2025 Jeep Wrangler 4xe Review

The plug-in hybrid Jeep offers good real-world battery range when charged but unimpressive gas mileage when not.

Benjamin Hunting | 

Aug 11, 2025 | 8 min read

Benjamin Hunting

As a concept, the idea of a plug-in Wrangler hybrid that provides useful electric-only driving range is a winner. In execution, there are aspects of this Jeep's driving and ownership experience that underscore the lack of refinement that has long been a Wrangler calling card. Add the 4xe's high price and unimpressive fuel economy when the SUV's battery is exhausted, and the value proposition is dependent on keeping the Jeep charged up.

Nevertheless, among the numerous available PHEV SUVs, none offers the same go-anywhere capability as the 2025 Jeep Wrangler 4xe. So, whether the Wrangler 4xe puzzles, irritates, or enchants you likely depends on your general enthusiasm about this anachronistic and iconic SUV dipping its tire treads into the battery-assisted future. And your willingness to plug it in every night.

Benjamin Hunting

About the 2025 Jeep Wrangler 4xe Willys '41 Review Vehicle

The 2025 Jeep Wrangler 4xe comes exclusively in a four-door body style with your choice between seven trim levels: Sport S, Willys, Sahara, Willys '41, Rubicon, Backcountry, and Rubicon X. Pricing ranges from the low $50,000s to the low $70,000s, including the destination charge to ship the SUV to a dealership from the Toledo, Ohio, assembly plant. Jeep claims the 2025 Wrangler 4xe may be eligible for up to $7,500 in federal income tax credits toward a purchase or lease.

For this Wrangler 4xe review, I evaluated a new-for-2025 Willys '41 model in Montreal, Quebec, and that province's Eastern Townships region. Notable options included the Active Safety Group, the Convenience Group, and the Technology Group, along with rock sliders and a body-colored hard top with a headliner. Those options increased the Jeep's manufacturer's suggested retail price to $71,405, including the $1,995 destination charge. Jeep provided the Wrangler 4xe for this review.

Benjamin Hunting

Classic Styling Sets the Wrangler 4xe Apart From Other SUVs

The Jeep Wrangler could be the easiest-to-identify vehicle on the road today, and like so many things about the SUV, its boxy, retro shape either works for you or it doesn't. The Willys '41 trim level adds olive drab paint, matching painted 17-inch wheels, 33-inch all-terrain tires, and numerous sticker call-outs commemorating the original 1941 Willys MB used by the U.S. Army during World War II.

The 4xe Willys '41 features exclusive Heritage Tan cloth upholstery on the seats and dashboard, and the standard fabric convertible top is a matching color. The test vehicle's optional hard top includes two individual removable panels over the front seats, so you can open up the cabin without taking off the entire top. The optional interior headliner only covers parts of the top, with large unpainted sections visible.

Benjamin Hunting

Front-seat room is perfectly fine, and the rear seat isn't that bad for adults, either. Cargo space is a bit mixed, as the back bench doesn't fold completely flat, requiring you to store items on an angle when you need maximum cargo space. During an airport run, I effortlessly stuffed two large suitcases behind the back seat.

Despite the optional headliner, the Wrangler's cabin was loud on the highway, with wind and tire noise (and even a few drops from my pressure washer) leaking through its hardtop seals. A noisy air-conditioning compressor rattling under the hood further marred the 4xe's quiet electric driving experience — it was audible even with the doors and windows closed.

Benjamin Hunting

The Wrangler 4xe's Tech Is Basic, Except for the Power Box

Jeep's Uconnect infotainment system is relatively straightforward to use and offers intuitive menus and operation. The gauge cluster also features some configurability and is easy to scroll through using the Wrangler's steering wheel-mounted buttons.

A 12.3-inch touchscreen display is standard, and Uconnect includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. The test vehicle's optional Technology Group included an Alpine premium audio system, and it offered decent sound quality … when it was working, that is. I had some unusual problems, including the entire left audio channel disappearing, which required turning the Wrangler off and then on again to correct.

Benjamin Hunting

My test model's Active Safety Group package added automatic high-beam headlights, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and rear parking sensors. Adaptive cruise control is standard on the Willys '41, but it's not at all smooth, lurching forward at lower speeds and lacking stop-and-go capability. In regular driving, the system lazily accelerated to resume speed when slower traffic cleared the lane.

