If you’ve read up on the Wagoneer S at all, you’ll know it’s quite different from any other Jeep before it. Empirically, though, it’s unquestionably a Jeep. It’s engineered and built by the Jeep brand and is not a rebadge from some other arm of the Stellantis empire. Beyond that, it features standard all-wheel drive, off-road modes, and of course a seven-slot “grille” (it’s solid but looks the part).
On the other hand, it’s missing a few Jeep things (for now). Ground clearance on the Launch Edition we drove is just 6.4 inches, and it is not adjustable; the fully independent suspension features coil springs and passive dampers. Its approach angle is slightly better than a Subaru Crosstrek’s, but its breakover and departure angles are significantly worse. Both differentials are open with no locking mechanism yet offered, and there’s no low range (not even a phony one like on some recent gas-powered Jeeps). The only tire offered for now is a Falken all-season prioritizing range, not loose surface traction.
This could change in the future, though. Jeep showed a Wagoneer S Trailhawk concept last year with a suspension lift, all-terrain tires, a rear locker, underbody protection, tow hooks, trimmed bumpers, and a Rock drive mode. Officials at our drive event wouldn’t confirm a Trailhawk or off-road variant is coming but did imply it. That one, too, might offer roof racks, which this model doesn’t. It might be able to tow more than 3,400 pounds, too, but no promises.
2024 Jeep Wagoneer S First Drive: Electric? Check. Luxurious? Check. Finished? Well …
America’s first electric Jeep is a good luxury EV SUV, but certain questions remain.Scott EvansWriter
ManufacturerPhotographerJan 26, 2025
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There’s no getting around it. The 2024 Jeep Wagoneer S EV will be judged against the heritage and ethos of the brand. “Is it a real Jeep?” they’ll ask. The answer is yes, but it’s complicated—even more so than the name, which it largely shares with the full-size, gas-only Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer SUVs that it shares nothing else with.
What Makes a Jeep?
If you’ve read up on the Wagoneer S at all, you’ll know it’s quite different from any other Jeep before it. Empirically, though, it’s unquestionably a Jeep. It’s engineered and built by the Jeep brand and is not a rebadge from some other arm of the Stellantis empire. Beyond that, it features standard all-wheel drive, off-road modes, and of course a seven-slot “grille” (it’s solid but looks the part).
On the other hand, it’s missing a few Jeep things (for now). Ground clearance on the Launch Edition we drove is just 6.4 inches, and it is not adjustable; the fully independent suspension features coil springs and passive dampers. Its approach angle is slightly better than a Subaru Crosstrek’s, but its breakover and departure angles are significantly worse. Both differentials are open with no locking mechanism yet offered, and there’s no low range (not even a phony one like on some recent gas-powered Jeeps). The only tire offered for now is a Falken all-season prioritizing range, not loose surface traction.
This could change in the future, though. Jeep showed a Wagoneer S Trailhawk concept last year with a suspension lift, all-terrain tires, a rear locker, underbody protection, tow hooks, trimmed bumpers, and a Rock drive mode. Officials at our drive event wouldn’t confirm a Trailhawk or off-road variant is coming but did imply it. That one, too, might offer roof racks, which this model doesn’t. It might be able to tow more than 3,400 pounds, too, but no promises.
Historic Precedent
The Wagoneer S isn’t even the first all-electric Jeep, though it’s the first one you can buy in America. The Avenger EV has been on sale in Europe for a few years now, and Jeep has been toying with the idea of an electric Wrangler for at least 17 years.
Not being a Wrangler doesn’t make it a phony Jeep, though. Indeed, this isn’t even the first time the company’s made a street Jeep with no serious off-road capability. Last time, it was called the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, and no one was mad about it. Quite the opposite.
The two are more similar than you might expect. The Trackhawk boasted a 707-hp Hellcat V-8 with 645 lb-ft pushing 5,448 pounds of nominally track-focused Jeep to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds. The Wagoneer S puts up 600 hp and 617 lb-ft combined from front and rear permanent-magnet electric motors, which are claimed to sling the roughly 5,700-pound electric Jeep to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds. The Trackhawk claimed 3.5, so we’re betting we can beat this number, too. It certainly feels like it, especially because selecting Sport mode automatically disables the traction control, which allows the front motor to roast the driver-side front tire during a hard launch.
