OK, our new ride is sitting in the garage, had it for a few days (as I mentioned the dealership in Orlando was kind enough to drive it the 2 hours to our door)
It's a
Wrangler Unlimited Sahara 4XE.
This is Jeep's new PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), our is in Snazzberry Pearl (black interior), has most options/packages: safety, advanced safety, tow, body colored hardtop, cold weather (heated everyone and remote start), special LSD type rear axle - the 4XE models come standard with what's normally options, even at the Sahara trim (which is kind of their mid-upper), so the larger uConnect display/system, leather, the LED lighting system, 500+ watt bunch-o-speakers Alpine audio upgrade, etc. The Sahara comes with gloss black 20" wheels, body colored fenders.
As I mentioned in another post, We cross shopped another 3 row, explorer ST, nice with the 21" Perf Pack, quick, gave the Hyundai/Kia twins a review, finally, we decided we don't care about a 3-row/6-7 seaters any longer (why do we really need it, it was always to accommodate someone else ...), have never owned a Jeep myself (Dad had one) we were looking at Grand Cherokees.
However, the wife had a hankering, I sort of did too, the little G is into it, it's new, it's old, it's super cool, it's very "beachy",
it's small step towards the future. When Tesla gets their $7K (and certainly if it's $10K), fed tax credit back, I'll very likely get a Model 3 Performance.
Anyway, Wranglers are neat, they're the "real" Jeep, super competent offroad, I mean, this thing can traverse 30" of water!
Now about the PHEV system, it's a hoot, it doesn't have super long range in pure electric mode (20-25 miles), but you can go hybrid where it works both the ICE and EV systems together, or E-save where it runs in ICE only, saves the EV mode, like driving to a trailhead where you want to __quietly_ drive through a forrest. It has a port to charge, with regular 110/5a, it's a LONG duration, with the new 240/32a charger I have arriving today, it's about 50 minutes - plus, it has regenerative braking, so in slowing down the vehicle, it actually charges the EV battery.
The ICE engine is Jeep's very solid 2.0L I4 turbo, that puts out 270HP, and 290 lb/ft of Torque, but ...
With the electric motors doing their thing in combination, this Wrangler is
375HP __and__
470 lb/ft of Torque. That means, this 5000 lb box can go from 0-60 in 6 seconds or less (some people have been testing and getting 5.8-5.9 seconds).
Also, Wranglers are modular. The hardtop has two front panels that come out (has a nice padded storage bag), so the front seats have an open roof - but the WHOLE roof comes off as well, the vehicle has a full chassis "under" the top so to speak, and it even retains all the lighting, audio, etc.. The carpets all just snap out and there's drain plugs in the floor, you can literally hose it out
Even the rear subwoofer is completely water resistant - there are tops that cover just the seating and leave the back open, kind of like a mini pickup truck.
The hardtop is a bit heavy for just a manual lift (not insanely heavy, the newer JL model hardtop is about 100-110 lbs), that's what the winch is for, we'll lift it off in the garage, leave it hanging, and score an easy to remove, emergency rain soft top
On to some pics ...
