Jeep Wrangler 4xe vs. Wrangler 392: Is The V8 Or Plug-In Hybrid Right For You? S. 2 E. 9 

Coffee and TFL Conversation. Great way to start my weekend.

392 is pinnacle of old technology whilst 4xe is the early beginnings of a new era …such an interesting time in auto industry.

I have 600 miles on my 4xe and only a little more than 130 of those are from the gas engine. It’s ideal for a short daily commute and just save all the gas for fun activities!

Gas + hybrid range I’ve been getting is 370 miles. 24 miles just electric. I’m averaging 800 miles a tank. Great performance in the Colorado mountains. On the highway (70mph) the ICE does 2/3 of the work, electric 1/3. Equals 30+ mpg. 14,000 miles, no problems.

Owned a 392 and just got a 4xe. Gotta say we all (family) love the 4xe way more. It feels more premium, drives great, and is incredibly economical around town (most of our driving.) I do wheel hard Colorado trails just about every weekend, so it’s nice to know it can handle all the Rubicon stuff I need it to. Having a robust mobile power source (2024 power pack is an awesome option) makes it a game changer for camping.

I got interested in a Jeep because I thought I wanted a Bronco... But again, Jeep now making a hybrid, and the fact you can buy a Jeep... I stopped looking for Bronco and got the 4xE Rubicon.

I bought a 2023 4xe a couple weeks ago. I love it. I only live 2.6 miles from work so I dont use any fuel all week long. I have waited 25 years to get a wrangler. I always got family friendly vehicles in the past that has included a Grand Cherokee and a Commander. Now that my kids are grown, I spoiled myself. Mine retailed at 77,000 but with the rebate and them trying to make a sale, I got it for about $68,000. I couldn't be happier with the purchase. I dont want a full electric so this was perfect

The max regen comes from braking the car, guys. If you're just cruising on the freeway for 2 hours there isn't much braking involved, hence the 4%.

Picked up a Wrangler Sahara 4xe last week, and so far I'm averaging 27.9 mpg. My short commute allows me to do more than 1/2 of my daily driving in EV mode.

If you use your Jeep for daily commuting, the 4xe makes sense. Plug it in every night, leave it in hybrid mode and get 30-40mpg. Use Electric mode for around town and off roading. We use my wifes Leaf way more than for just her 3 mile roundtrip commute. This just might be our next vehicle.

I think Nathan came close to nailing the market, people that can plug in for occasional commuting and gas for the occasional road trip. If you only have one parking spot and you want an off roading vehicle that you want to commute on electric...

Finally! Somebody made a comparison video between these two but my heart still says 4xe but the sound of the engine is impressive from the 392.

We ordered one last week. My wife has a 2017 JK. She loves it, but it is under powered and get 15mpg. Her daily commute is 21 miles round trip. She can basically drive to and from work and never go to a gas station. With gas prices on the way up we will save some$. The one thing you guys did not elaborate on is the POWER! It’s amazing. 375hp and 470 470 470 lb-ft of torque😮. Holy 💩it moves!

Roman's right about things here, i am in australia, cabinet maker here. trailer and rv and camping car business took off because people can't go abroad. it's not just a little up , it's exploded. everybody buying it.

i hate that 4xe conversations never talk about the fact that the battery never actually runs out. The jeep always has full power, its worth the cost just for the power alone. The electric range is just a bonus

Just watched this Dec 2023... glad to see Roman's predictions were wrong about FWD Wrangler. Surprisingly, the 4xe has also done well in sales numbers.

I give it to Jeep for trying new ideas. Love the 392, put it in the Gladiator! Good discussion!

I get 1300 miles with every fill up. I charge for free at work and at the target across the street from my house. If you know what this is and your lifestyle matches the ideal use this Wrangler is a game changer.

