Sharing the same “STLA Large” platform as the Recon, the Wagoneer S will be built on a unibody platform with a big battery pack under the belly, a frunk up front, and a motor driving each axle — a fairly standard setup to find in a modern EV. Jeep says it’s aiming for a range of 400 miles and an output of 600 horsepower, which should get the machine to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds. The car will make a public debut in 2023, with production starting the following year. Apparently Jeep is taking reservations as early as early 2023.
I don’t have a ton of commentary to add to these photos other than that Jeep’s decision to start its fully electric lineup with the Wagoneer S and the Recon makes a lot of sense. The latter is billed as a family-sized off-roader, and the Wagoneer as a premium SUV. These are two segments that tend to command high price tags, and right now electric cars are just expensive. So if you’d like some profit margin, you may as well wrap those pricey batteries in luxury, because people will willingly drop heavy coin for it. A pricey mid-size or small SUV may not have worked in the U.S. right now.
I’ll note that I find the rear wing fun and different, and the wide rear horizontal light bar looks nice, too. Plus, in the dark photo above, the grille slots look like snow buildup:
Of today’s three all-electric Jeep debuts, this one has me least interested. The Avenger is a small EV that should appeal to the masses in Europe if it’s priced right, and the Recon is Jeep’s first truly off-road capable EV. This Wagoneer S, though, looks a lot like other EV crossovers on the market. It looks nice! But, compared to the other two Jeep EVs that showed their faces today, this one feels less interesting, but maybe my colleague Jason can find some excitement in the Wagoneer S.
[Editor’s Note: I’m not sure I can actually find some excitement in this, because I’m not sure I’d even be able to sit in something so sleek and modern without combusting, but I do think what they’re showing here – even if they’re just renders – is a handsome and clean design. I think even David’s cloudy engineer eyes honed in on the two key details of this design: that interesting roof-mounted wing and the novel treatment of the traditional Jeep seven-slot grille. The rest of the design is impressively minimal, with the only real bit of jewelry being that polished steel arch that runs up the A-pillar, across the roofline, and then fills and defines the D-pillar. It’s clean and precise-looking, which seems to be the defining design language here, and that roof wing follows suit as well, extending back from that roofline cleanly, not so much rising as much as allowing the center part of the roof to dip down, leaving the wing to carry the roofline on its own. It’s a nice touch, though I think the vantage point to really appreciate it is from above, where it won’t be seen as often for us non-avians.
The treatment of the fiercely-defended Jeep seven-slot grille is interesting, because, as we’ve seen on a few other recent Jeeps, it’s not actually a grille, because those aren’t open air intake slots. In many ways, this is the most radical departure, because they’re not really slots at all, instead are seven gaps between eight teeth-like dividers there, over a sloping, textured, and it appears illuminated surface. On this EV, there’s no need for cooling air in that area (it all seems to come in below the bumper line) so what’s left is purely for identity purposes.
In this illumination, the negative space shapes do suggest piles of snow, as David noted, though I wonder if that’s partially an effect of the photograph, since in person the concavity of the the silver textured area may be more evident.
It’s interesting, though I’m not so sure how strong its connection to the traditional Jeep slots are, if that even matters at this point?
Anyway, I think it’s handsome but maybe a bit forgettable, like other handsome things I’ve known. – JT]
Fixed it for you.
I think the swept back and wing are a modern and interesting choice that helps with CD, but on a vehicle this large, it may look like a caricature of “sport” (think more Rolls Cullinan and less RR Sport). But at the same time, it makes all the sense in the world to start with larger EVs where you can store a greater amount of battery. I imagine with the assistance of time and investment, we can eventually get back to reasonably sized cars when cheap batteries with range don’t take up quite so much space.
And for the record, as an American, I’m once again inclined to feel robbed as Europe gets the coolest option.
Who hurt you, Jason?
Other than that, not really interested.
