arms you may need to really stretch to select drive or reverse.

Maybe this is us just trying to pick faults, but it would be a lot easier to use the central lever style like in other Stellantis models such as the new Vauxhall Corsa Electric.

Slide into the driver’s seat, buckle your seatbelt and turn on the car to be greeted by a delightful chime.

This can be annoying if you’re in a hurry or in a foul mood, but first thing in the morning, it’s a nice reminder that you’re in a funky car – we’ll get onto its best sound in a bit. 

Once you’ve reached down to flick it into drive, you’re away. It really is as easy to drive as any other electric car on the market.

It’s nippy when it needs to be, has linear power delivery and corners just fine. One thing you will notice right off the bat is how heavy it is.

You can definitely feel its weight over bumps and potholes in the road, but being a Jeep – an electric one at that – 1,540kg seems about right.

Another thing is the road noise – it's quite a bit louder than some of its rivals, which becomes more apparent due to the lack of engine noise. 

The thing is, yes, this has a Jeep badge slapped on the front, but it’s a front-wheel-drive electric car, which to the hardcore off-roading purist is like telling Celine Dion she ‘hasn’t got a very good singing voice’.

It’s all the badge on the steering wheel stands for, but you may be surprised to learn it’s more capable than it looks.  

Thanks to drive modes including Sport, Normal, Eco, Sand, Mud and Snow, you’re able to tackle more terrain than you’d think.

These modes change the characteristics of the motor and steering to allow the car to cope better on looser surfaces such as sand and gravel.

But for now, no matter the mode, it’s front-wheel drive, which has its limitations in the depths of winter.

Jeep will, however, be releasing a proper 4xe all-wheel variant next year that will be more competent off-road.

It is a Jeep, so it would have been nice to launch the Avenger with better off-roading capabilities, but you have to think – who is really buying one to take green laning? Our bets are on very few people, if any. 

In Sport mode, the Avenger seriously gets up and goes for a car of its size and class, using all of its 156hp.

It’s no Tesla Model S, but with a 0-62mph launch of nine seconds, it’s as nippy as it needs to be. For a small electric SUV, it’s decently sporty.

Jeeps are meant to be slow off-roaders, not darty and quick, but with this departure from an ICE, it can have some fun with that instant torque.

It should be noted that Sport mode makes coming out at junctions a little understeer-y if you’re not prepared for the sensitive pedal, which is something to watch if you’re particularly heavy-footed. 

The range is impressive too. A full charge will get you a claimed 248-mile range from its 54kWh battery, and in our testing, we found that an 81% battery gave us 196 miles of range, which seems about right.

Jeep claims if you’re just driving in and around cities, you can get a full 342 miles of range from a single charge, which is more than many of its rivals.  

The Avenger benefits from 100kW maximum charging speeds, which is enough to top up the battery from 20-80% in 24 minutes.

Use a standard 7.4kW home wall box charger, and this will take just over seven hours. 

We promised we’d discuss the car’s greatest sound, so here it is. Most indicators sound pretty standard, with the usual ‘click clack, click clack’, but Jeep designers were apparently bored of this and decided to experiment.

It feels very much like a Friday evening thought down the pub, but it livens up the driving experience in a weird way.

We found ourselves circling a roundabout for much longer than we needed just to hear the funky beat of the Avenger’s indicator.

Imagine being in a nightclub in Munich listening to Euro-trance music, and that’s precisely what it’s like turning in this new Jeep. It’s simply incredible.

It is somewhat distracting when you get into the groove of humming along and tapping the steering wheel when you’re lost in the rhythm, but that's a small price to pay. 

Despite their size, Jeeps have never really been known for their practicality – unless it’s the larger Cherokee.

Most of the time they’re built to do one thing and one thing only: off-roading. But that’s not the Avenger’s main priority, so it can offer more storage space. 

From the deep storage compartment in the front with the iPad cover to the long shelf running along the dash, you’re not short of places to store things like road trip snacks, keys and phones.

Jeep has been very smart with this, and because the Avenger isn’t based on a petrol or diesel car, there’s more opportunity to explore new storage options – offering up to 34 litres of space in the front of the cabin alone.  

The rear seat space is great, offering enough legroom for most passengers. Its boxy design allows for more headroom too, which is something the Renegade was always rather good at.

We’re not 100% sure the Avenger can fit five people because of the narrow middle seat, but it would be fine for shorter journeys.

The Avenger has a 355-litre boot, which is more than you get in a Vauxhall Corsa or Renault Clio which you’d hope for.

You’d be better off opting for a VW Golf or Ford Focus if boot space is a priority, as they’re ever-so-slightly larger.

The Avenger’s wide loading bay makes it easier to load wider objects or suitcases, and you can fold down the rear seats to access the full 1,053 litres of space. 

Unlike the Hyundai Kona Electric, there isn’t a ‘frunk’ or any storage under the bonnet. This is a bit of a shame as it’s handy for a smaller food shop or rucksack, but to make up for it, Jeep has fitted a deep enough section under the boot floor to keep charging cables out of sight. 

There are three different model variants to choose from, all with varying prices from new.

This includes the Longitude (£35,700), Altitude (£37,400) and the top-spec Summit (£39,600). 

Pricewise, the Avenger sits in the middle of its competitors and is better value for money than some electric hatchbacks on the market.

Being relatively new, few have made it to the used car market yet, but when they do there should be a nice saving to be had. 

Once you’ve paid the purchase price in full or via car finance, there are the other costs associated with driving an EV you need to consider.

The obvious one is charging, which varies from car to car, charge station to charge station.

As a rule of thumb, home charging will cost 30p per kWh while fast to ultra-fast charging at a public charger will cost between 53p and 77p per kWh, resulting in a maximum total cost of £41.58 for one full charge of its 54kWh battery.  

Other costs include maintenance and car insurance. Being so new, the Avenger comes with an eight-year battery warranty and a standard three-year warranty.

This is usual for a new electric car, but reliability shouldn’t be an issue anyway with the lack of a combustion engine that has more parts to go wrong.  

As for insurance, the Jeep Avenger sits in between insurance groups 24 and 25, which puts it in the middle of the range, so it shouldn’t be too pricey. But of course, it will depend on factors such as the driver and where it’s parked overnight.

Written by Ben Welham