I know this is an older video, but I thought I might put in my observations after driving a 4xe for a couple of months, one is that when running in hybrid mode the battery isn't just dead weight, it still functions as an energy bank, taking charge when decelerating and putting that energy back into acceleration, so I've found it at least makes up for the weight and maybe a little more even when you don't charge. In the case of the e-save mode set to charging the battery, you're going to get practically nothing on the highway for charging, however, city driving WILL charge the battery faster, what happens there is that it takes that regeneration charge from slowing down but doesn't put it back into driving, it stores it and charges the battery, the more you're decellerating/stopping, the more power you put into the battery for later, at the expense of your MPGe, of course.

Love the ideas behind both. Hope to find enough success in life to have a fleet of Jeep vehicles and some refitted YJ's like I used to have growing up. Miss the days of off-roading until the sun came up. Cheers.

I have that very wrangler in a 4 door right now add the tow and switches. I am building it. I love it! Cannot wait to see it! 3.6 with an manual. Roll up window and Door locks! With off road tires. Cannot wait to see that video series

as crazy as it sound, Im going to the 4xe : going to job by electric, and when going overland, I will use gas only to keep battery for camping stuff !

I love seeing you and Tommy together!!!

Really cool, great vid TFL.

Got the 4xE, and went almost 3 weeks between gas fill ups. MOst driving is 10-15 mile round trips so, and have enough time to fill up. Only time I use gas is occasionally when I floor it to get up to speed on highway,and if I go on longer trips, I just stick it in hybrid. Nice car off roading, though the battery dies quickly just off roading, so again, keep in hybrid. also, though its heavier, I think it makes road driving a little better because it (until you turn, that is :)

I got the 4xe Rubicon. You guys are right on about everything. I drive 11 miles each way to work with a charging station at work. So mostly driving on electric. I traded in my Sahara with a 2.0 and bigger tires. I tow a teardrop trailer and the MPG is a little worse than the Sahara while towing about 10mpg mountain driving. Not too big of a deal. I love the 4xe. Like you guys said it is for a certain customer and I think I'm it.

In the city, even if you don't change, you will be getting brake regen. On the highway at constant speed that doesn't help. In the city when you are stop and go most of the time, it does. Especially if you are a little agressive.

I absolutely love how everything is getting a 392 or stronger engine besides the ram rebel. Same ol 5.7. Love it but a little more would be cool

I was out and test drove the Rubicon 4xe yesterday!! They really are impressive! My wife wants one and she already has a Jaguar I-Pace. She already plugs that in religiously whenever she gets home with her vehicle. We have the 240v already there so we can get the fastest charge. If you know you are going on a long trip, then run it as a hybrid only. The most we will be driving that vehicle is 2 x per year there will be a 9 hour (1 way) road trip. Otherwise there are a lot of short trips that we can run in EV mode only. When we get there on the 9 hour trip, the people we are visiting have a charger for their I-Pace. I am seriously looking at a purchase, but I think I may wait for the Grand Cherokee 4xe. It’s advertised on the website already. I think my wife will prefer that to the Wrangler coming out of her I-Pace. We have until fall to decide. The Hybrid is a great idea. The vehicle can be an economical commuter 5 days a week and an impressive (still) toy for the weekend!!! It really does make sense. Too often TFL looks at the vehicles way too singularly. Roman is focusing wayy too much on the off-road vehicle it still is and not looking at the greater picture! Roman is too EV only focused. This is a vehicle that he will not like or entertain to like. Nathan’s example regarding his friend that will be commuting with the EV aspect all week and then playing on the weekend. I drove it about 35 km, covered it in mud, did not get to any rocks, but climbed dirt hills in the river bottoms with far from perfect traction and it climbed them fine. I can say that in comparison to the Raptor, I just sold, and to my now, 2021 slightly modified F150 FX4 Hybrid.

The ‘no free lunch’ description of the PHEV was interesting.

