*This article is from the autocarweekly WeChat official account.

Author: Feifei Ye

Last winter, I drove a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon home for the Lunar New Year.

It was a superb experience. In my hometown Huangshan, I could tour the green mountains and blue waters of the Huizhou Grand Canyon with the Wrangler, appreciate the ancient and tranquil atmosphere between the pink walls and tiles, and search for exquisite and delicious Huizhou cuisine along the way. I couldn’t wait to take him off-road.

However, it was during the Spring Festival when the epidemic was raging. The next day when I woke up without any prior preparation, it felt like the end of the world. I had to adjust my plan and return to Shanghai, my place of departure, with the Wrangler, without exploring any unknown roads.

On the hastily fleeing road, there were few cars and a feeling of desolation.

The road was long, and the scenery was far away. I just stepped on the gas pedal aimlessly and moved forward between cities. For the Wrangler, this situation of being isolated from the external natural environment was a very boring torment.

As I efficiently maneuvered on the desolate highway, I couldn’t help but start to think: What is the best car to escape with if doomsday arrived?

I already had an answer in my heart, and that is the Wrangler. He can do anything, he is loyal like a dog, strong like a horse, and agile like a goat. He raced 400 kilometers from the green mountains and blue waters to the most prosperous city. With his square body, round headlamps, sturdy front bumper, and ultra-strong four-wheel drive capability… he can also undergo many modifications that are natural and full of outdoor life, making him the perfect ultimate survival vehicle.

For a moment, scenes from “Interstellar” appeared in my mind: the male and female protagonists driving a Wrangler, traversing the vast cornfields in a dusty sky, desperately trying to get back home. It seems that amidst the overwhelming despair, only that red Wrangler gave you hope.

However, I soon returned to the “civilized world,” and regretted not being able to completely have fun with the Wrangler. So, when I received the invitation from Jeep China to participate in the first Asian test drive of the Wrangler 4xe, my mind and body immediately became excited to cross mountains and rivers.

This test drive began almost simultaneously with the North American test drive, and all the Wrangler 4xe test drive vehicles were original Wrangler Sahara 4xe vehicles, which were reportedly shipped directly from overseas factories as soon as they were produced.

The Wrangler 4xe is the Wrangler model with the strongest performance, most advanced technology, and most environmentally friendly in the history of the Jeep brand.Previously, in catering to the electric wave, Jeep may have lagged behind. However, for many people, this is understandable. The surge of fuel and the roar of the engine are the soul of Jeep, the things that it needs to uphold. Therefore, when this plug-in hybrid Wrangler appears, people will be curious and worried: is it more like a compromise to environmental protection rather than a continuation of its style? Would it be “tasteless”?

What is the taste of Wrangler?

In short, it has a high ground clearance, a thick base, a loud voice, a hard character, and an unstoppable feeling of rough conquest.

It’s time to get to know this first-time electrified tough guy.

We drove on more than 20 kilometers of paved roads. When you step on the first foot of the accelerator, you’ll understand: it’s different, the character of the power system has changed.

The motor, like a simple and crude physical external device, ensures that the Wrangler has more full instantaneous torque and lower fuel consumption. Like a child who has just thrown off his school bag, the Wrangler 4xe suddenly becomes younger and has a light, agile feeling. There is no delay when shifting and no attenuation when switching power. In any acceleration phase, this car is definitely more powerful than the fuel edition.

You can press the button on the instrument panel on the left side of the steering wheel to experience the three power modes of the Wrangler 4xe hybrid system:

In all-electric mode, that is, when the engine is completely turned off, the Wrangler can achieve a range of 55 kilometers on pure electricity. If the battery runs low, it will automatically switch to hybrid mode.

In hybrid mode, the battery will assist in energy recovery and acceleration like a water storage tank, and the vehicle will still be in a hybrid-optimized fuel-efficient state. In this mode, fuel consumption can be as low as 2.4 liters.

If you switch to eSave mode at this time, the vehicle will recharge more electricity while driving in a hybrid mode and can replenish electricity upwards.

At the same time, the vehicle’s attitude towards passengers and drivers has become friendlier.

Perhaps sensing that consumers’ definition of “wildness” has become more broad, Jeep hopes to isolate noise and mud from the outside world for the Wrangler 4xe and leave refinement and silence inside the car. We can see that the interior of the car is covered with large areas of soft materials, imported high-end leather 3D seats, chrome details, and other high-end materials. Previously, the Wrangler’s gasoline version had already done a good job of sound insulation, let alone the hybrid version.

Therefore, even during rapid acceleration, everyone in the car would feel that the driver wasn’t stepping on the accelerator too hard but rather enjoying a relaxing ride.

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The off-road trail we’re headed to has a beautiful name, “Dragon Extreme Path,” and it’s located on Fuzhou Mountain in Ningbo.

Although the altitude of Fuzhou Mountain is not high, the steepness is exceptional, and the vehicles climb up the mountain roads tirelessly.

Looking out the window, the tea gardens stretch from the misty mountain foot to halfway up the mountain, with tea trees and old leaves shining in the grayish mist. In the distance, the mountains are competing for beauty, with green and blue colors intertwined, indescribable in the drizzle. On the other hand, the scent of mountain flowers surrounds, and you can easily pick them up. The mountain ghosts and cloud lords in the “Chu Ci” seem to be right in front of us.

If you cut out a piece of this scene and put it on paper, it would make a wonderful painting by ancient people.

However, the beauty and the hardship are evenly divided.