Hard launches are easy because the accelerator pedal is extremely sensitive even in the default Auto drive mode. Even drivers coming from other EVs will need to recalibrate their right foot so as not to give themselves and their passengers whiplash. The brake pedal is touchy, too, especially at low speeds, where it’s prone to grab and, again, throw everyone around. Regenerative braking has two settings, Min and Max, and selecting the latter while simultaneously disabling Creep mode effectively creates a pretty good one-pedal driving mode that could only be improved by not having the mechanical brakes grab so hard right as the vehicle is about to reach a full and complete stop.
Handle Me
Back to the Trackhawk comparison, the Wagoneer S also boasts better weight distribution, though the Trackhawk had 8.1 inches of ground clearance. On the other hand, the Trackhawk didn’t even pretend with off-road modes, whereas the Wagoneer S has both Sand and Snow. The EV’s all-season tires will get a lot farther off-road than the Trackhawk’s R-compound track tires, too. They might even put up decent handling numbers when we get our test gear aboard. The Wagoneer S drives big, but the low center of gravity, responsive steering, and Germanic solidity make it feel more fun and exciting on a back road than it needs to be. It’s probably the best-handling Jeep ever next to the Trackhawk, though to be fair, it’s a pretty big gap down to third place.
They’re even similar in efficiency. The Trackhawk drank gas to the tune of 13 mpg combined, which gave it an EPA-rated range of 320 miles (which, good luck getting that far). The Wagoneer S, meanwhile, goes up to 303 miles thanks to its 100.5-kWh (gross) battery. Trackhawk might’ve refueled its 24.6-gallon tank faster, but the claimed 23-minute 20–80 percent charging time on the Wagoneer S isn’t bad. The range, though, would be more impressive if it were anywhere close to the 400-mile estimate Jeep originally promised. (Future trims with smaller wheels and less equipment might go farther.)
Looking The Part
Leaving aside its Jeep credentials for future variants, the Wagoneer S makes a compelling case as an electric midsize two-row luxury SUV. Aside from its ground clearance, the biggest challenge is going to be convincing folks not to judge a book by its cover.
Hold up your finger and just block out the seven-slot “grille,” then tell us what about it looks like a Jeep. Not to say it doesn’t look good, as it’s long and sleek and sporty with a hint of Range Rover Sport in its profile, which is no bad thing. There’s just very little to identify it as a Jeep. Its designers say the trapezoidal wheel arches are a Jeep thing, but if we hadn’t regurgitated that, would you have known? The trim piece running over the tops of the side windows looks like something Lexus or Infiniti would’ve done, and neither the pillars nor the windows are shaped like anything else in the Jeep lineup. The massive fairings and Civic Type R–worthy rear wing do their best to make it look boxier in profile, but it’s very clearly unrelated to the other Wagoneers except in name (which wasn’t supposed to even be “Wagoneer S” in the first place, but it stuck). The rest of the rear is mostly anonymous, looking as much like a Grand Cherokee as it does a Toyota RAV4, a Porsche Macan, or three other SUVs.
The interior, at least, is unambiguous. While the vents have moved up and the steering wheel has gotten more square, the dashboard is very clearly derived from the bigger Wagoneers. There are acres of screens and precious few buttons or switches, but the screens are at least responsive. The lowest one, which handles the climate controls, also does a neat trick where it slides up into the dash to reveal a reasonably large storage cubby. We also appreciated Jeep’s decision to go with a touch sensor in the steering wheel for driver monitoring, which means you don’t have to jiggle the steering wheel to prove you’re still alive while using the quite good adaptive cruise control and steering assistance systems.
Personal space is excellent up front and nearly as good in the rear. Jeep engineers went out of their way to find as much rear legroom as possible, and they delivered. The dramatically sloping roofline, though, is more evident from inside, where a person of average height has maybe an inch of free space between their head and the ceiling. Similarly, the cargo space is large in terms of square footage, but you won’t be stacking too many suitcases before they interfere with the plunging tailgate. The 3.0 cubic feet of frunk space won’t do much, and the larger space under the rear cargo floor is more useful.
