Jeep Grand Cherokee 2024 review: 4xe PHEV

At $129,950, before on-road costs, the Summit Reserve 4xe is not cheap. In fact, it’s currently the most expensive variant in Jeep’s Australian line-up. The next model down in the Grand Cherokee range is the Overland at just over $100K.

You can get the base model for just under $80K, but if you want electrification, you’re looking at the only option.

We’ll come back to the main reason behind this Jeep’s inordinately steep price shortly, but there is a fairly impressive list of features that joins the hybrid system in pumping up the cost of entry.

On top of the features already available in lesser variants like the combination 10.1-inch multimedia touchscreen and 10.25-inch driver display.

On top of the features already available in lesser variants like the combination 10.1-inch multimedia touchscreen and 10.25-inch driver display, heated and vented front seats with heated steering wheel, auto LED headlights and high beam and the massive panoramic sunroof, the Summit Reserve 4xe takes things a little further.

The seats are finished in comfy quilted Palermo leather, and even the rear outboard seats are heated. Four passengers can also control their own climate zone, while the front two can have seat massages.

Everyone’s also treated to a top-tier sound system as far as Jeep is concerned, with a 19-speaker, 950-watt amplifier McIntosh ‘high-performance audio system’.

The seats are finished in comfy quilted Palermo leather, and even the rear outboard seats are heated.

The interior lighting includes illuminating door sill plates, while the cabin trim is adorned with proper wood.

For an additional $5500, a night vision camera, head-up display and front passenger media screen can be added, though this pack is also the only way wireless phone charging can be added.

For rivals like the aforementioned Defender or those from Germany like the BMW X5 or Mercedes GLE, many of the features or options in this top-spec Grand Cherokee start to stack up the price as a few hundred dollars or couple of thousand each.

Seat heating and ventilation in the Defender, for example, is $1495, while a head-up display is $2420, alone.

As mentioned, Jeep claims the Summit Reserve 4xe is its most efficient Grand Cherokee yet, with a 3.2L/100km combined cycle consumption figure quoted. 

While we weren’t able to test its fuel consumption from a full tank to a refill, the trip computers on a couple of the cars available to us at its launch showed figures like 12.3L/100km over the car’s previous 1672km, and 13.6L/100km for 1313km.

We imagine this wasn’t all normal, everyday driving, and it’s possible the cars had barely been driving on electric power in order to run the engines in, but neither figure is confidence-inspiring when it’s probable owners will want to head more than 52km from home on occasion.

In terms of charging that 17.3kWh battery, a standard 3.0kW Mode 2 charger at home can do so in “less than 10 hours” while a Mode 3 wall box at 7.4kW or a public fast charger can do it in less than three.

The plug-in Grand Cherokee has a 72-litre fuel tank, slightly smaller than the petrol version’s 87L, and due to the quirks of the testing process (to come to its 3.2L/100km claim), the 4xe’s theoretical range for a single full tank is, on paper, 2250km.

Of course, that’s not real-world accurate, and would require a lot of stopping to recharge.

The styling and interior layout of the 4xe is essentially the same as the rest of the Grand Cherokee range, which is one of its strong points.

Jeep’s team has done well to modernise an iconic model, of course made easier by signature brand elements like the seven-bar grille up front, but with a few extra details like the blue badging surrounds to signify electrification.

The current-gen Grand Cherokee’s upright, almost forward-leaning front-end gives off a rugged vibe, and even though there’s plenty of grille, it remains restrained by current standards.

The side profile is unmistakably Jeep, with the LED headlights and taillights both wrapping around to the sides to meet a strong shoulder-line that runs the length of the SUV.

A set of unique 21-inch wheels are the only option for the Summit Reserve 4xe.

A set of unique 21-inch wheels are the only option for the Summit Reserve 4xe, though eight colours are available including a strikingly bright ‘Hydro Blue’. The roof is, however, painted black as standard.

Inside, the Palermo leather can be has in either black as standard, or a caramel ‘Tupelo’ colour as a no-cost option.

Convenience abounds inside the Grand Cherokee, as there’s so much room for functional features.

Up front, for example, are dual USB-A and USB-C ports (four in total), while the same is repeated in the second row. The front’s plugs are joined by a 12V socket, while the rear gets a household-style 230V outlet.

Storage and space is plentiful, with cupholders able to be covered, as can the wireless charging slot under the multimedia screen - itself angled upwards (maybe a little too much) to avoid distracting reflections.

Some of the button placement is a odd. For example, those along the top of the screen suffer the same angle issue and are hard to read, while the EV drive mode selection buttons are hidden from sight below the steering wheel and to the right. They’re also right next to the fuel flap button.

The drive controls for ride height and gear selection are mercifully simple, located in the centre.

All four outboard seats are plenty comfortable, and there’s no risk of bumping your head or feeling cramped anywhere - the rear seats are even individually reclinable to a relatively comfortable extent.

Behind the second row is 1067L of cargo space - Jeep says this is 40L over the last gen model - which can be expanded to 2004L with the seats folded.

There are only a couple of software annoyances we came across. Turns out it’s quite easy to bump the ‘okay’ button on the steering wheel when the speedometer is showing on the driver display and change the km/h reading to mph.

The map screen also wouldn’t load despite multiple attempts and immense patience.

There is a nifty feature that turned out to be entertaining for more than one motoring writer, that being the front camera washer, which sprays water over the lens to remove dust and dirt accumulated from off-roading or, more likely, inner city street grime.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Reserve 4xe plug-in has has been awarded a maximum five-star rating by ANCAP, along with the rest of the range. 

It scored well for Child Occupant Protection, and soundly for the other three main areas of Adult Occupant Protection, Vulnerable Road User Protection and Safety Assist.

A surround-view parking camera.

Jeep claims the Grand Cherokee boasts more than “110 standard and available safety and security features” but the main ones you’ll need to know about include eight airbags, which cover both front occupants at front, side, and knee, as well as second-row passengers at the sides, plus full curtain airbags.

Other key features include blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise and lane-keep assist, pedestrian detection and AEB, driver monitoring and traffic sign recognition, intersection collision assist, a surround-view parking camera, plus specific to the Summit Reserve is the ‘ParkSense Parallel and Perpendicular Park Assist’ as well as the ‘Active Driving Assist System’ level two autonomous driving feature.