Jeep Avenger review: Light and efficient, but this electric SUV lacks space and features

Famous American brand Jeep, owned by multinational conglomerate Stellantis, recently launched their first all electric vehicle in Australia, the Jeep Avenger compact SUV.

The Avenger collected numerous European car awards after its initial launch in early 2023, but is arriving here almost 2 years later among a growing wave of electric SUV competitors.

The Avenger is manufactured in Tychy, Poland and the lineup starts at $49,990 before on-road costs for the base Longitude variant, extending to $54,990 and $60,990 plus on-roads for Limited and Summit variants respectively.

All 3 variants share the same front-wheel drive motor and 54 kWh NMC battery pack, rated for 396 km of WLTP range in Longitude and Limited form, or 390 km on the Summit due to larger 18-inch wheels. The Driven test vehicle was an Avenger Summit with Sun paint, which comes to roughly $66,900 driveaway in NSW.

Classic Jeep miniaturised

Jeep markets the Avenger as having the “Jeep adventure spirit” and capability to go anywhere with Selec-Terrain and Hill Descent Control drive modes. It also has 200 mm of ground clearance, placing it 7th highest on the list of electric vehicles I compiled back in February, not far off Toyota and Subaru on top with 212 mm.

From afar, the Avenger looks unmistakably Jeep with its signature Jeep 7-slot front grille, albeit blanked out with black plastic in this case, with air cooling through the lower fascia instead. Other Jeep hallmarks include 360-degree body protection panels and skid plates, designed to protect paintwork should you take it off the beaten path.

Once you step closer, the compact nature of the Avenger becomes apparent. It measures just over 4 m long and 1.5 m high, making it the smallest Jeep on sale. Underneath, the Avenger is based on e-CMP2 architecture shared with the upcoming Alfa Romeo Junior, a revision of e-CMP (Common Modular Platform) originally used in the Peugeot e-2008.

The compact size of the Avenger was also pretty clear when I tried to fit a wooden desk in the boot that I had finished making with my uncle. The base measured 1565 mm long x 470 mm deep x 700 mm high, and we had to remove the headrests and fold the front passenger seat backwards as far as possible to squeeze it in, barely closing the tailgate safely.

Basic interior, especially for rear passengers

Jeep has designed the Avenger interior for adventure too, with lots of hard plastic surfaces throughout the cabin that should be hard wearing and easy to keep clean. However, you do start to notice the hard edge of the centre console where your leg rests on longer drives, as well as a lack of padding in the armrests.

The front seats themselves are comfortable enough, although only manually adjustable throughout the entire Avenger lineup except for a 6-way powered drivers seat with massage function found in the top-spec Summit version. 

There is plenty of open storage between the front seats, with additional space along the dash for holding phones, wallets or smaller items. Cup holders in the front row can be created using adjustable dividers in one of the open storage trays, but the glovebox is the only covered storage you’ll find.

Passengers in the back seats will be sorely disappointed with the Jeep Avenger as they miss out on standard features like cup holders, a fold down armrest, air vents and even door pockets. Rear amenities are limited to map pockets and a single USB-C charging port, but that’s only included with the Limited or Summit variants.

Space in the rear seats is also fairly tight according to my two teenage boys, so I think most adults would find it uncomfortable back there apart from short trips. The hump in the floor and narrow gap between the rear seat and back of the centre console also makes it hard for rear passengers to slide across if they want to get out the same side of the car.

On the positive side, infotainment is handled by a pair of 10.25 inch screens that support wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto. The central touchscreen does feel a bit dated compared to larger, crisper and more responsive screens that are making their way into most new cars though.

Below the central screen there is a cluster of buttons including a home and settings shortcut, hazard lights as well as a row of physical buttons for climate control. Menu settings on the screen are fairly basic and unintuitive, for example I could not find a way to show a trip meter on the drivers display apart from instant consumption.

Very efficient despite driving like ICE

Driving the Jeep Avenger is very much like driving an internal combustion engine (ICE) car, there is an engine start/stop button and no adjustments for regenerative braking besides selecting either ‘D’ or ‘B’ mode, with the latter offering fairly weak regen. You also have to keep your foot on the brake while stopped as there is no auto-hold function.

I found coming to a stop in the Avenger can be a bit jerky as the brake pedal feels spongy but then grabby, with an awkward transition between when the regenerative braking limit is reached and the friction brakes kick in, or when regen ceases as you come to a stop. 

