Jeep's Green Wave Crashes Into Europe, Will Ripple Back to North America

by Steph Willems

Published: March 5th, 2019

jeep s green wave crashes into europe will ripple back to north america

Fiat Chrysler’s reputation as an automaker that scoffs at fuel economy mandates is slowly being chipped away. Never mind the much-loathed Fiat 500e; it was the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid that really got the ball rolling, with eTorque-engined Ram 1500s upping the company’s green cred for 2019.

At this week’s Geneva Motor Show, the high-flying Jeep brand revealed the next salvo in its bid to lower corporate emissions while wooing eco-conscious (or heavily taxed) overseas buyers: Two crossovers, each bearing a plug-in hybrid drivetrain.

While American consumers can expect a plug-in Wrangler hybrid sometime in 2020, Jeep’s Tuesday reveal focused on more Euro-friendly models. The subcompact Renegade and compact Compass both gain a plug-in hybrid system that mates a rear-mounted electric motor with the brand’s potent new 1.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder.

Debuting in the 2019 Compass, the gasoline engine makes 177 hp and 200 lb-ft of torque in U.S.-spec models. For these two plug-ins, FCA claims a combined output of 190 to 240 hp, with the Compass understandably earning the highest power figure.

All-electric range for both Renegade and Compass is 31 miles, with each vehicle said to be capable of 80 mph in EV mode and a seven-second 0-62 mph sprint. The Renegade and Compass PHEV mark the debut of Jeep’s eAWD system, which forgoes a mechanical connection between front and rear drive wheels.

“Thanks to the new electric all-wheel-drive technology (eAWD), traction to the rear axle is not provided by a prop shaft but through a dedicated electric motor,” FCA said. “This allows the two axles to be separated and to control the torque independently in a more effective way than a mechanical system.”

In last year’s five-year plan, the automaker said it hoped to offer 12 electrified powertrains globally by 2022, split among mild hybrids, hybrids, plug-ins, and fully electric vehicles. North America is said to get eight Jeep plug-ins by that target year, so expect to see this duo offered stateside, probably by the end of next year. The automaker has already revealed the Renegade PHEV’s availability in early 2020.

Last week’s plant investment announcement saw FCA reveal the future production of four PHEVs on American soil, as well as capacity for BEVs. Sitting atop Jeep’s green pyramid will be the plug-in Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer.

[Images: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles]

#Fca #FiatChryslerAutomobiles #Green #Hybrids #Jeep #JeepCompass #JeepCompassPHEV #JeepRenegade #JeepRenegadePHEV #Plug-inHybrids

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Vulpine on Mar 05, 2019

One question though: "Debuting in the 2019 Compass, the gasoline engine makes 177 hp and 200 lb-ft of torque in U.S.-spec models. For these two plug-ins, FCA claims a combined output of 190 to 240 hp, with the Compass understandably earning the highest power figure." --- Why would the Compass, being bigger and heavier (albeit not by much) get, "...understandably ... the highest power figure"? If they're using the same engine and the same eHybrid drive, they should get almost identical figures. When comparing the gasoline-only versions, the Compass actually realizes a slight reduction in economy compared to the Renegade despite the Renegade's less-aerodynamic nose.

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- Mopar4wd on Mar 05, 2019
  
  I'm guessing mostly to maintain status among models in the brand.
  
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- Vulpine on Mar 05, 2019
  
  @mopar4wd Silly, if you ask me. If they're both using the exact same driveline, they should both see identical power and near identical performance numbers. Would also be cheaper to build as you wouldn't need two different part numbers on the engines and motors.
  
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- Whynot on Mar 05, 2019
  
  The Compass’s nose might be more aerodynamic than the Renegade’s but the frontal area of the Renegade is likely a whole lot smaller. Cd is only one part of drag. The compass is also likely heavier too, that also hurts fuel efficiency.
  
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- Vulpine on Mar 05, 2019
  
  @whynot: The difference in weight when the new Compass came out was only about 100-150 pounds It's also only about 6" longer and I think 3" wider. Even so, it got about 1mpg lower 'combined' EPA, IIRC. I agree that Cd is only part of the equation, as is the frontal area. The only 'fixed' part of the equation is air density when the two are side by side.
  
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Conundrum on Mar 05, 2019

Makes me wonder how they integrate the output of the elctric motor in back and the ICE up front. With mechanical AWD you get automatic correlation of front and rear axles. That's why Subaru kept its AWD system in their new hybrid. And no Mr Vulpine, I need no theorizing from you. Nothing I've read from you gives me any confidence you know what you're on about, and you're opinionated with it. I'm a mechanical engineer, so if you have some idea to fulminate upon, make it logical and defensible.

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- Vulpine on Mar 05, 2019
  
  Believe what you will.
  
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- Scoutdude on Mar 06, 2019
  
  Careful programming. The question of course is exactly how it is going to work. The problem I see is that once it enters charge sustaining mode it will be possible to "run out of AWD" Because the only MG is the rear axle drive when it is working as a hybrid it will need to use those rear wheels to recharge the battery. Regen braking alone isn't going to cut it if that rear axle is asked to provide lots of torque for an extended period of time. So it will need to drag those rear wheels for a while before it can provide AWD again. That is the plus of the Toyota 3 motor system it can harvest energy directly from the engine to power the rear wheels regardless of the battery's SOC. The plus of this system is that because that single motor is sized for EV only operation it will be able to put a lot of torque to those rear wheels, it there is enough energy in the battery.
  
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- Mopar4wd on Mar 06, 2019
  
  @Scoutdude Assuming they are having some form of generation on the engine to maintain the battery. Of course this would make your awd gas mileage plumuet if the battery pack is low on a long snowy trip.
  
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- Danio3834 on Mar 06, 2019
  
  @Scoutdude My guess is that there will be a Motor Generator Unit on the gas engine similar to the eTorq system that will be capable of taking energy off the gas engine to power to the power pack if SOC is low.
  
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- Vulpine on Mar 06, 2019
  
  @Scoutdude: "Because the only MG is the rear axle drive when it is working as a hybrid it will need to use those rear wheels to recharge the battery." --- This, I believe, is an invalid assumption. Using the motor/generator (MG) to recharge the battery when AWD is not in use creates drag on the front drivetrain, making the engine work harder than necessary. It takes a lot less juice to have the engine's alternator recharge the battery instead, as you say in the same manner as Toyota. There is nothing in any article I've read that claims the Jeep's system exclusively uses the rear MG to recharge the battery, only that it uses regerative braking to HELP recharge the battery.
  
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