Jeep Avenger e-Hybrid Review 2024

You’ll get the most out of the Jeep Avenger e-Hybrid if you’re looking for a small car with a stylish edge, and do a lot of relatively low-speed driving. While the Avenger is fine on the motorway, the hybrid drivetrain is at its best in stop-start traffic and around town where it can maximise electric-only driving and give you the best fuel economy. If you need something particularly spacious and practical then the Jeep may not be for you – there are roomier alternatives available – but that said, it’s still got more space inside than several other non-SUV city cars.

The Jeep Avenger e-Hybrid has just the one power option, so your only choice is in trim level. The entry-level Longitude model is reasonably well kitted out, but the mid-range Altitude trim has some useful extras like adaptive cruise control, electric boot lid and a larger driver display behind the steering wheel. As the price rise when new is fairly small, we think it’s worth going for, so the Altitude model would be our pick.

If you’re feeling flush then the top-spec Summit model has extras like heated front seats as well as extra safety gear, but it starts to really push the price up.

If you’re considering a Jeep Avenger then you could also be looking at cars like the Peugeot 2008, the Fiat 600, the DS3 and the Vauxhall Mokka. These are all made by the same parent company as the Avenger – Stellantis – and share various engineering bits, but they each have their own quirks and advantages. We don’t think any of them have the presence or rugged looks of the Jeep, and nor can they think about any off-road work, which the Jeep can (more on that shortly).

Other cars to look at include the Hyundai Kona and the Kia Niro, both of which have excellent long warranties from new (five years and seven years respectively). The Toyota Yaris Cross also has a five-year warranty and a proven hybrid powertrain and the Nissan Juke has some eye-catching looks, while the Ford Puma has the edge on most cars of this type when it comes to practicality and driving fun, although it’s not available as a full hybrid.

Let’s get the bad bits out of the way – the quality of materials used in various parts of the cabin of the Avenger isn’t great. The plastics are hard and feel cheap, particularly on the door cards.

Soft-touch materials are a scarcity here, but… does that matter? This is a Jeep after all, and it has a robust, wipe-clean utility feel built into its heritage, even if the Avenger isn’t a car in which you’ll want to wade through rivers and climb mountains. And besides, it doesn’t really detract from the interior’s appeal, which is comfortable and air to sit in. It isn’t posh, but it doesn’t really need to be, and in fairness the bits you touch the most – the steering wheel, buttons and gear shifter – all feel solid enough.

The Avenger e-Hybrid comes as standard with a 10.25-inch central touchscreen running Jeep’s infotainment system, which is called Uconnect. The latest version is a huge improvement on earlier Jeep models – it looks slick, is easy to use and is quick to respond. Having the screen perched atop the dashboard makes a quick glance across very simple. Navigation is an optional extra across the range, but Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are included as standard – we’d recommend you just use a navigation app from your phone.

All cars get a digital driver’s display instead of traditional analogue dials. Entry-level Longitude cars get a 7-inch unit, while the other models get a 10.25-inch version. There are both USB-A and USB-C charging points in the front, and a USB-C port in the back, but only one – the kids will have to fight over who gets to use it.

Space is not the Avenger’s USP – its diminutive size will be great for those nipping around town, but not so good if you need to carry a lot of stuff.

That says, it uses what space it has rather well. The boot has a 355-litre capacity, which is the same as a Seat Ibiza hatchback, and from mid-spec Altitude trim comes with an adjustable floor. This means you can raise the floor up to eliminate any lip to lug stuff over. The back seats fold down in a 60/40 split if you need to load larger items.

Most adults will be fine up for space front thanks to the range of adjustment in the seats, but a word of warning – taller front-seat occupants in Avengers equipped with a sunroof may find themselves low on headspace, particularly if they have a voluminous hairstyle. Space is tighter in the back. It’s just about OK for adults if the front-seat passengers aren’t stretched out, but it’s far from roomy. There’s also no storage at all in the back of the Avenger – no cup holders, no door pockets – nothing.

Luckily, there’s much more space up front – a shelf in front of the passenger that will hold several phones or pens, a decent-sized glove box, a big storage box under the dashboard and more space under the centre armrest, as well as reasonable size door pockets that will hold a drinks bottle.