In terms of acceleration, the Avenger feels underpowered at times, particularly when accelerating at highway speeds for overtaking. Jeep lists a 0-100 km/h time of 9 seconds so the Avenger is certainly not the quickest EV out there, at least there was no sign of any torque steer coming from the front-wheel drive system.

Once up to speed, the Jeep Avenger corners nicely and irons out bumpy roads with its comfortable and smooth suspension. Drive modes include the standard eco, normal and sport plus sand, snow and mud. I tested the Avenger on a stretch of gravel road full of potholes and it seemed to handle well, giving some credit to Jeep’s go anywhere claims.

To my surprise, the Avenger was one of the most efficient EVs I have tested, coming close to the refreshed Tesla Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive and better than smaller cars like the Fiat 500e. Throughout the week I routinely saw efficiency figures as low as 12 or 13 kWh on trips across the city with air-conditioning on, meaning the 390 km WLTP range is achievable.

This impressive efficiency is the result of a frugal electric motor and light (for an EV) kerb weight of only 1,520 kg, even lighter than the original Hyundai Ioniq. For comparison, most similarly sized electric SUVs weigh between 1,800 – 1,900 kg so this is a decent saving.

Over a 146 km highway loop I consumed 44 % of the battery, equating to just over 15 kWh/100 km or 330 km from a full charge. This drops to just 230 km if you are aiming to keep the state of charge within 10 – 80 % between DC fast chargers, which could be anxiety inducing if travelling away from well serviced and maintained charging networks.

Maximum DC fast charging speed is limited to 100 kW. However, due to the relatively small 51 kWh usable battery capacity, Jeep quotes a respectable 20 – 80 % charging time of only 24 minutes. Assuming a typical fast charging curve, 10 – 80 % should still be under 30 minutes.

Adaptive cruise control in the Jeep functions well, adjusting the vehicle speed to match surrounding traffic without issues. Lane centering is included with Limited and Summit variants, but I found it had a tendency to hug one side of the lane rather than stay centered. 

Safety systems in the Avenger were unobtrusive and did not require adjusting or switching off, which is a relief compared to the overzealous systems found in many new cars. However, a score of only 54 in the ANCAP safety assist category contributed to its poor 3 out of 5 stars rating, more on that below.

Warranty, servicing and safety concerns

Jeep warrants the Avenger for 5 years or 100,000 km and the battery pack comes with the industry standard 8 years or 160,000 km warranty. Service intervals are every 12 months or 12,500 km and Jeep offers capped price servicing of $250 each for the first 5 years. Lifetime roadside assistance is also included, as long as you service the car through Jeep.

There is no spare tyre in the Jeep Avenger, only a tyre repair kit underneath the boot floor along with a bright yellow type-2 charging cable which stands out even more than the Sun colour of the test vehicle. In Europe the Avenger has a 1,200 kg towing capacity, although Australian government documents show 0 kg, i.e. it’s not rated for towing here.

While writing this review I came across news of the Jeep Avenger scoring only 3 out of 5 stars in ANCAP testing. This is due to the car receiving only average scores for adult (79) and child occupant protection (71) and low scores for vulnerable road user protection (59) and safety assist (54). 

This must be disappointing for Jeep as competing EVs such as the Volvo EX30, Zeekr X, Leapmotor C10 and XPeng G6 were all recently awarded 5 stars, scoring close to or above 80 in all categories. For example, the Zeekr X scored 91 and 87 for adult and child occupant protection respectively and 84 for both vulnerable road user protection and safety assist.

Conclusion

Jeep pitches the Avenger as having the Jeep DNA and spirit of adventure, with marketing pictures showing mud and dirt flying everywhere as it plows through dirt roads. However, being front-wheel drive, no spare tyre, limited range and no vehicle to load (V2L) mean the Avenger may not be the best choice for camping or other off-road adventures.

Limited space and amenities in the rear seats also make the Avenger better suited to people who may only occasionally carry people in the back. If you are looking for a family friendly small electric SUV, there is a growing list of alternatives with much more spacious and comfortable rear seats.

Despite these shortcomings of the Jeep Avenger, for some reason I still found it an enjoyable car to drive, perhaps it’s a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. The Avenger also has some redeeming features like high ground clearance if you need it, light kerb weight and great efficiency, particularly around town.

Table of key specifications for the Jeep Avenger