If Jeep would revive the Old Skool Cherokee — with the 4.0 inline-six — we might have something to talk about.
There’s nothing wrong with the existing Wagoneer IMO, so I’m not particularly interested in this one.
Reminiscent of a Range Rover Velar. But the Velar does it better.
This is not to my tastes. Of all the Jeep products just announced, I actually prefer the looks of the Avenger over the rest of them, even over the Recon.
I think it’s a mistake that the Avenger will not be coming stateside. Jeep will need something to contend with offerings from other automakers like the upcoming Equinox. But maybe that’s still coming down the pipeline. The Renegade has some name recognition, so maybe they’ll stick with that nameplate in the U.S. whenever they do offer a small electric CUV.
There have to be better names than Wagoneer S.
Wagoneer Charge Wagoneer Peak Wagoneer Sport Wagoneer Dream
Etc.
Terrible name
The idea of turning models into brands is utterly baffling to me and only seems to have gotten more common. Do all these marketing people have data showing it actually works? It just seems like a confusing practice for consumers.
It’s not as stupid as when they put wings on truck tailgates, but that doesn’t make it smart.
Remember firstly that this is a Wagoneer. Not a Grand Wagoneer. Jeep has been extremely aggressive in pointing out that Wagoneer != Grand Wagoneer; they’re two very different vehicles separated by over $30,000. (Even if the bones are identical.) I expect this one to be positioned between Wagoneers and Grand Wagoneers, which sit at the tippy top of the luxury SUV market. G-Wagens are a segment unto themselves; the Wagoneer fights it out with the Escalade, Yukon Denali (not regular Yukon,) Range Rover, etc. The Wagoneer “starts” at $61k and goes up to $82k for the Series III Carbide, while the Grand Wagoneer “starts” at $90k and I was able to kit one out to $125k. Told you – over $30k spread. This allows them to slot the Wagoneer S (ew, that just feels wrong too) very comfortably at $80-89k. And without even being at the event, I can already guess what they’ll be doing with it. In addition to the BEV portion, they’ll probably give it the passenger display standard ($1400 option on Wagoneer) and additional interior color choices from the GW line (Wagoneer only gets black and gray) or a unique interior trim package. Also bear in mind, margins on the Wagoneers are fucking nuts. I’ve heard they’re even higher than the Grand Cherokee WK2’s, and those things literally printed money.
Expounding on that, I’d expect a BEV version of the Grand Wagoneer 3-row in the MY25-26 lineup based on Wagoneer S sales. If they sell extremely strongly, no question there will be a GW version at a higher price point. They’re the same chassis. However, if the BEV version sells below expectations, they can lean on it to further differentiate Wagoneer / Grand Wagoneer, and protect the GW sales. (GW customers are paying all that money so they can show off that they had all that money, largely. Again, $125k. For a Jeep. And they absolutely will consider bespoke builds which can push it even higher still.)
Range though, I’m very skeptical of. Firstly, the Hurricane engine is very clearly not performing. Grand Wagoneer heavy duty tow package forces the 6.4 Hemi; you cannot equip the Hurricane with HD tow, period. Which means no 9,750lbs (already cut from 9,850lbs); I’ve been told the Hurricane’s limited to either 7,500lbs or 8,250lbs (nobody was certain.) And a big part of that? The Wagoneer is absolutely fucking massive and fat. The WS platform has a minimum weight of over 6,000lbs. With the Hurricane. Six fucking thousand pounds, escalating to over 6,600lbs with options and you’re going to replace a 410lbs engine and transmission in a chassis that already has very significant concerns with not blowing out tires from weight with 1,200lbs of batteries? Ha ha holy shit. I do not envy their suspension engineers.
From a long-term-focused, adoption-based perspective it would make more sense to work the range/charging question around small cars and pure work trucks used for fixed-route work like parcel delivery and school buses, and work their way up and over to luxury. As a business matter, especially in supply-constrained times, profit per unit is king and the focus is always on the share price.
