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Payne: Electric Jeep Wagoneer S is fast and luxurious
Posted by Talbot Payne on February 4, 2025
San Diego — Jeep makes rowdy, off-road dirt kickers that can be stripped of their doors in the wilderness so you can hear the call of the Curve-billed Thrasher, the splash of mud under 33-inch tires and the bellow of a Hemi V-8 at full throttle. ROOOOWWWRRRR!
The Jeep Wagoneer S is not that vehicle.
The brand’s first electric vehicle is the gateway to Jeep’s luxurious Wagoneer sub-brand and it is quiet. Cradled in my double-stitched Cabo Vinyl throne, I cupped the two-spoke steering wheel in one hand and cruised silently along the California coast. Doors on, of course, for a hushed cabin so I could hear the stirring intro to U2’s “Where the Streets Have No Name” through 19 McIntosh speakers. S is for silent.
This bliss is only interrupted by the violent, instant-torque acceleration that is also synonymous with luxury today.
SCREEEEEEE! I stomped the accelerator out of a Carlsbad stoplight and my tall, Arizona Arnold Palmer can jumped out of its console cupholder and dumped tea and lemonade all over the faux leather. SCREEEEEEE! The overwhelmed 9.3-inch Falken all-season tires shrieked all the way to 40 mph under the strain of 617 pound-feet of torque, laying rubber past 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds. A Jeep record, beating the legendary Hellcat-V8-powered Grand Cherokee Trackhawk beast’s 3.5 seconds.
Violence has a way of exposing flaws, and the S needs snugger cupholders and wider tires. Otherwise, this is a first-class Jeep that will strut into the golf club alongside any BMW, Volvo or Caddy.
Electric is the new luxury and Jeep is there. As it has been for some time with its gas models, Jeep is the rare mainstream brand that is shopped alongside European luxury.
Rupert, should I get a BMW X5, Audi Q5 or Jeep Grand Cherokee?
The Jeep is deserving. Check out the $65K Grand Cherokee Summit Reserve’s thin waterfall console display and thin headlights. Jeep’s mega-ute twins — Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer — take that luxe to another level with appointments like interior wood trim, console icebox and acres of screens.
The S is the gateway to Wagoneer world, and my loaded, 72 grand S Launch Edition is the patriarch of a coming family of models. Think of Jeep as a full-line SUV brand — Compass, (coming) Cherokee replacement, Grand Cherokee — with a passion for off-roading and luxury. The Wrangler and Wagoneer embody those passions.
The Wagoneer S is effortless to drive with superb interior ergonomics (including a Corvette-like square steering wheel for better instrument visibility) instant torque and liquid-smooth drivetrain. No downshift hiccups, no noise, no STOP-START stalls at stoplights. S for serene.
It’s also the same as every other EV in the $70K competitive set: Cadillac Lyriq, BMW i4, Mercedes EQE, Audi Q4 e-Tron, Polestar 4, Tesla Model Y. Luxe brands once differentiated themselves with spicy V-8s, inline-6s, supercharged-turbocharged turbo-4s. Now they’re homogeneous recipes.
In the EV segment, presentation is more important than ever. Design rules.
And Wagoneer S has it in spades. Welcome to the world of exterior and interior architects Vince Gallante and Ryan Nagode. Like New York fashion designers, they make Jeep stand out like Lauren, Hilfiger, LaCoste. Look for the signature alligator on the pocket.
In the case of Jeep, the alligator is its seven-slot grille up front. But what is a grille for if it doesn’t feed air to a gas engine behind it? Fashion. Like BMW’s kidneys, the seven slots are design elements integrated with the headlights that glow day and night. Designer Gallante was inspired by the recessed lighting at the upscale Shinola Hotel in Detroit. S is for Shinola.
Jeep also means boxy, which clashes with EV needs for low drag-coefficient to maximize range. S checks the utility box with healthy interior legroom and cargo (including 3 cubic-feet of frunk space to isolate smelly items like athletic shoes or diapers), though its sleek bullet nose and raked rear glass are more Tesla than Jeep.
Designer answer? A big rear spoiler, which both squared off the slanted rear window and also assisted airflow. Dress S in a yin-yang wardrobe of black roof/white body/black wheels like my tester, and it’s fit for the red carpet at a movie screening.
Speaking of screens, the interior has more monitors than a TV production room: 12.3-inch instrument cluster, 10-inch head-up display, 12.3-inch infotainment display, 10.3-inch climate display (think Audi, a first for Jeep) and 11-inch passenger display. They’re digital, loaded with content … and essential for EV navigation.
Riding shotgun east of San Diego, I used the passenger screen to chart a mock trip to Las Vegas. Then, with the press of a button, sent the route to the driver’s instrument cluster and center console screens. My expert navigator Mrs. Payne would love that.
Vegas was 323 miles way and I had just 242 miles on the battery. I’d need to charge on the way.
Like Tesla and Cadillac Google-Built-in navi systems, the Jeep included charge stops on the way. With a twist. Conveniently, S allows you to set the state of charge you’d like to have when you arrive at your destination so that you’re not gasping for electrons on arrival (I chose 30%) — and then sets the route.
To maximize time, Wagoneer S planned two fast-charger stops of 20 and 28 minutes each — adding 48 minutes to the 4.5-hour drive. Not very luxurious. And S lacks a hands-free driving system like its Cadillac and Tesla competitors that makes long trips more relaxing. Worse, when I navigated to a local La Jolla fast charger for a charging test, the charger was out of order.
Which is another reason that EVs have found their niche in the luxury space — most owners have multi-car garages, so they can install a 240-volt charger for local commutes (Jeep will throw in $600), then take, say, their gas-fired 600-mile-range Grand Cherokee on road trips to Vegas.
The 617-torque Wagoneer shares its STLA Large electric platform with Dodge’s first EV, the 650-torque Charger Daytona, and could use the Dodge’s wider 12.3-inch rear tires for Woodward stoplight launches. But at a porky 5,667-pounds, the Wagoneer S — like Charger Daytona EV — didn’t tempt hooliganism in the twisties.
Neither did it tempt me to go off-road.
I set the regen pedal to max for one-pedal driving, turned on a lower seat massage, opened the panoramic roof and enjoyed the drive. S is for spoiled.
Next week: 2025 Nissans remade, Murano and Armada
2024 Jeep Wagoneer S
Vehicle type: Battery-powered, all-wheel-drive, five-passenger SUV
Price: $71,995, including $1,795 destination fee (as tested)
Powerplant: 100-kWh lithium-ion battery with dual electric-motor drive
Power: 600 horsepower, 617 pound-feet torque
Transmission: Single-speed direct drive
Performance: 0-60 mph, 3.4 seconds (mfr.); top speed, 132 mph; towing, 3,500 pounds
Weight: 5,667 pounds
Fuel economy: EPA MPGe 97; range, 303 miles
Report card
Highs: Awesome acceleration; screen-tastic interior
Lows: Too much power for tires; no access to reliable Tesla charger network yet
Overall: 3 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.