DRIVEN On track in new Jeep Avenger

Jeep EV engineered in Italy

- John Mcllroy

• 54kWh battery, 249-mile range

JEEP is getting really serious about the European market from 2023, and leading its charge is the Avenger. The smallest production Jeep yet has been engineered for Europe, and deliveries should start in spring 2023 - but Auto Express has driven a very late prototype to see how it's progressing.

The Avenger sits on an evolution of parent group Stellantis's CMP platform, and for UK customers at least, it's an EV only. There will be four-wheel-drive versions, but the vast majority of sales are likely to be front-wheel drive, like the car we're testing here. It features a single motor producing up to 154bhp and 260Nm of torque.

NEED TO KNOW - Most Avengers will be front-wheel drive, although four-wheel drive versions will be available

There's a 54kWh battery (51kWh usable) and you get a heat pump as standard. Rapid charging will max out at 100kW - enough, Jeep claims, to take the battery from 20 to 80 per cent charge in 24 minutes. The car's official WLTP range is 249 miles, but Jeep says 342 miles of urban running is possible.

TECHNOLOGY - Avenger comes with a 10.25-inch touchscreen and a digital instrument panel (right). It sits on an evolution of the CMP platform used by sister vehicles from Vauxhall and DS, but has a softer set-up

The Avenger certainly looks smart enough; it has a more planted stance than other cars on the same platform, despite it having a similar width. It does look like a chunky off-roader, even though it measures up at less than 4.1 metres long.