Although you can get an Avenger in pure petrol and full-electric models, the e-Hybrid has just the one – a 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine, mated to a 48V electrical system and a 0.9kWh battery mounted under the left-hand seat, powering a 28PS electric motor that’s integrated into the six-speed, dual-clutch automatic gearbox. While technically a mild-hybrid system, it’s unusual in that it allows full-electric driving for 1km, which is around 0.6 of a mile.

It’s in town where this electric-only running is really useful and can make a big impact on your fuel economy. Jeep reckons around 20 percent pure-electric running is easily manageable, and based on our varied test route, which encompassed town, country and motorway driving, that seems conservative – according to the in-car readout, we managed to run on electric power alone for 27 percent of the time.

That can dramatically reduce your fuel costs compared to a pure petrol Avenger, and at purchase premium of only around £1700 when new. Obviously an all-electric Avenger would cut running costs further, but the purchase price is considerably higher.

The petrol engine cuts in and out seamlessly, and the automatic transmission, while not the quickest shifting gearbox of its type, is unobtrusive in its operation. While the 100PS petrol engine doesn’t have huge amounts of power, the electric boost takes things up to 128PS, making acceleration sprightly enough for most uses, even with a car full of people. It can be a touch noisy, but never intrusively so.

With a heritage of rough-and-readiness, you could forgive Jeep for not making the most refined of cars, especially at this price point. But the Avenger isn’t actually too bad. Sure, the suspension can be a little fussy over bad road surfaces, and the engine can sound a little stressed when worked hard and the gearshift could be slightly smoother and faster to respond.

But these are all very minor quibbles – overall, the Avenger e-Hybrid is comfortable, fairly quiet and easy to drive.

The Avenger has yet to be tested by safety organisation EuroNCAP. However, it shares much of its engineering with the Citroen C4, Peugeot 2008 and the Vauxhall Mokka, all of which were given four-star ratings out of five. We’d expect a similar result for the Avenger if and when it’s tested.

For now, we can go from the amount of standard safety features included, which is considerable. Automatic emergency braking, lane-keep assist and traffic-sign recognition are all bundled in, as is Driver Attention Assist (which warns you if you get distracted from the road). The top-spec Summit model adds a blind-spot monitor, rear-view camera and 360-degree sensors for manoeuvring, and these are available as options on the mid-spec Altitude trim.

It’s difficult to give an accurate estimation of the Jeep Avenger’s reliability as it’s so new. However,it shares a lot of parts with other brands from the Stellantis parent company – including cars like the Peugeot 2008, which has fared very well in recent independent reliability surveys.

The Avenger comes with a three-year warranty, which is pretty standard for the industry. That said, you’ll get better warranties from companies like Toyota and Hyundai (five years) and Kia (seven years).

Insurance groups for the hybrid Jeep Avenger haven’t yet been announced.

All versions of the Jeep Avenger e-Hybrid cost less than £40,000 when new, so you won’t have to pay the surcharge levied on Vehicle Excise Duty for expensive cars. The first year of tax is absorbed into the purchase price, and for five years after that you’ll pay the standard flat rate of tax – currently £170 a year, as mild hybrid are eligible for the £10 annual discount for alternative fuel cars.

The entry-level Avenger trim is the Longitude model, which comes pretty well kitted out. As standard, you’ll get 16-inch alloy wheels and full LED headlights, as well as heated and electrically adjustable side mirrors, air conditioning and cruise control. Keyless entry and engine start is also included.

Upgrade to the Altitude trim and the wheels grow to 17 inches in size, and the seats get a fancier cloth and vinyl upholstery. The steering wheel is trimmed in synthetic leather, which is considerably nicer to hold than the urethane wheel in the Longitude model. There’s also a height adjustable boot floor for extra flexibility, adaptive cruise control and a larger digital instrument cluster. The air-con is upgraded to an automatic system, rather than a manual one.

The top-spec Avenger is the Summit. It rides on big 18-inch alloys, which look good but could negatively impact the ride quality (and wear more expensive tyres). Tinted glass and fog lamps are also added, as are heated front seats, along with a wireless phone charger, foldable side mirrors and an electric boot lid.