All-new, all-electric mid-size SUV eschews traditional Jeep and EV styling, and that’s a good thing

It was back in May of last year that we got our initial glimpse of Jeep’s first-ever global battery electric vehicle (BEV), and now we’ve finally had an opportunity to drive the 2024 Jeep Wagoneer S. It didn’t disappoint.

What makes the Jeep Wagoneer S design different from other Jeeps?

For any automaker embarking on creating its first EV for a global marketplace, there’s a certain element of stepping out of its comfort zone. And for a brand like Jeep, long associated with rugged, off-road vehicles, that was certainly the case with the Wagoneer S, which is built more for the blacktop than the back roads.

Yes, Jeep traditionalists might scoff at the slippery design, slim LED lights fore and aft, and a rear-mounted spoiler, but the Wagoneer S is not intended to fit into the typical Jeep mould. That said, there are exterior design cues honouring its Jeep heritage, including trapezoidal wheel arches, a tapered D-pillar — think classic Grand Wagoneer — and a seven-slot grille, the later illuminated at night to give the Wagoneer S a very distinctive front-end light signature.

The design team — said to be the youngest ever to bring an all-new Jeep from design sketch to showroom — was tasked with drafting an athletic, dynamic, and powerful shape. Looking at the Wagoneer S silhouette, they succeeded. It reminds me of another stellar design of the past few years, that of the Range Rover Velar, another vehicle that has oodles of off-road heritage but favours an up-market and urban design.

And instead of opting for massive wheels — an overwrought and overused design trend of the past decade — the Wagoneer S team maxed out at 20 inches, which prove to be the perfect proportion for the swept-back body style. And as aerodynamics play almost as important a role in EV efficiency as battery software, the team created the slipperiest Jeep in history, with an excellent drag coefficient of 0.29.

Charging and range of the 2024 Jeep Wagoneer S

The Launch Edition of the Wagoneer S comes with a 400-volt 100.5-kWh battery pack, a big one considering this is a mid-size vehicle. The battery pack consists of 131Ah-cell lithium-ion, nickel manganese, and cobalt. I expect lower trims will offer smaller ones. Jeep press notes cite a 203-kilowatt fast-charge maximum, which, under perfect conditions, will take the battery from 20% to 80% in 23 minutes. But as anyone who charges an EV knows, perfect conditions rarely exist. There is no battery pre-conditioning feature. As to full-charge range, Natural Resources Canada pegs it at 488 km (301 miles).

Jeep decided not to install a NACS charge port, taking a wait-and-see approach to the emerging new standard pioneered by Tesla. And as of now, there is no Jeep NACS adapter that could be utilized to plug the Wagoneer S into a Telsa charge port.

All Wagoneer S models come with a free choice between either the Free2Move Home or Go packages. The former is a 48-amp Level 2 AC wall unit, but does not include installation; while the latter is an $800 credit that can be used at public chargers, including Electric Circuit, BC Hydro, ChargePoint, Shell Recharge, EV Connect, and Flo.

Is the interior of 2024 Jeep Wagoneer S good?

As much as I like and admire the exterior of the Wagoneer S, the real design selling point for me is found in the cabin. Just as the outside conveys very little sense that this is an EV, the interior avoids many of the tried-and-true (and tired) all-electric trappings.

Instead of a vertical, tablet-inspired display, for example, the Wagoneer S features a sweeping and sculpted winged dashboard configuration housing 45 inches of usable display screen space — the most in the EV segment. This includes a driver’s display, a centre display, a passenger display above the glove-box, and a very clever climate control screen positioned under the centre display that can be hidden out of sight to reveal a storage space.

The gear selector isn’t some newfangled stalk or push-button array; it’s a rotary dial. My preference is the traditional selector you grip with your hand and move back and forth, but I’m beginning to accept the dial type. It’s certainly better than the alternatives found in many EVs. And the wipers are controlled by a good old steering-wheel stalk, as they should be. The controls and displays of the Wagoneer S are a very good mix of the traditional and the modern, avoiding the always frustrating game of scrolling through submenus to do something as routine as turning on the seat heaters.

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But the best part of the cabin? The steering wheel. Dubbed the ‘squircle,’ it’s a new take on this most rudimentary of vehicle controls. A combination of a square and a circle, it is flat-bottomed — not unlike many sport steering wheels — but also flat on the top, which improves sight lines for the driver. The odd, or at least different shape, did take some getting used to, but by the end of the day, I didn’t notice any difference from a true-circle steering wheel, given that the nine-and-three hand positions are on the curved part of the wheel.