The only major interior issue is the placement of the electronic door release buttons on the arm rests. They’re too far away from the handle, so when you put your fingers in the handle, your thumb can’t reach the button without awkwardly contorting your wrist. How on earth this made it to production is beyond us. Does everyone at Jeep have unusually long thumbs? Are ours unusually short?
Less of a concern is the ride quality, which is very good in all but one scenario. The suspension handles bumps large and small with ease, so long as they come one at a time. Get on a really nasty strip of pavement, though, and it gets overwhelmed. Too many bumps to close together get the whole vehicle porpoising front to rear like a pickup truck.
Neither those bumps nor anything else makes much noise in the cabin. Some road noise filters through from the tires, but the slick 0.29 drag coefficient makes for little wind noise. Anything you don’t want to hear is easily drowned out by the stunning (and optional) McIntosh stereo.
Late But Also Early
Jeep had originally planned to get the Wagoneer S out last year, and although a few thousand 2024 model year copies were built, they’re only just now reaching dealer lots and will quickly be supplanted by 2025 models. Various engineering challenges are said to have delayed the program, and despite taking extra time to work them out, the vehicle still isn’t perfect.
As with the related Dodge Charger EV and as noted above, the Wagoneer S feels like it could have benefited from a few more months of fine-tuning. The worst offender is the front axle disconnect system intended to increase range and efficiency. (Permanent-magnet motors create drag when switched off, so a physical disconnect is necessary.) Lots of vehicles use axle disconnects regardless of powertrain, and they’re all pretty smooth. Jeep, for some unexplained reason, engineered a unique system that unlocks at the wheels rather than at the motor, and it’s not quite finished.
At low speeds and light throttle or regenerative braking inputs, it locked and unlocked imperceptibly. But when we requested moderate to strong acceleration or regen, it locked up with a clunk we could both hear and feel. Jeep engineers explained it has two settings, a gentle and a firm depending on how much power you’re requesting, but the firm needs work. We’ve driven plenty of other vehicles (including EVs) with similar systems that don’t do this and also provide power and braking more smoothly without this system’s perceptible delays in clutch lockup. It wasn’t an isolated problem, either, as at least one other vehicle suffered the same issue except at low speeds and light inputs.
The other, less annoying bug is in the instrument cluster and shows up when displaying the navigation map. Drive into an area with weak cell connection, and it gets all pixilated. The same map on the infotainment screen doesn’t, because it pulls data from a different, unaffected source for another unexplained reason.
Competitively Priced
At $71,995 for the Launch Edition, it’s certainly priced like a luxury SUV, but even that’s competitive. It’s got better range and faster charging than the Lexus RZ and is substantially more luxurious than the Acura ZDX, and both of those are both priced similarly. The Cadillac Lyriq feels more high-tech for the same money, so it’ll be tough competition. The Audi Q6 is also more tech-forward but less luxurious. The Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV is more expensive and slower with fewer features for that money, but it does have the three-pointed star. The BMW iX is way more expensive and way less attractive. Remember, however, there will be many more trims that presumably will be less expensive. How much less, Jeep hasn’t said, but these models could potentially represent a compelling alternative to top trims of mainstream EVs like the Honda Prologue and Chevrolet Blazer EV.
| 2024 Jeep Wagoneer S Launch Edition Specifications | |
| BASE PRICE | $71,995 |
| LAYOUT | Front- and rear-motor, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door SUV |
| MOTORS | 600-hp/617-lb-ft comb DC permanent-magnet electric |
| TRANSMISSIONS | 1-speed auto |
| CURB WEIGHT | 5,700 lb (mfr) |
| WHEELBASE | 113. in |
| L x W x H | 192.4 x 74.8 x 64.8 in |
| 0–60 MPH | 3.4 sec (mfr est) |
| EPA FUEL ECON | 104/90/97 mpg-e |
| EPA RANGE, COMB | 303 miles |
| ON SALE | Now |
