Jeep Australia's first large plug-in hybrid SUV, the Grand Cherokee 4xe, is leading a large hybrid push into the Aussie market. 

But is a five-seater plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) in range-topping Summit Reserve spec enough to see off any potential challenges from upcoming Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series or Ford Everest hybrids?

So, what is the Grand Cherokee 4xe like as a family vehicle? We tested it over seven days to find out.

How much does the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe cost?

Jeep’s debut PHEV is only available here in the range-topping Summit Reserve spec, and only as a five-seater. As such, the five-seat Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Reserve 4xe PHEV has a manufacturer suggested retail price of $129,950 (excluding on-road costs).

What features do you get in the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe?

Standard features include a 10.1-inch multimedia system (including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, 19-speaker audio system, quilted Palermo leather-trimmed seats, air suspension, and 21-inch alloy wheels.

It also has a heated steering wheel, 12-way power-adjustable seats and four-way power lumbar adjustment with memory for driver and front passenger, driver and front passenger seat massage function and heated and ventilated seats (driver, front passenger and rear outboard passengers).

A Mode 2 charging cable is included.

An Advanced Technology Group pack ($5500) is available and that includes a head-up display, a 10.25-inch screen for the front passenger, wireless phone charger, and a night vision camera.

Exterior paint choices include Bright White, Diamond Black, Silver Zynith, Velvet Red, Baltic Grey, Rocky Mountain, Midnight Sky and Hydro Blue.

In terms of design, the 4xe has a distinctive Jeep look to it. A few exterior design cues hint at its PHEV leanings: the plug-in point on the front left-hand panel and a ‘4xe’ designation on the rear door.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Reserve 4xe PHEV retains the regular model’s level of functionality but adds a reasonable level of class to everything.

All seats offer adequate comfort, support and room.

There’s plenty of storage spaces – cupholders etc – and charging points front (two USB-A and two USB-C plus a 12V socket) and back (two USB-A and two USB-C plus a 230V power point).

Controls are easy enough to locate and operate although some buttons are positioned in awkward places – including drive-mode buttons under the steering wheel – and it sometimes takes a few finger-stabs at the multimedia touchscreen to get to where you want to go in the operating system.

The rear cargo area has a listed 1067 litres of space, and, with the second row stowed away, that space expands to 2004 litres.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Reserve 4xe PHEV has a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-charged petrol engine, two electric motors on each axle and a 17.3kWh battery.

Combined engine and electric outputs for power and torque are 280kW and 637Nm respectively. The 4xe beats any of its stablemates, which have with the 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 petrol engine, because that yields 210kW and 344Nm.

The 4xe has an eight-speed automatic torque-converter transmission, and regenerative braking working off the four wheels.

Drive modes include Hybrid (with combined engine and electric motor providing “maximum instant torque and impressive acceleration”, according to Jeep); Electric (“zero emissions”); eSave (which aims to save battery power).

There are a few options available when it comes time to charge the 4xe. It has a Mode 2 charging cable so you can charge it at home in less than 10 hours, according to Jeep. With a full charge, the 4xe has a claimed driving range, on electric charge alone, of 52km.

Jeep reckons a Mode 3 (wall box) single-phase electric vehicle charger will fully charge the 4xe in less than 3 hours.

If out and about and looking for a charge, a 4xe driver can use the onboard UConnect system to locate an appropriate public charging station.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Reserve 4xe PHEV has the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating. Safety gear onboard the 4xe includes AEB with pedestrian detection, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, driver monitoring, traffic sign recognition, intersection collision assist, and a surround-view parking camera.

The Summit Reserve spec brings with it ParkSense parallel and perpendicular park assist and (low-level autonomous) Active Driving Assist.

It has eight airbags including front, side, and knee (for driver and front passenger), sides (for second-row passengers) and full curtain airbags.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Reserve 4xe PHEV has a five-year/100,000km warranty and a lifetime roadside assist service.

Capped price servicing keeps what you pay for each appointment at $399 for the first five. Servicing is set at 12-month/12,000km intervals.

What is the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe like to drive?

The Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe is a big, refined, easy-steering large SUV – mostly – but it feels bulky at times and it tends to be quite fussy on irregular surfaces, exhibiting a jittery ride on even brief sections of light corrugations on dirt tracks.

The 4xe’s PHEV set-up is smooth and highly responsive on-road and you can switch between drive modes to suit the circumstances.

Driving range on electric only is listed as 52km – I recorded a total distance of just under 50km – and the 4xe is a very quiet and smooth drive while relying on electric power.

It regenerates power rather quickly down big hills and via braking, but we’d exhausted all electric charge by the time we’d reached our 4WD test track.

As expected, this Grand Cherokee tackled every off-road challenge without strife. 

Our 4WD test track consists of difficult set-pieces, including one small steep rocky hill that I’ve seen heavily modified vehicles struggle to conquer and, to the Jeep’s credit, it climbed the incline, no sweat.

The air suspension, set to full off-road height, is a bonus.

The 4xe’s off-road efforts were only ever hampered by its “all-season” tyres – Continental CrossContact (275/45R21) – which are better suited to blacktop driving and the fact that the 4xe costs upwards of $129,950 and, as the driver, I really didn’t want to risk any damage to it.

The 4xe has a listed wading depth of 610mm but our test track was dry so I never had the chance to do any water crossings. 

The Grand Cherokee has a solid enough rep as a towing vehicle but, take note, the 4xe is rated to tow 2722kg.

As mentioned earlier, the 4xe has a listed electric-only driving range of 52km. On our official test day, we drove just under 50km on a full electric charge and then the rest of the trip was courtesy of the petrol engine.

On fuel, we recorded 11.6L/100km.

The 4xe has a 72-litre fuel tank, so going by that on-test fuel-consumption figure, you could reasonably expect to get a driving range of about 620km out of a full tank. Add an approximate range of about 50km on a full charge to that figure and you have a total estimated driving range of 670km.

Is the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe any good?

Jeep’s first plug-in hybrid large SUV, the Grand Cherokee 4xe, is not perfect by anyone's standards, but it is a step in the right direction.

The 4xe a refined drive, it retains the brand's renowned 4WD capability, and even its hefty price-tag won't discourage Jeep fans from giving it a go.