The 4xe I drove also offered a Power Box "vehicle to load" feature that lets you pull some of the energy out of its battery pack to run various electrical devices. That's a helpful thing to have when you're in the middle of nowhere, as Wrangler owners often are.

Benjamin Hunting

The Wrangler 4xe Is Frugal, Until the Battery Is Drained

Every Jeep Wrangler 4xe pairs a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with two electric motors, an eight-speed automatic transmission, and standard four-wheel drive. Collectively, the engine and motors generate 375 horsepower, and the 4xe offers a modest 3,500 pounds of towing capacity.

The official fuel-economy ratings are 49 MPGe in combined city and highway driving when you start with a fully charged battery. Drive the Wrangler 4xe as a traditional hybrid without plugging it in, and you can expect to get 20 mpg. That's the same as a Wrangler equipped with a V6 engine, so plugging in and charging the battery is crucial if you intend to save money on gas.

With the 4xe's 17.3-kilowatt-hour battery pack fully charged, this Jeep is EPA rated to provide up to 21 miles of electric driving. That range is suitable for around-town cruising, but I was curious to see how it held up on the hillier sections of the country roads leading to my home. In terms of power, there were moments when the electric motor couldn't handle maintaining 55 mph up a somewhat steep slope, requiring the gas engine to turn on for additional assistance.

Range-wise, the guesstimator on the dashboard initially promised me 26 miles driving on the battery alone. During my week with the 4xe, it dropped to 23 miles after its computer brain acclimated to the surrounding terrain. In my experience, the lower figure was more accurate. However, over time, the 4xe's frequent automatic gas-engine shut downs can result in more miles of battery-only operation even when driving the Jeep in Hybrid mode.

Benjamin Hunting

Unfortunately, the immense mass of the Wrangler 4xe's battery pack dooms it as a traditional hybrid. Weighing nearly 1,200 pounds more than a comparably equipped gas-only Wrangler, that extra tonnage hurts fuel economy.

But that issue only matters on long trips. If you're consistently plugging in at home like I was, the battery can make up for most of the Wrangler 4xe's thirst. Over 350 miles of driving, I averaged 27 mpg because I covered about 30% of my travels in Electric mode. About 280 of those miles involved highway cruising at 70 mph, which shows just how much my regular battery-only sojourns reduced overall fuel consumption.

Benjamin Hunting

It took about two hours and 20 minutes to recharge the 4xe from empty on my Level 2 plug. It's worth noting that out of the dozens of EVs I have tested, only two have ever tripped my home charger into protection mode: this Wrangler 4xe and an earlier version of the same. This time around, it happened twice in two days, forcing me to reset the circuit breaker each time.

Jeep designed the Wrangler 4xe Willys '41 with toughness in mind, and its 33-inch off-road tires and hardcore suspension setup limit its on-road handling and ride comfort. Cornering isn't the Jeep's strong suit, and the ride leaves little to your backside's imagination.

Benjamin Hunting

Is the 2025 Jeep Wrangler 4xe a Good SUV?

If you can charge at home and don't mind its coarse daily driving character, the 2025 Jeep Wrangler 4xe is unique in offering excellent off-road capability with enough electric range to cover most of the miles Americans drive every day. That said, you'll pay dearly for the privilege because the cheapest Wrangler 4xe costs about $12,000 more than an equivalent gas-only model. Additionally, you'll see lackluster fuel economy the farther away you travel from a plug.

All vehicle pricing includes MSRP plus destination charges (set at the time of publication), and will be rounded to the nearest thousand.

Benjamin Hunting

Nearly two decades into his career as an automotive journalist, Benjamin has had his hands greasy, his hair blown back, and his heart broken by more than one project car. In addition to his work at Capital One, he has contributed features and reviews to Motor Trend, Car and Driver, Hagerty, Driving Line, Inside Hook, Super Street, European Car, Roadkill Magazine, Motor 1, The Drive, the Toronto Star, the National Post, Business Insider, NAPA, Autoblog, Automotive News Canada, and AutoGuide. He is also cohost of the Unnamed Automotive Podcast and cocreator of the Code 45 and Dead Air graphic novels. In his spare time, he's a friend to vinyl and enjoys keeping the shiny side up during track days.