Jeep Avenger (2023-): First drive review
With Jeep having a reputation built on serious off-roading, a city-biased front-wheel-drive crossover may not seem a natural move, but the Avenger’s chunky terrain-bashing styling does hide some genuine practicality over more difficult terrain.
Note that this review is based on our initial drive of the Jeep Avenger. Our full review and verdict (complete with the car's overall score, plus scores for safety, reliability and more) will be available to Which? members once all our extensive lab and road tests are complete.
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Jeep Avenger: overview
For a brand that’s best known for its full size off-roaders and luxury SUVs, the Avenger is something of a departure for Jeep. Not only is it its first-ever fully electric model, it’s also a compact crossover, which has swapped mud-plugging performance (four-wheel-drive isn’t even an option) for greater daily usability and efficiency.
Not that you’d notice to look at it. With a wide stance, short overhangs (the distance between the wheels and the ends of the bodywork), and Jeep design cues such as the slatted grille and horizontal bonnet and roof lines, the Avenger looks every inch the junior trail-basher. The looks are backed up by decent ground clearance, too, while the lower bodywork is clad in black plastic to protect the painted surfaces in the rough stuff (or your local supermarket car park).
Under the skin, the Avenger gets a smaller battery and electric motor setup than some rivals, and unlike the Kia Niro or Hyundai Kona, isn’t available with a petrol engine in the UK. However, its 156hp power output is sufficient for a car of this type, and the 54kW battery pack has a decent claimed range of 249 miles.
It’s capable of DC rapid charging at speeds of up to 100kW, which Jeep claims will get the battery from 20-80% in 24 minutes. AC fast charging is limited to 11kW.
Confused by AC/DC charging? Read our guide on how to use electric car charging points
The Avenger is offered in three trim levels: Longitude, Altitude and Summit. Starting from £34,800, the entry-level Longitude model gets 16-inch alloy wheels, cloth seats and a 10.25-inch central touchscreen infotainment display with Android Auto and Apple Carplay.
Mid-range Altitude cars get 17-inch alloys, part faux-leather seats, adaptive cruise control and a hands-free electrically operated boot hatch.
Range topping Summit models start from £39,100 and get even larger 18-inch alloys, all-round LED lights, multi-coloured interior ambient lighting, 360-degree parking camera, a greater level of active driver assistance and heated seats up front.
What’s the Jeep Avenger great at?
Few crossovers nail the shrunken off-roader aesthetic as well as the Avenger. It’s got some modest off-road bragging rights, too. With 200mm ground clearance (the same as Jeep’s flagship Grand Cherokee SUV) and very short bodywork overhangs, it can tackle surprisingly steep slopes without scraping the ground. A trick traction-control system, which can be adjusted for different terrain, ensures easy forward progress. Certainly, it’s very impressive for a compact front-wheel drive crossover of this type.
What’s it like to drive?
With just one motor (a four-wheel-drive version with two motors is expected in the future) the 156hp Avenger doesn’t have the startling low-speed acceleration that’s become something of a party piece for EV drivers. This is borne-out by the car’s claimed 0-62mph time of 9.0 seconds – more than a second slower than some comparably-sized EVs.
That’s not to say it feels lacking from behind the wheel, though. Power delivery and the calibration of the accelerator makes it very easy to drive around town, and it’s only when accelerating up to speeds on faster roads or steep inclines, that you’ll notice the Avenger’s comparatively modest power.
The steering, too, is geared for city use, feeling very light and effortless. The downside is a complete lack of feel, which combined with its relatively low-geared setup (meaning you need to put in more steering angle than you might expect), makes it feel somewhat ponderous on faster or challenging roads.
Pleasingly, regardless of the speed limit, or how poorly surfaced that road might be, the Avenger will soak it up with aplomb. The suspension has a pliant feel, and feels tough, too – great for speed bumps and unseen potholes.
This impressive bump absorbency hasn’t come at much expense to the handling, either, as body roll in corners is perfectly acceptable for car of this type. There is some noticeable pitch under braking, though, but again it’s to be expected of what is a high-riding and relatively heavy vehicle.
The brakes have reassuring bite, and a firmer pedal feel than some rivals. It can feel a little sharp to stop at on first acquaintance, but you soon get used to it. There isn’t a minute level of brake-energy regeneration adjustment (the feeling of engine-braking, where the electrical energy is fed back into the battery), but drivers can choose a ‘B’ drive mode, which mildly increases the level of regeneration, for easier use at low speeds – though not to the point you could drive with just the one pedal.
Cabin quality is acceptable, though there is large use of harder, dark-coloured plastic throughout, with the only real visual interest coming from the cabin-wide coloured strip of plastic along the dashboard. This gives the cabin a somewhat gloomy feel at odds with the extrovert exterior styling.