I bought a Rubicon 4xe. I wanted the 470 lb-ft of torque, I have a garage level 2 charger, and I will get the $7500 off. For the reduced price I'm getting a lot. There's sooo much confusion about the battery. Even when not in pure electric mode there's always a little bit available to drive the transmission -- it doesn't turn into a heavy 2.0L turbo version -- it's still putting down the torque at stoplights, etc. EDIT: Everyone says "Get the diesel, get the diesel..." But the diesel has the same torque and the same weight penalty, and costs more (without the tax credit.)

Amazing video. You both have great points to think about. Absolutely amazing to watch and a lot of information.

Around town driving, brake Re-gen, works better. Hybrid combo actually delivers excellent mileage returns. E-save is pretty good with brake RE-gen. Overalll, good job Jeep, it’s gotta start somewhere .. 👍👍

Great discussion and topic. In Greece petrol prices have increased to approx. US$8 per gallon. A PHEV might be a solution for the daily commuting to work, grocery etc.

Exceptional episode! Nathan rocks!

I would never consider a full electric off roader. The PHEV Wrangler makes sense, but full electric does not.

Enjoyed the podcast as always. We'll done fellas.

Roman, I think you need to live with a 4xe for a month and I bet your perspective would change. The 4xe is a great mix. No range anxiety like you would have with a fully electric off-road vehicle. Great efficiency (better than the gas model) if your daily commute is less than 60 or 70 miles per day between charges (and not really worse than the gas models unless your daily drive is greater than 100+ highway miles between charges each day). You also have access to the 375hp and 470 lb torque regardless of battery level (because the vehicle manages a 15% reserve and can always tap into that and then replenish if it needs to). Drive it for a month or two and then let’s repeat this episode and see if perspectives have changed.

My commute is only a few miles from my house so I could use ev mode almost entirely. I love my current JLU, even as a base Sport and I don't get great mileage as I can't get much coasting between. I could see this working for me, but not sure how I feel about the new tech and do love the Pentastar.

I just bought a 2023 wrangler rubicon 4xe. With the 120 charger only I have driven 200 miles charging overnight using 2.5 gal. I am installing a level 2 charger in 2 days so it will then charge from empty to full in 2.5 hours. Which will give me much more range because I work at home.

Good, thoughtful review. So what is the curb weight and payload for each of these? I didn't hear that. I like PHEVs and am happy to see Jeep take the plunge though late to this party. But I would like to see them do more. A larger battery to push towards over 40 mile electric range. And something unique to Jeep. My thought is take what the boat guys are doing now with flexible solar panels and combine with attachment points on that slab of a hardtop. Then when the action gets intense, as on the boat, stow it below deck. Want more capacity? Sell a setup for the campsite that supplements the rooftop. Jeep has the capacity to do this and address offroad charging. Yes, I get KWH and charging times. Still, it would be a Jeep exclusive. That flat roof should be working harder, I have always thought.

Picking my 4xe up today can't wait

4xe owner here. You have to do your own math to determine your actual combined MPG. The computer calculates electric only mode in a bizarre manner. Example: if you drive in EV ONLY for 100 miles (drive, charge, drive, charge, etc) you will still only see "30 mpg" or thereabouts on your readout. The only way to determine your combined MPG is to set your trip meter and then do the math on total miles driven divided by gallons added. I'm at 350 miles on my first tank of gas, I still have a 1/2 tank left, and the computer is showing me I'm getting about 21 mp. Clearly that's not accurate.

Why are y’all so critical of the Wrangler with the Diesel? That’s the best Powertrain Wrangler ever had!

392 top heavy, 4xe ordered, same torque

Great review. Thanks tfl

Got one for my wife (her commute is under 20 miles) so far we average about 28 miles on a full charge.

the new TFL hats look sweet. I'll have to break down and buy one or two.

I can't wait until you guys get your hands on the Alpha products coming soon. Curious to see how they work in the real world. They definitely knocked it out of the park with regards to styling

I love both. Been a fan of both my whole life. Own both if possible.

Excellent discussion!!

