St. GEORGE, Utah — Rolling through the desert at 75 mph in a Jeep Wrangler is many things, but “relaxing” and “contemplative” are not normally words that come to mind.
Not until the 2024 Wrangler added laminated glass, insulating foam and other goodies to reduce noise inside the cabin by a whopping 5 decibels. That’s like moving from a house in a neighborhood next to the interstate to a cabin in the woods.
The quieter interior is just one of the ’24 Wrangler’s improvements, but don’t sleep on it.
Because you could. It’s that quiet. Wranglers have always been noisy. Wind and road noise were part of the price Wrangler owners paid for the ability to pop the top, remove the doors and drive over the most rugged terrain.
Now, the interior is as nearly as serene at highway speed as the forest surrounding you is when you switch the Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid into its whispery all-electric mode.
The details of my Wrangler Rubicon X 4xe test drive
What is it? 2024 Jeep Wrangler SUV
Which model did I drive? 2024 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4xe, the four-door plug-in hybrid.
What’s new? Sound insulation, improved audio for hands-free calls and voice recognition, factory-installed Dana 44 axles.
Base price: $31,895. All prices exclude destination charges
Price as tested? $75,140
Electric range: 21 miles
EPA fuel economy estimate: 20 mpg combined city/highway. 49 mpge in EV mode
Where is it built? Toledo, Ohio
When can you buy one? On sale now
Driving impressions
I tested a loaded four-door Wrangler Rubicon X 4xe plug-in hybrid with the power retractable canvas top in a day’s driving through southern Utah’s canyons and hills. It stickered at $75,140 excluding destination charge.
The PHEV Wrangler 4xe has attracted new customers to the Jeep, wooed by its improved fuel economy in hybrid mode and ability to go up to 21 miles on battery power alone.
That range would make a Tesla Y or Nissan Ariya electric vehicle blush, but it’s enough to allow many owners to do much of their daily driving in petroleum-free EV mode, and the electric motor’s power and near silence make it easier to appreciate the wilderness when off-roading, the Wrangler’s unique core competency among electrified SUVs.
The 4xe’s combination of a 2.0L turbocharged gasoline engine and electric motor provides 375 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque. Both figures easily top the Wrangler’s 3.6L V6’s output, and the PHEV’s torque matches the output of the $87,595 6.4L Hemi V8-powered Wrangler Rubicon 392.
That torque delivers on Jeep’s promise that its electrified vehicles will have greater off-road capability than their internal combustion predecessors.
The 4xe has added two specialized off-roading EV modes for 2024: a high-speed setting for sand-running and a low range to crawl over rocks.
Sweetening the deal, the 4xe qualifies for a $7,500 federal EV tax credit.
Selected new features for 2024
- Instrument panel
- 12.3-inch touch screen
- Seven microphones for hands-free calls and voice recognition
- 4xe hybrid can use battery to power campsites or serve as generator for a whole house
- Factory-installed 8,000-pound Warn winch available
- Power front seats available
- Side curtain air bags
- Factory-installed Dana solid front and rear axles available
- Four skid plates
- Radio antenna embedded in windshield
- Choice of four transfer cases and five axles
- 10 new wheel designs
- Six new tires
Vastly improved interior
As significant as new EV modes and Dana axles are, most Wrangler owners will benefit from the ‘24’s interior upgrades far more often than those off-road enablers:
- Sound insulation that includes foam around the windshield frame on every Wrangler and acoustic-laminate front side glass, sound-deadening carpet and a headliner on some models. The cabin of my power-soft top Rubicon X was quieter than I would’ve thought possible.
- A new seven-microphone system improves the quality of hands-free calls and the Wrangler’s Android Automotive operating system’s speech recognition for navigation and other features. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, but power connections require a cable.
- The nav system includes 200 off-road trails, with details including their history and points of interest, difficulty ratings, even trailheads with EV charging stations. The information is free for two years and costs $39.95 after for a larger database with more than 3,000 trail guides.
- Some models get an instrument panel wrapped in soft materials, with contrasting detail stitching.
- The 2024 model is the first Wrangler to offer power front seats.
2024 Jeep Wrangler trim levels and prices
- Sport: 2-door $31,895, 4-door $35,895
- Sport S: 2-door $35,495, 4-door $39,395
- Willys: 2-door $39,395, 4-door $43,395
- Sahara: 4-door $47,825
- Rubicon: 2-door $45,395, 4-door $49,395
- Sport S 4xe: 4-door $49,995
- Willys 4xe: 4-door $54,735
- Rubicon X: 2-door $54,895, 4-door $58,895
- Sahara 4xe: 4-door $56,895
- Rubicon 4xe: 4-door $60,585
High Altitude: 4xe 4-door $66,995
Rubicon X 4xe: 4-door $69,085
Rubicon 392: 4-door $87,595
Prices exclude $1,795 destination charge
Source: Jeep
Why get one?
The Jeep Wrangler is a classic that keeps up to date, adding new features and technology without losing its ageless get-away-from-it-all appeal.
Contact Mark Phelan: 313-222-6731 or mmphelan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.