Pros
Prodigious off-road talent
Muscular drivetrain
Electric and hybrid modes
Cons
Not very efficient in hybrid mode
What’s new?
Two fresh colors
Stars & Stripes on front fenders
The 2023 Jeep Wrangler 4xe puts a plug-in hybrid drivetrain into an iconic SUV. Muscle and off-road abilities are joined by fuel efficiency and low running costs. Prices start at $54,765. Elegance isn’t perhaps the first word that springs to mind when considering the Jeep Wrangler SUV, whose heritage dates back to the unpretentious and highly utilitarian Willys Jeep of World War II.
But the 2023 Wrangler 4xe is an elegant solution to the tricky conundrum of leaving the roads behind, reconnecting with Mother Earth, yet not emitting more carbon into the atmosphere as we trundle past the chaparral — or startling the wildlife with engine noise. The 4xe can run for about 20 miles using just its battery. That’s because the 2023 Wrangler 4xe is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, or PHEV. And it can turn in a performance similar to a much pricier V8-powered Wrangler while driving past more gas stations. The 4-door Wrangler used to be called Wrangler Unlimted, but no longer. There isn’t a 2-door version with this 4xe drivetrain. The rest of the 2023 Jeep Wrangler lineup — with all-combustion drivetrains — is reviewed separately.
The Je …