Another big benefit of the flat bottom is that when you are using the self-driving assistance and are required to keep at least one hand on the wheel, you can simply rest either hand on the bottom. That’s much more comfortable over a long highway drive than having to keep one hand elevated to the side. Expect to see other automakers adopt the ‘squircle.’

The Launch Edition comes with a long list of standard features, including premium heated and ventilated front and rear seats, a dual-pane panoramic sunroof, and a segment-exclusive 19-speaker 1,200-watt McIntosh audio system.

How does the 2024 Jeep Wagoneer drive?

One of the many interesting aspects of all-electric vehicles, and a point I’ve made on many occasions, is that, with few exceptions, they all have very similar driving characteristics. They are quick, quiet, smooth, and stable. The Jeep Wagoneer S Launch Edition is no exception.

With 600 horsepower and 617 lb-ft of torque under the hood — err, floor — get-up-and-go is not an issue with this Jeep. Not five minutes into my test drive, I came across one of those beautiful Southern California on-ramps that seem to stretch to the horizon line. I quickly toggled to Sport mode and matted it. Jeep reports a zero-to-96-km/h time of 3.4 seconds, and while I was already going about 40 kilometres-an-hour when I pinned the accelerator, that familiar sensation of blood immediately evacuating my cranial cavity confirmed what a Jeep spokesperson said during the morning presentation: “This thing is fast.”

Yes, it is. But that’s nothing new in the EV segment, is it? One of my earliest all-electric motoring memories was blowing the doors off a Porsche 911 in a 2011 Nissan Leaf at a traffic light. Yes, the Porsche caught and passed me, but the look on the driver’s face was priceless.

What the Wagoneer S does so well with that prodigious power is keep things together and under control when that 100.5-kWh battery is called upon to unleash the juice. The Wagoneer S features the Jeep brand-exclusive Selec-Terrain traction management system, which keeps the SUV on track and in line under the most aggressive acceleration.

Another attribute that all EVs share, and one that contributes greatly to the handling characteristics, is that low centre of gravity thanks to the below-floor battery pack. Through some twisty foothill roads, I could really feel that low centre of gravity — some five inches lower than the last gen Cherokee — with very little body roll and a very firm and planted feel. Again, not unlike many EVs. Aiding this stable ride is the STLA Large platform architecture, which offers 35% more torsional stiffness than the last-generation Cherokee.

There are five drive modes — Auto, Sport, Eco, Sand, and Snow — and a few regenerative braking settings, including one-pedal driving. I’m not thrilled that the drive mode defaults to Auto when the vehicle is turned off then on again, as I prefer it stays in the last mode set. There is no adaptive suspension, which does seem unusual for a vehicle with a Jeep badge, so when in Sport mode the changes include throttle and steering response, and slight tweaks to the traction-management system. Towing capacity is 1,542 kg (3,400 lbs).

During my drive with the Wagoneer S, I achieved an efficiency rating of 19.4 km/kWh, which is good for a vehicle this size and weight. Again, that work on the aero of this Jeep has really paid off.

When will the 2024 Jeep Wagoneer S arrive in Canada and how much will it cost?

The 2024 Jeep Wagoneer S Launch Edition is arriving in B.C. and Quebec dealerships now, with an MRSP of $88,995 (plus $2,695 destination charge and $100 federal AC tax). Sales in other provinces will follow shortly according to Jeep Canada. Options include red seats ($1,000) and a trailer tow package ($1,350). Lower trims and pricing will be announced at next month’s Chicago Auto Show.

Final thoughts

I can hear the chatter already. Ninety grand!? Yes, that’s a lot of money, but this is the fully loaded Launch Edition, which in many ways represents Jeep’s maiden moonshot into the EV stratosphere. It’s a way of saying “this is what we can do,” from both an engineering and design perspective. And, of course, there’s that “quickest Jeep ever” badge of honour, something the marketing folks clamour for when it comes to their brand’s first all-electric.

I’m willing to hold any criticism on the pricing until we see those lower trims announced in Chicago in just over a week’s time. Will they offer a smaller battery model — say, a range of 380 km or so — without all the bells and whistles of the Launch Edition for somewhere in the $60k to $65k neighbourhood? If so, that represents really good value for money in the EV segment.

Jeep has proven it can create a very good-looking and a very good-driving electric vehicle. The real proof of its staying power in the EV segment will come with future models, but the 2024 Wagoneer S Launch Edition is an impressive opening salvo.

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