Jeep has taken the wraps off its first-ever battery electric vehicle at the Paris Motor Show with the official unveiling of the Avenger.
The Avenger is packaged as a front-wheel drive crossover SUV that is likely to be more at home in the urban jungle than the actual jungle, with power supplied by a single electric motor setup pushing out 115kW and 260Nm.
Jeep’s powertrain comes fitted with a 400-volt architecture and is paired with a 54kWh lithium-ion pack that offers 400km of range on the WLTP cycle, increasing to 550km on the urban cycle.
The battery pack can be fast-charged at up to 100kW, bringing the charge from 20-80 per cent in 24 minutes, equating to around 30km of range added every three minutes.
In spite of the front-wheel-drive platform, Jeep is fitting the Avenger with its Selec-Terrain system with hill descent control, hinting at some light off-road potential for its first-ever battery-electric vehicle.
It stands 200mm off the ground (clearance) and measures in at 4080mm long, making it 160mm shorter than the Renegade, with Jeep claiming approach and breakover angles of 20 degrees, with the departure angle standing at 32 degrees.
In terms of styling, the Avenger retains the seven-slot front grille which is flanked by a modern set of LED headlights and a set of 18-inch alloys sitting inside the bulging wheel arches.
Inside, there’s a freshly-designed cabin with a heap of added storage in the centre console, a large beam making its way to the air vents and a 10.25-inch infotainment system and ambient lighting as standard, with higher-spec variants set to gain a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster.
Jeep says there’s 34L of storage available in the front of the cabin, far exceeding the industry’s claimed average of 15L, with boot space figures standing at 380L.
The Avenger also gains a heap of safety tech as standard, headlined by a level 2 autonomous driving system, with AEB braking, blind-spot monitoring, semi-autonomous parking and adaptive cruise control rounding out the safety package.
Jeep has previously confirmed that the Avenger will make its way to select European markets sometime next year, with Australian deliveries yet to be finalised. Antonella Bruno, Jeep’s European chief, said:
“The Jeep Avenger is the first zero emission SUV for the Jeep brand. It will be the new entry point to the Jeep range and will allow us to complete our SUV coverage and we expect it to become the best-selling model in our portfolio by 2024.”
