Jeep Avenger review

Despite the emphasis on off-road competence, the Avenger handles pretty neatly on the road. Jeep lengthened the suspension travel versus an ordinary hatch, but there's plenty of damping control. There's not much roll, so you can lob it at a corner with surprising abandon and it stays neutral enough.

The ride remains on the acceptable side of supple. There’s a fair bit of lateral head-toss on straight bumpy roads, but the Avenger is very nicely secured against pitch and float. We suspect the 16in alloys that are standard on the base Avenger are best, though we’ve yet to try them ourselves. The 18s that come with the top spec car are easily unsettled on rougher surfaces.

Most importantly of all, it's quiet. We've got used to a clonky suspension from cars on this platform, but not here. The Avenger's tyres roll quietly as well, and the body feels rigid, so the experience is reassuringly refined and calm.

Remind me of my powertrain options...

Right, deep breath. Your entry level option is the pure petrol. It gets a 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine outputting 99bhp. Zero to 62mph takes 10.6s on to a top speed of 114mph. We’ve tried it – briefly – but found we missed the smoothness that electrical assistance – or full electric power – offers.

Which is where the mild hybrid enters the fray. It adds a 28bhp gearbox integrated motor and a 0.9kWh battery, allowing for a small amount of electric only running at low speeds and offering extra torque at low revs (0-62mph takes 10.4s) as well as improved efficiency. No plugging in necessary here either, of course.

That’s followed by the 4xe which adds another 28bhp e-motor onto the rear axle for all-wheel drive and a total power output of 143bhp. That makes for a 0-62mph sprint time of 9.5s, on to a top speed of 121mph. But outright straight-line speed very much isn’t the aim here. No, this is the one for the mud pluggers amongst you.

Go on.

In addition to the improved performance on paper, it gets proper rufty-tufty looks and ability thanks to extra protective cladding, increased approach and departure angles (22 and 35 degrees respectively), 400mm wading capability, 10mm extra ground clearance, and proper multi-link rear suspension.

Though... in everyday use there’s seemingly little advantage to it over the lesser versions. It doesn’t feel any quicker and the 1.2-litre hybrid setup remains quite brash, with power only permanently sent to all four wheels up to 19mph, where the extra torque is most welcome. Otherwise, the rear motor works only when called upon up to 56mph, and never above that. And economy suffers as a result, too.

So this is really best suited to those planning heading off the beaten track. Fair enough, that’s what its maker intended. Like the standard Avenger it also gets Jeep’s ‘Selec-Terrain’ tech that adds hill descent control plus settings for driving on ‘Sand’, ‘Mud’ and ‘Snow’. We’d wager 90 per cent of Avengers won’t ever use them.

Isn't there an electric option too?

Yup. It mates a 154bhp motor with 51kWh battery, for a claimed 249 miles of range. The kerbweight is a light (for an EV) 1,536kg, so acceleration when you ask is lively-ish. Not that you’d tell from the 9.6-second 0-62mph time. But it gets itself to motorway pace without much trouble, aided by the smallness of its frontal area.

Again, there are modes: Sport is the full 154bhp and 192lb ft. 'Normal' shaves that back to 107bhp and 162lb ft, while in 'Eco' you're contenting yourself with 80bhp and 132lb ft, unless you mash the throttle past its far-end kick-point.

What that means is the Avenger feels and acts very differently in the various modes compared to its ICE counterparts, which recalibrate the ESP, accelerator and steering weight. You'll probably use 'Normal' mode in suburban driving, as it makes gentle starts easier than in 'Sport': you’ll save the latter for faster country roads to make up for the lack of steering or brake feel.

The slowing down department is equally well developed: regen power at peak is up to 62bhp from lifting off in B mode, and more when you press the brake. Thereafter, the discs arrive progressively.

What about efficiency?

Honestly, it’s pretty decent. Way better than the Avenger’s boxy shape would suggest. We saw 4.1mi/kWh from the trip computer, implying real world range of well over 200 miles against the official claim of 249. Admittedly the Avenger had the weather and the route going for it here: add some cold motorway running into the mix and that number would obviously come down.

Oh, and quick word on charge times: if you have a three-phase connection (most don’t), the AC inlet will take 11kW, charging it from flat to full in five and a half hours. With a more normal 7kW single-phase home wallbox, it's eight hours.

Stopping at a public charger will no doubt cost a lot more, but that’s the price you pay for speed. On 100kW DC you ought to get 10-80 per cent in under a half-hour, Jeep claims. That’s thanks to the relatively small battery and efficient motor.

If range anxiety is a concern for you… maybe you should ask yourself how often you really drive over 200 miles in one go. But we won’t go into all that now. Of the other powertrains, the base petrol claims 49mpg and 130g/km CO2 emissions, the mild hybrid 56mpg and 114g/km, and the 4xe 53mpg (we saw 50mpg over 300ish miles) and 125g/km.