Herald Express (Torbay, Brixham & South Hams Edition)
Jeep’s on song with compact Avenger
EUROPEAN CAR OF THE YEAR EXCELS IN URBAN TERRAIN
THE European Car of the Year competition, known to us motoring journalists as ECOTY, is not unlike the Eurovision Song Contest.
Just as there is little to interest the hardcore rock music fan in the song contest, there is little to light the fires of car enthusiasts with ECOTY.
The car competition was first held in 1964 and most subsequent winners have been fairly ordinary.
There have been some motors of interest over the years, with the Citroen CX winning in 1975 and the Porsche 928 in 1978, the first and only win for a high-performance car.
And just like ABBA’s victory in 1974, Porsche’s 1978 win is the only one that’s stuck in my mind.
The current holder of ECOTY is the new Jeep Avenger. It’s available only as an EV, but there will be a petrol hybrid version along later for those for who full electric isn’t practical.
I’ll tell you straight off this Jeep is one of the most memorable ECOTY winners for many years. For starters, I like the way it looks.
We’re driving the top-of-the-range Summit version with optional yellow Sun and Volcano paint. It looks very appealing and even more so if you shell out a few extra quid and affix some of the optional stickers. Especially the black one for the bonnet.
Jeep has taken its time launching an EV but has knocked out a few PHEVs and hybrids in the last couple of years.
It was the Volkswagen Group that kicked off serious platform sharing in the 90s with cars as diverse as the VW Golf, Audi TT and Skoda Octavia all sharing the same superstructure.
Today, Jeep’s owner Stellantis is not far behind. The Avenger uses the same platform and running gear as the Peugeot e-2008, Citroen e-C4 and the Fiat 600e (we’ve just tested the latter, you’ll be reading about it soon).
Under the Avenger’s floor is a 54kWh battery, of which 51kWh is usable. This powers a 154bhp electric motor to drive the front wheels.
For Jeep lovers who would consider a two-wheel-drive car brand heresy, a version with twin electric motors and 4wd is coming next year, badged as the Avenger 4Xe.
This car’s performance is more than adequate with 0-62mph in 9.6sec. Jeep also claims a range of 249 miles, on a par with rivals.
Speed and range are not hugely important for the Avenger as it is a very fine urban car – ironically for a Jeep. It is a compact car and its square bonnet and wings make it easy to place. Also, light steering makes it very manoeuvrable.
There’s extensive cladding along the side of the car and wheel arches to protect it in car parks. You could take the Avenger off road too as it does have driving modes including mud and snow, and features a hill descent control system.
The interior is just as cool as the exterior. My favourite feature is the body-coloured bar that runs across the dash. Unfortunately you can only get this feature with the Summit trim level which means an on-the-road price of £39,600 against the £35,700 for the entry-level Longitude.
More good news is there are big chunky buttons on the steering wheel and centre console.
The infotainment system is better than those fitted to earlier Jeeps and features a 10.25in screen and smartphone mirroring as standard.
There are 34 litres of storage space in the front and that includes space below the screen accessed via a tablet-style magnetic cover. On our top-spec model it includes a wireless phone charging pad. There’s also a useful shelf in the dash for wallet, keys and other stuff.
Because the Avenger is small, only 24mm longer than a Vauxhall Corsa, it’s not surprising that rear legroom is a bit tight. Thanks to boxy styling, however, headroom is generous front and back.
The boot holds 355 litres with seats up and 1,053 litres when folded.
Jeep has already had 40,000 orders and I think it will continue to do well when petrol versions arrive. It certainly gets my vote.