Jeep’s first fully electric vehicle will be in New Zealand before the end of the year. The Avenger compact-SUV is arriving in a first shipment of 50 “Launch Editions”, at $67,005 including on-road costs; local importer Ateco Automotive is quoting a price of $59,990 “after rebate”, reflecting the $7015 Clean Car Discount that still applies at the time of writing.
Avenger is based on the same platform and powertrain technology as other Stellantis models, including the Opel Mokka-e and Peugeot e-2008 (although these are distributed by a separate company in NZ).
Jeep claims the Avenger’s 51kWh battery and 115kW/260Nm single electric motor can provide a WLTP range of 400km. It can charge at up to 100kW on a suitable DC station (0-80 per cent in 34 minutes) or 11kW AC.
Despite the shared tech, Avenger has plenty of traditional Jeep styling cues, including the 7-slot grille, trapezoidal wheelarches and rear lights styled to look like fuel cans ( similar to the Renegade).
It’s supermini-sized: just 4.08m in length, but Jeep claims the BEV platform liberates lots of interior space. There’s 34 litres of interior storage and the 380l boot is also 1m wide. A hands-free power tailgate is standard.
Driver assistance features include blind spot monitoring, autonomous braking with pedestrian and cyclist recognition, and automatic parking.