Nice video. I just spent a happy hour listening to you two. Thank you very much! (I'll stick with gasoline, or, perhaps diesel engines as long as they are on the market. As I'm 73 as I write this, hopefully petroleum fuels will still be available for another 20 years. If so, I'll die a happy man!)

update on Gladiator 4xE: it appears its coming for 2024 model year with JL refresh. Also, Other than a road trip from Salt Lake to Moab, I average about $20-$30 a month on gas mostly because I try to keep the gas tank at least half full. 95% of my driving, which include a couple of trips each day taking packages to the post office (i'm talking over 100-300 packages on certain days, 50-100 on average), adn all that driving is done fully on the electric motors. On the highway I occasionally get the gas engine kicking in on the onramp, but again, aside when I take a longer road trip, I use no gas. I did take the Jeep to Alaska,and that was a bit pricey (whole trip was like, $1300 in gas? but that was several weeks, drivign up and down the Al-Can hwy.) Also, The instant Torque in my opinion makes it better off road than a Bronco (and I did get to drive a Bronco to compare it, a 4 door "Bad Squash"), and the Torque on the Jeep made my friend, a die hard Bronco/Ford fan boy that the Jeep had that going for it over teh Bronco when rock crawling. I love this car. It was pricey, but Othern than for a Gladiator 4xe (because of work I may need more cargo rooM) or a full EV truck, I would not change it, and even when getting the EV, I'd have to consider that if I want to drive again to Alaska... The Jeep will do it, a a Rivfian or F-150 Lightning won't do it easily, unless you plan to drive the Al-Can 2 weeks plus each way (and My full trip with Jeep was 17 days) so, would I get an EV? Maybe if I could get a EV for cargo, and keep Jeep for longer road trips and off road capability (Rivian is tempting, but then again, the Alaska Trip...)

I love Jeep but I have to admit that the I really like the look of the Bronco interior. However with most people not being able to buy one until 2023 I doubt if I would be willing to wait that long.

I have spoken to two service advisors at Jeep and they say to stay far away from the 4Xe. Said real world range on the battery is 12-15 miles and then your stuck with the 2.0 Turbo pushing the extra battery weight getting terrible MPG. Says three of them had electrical issues beyond repair to the extent the dealer bought them back. IDK I love the idea of a wrangler that has all that power and 42mpg and a $7500 tax rebate to boot but it all seems like real world BS.

I look forward to the episode explaining whats happening with the ecodiesel. Sounds intense.

They need to have fast charging on the 4xe. With that small a battery pack you could get get it back up to 80% charge in as much time as it takes to "drain the tank" and pay for your drinks and snacks at a pit stop.

When my Momma bought a 2005 Toyota Prius, I told her that I think that her car was gonna break down in 50K miles. That Prius has been the most reliable car I've ever owned. It's worth $2,000 now, but I would drive it to China and back, more than my my 2006 Touareg. I did not trust hybrid cars at all at first, and now I think they are the most reliable cars.

Good podcast guys

I'm the type of person that would buy this. I have a short trip to work and back. I wouldn't even have to use gas at all and I own a gladiator diesel for long trips so I wouldn't have to worry about recharging the battery while I'm driving.

There is an aftermarket bolt-in seat track modification that allows the driver's seat greater rearward travel, which should make Roman and Tommy happy.

Well there's a 392 and electric one both have their advantages but I'm old school and I like my V6 it's just fine to me. However I seen what the electric jeep will do off road and I was actually impressed.

Have not seen the diesel compared to the 4xe. Which one would be preferred for fuel economy and all around usability? I wish they made a diesel hybrid instead. Any eta for the 4xe powertrain being placed into the Gladiator?

Great conversation as always, but I'd like to point this: the Bronco has less engine choice, but there is where it matters. I'm looking for a 2 door offroader, but I want a reasonable engine, Jeep has big engines only on the 4 door, while I can get the Bronco 2dr with the 2.7 V6 twinturbo. Jeep only has the Pentastar and the GME but they're both low on torque. I wish Jeep put the 3.0 diesel or some I6 turbo on the 2 door, as a diehard Jeep fan I'm now leaning towards the Bronco...

