First Look: 2024 Jeep Wagoneer S

Jeep official unveiled its first all-electric model during a media event in New York City on Thursday – but officials made it clear the 2024 Jeep Wagoneer S won’t be the brand’s only battery-electric vehicle for long, with the Wrangler Recon quickly set to follow. Headlight.News was on hand for the new EVs debut.

The 2024 Jeep Wagoner S marks a major milestone for the Stellantis off-road brand as its first all-electric vehicle. Making its debut in New York on Thursday, the new sport-utility vehicle marks the start of a major transition for Jeep which, Headlight.News learned, will follow up with an assortment of other BEVs, plug-in hybrids and range extenders in increasingly rapid succession.

And, if the Wagoneer S Trailhawk Concept shown at the EV’s debut is any indication, we can expect some serious off-road Jeeps to go all-electric.

“We’re going full speed into electrification,” said Antonio Filosa, Jeep’s global CEO.

Looks can be deceiving

You might confuse the Jeep Wagoneer S with other recent, upscale products, such as the Grand Cherokee or even the bigger Grand Wagoneer. It picks up on familiar brand cues, such as the iconic seven-slot grille and squared off wheel wells.

Even there, though, a closer look reveals significant differences. For one thing, despite first appearances, the grille is sealed since there’s no need to feed air to an internal combustion engine. “it’s primarily there for beauty and iconicity,” said Stellantis design chief Ralph Gilles, adding that unique “cast lighting” for each slat will make the EV easily recognizable from a distance.

Wagoneer S rides on the Euro-American automaker’s new STLA Large platform – shared with other all-electric products, such as the Ram 1500 REV. It’s a flexible “architecture” that can be varied in length, width, height and wheelbase and, if needed, even support a variety of different powertrains. (With the new Dodge Charger there will be all-electric models, as well as a gas-powered version.)

As with all modern EVs, designers put a premium on cheating the wind, both to enhance range and improve performance. They used a variety of tricks such as the high-mounted rear spoiler dubbed the “R-wing.” The payoff is that the Jeep Wagoneer S will be the brand’s most aerodynamic vehicle ever, with a drag coefficient of just 0.294.

Electric muscle

It also will be the fastest model the brand has ever offered, if not the most powerful. While Wagoneer S won’t quite match the output of the supercharged V-8 Hellcat-powered Grand Cherokee Trackhawk’s  707 horsepower and 645 pound-feet of torque, it comes close, with a combined full-time all-wheel-drive  output of 600 hp and 617 lb-ft.

And it still will blow off the Trackhawk at the stoplight, the electric SUV hitting 60 in just 3.4 seconds, It also noseout competitors such as the Tesla Model Y Performance, while falling a mere 0.1 seconds short of the updated 2024 For Mustang Mach-E GT with the new Performance Upgrade – which needs 3.3 seconds.

Power comes from twin electric motors, one on each axle, the drivetrain drawing power from a 100-kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery that, like the two drive units, is mounted below the load floor.

More Electrified SUV News

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• Chevy Goes All-Electric with Equinox EV
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Range and charging

Wagoneer S will boast one of the longest driving ranges in the segment. Final EPA numbers have yet to be confirmed, but will be “more than 300 miles” per charge, according to the project’s chief engineer, Nick Cruic.

And it will offers relatively quick charging, he noted, going from a 20 to 80% state-of-charge using at least a 150 kW public charger in an estimated 23 minutes.

The automaker did not offer details on the time needed to recharge using a home or office 240-volt Level 2 system but, based on industry averages, it could take as little as 8 hours to take a fully drained battery up to 100%.

As part of the current marketing program, buyers will be eligible for either a 48-amp Level 2 home charger or, if they prefer, $600 in credits that can be used through Stellantis’s Free2move Charge network. Its network includes charging companies ChargePoint, Electrify America, EVGo, Shell Recharge and Blink.

Interior

The 2024 Jeep Wagoneer S slots in-between two existing Wagoneer models but offers only two rows. But that allows near business-class seating for backseat passengers and up to 61 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seats folded down. With them up, it’s 30.6 cf, with another 3 cf of hidden space under the cargo bay’s load floor.

Like those conventionally powered SUVs, it’s aimed at an upscale audience. But Gilles design team eschewed traditional luxury touches like wood, leather and chrome, making “a huge push for sustainable materials everywhere,” most of them coming from recycled raw materials.

Key surfaces on the center console and instrument panel, for example, use a ceramic-coated aluminum substrate. The steering wheel is covered in “carbo vinyl” which, claims Gilles, is “indistinguishable from leather.”

Tech collection

As one today would expect of an EV, especially one aimed at premium buyers, Wagoneer S is loaded with high-tech features. That starts with a 45-inch digital display covering essentially the entire instrument panel.

There’s ambient lighting which can be set to any of 64 different colors, wireless charging and both wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Wagoneer S Launch Edition will deliver audiophile sound through a new McIntosh system putting out a peak 1,200 watts through 24 channels and 19 separate speakers.

The electric SUV also gets the latest update to the Stellantis L2 system. While not nearly as well known as General Motor’s Super Cruise or Ford’s BlueCruise, it allows hands-free driving on select U.S. and Canadian roadways.

Pricing and availability

The 2024 Jeep Wagoneer S will debut with a single, Launch Edition package starting at $71,995 before delivery fees. By comparison, the “base” Wagoneer gas-powered SUV starts at $62,495, the heavily loaded Grand Wagoneer jumping to $91,945. The notably less well-equipped Tesla Model Y Performance package, with a 280-mile range, starts at $54,130 before options.

Customers can begin placing advance orders as of May 31, though deliveries won’t begin until later this year, specific timing yet to be announced.

Jeep CEO Filosa noted that the brand plans to bring out a new version of the Wagoneer S every six months, at least for the next several years. That will include less expensive packages likely to sacrifice some features, as well as performance and, possibly, range.

More to come

An even more exclusive model also may follow. And, during the Thursday unveiling, Jeep also revealed the Wagoneer S Trailhawk Concept. It features a 3-inch lift, said design chief Gilles, “more aggressive tires,” an integrated roof rack and other familiar Trailhawk components. It’s designed to attack serious off-road conditions, including “deep water fording.”

While just a show car for now, Filosa said that, “hopefully soon, it will become a real product.” Jeep insiders, speaking on background, said that is highly likely.

Moving forward, Filosa and other officials stressed that Wagoneer S marks a major “transition” for the Jeep brand, with its pace of electrification to accelerate as it approached the end of this decade. But rather than aiming to go 100% electric, Jeep will offer at least six different drivetrain technologies, depending upon the individual model line.