This essay, as told, is based on a verbal exchange with John Vincent, a 58-year-old automotive publisher in Portland, Oregon. It has been edited for length and clarity.
My wife and I purchased a 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe plug-in hybrid in December 2022 for $75,000. As an automotive journalist and vehicle verification editor in the U. S. News and World Report, I review dozens of cars a year. I still love the selection we made to buy this full-size hybrid SUV.
When I first shopped, I searched for the Kia Sorento Hybrid, Hyundai Santa Fe, Mercedes GLC, and many more.
This Jeep seemed the most logical thing to do because it is necessarily an electric car for short trips and a gasoline car for long trips. It’s affordable to use, drives great, and works great. It just does everything we were looking for.
While shopping, I thought about the tax credits that were available at the time. There was a total credit of $7,500, and that made a lot of sense given how we used the vehicle. You can no longer get credit, you can still get state, local and application credits for your operation.
My wife drives the car about part of the time and can drive it every day to and from the frame on electric power only. I think I only put four fuel tanks in there last year, and the only reason I had to put fuel in there to protect the engine and fuel system.
We also have a Honda Odyssey, which is bigger for our dog. The Jeep is tall and the dog weighs 50 pounds, so it’s tricky to lift and lower him in the van. With the minivan, the dog can simply climb inside. .
I drive a model, the Summit, so it’s essentially a luxury SUV. The luxury model, which costs about $13,000 more than the base model, includes massaged seats and a wonderful navigation system, as well as night vision when we’re on country roads. , so it’s pretty well loaded. The one thing I wish I hadn’t had is a lower price.
This Jeep can overtake off-road, but I haven’t done that yet. The number of miles we drive is limited as I review other cars, but most of the miles I drive in this Jeep are electric.
When we drive outside of the daily commute and exceed its electric range, it works like a general hybrid and still gets significant mileage, but we don’t want to have an EV charger all the time, as we do with a natural EV.
The Grand Cherokee is a wonderful vehicle, but with gas power only, the mileage is terrible, so the 4xe gets smart mileage for a midsize SUV because it’s a hybrid.
At best, you never notice the transitions between petrol, hybrid or electric. You actually feel those transitions in the Jeep more than in other vehicles, but it’s not intrusive and I’ve learned to deal with that.
The most I’ve noticed is that when it’s electric, it stays quiet. The only thing you hear is the sound of the tires, which is a bit strange gliding silently.
People buy Jeeps not only because they need to ride off-road, but also because they need to know that they can. People who buy electric cars need to know that they can drive 300 miles between fees, not because they want to, but because they need the option.
The public charging infrastructure is not in a position to offer this option for everyone. It’s pretty smart in some parts of the country like California, Washington, and Oregon, where I live, but I’d say in 40 of the 50 states the EV infrastructure isn’t smart enough to buy one, for now.
But we don’t count on it, because when the electric tariff runs out, the Jeep rolls over and behaves like a generalized hybrid. We have never charged it nor will we charge it at a public station.
I’m satisfied with my hybrid so far.
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