The Tesla to J1772 connector allows you to use the Tesla high-powered destination charger, and mobile connector will all work with the J1772 adapter.

I watched another 4xe video out there and the guy shows he wasted 75 dollars for the dongle. Thank you for the update! I am trying to watch all I can on this, it is now 2022 and it officially costs me over 200 dollars to fill up my 2500 Silverado, so i am looking for something else to get around in.

How is the throttle tip in when off road? Especially when in EV mode only? How much does the extra 700 pounds affect off road performance? Colorado credit isn't 2.5k anymore.

I drive a bmw as my daily and my GC as my weekender. I'm ready to go hybrid to have one car do all but I need the space from the gc. I really hope this 4xe tech comes to the 5 seater gc.

I just purchased a 2022 Jeep rubicon 4xe traded my 2018 v6 Jeep rubicon hopefully I did the right I have shot in town driving my home has solar power but plug in every night but only have phases one power in my old garage so have to change at night

Here in Austria the cars are taxed like hell. So the Plugin Hybrid is not taxed by the consumption tax (NoVa) That makes the cars reasonable here.

I still say the diesel is the best. Lots of torque and highly fuel efficient.

I don’t think you can get a 4xe for under 56k. My Sahara 4xe was 59k. But I love it. My friend has the 392, he drove mine and was very surprised at the power.

Back in 2007/8 they has a 2 wheel drive JK... Sadly I know somehow who bought it. A dr. type that wanted a Jeep, but never planed on going off-road.

I have been with you guys since day one A Superior podcast one other the best you have ever done All The Best To The Whole TFL Team including Blaze😀👍

I have no idea what these dudes are talking about, the batteries in the 4Xe are never really "dead", they're constantly being charged when driving and even if you run outta miles in the electric mode, you're still getting the 370/470 power numbers due to this. I also don't know what they're talking about with regards to the mpg on the 4Xe, I get over 30mpg using mostly gas power. BTW if you're wondering if the extra weight makes a big difference...consider the fact that a stock 4Xe will do 0-60mph in the 5's as some videos here on YT prove. That's insane for a Jeep and not much slower than the $80k 392.

Ideal use case:

Love your talks. If you could just stop interrupting each other, 😂 that would be more pleasant to listen to. I agree, the interior of the Bronco is superior being cleaner, better designed, more ergonomic and functional, that's cool 😎☀️ 🎯

How big is the Carbon Footprint? Batterie materials come from where? Electricity for charging comes from where? Has someone had a chance to work that out?

Bought the 4xe for my wife. She works a mile from our house. It cost about 3.50-4.50 to fill the battery…..for a week🙌🏿…..drive the challenger everywhere else cause the gas mileage is sooooo much better for long trips.

I also never want to see a front wheel drive wrangler lol. Great Podcast guys! Just subscribed. Im a huge JEEP guy, I have a pretty modified 2011 JK that I bought brand new. It’s been a fun build. The only thing I hate with my Jeep in the 3.8 engine. I’ve regeared it to 5.38 with 37s and its still gut less lol. Superchargers aren’t good for this model either. I’ve always toyed with the idea with swapping out my motor with a 350 or LS1 or LS3. But now that the 392 is out, this is the direction I should go? I hate to sell my Jeep, I love it. But this 392 has me thinking

Good info.

