REVEALED Avenger sets the scene for Jeep in Europe

PLUS Wagoneer S and Recon: chalk and cheese

- Alastair Crooks

Jeep has taken the wraps off its first fully electric car: the Avenger. We've seen it testing before, but now we know what the firm's new compact SUV will look like it reaches the UK in early 2023.

The Avenger will be the first of four pure-electric SUVS from Jeep, with the retro-styled Recon, premium Wagoneer S and an as-yet-unnamed fourth model making up the rest of its full EV line-up. The range will help with Jeep's firm plans to have an electric version of each of its models and to only sell EVs in Europe by 2030.

The Avenger will make its public debut at the Paris Motor Show in October, which will coincide with pricing announcements. At the same time, we'll get a close-up view of the compact SUV's traditional Jeep design traits: a seven-bar grille, boxy proportions, and chunky wheel arches.

There will be a fair few competitors to the Avenger in the small electric SUV market, and it'll have to contend with the likes of Hyundai's forthcoming Kona Electric (page eight), the Kia Niro EV, and rivals from within parent company Stellantis in the form of the Peugeot e-2008 and Vauxhall Mokka-e.

However, Jeep is looking to steal a march on at least its stablemates. The Avenger is based on an evolution of the e-CMP platform used by Peugeot and Vauxhall, and has a notably higher range figure as a result. Indeed, Jeep's claim of 249 miles is 35 miles more than the e-2008 and 48 better than the Mokka-e.

Jeep's interpretation of the e-CMP architecture also seems set to deliver four-wheel drive, never before offered on this platform. The firm's boss Christian Meunier told us it was "not even possible to think about a Jeep without four-wheel drive".

There's no word on charging tech yet, but it's highly likely that the Avenger will take on an 80-per cent charge in around 35 minutes from a 100kW DC rapid charger.