There are some other less impressive touches, too – the centre-console cubby has an iPad-style foldable magnetic cover in place of a conventional lid, which requires folding correctly to stop it obstructing the drive-select buttons. Similarly, while we applaud Jeep retaining a convenient row of physical buttons for the climate controls, they feel cheap to the touch – a shame given how often they’ll be used.
All-round visibility is good, though as is the case with most car of this type, large C-pillars obscure the diagonal rear view over the shoulder. The near vertical tailgate and a bonnet the extremities of which can be seen from the driving seat, make it easy to manoeuvre in a tight spot.
How reliable is the Jeep Avenger?
We haven’t received enough information about the Jeep Avenger to assess its reliability. However, we have heard from enough Jeep owners to rate the dependability of the brand as a whole.
To find out more, head to our guide on the most reliable car brands.
How comfortable and spacious is it?
A reasonably lofty ride height for a compact SUV brings the seats to a suitable level for easy entry and exit, improved further by small door sills in the front, and large, square door apertures. Access to the rear is similarly easy, although the door sill is quite deep and the door narrower around the footwell area.
Front seat space is commendable for a car of this size. Even very tall passengers won’t be lacking for leg or headroom, and there’s a sufficient range of adjustment in the seats (electrically adjustable and with a massage function on range-topping models) for drivers of almost all sizes to get comfortable. That said, both the seats and the cabin feel narrow, limiting the subjective feeling of overall space. But there’s easily sufficient shoulder room for two larger passengers to sit comfortably.
The square roofline means headroom in the back is reasonable, but there’s a distinct lack of legroom. We’ll provide definitive measurements when we’ve lab tested the Avenger, but with the front seats adjusted for passengers over 6-foot, the rear seats are only really suitable for children on all but short journeys.
The seats themselves are sufficiently well padded and contoured, providing sufficient comfort and support to tackle long journeys.
Claimed boot space stands at 355 litres, rising to maximum of 1,250 litres – noticeably smaller than that claimed by key rival the Kia Niro EV, but overall reasonable for a car of this size. Practicality is bolstered by a one-metre wide load aperture, a minimal load lip (which can be reduced to nothing with the adjustable-height boot floor, and a reasonable height to the luggage cover. Unfortunately, though, you won’t find an additional storage space – or ‘frunk’ – underneath the front bonnet.
The rear seats fold in a 60/40 split, but don’t quite lie flat when down. There’s also a very slight step between them and the boot floor, which makes it more awkward to slide in bulky objects. The seats fold down easily using a lever located next to the headrests.
How economical is it to run?
Jeep claims the avenger will cover 249 miles on a full battery (based on the official WLTP test standard), rising to maximum of 342 miles if you drive solely in the city. This is good, if not quite as impressive as the 286 miles claimed by the Kia Niro EV. We’ll be able to give a more accurate assessment of the Avenger’s economy just as soon as we can get it into our lab.
Official energy consumption for the Avengers 156hp electric motor stands at 15.4kWh/100km.
How safe is the Jeep Avenger?
Euro NCAP has yet to put the Avenger through its testing regime. A good level of active safety technology is offered, though, with all models in the range benefitting from Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection and a blind-spot monitor, automatic parking function and 180-degree rear-view camera.
Adaptive cruise control is included on all but entry-level models, but you’ll need to opt for the range-topping Summit version to get automatic lane centring and traffic-jam assist, which can automatically bring the car to a halt and set off again in city traffic.
Is there anything I should know?
The car does have a couple of annoying quirks. The (admittedly usefully large) glovebox has an enormous lid, making it difficult to open fully with a taller passenger sat in the front seat. Secondly, the normally unobtrusive tick-tick sound of the indicators has been replaced by a synthesised high-hat drum noise, which might get annoying if you’re not a fan of beat-boxing.
Unlike some rivals, the Avenger also isn’t available with vehicle-to-load technology, meaning you can’t power external devices using the car’s battery.
Jeep Avenger: Which? first drive verdict
Price: from £34,800
Pros: Usefully compact dimensions, pleasing ride quality, some off-road cred
Cons: Cramped rear legroom, hard interior plastics, numb-feeling steering
Jeep’s smallest SUV is perhaps its most convincing small model yet. It’s capable around town and despite lacking proper off-road hardware, should also prove competent in any realistic real-world driving scenario you’re likely to encounter. It feels more like a downsized SUV than a mildly-raised hatchback, with a robust feel (not least due to its well-judged suspension) that fans of the Jeep brand will recognise. While we must reserve full judgement on the Avenger until we’ve lab tested it, we’d certainly recommend taking a test-drive.
Can’t wait for our full lab test of the new Jeep Avenger? Find out which zero-emission models earn our coveted Best Buy rating, in our guide to the best electric cars.
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