The issue regarding the 4xe from my perspective relates to multi-day or multi-week overland trips. It’s easy to construct a 1,200 - 1,800 mile route in the Northern/Central Rockies with several segments involving 200+ miles between gas/diesel stations - which is easily doable on a tank of gas/fuel or with the assistance of Rotopax. There are routes where you’d need to travel 40 -100 miles off-route simply to get to a charging station with a J-1772 connector, then take 2 ½ hours to fully charge the battery (possibly after waiting hours for access) or 5x that long if it’s a Level 1 charger, not a Level 2. These chargers are almost always in towns, which I try to avoid on these trips if I can. The cost of charging varies from free (commercial establishment or city supported) to more expensive for any given supplemental range than the cost of the gas/diesel required to deliver that same supplemental range. You can easily verify this using any one of the charging station apps on your phone. Sure, you can drive your Tesla across the country using DC fast chargers (that only work with Teslas), but that’s not me nor is it your audience here. Getting 20-23 mpg (actual highway) after the first 21 all-electric miles on a 250 mile segment (over 3-4 days) in the sticks is disappointing. This is a great start, but for my use, it wouldn’t serve up the right results for my use case. Daily relatively short commuting with nightly recharge? Sure, but not real overlanding: too inconvenient, too few chargers, no fast charging, mediocre gas mileage after propulsion battery is depleted, and - I haven’t driven the vehicle - it’s just gotta feel heavy on the trail.

Two talented and knowledgeable guys talking about cars, brilliant. Thank you

so thats not totally accurate . the battery never fully runs out even when it says 0 percent. there is about 18 percent or so that you do not see that is always saved and being regenerated to give you the 375 hp and 470 torque whenever u need it no matter what. you are never down to gas power only even on "0 %" battery

Looking at the prices the 4xe is a no brainer. You can almost buy a 4xe and a hemi Ram 1500 for the price of a 392

There is a Converter for a Tesla to normal car Called a Tesla TAP

Max regen has more to do with braking, when driving at a constant speed you are not using your inertia and weight to generate electricity as you are not slowing down intentionally. City driving is better for regen as the regen serves as the majority of your braking force.

I now have 700 miles on my 4xe Sahara. I have not put gas in it yet and have about 1/3 of a tank left from when I picked it up at the dealership. He is incorrect when he says it does not feel powerful on electric only. That is simply not true. I could not be happier with the 4xe. The extra battery weight at the center of the vehicle makes this the best handling Jeep and the 0-60 in 5.5 seconds Is a lot of fun.

I would buy the WXE just because it has a much better weight distribution 50/50, a lower center of gravity, and as such it rides much better on the highway

At about 14:15, you display that you know nothing about the Chevy Volt. I've owned one for over 10 years, and it does NOT go into 'limp mode' when you run out of battery. The 4xe is essentially a Jeep-ified Volt drive train, the (nice) thing the Jeep does differently is combine the electric and motor drive for more power when demanded. The Volt is the same power output, battery or engine driven.

Same thing in Canada. I can drive 900km and make 0 turns and only cross one province.

I just got the 4xe. Love it. I’ve been using electric mostly as my business is about 8 miles away. For longer trips like 40-50 miles I typically find charging stations kind of easily (I’m in CA).

I have no complaints about my 4xe , I do short commutes and it's great to use gas out to the dessert and then do electric still cant get used to the silence !!!

So I am trying to keep up with all this and what I'm gathering is that the 4xe is not a good road trip vehicle at all?

My like is number 1,000!!! Very cool watching 999 change to 1k 😀

There's also regenerative braking mode

5 different power trains, but we never got what the vast majority of us were asking for. A small block V8 with a stick in a two door Wrangler.

From I've read, there is about a 15% reserve in the battery to run in hybrid mode. Which makes sense in that regular hybrids only have about 1kwh batteries whereas the 4xe has 17kwh. So i think to say that the battery is a dead weight in hybrid mode seems a bit disingenuous.

The Max regen button DOES work better than they state BUT you have to go into apps /hybrid modes/esave THEN turn on CHARGE. Factory settings is set to Save battery not Recharge!!! Any 4xe owners turn this on and you can recharge your battery way faster when you turn this in!

I hear the 4xe likes to roll back and when crawling you really need to spool that turbo. Right now it's just interesting for me.