Dragon Extreme Path was already a holy land for off-road enthusiasts. The continuous fine rain in Jiangnan has increased the difficulty of various complex road surfaces such as hairpin turns, muddy slopes, and bomb craters several times more than before. Yet, the overbearing Wrangler 4xe entered the woods along the path without hesitation.

On this off-road section that nearly made me vomit out the breakfast, as if I were riding a roller coaster, I thoroughly experienced the original flavor of the Wrangler.

It hasn’t changed.

The Wrangler will always make it clear to anyone that it is a Wrangler.

The “family face” design strategy was pioneered by Jeep before any other car brand, starting with the Willys MB in World War II, with its seven-slot grille and twin headlights, which has also been popularized on other vehicles under the brand. No matter how many generations have passed, the Wrangler still maintains its classic design that is almost devoid of curves, with a trapezoidal fender and short front and rear overhangs. This Wrangler Sahara 4xe has an approach angle of 34.8°, a departure angle of 29.2°, and a minimum ground clearance of 242mm. It’s still a legendary existence.

All these are classic designs that the Wrangler has carried on since the WWII era.

Like when the American version of Vogue published a drawing of a little black dress designed by Chanel in 1926, and predicted that the little black dress would become a “uniform that caters to all the tastes of women.” It looks so simple, but it has been around for more than 90 years and has stood the test of time. Its significance has long surpassed that of just a dress.After more than 90 years, there are still people willing to take out their wallets and spend money to buy this product. This is the true magic of design.

And the Jeep Wrangler 4xe’s authenticity comes not only from its styling, but also from its powerful four-wheel drive ability that can tackle any challenge.

The biggest challenge of this trip comes from the muddy and narrow environs of the Jiaolong offshore jungle. The road is deep and rocky, with a small slope that is nearly 30 degrees. Plus, the car that lacks grip after the rain cannot show off its abilities here.

Sitting in the driver’s seat, the feeling of control reminds you that this is a driver’s car. The road is unexpectedly bumpy, with the vehicle body jumping up and down, tilting left and right, making people feel both frightened and excited.

I had no time to think or feel, just tightly focusing on the left and right rearview mirrors, afraid of any deviation that might scrape the nearby rocks as they could become hidden killers for the car’s wheels.

This Jeep Wrangler Sahara 4xe is all original, without any modification except for the switch to off-road tires to ensure safety in bad weather. With its hybrid power, the 2.0T turbocharged engine paired with two motors can provide a maximum power of 375 horsepower and a peak torque of 637 N m. It also upgrades the front and rear axles to the Rubicon specification, to withstand greater torque. Meanwhile, the gear ratio has increased from 3.45 to 3.73, approaching the Rubicon 4.1 gear ratio. Its off-road capabilities are almost equal to the petrol-powered Rubicon.

Unlike the brave ascent, the descent is even more exciting, with a careless driver risking a “rolling in the deep”. With the hill descent control function, you don’t need to control the throttle or brakes. Just use the gear shift lever to adjust the speed of descent. Except for the body constantly pitching forward and backward and rocking from side to side, you cannot imagine your car is descending a narrow, steep slope full of rocks at a 30 degree angle. Such driving sensations make me secretly proud, feeling invincible.The vehicles have to pass through a river with a depth of over 60 cm and full of rocks. However, the battery packs of many pure electric vehicles are installed at the bottom of the car. How can Jeep Wrangler 4xe, which must maintain high passability, cope with this challenge?

The solution is to install the 400V, 17kWh, and 96-core battery pack under the second-row seats. Through redesign, the bottom cushion of the seat can be flipped forward to provide enough space for battery maintenance when necessary. It can also protect the battery from external influences. Therefore, the Wrangler 4xe can achieve a maximum wading depth of 762mm.

Finally, just like trying different difficulty levels while sitting in front of a game and finally passing the journey, I completed the full-road test of the Jeep Wrangler 4xe.

If the off-road test drive of the Land Rover I participated in was like a luxury tour, hoping that I would wear a deep V-neck dress and have a cocktail party directly after getting off the car, then the full-road test drive of the Jeep Wrangler is more direct and rough. I was “eating soil” all the way, but I returned like a warrior after conquering new land.

What’s remarkable is that it was a silent expedition. There was no noise or smoke, fully integrating with nature without differentiation. It was an amazing experience of both wild and peaceful in my past year.

Coming back to the campsite, we continued “wilding” with the Wrangler 4xe. We removed its roof and sunbathed under the sun, turned it over to place things on the grass, and put it on the small table as a tabletop. This generation of Wrangler is more friendly, as the removable roof can be removed by twisting several pins, while on the previous generation of Wrangler, it was not an easy task.

On Zhihu (a social platform in China), there is a popular question and answer thread that reads:

“What are the characteristics of Jeep Wrangler owners?
Young? Freelancers? Financially free? Often self-driving travelers?

In fact, they usually have a higher-pressure job than ordinary people and less leisure time throughout the year.

“What is the point of buying this car? Isn’t it a waste?”

In fact, they buy a Wrangler for the “possibility,” which often means the sadness is not that “we didn’t do it,” but “we couldn’t do it.”

Freedom of mind is more important than anything else.

So, the consumer group of Wrangler 4xe may seem niche, but in fact, it may be broader than you think. Nowadays, it has not lowered the professional qualities that Wrangler should have, but has broken the barriers between professionalism and popularization by using more direct electric and inherent fun of fuel vehicles, becoming a better Wrangler.

Still, he expresses himself rudely and sincerely, and walks his own path, hoping to impress those who refuse to grow up vulgarly as well.

He sings loudly, “When memories become distant and the initial heart emerges, I have made so many changes just for what remains unchanged in my heart,” which is actually the voice in our hearts.

This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.