Jeep has hinted that the upcoming baby in its range, the Avenger, may not exclusively receive an electric powertrain, with the suggestion of an all-wheel drive plug-in hybrid model in the line-up too.
At the Paris Motor Show today (October 17), the company revealed the Avenger 4x4 concept, a more off-road-focused take on the electric Avenger, which had previously been touted as a two-wheel drive only.
Go-anywhere looks
As well as featuring all-wheel drive, the Avenger 4x4 is endowed with beefier styling cues in the form of tow hooks, wider wheel arches and off-road tyres. The front end sees additional protection, with thicker plastic cladding and extra built-in floodlights to improve visibility when driving at night too.
To make the model more capable when traversing rough terrain, the approach angle has been improved to 21 degrees, departure angle to 34 degrees and breakover angle to 20 degrees, with ground clearance now in excess of 200mm.
Up top, the Avenger 4x4 features a new lightweight roof cargo system concept that, with a special belt system, compresses the luggage on the roof, which has scratch-proof protection along its entire length.
"The Avenger has been designed as a Jeep vehicle from the outset, and the all-electric 4x2 model already offers some of the best-in-class capabilities that identify the Jeep brand," said Christian Meunier, Jeep's CEO, speaking at the reveal.
"But we couldn't help but wonder, what would happen if we injected the Jeep brand's four-wheel drive electrified capabilities into a compact package, while retaining the brand's unique design language, capability and personality?"
Hybrids?
The Avenger will sit below the Renegade in Jeep's range and is aimed primarily at European customers, with no plans, as yet, to sell it in Jeep's home, the United States. The model is based on the same e-CMP2 platform as its Stellantis stablemates, the Peugeot e-2008 and Opel Mokka-e.
One line from the company though hints at the prospect that hybrid versions of the Avenger may be on the way:
"Eye-catching, fun, and distinctive, the new arrival will be added to Jeep's range of 4xe models coming in the future."
Thus far, the 4xe moniker has only been applied to plug-in hybrid models from Jeep, including the Wrangler and Renegade. As to whether this implies that future versions of the Avenger may receive hybrid powertrains is at present unclear.
Avenger arriving summer 2020
The 4x4 show car unveiled in Paris is understood to be fully electric and, future hybrids or not, the announcement that there will be an all-wheel drive version of the Avenger fulfils a long-standing vow from Jeep that all of its models must feature a four-wheel drive option.
The company has not released any details regarding the 4x4 concept's powertrain, though much is already known about the two-wheel drive Avenger's.
Powering the front-wheel drive Avenger is a 54kWh battery pack sending power to a 156hp electric motor to deliver, according to Jeep, a range of up to 400km and 260Nm of torque. DC charging at up to 100kW is expected too, when the model arrives, likely in the summer of next year.