Jeep’s EV bet is paying off with new and old models alike now that the Wrangler 4xe has become a popular PHEV. The Jeep Wrangler 4xe is selling so well, in fact, the automaker is adding a new trim to the lineup for 2023: the Jeep Wrangler Willys 4xe.
The new Willys 4xe will basically be the same Wrangler PHEV we’ve seen before, but with a slightly lower starting price of $55,590 including delivery. That still buys you a four-door Wrangler 4xe with a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and electric motor mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. A 17 kWh battery sits under the back seat, which unfortunately means we probably won’t ever see a two-door Wrangler 4xe.
The Willys 4xe offers the same total power output as the rest of the 4xe lineup: 375 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque, along with 21 miles of pure battery range. Fuel economy for Jeep’s latest PHEV is 49 MPGe — accounting for both combustion and electric propulsion — but you still won’t be getting over 30 mpg on the highway, even when the electric motor is helping the gasoline engine.
In other words, the new Willys plug-in hybrid is mostly the same as the rest of the current Wrangler 4xe lineup: Sahara 4xe, Rubicon 4xe and High Altitude 4xe.
The Willys will come a few things to distinguish it from the other trims, including LED headlamps and fog lamps, a nine-speaker Alpine audio system, all-weather floor mats, a rear limited-slip differential, rock rails, a blacked-out grill and 17-inch dark alloy wheels on mud-terrain tires.
Of course, there will be a decal outlined in the universal EV color, blue, to help the Willys 4xe stand out from previous Willys models. Blue tow hooks, too. This Willys will be a slightly more affordable alternative to its 4xe cousins, undercutting the 2022 Sahara 4xe by $1,000. It’s not much, I guess, but it’s something.
When you subtract the full $7,500 EV tax credit from the MSRP, it should bring the total price of the Willys 4xe to $48,090. Barring any dealer adjustments, that’s comfortably below 50,000, and not bad at all for a Wrangler with enough electric range to could cover the average commute. Ordering for the 2023 Jeep Wrangler Willys 4xe opens today, and deliveries are set to follow in late 2022.
