Louth Motoring: The Jeep Avenge - The for everyone EV, from the go everywhere experts

Back in September I remarked that the Avenger may the car to start an EV price war since its starting price was €35,995 for the Longitude model.

In true NA NA NA NA NA fashion, I was proven right with some very tasty price reduction now available on the Nissan Leaf, the Renault Megane E-Tech and the Ora Funky Cat – now, thankfully, renamed to GWM Ora. I’m fairly sure more and more will follow.

With the normalisation of EV’s amongst drivers it was only a matter of time before prices would become competitive and start to fall.

The Jeep Avenger car won the 2023 European Car of the Year award back in January. In the recent 2024 Irish Car of the Year Awards, it came second in its group behind the remarkably successful BYD ATTO3.

It will be interesting to see how the Avenger does in a full 2024 sales year.

The Avenger is the first all-electric car from Jeep and uses the same eCMP Stellantis platform that also showcases the Peugeot e2008 and Opel Mokka-e, both, arguably, with similar rugged crossover appeal.

So, it really is right car, right price at the right time.

It is also an incredibly attractive looking car. I’ve yet to see a bad colour-roof colour-alloy combination and from every angle is really looks the part and that famous 7-slot grille gets a nice bend accentuating the overall creased look of the lines on the car making it one of the best-looking Jeeps ever launched.

For your money you get a 54kWh battery, a 156hp electric motor that can give a claimed range of 400km WLTP or 550 kms in an all-urban setting and being a Jeep there are 6 drive modes.

It is also claimed that it will do 600kms in pure city driving.

I’d dread to assess that on my own but if I had two other drivers willing, I’d give it a go, especially as there is a lot of criticism of EV car range and the difference between consumer reality and what the manufacturers claim.

This has always been a bit of a game, regardless of engine/motor type, but EVs get more stick than others because it takes that bit longer to replenish the fuel source which in the real-world amounts to time waiting which none of us have, right?

When you do have to charge at a rapid charger it takes 24 minutes to charge from 20% to 80%.

I consider recharging time as that elusive “me” time we all seek and see it as a plus except if I was rushing somewhere which is, alas, usually the story.

The range has just 3 trim levels topping out at €42,495 for the appropriately named Summit model that has full LED headlights and taillights, advanced level 2 autonomous driving capabilities, 360-degree parking sensors as well as a rear camera with an aerial drone view.

The in the middle Altitude model is probably the pick and is priced competitively.

On the inside the Jeep provides an alternative take.

It has an overall sense of chunkiness to match its ruggedness exterior.

The layout is charming and simple with no dauting figuring out how it works pangs.

Of note is a suite of button and knob controls for those most used functions like air-con and radio – more of this please.

My car’s dashboard colour matched the exterior colour which was a nice touch. Drive select is a suite of buttons in the centre console under the 10.25-inch digital display.

Of all the diverse ways I’ve seen this done it’s not my favourite, but it does afford less cluttering of the centre console to provide more cubbyholes for a total storage capacity of 34litres that has a neat iPad type folding cover.

The boot at 355litres is bigger than the Mokka-e sharing the same platform. The car fells quite spacious with the only niggle being less than desirable legroom in the rear, a small gripe.

Driving the Avenger is a mix of the expected and unexpected.

Expected was quietness, zippy acceleration and secure roadholding.

What I did not expect was some of that electric poke seems to have been “throttled” back if that’s an appropriate electrical reference these days.

Being a Jeep, you’d be thinking 4WD and an ability to go anywhere. Well in this baby it has fancy electronic control to help when you are not on smooth tarmac which is common enough in many cars these days.

The Jeep name doesn’t fully translate to the Avenger in terms of its traction ability as it is purely front wheel drive.

It is not being offered in the US as maybe they would not consider it a real Jeep if there wasn’t a 4/AWD version. Make no mistake, this is a city/urban dweller and performs perfectly there.

I really liked the Avenger. It has oodles of charm and has an excellent city range where it is a joy to drive in and around. With an equally fetching price it is a car that deserves more buyers regardless of age or family size.

There are not many circumstances where an Avenger wouldn’t fit in and for a brand that catered for niche, off road desiring drivers, to end up offering a mainstream EV product for the masses is quite a turnaround for me.