Jeep has opened Belgian orders for the new Compass 4xe, presenting its electric flagship not simply as another high-powered SUV but as a credible off-road option.
The brand’s accompanying “Capability Stories” videos show it tackling Sardinian sand dunes, while Jeep points to its dual-motor four-wheel drive, raised suspension, and dedicated terrain modes as proof that electrification need not dilute its traditional all-terrain credentials.
More off-road hardware
The claim deserves a qualified answer: the Compass 4xe has considerably more off-road hardware than most electric crossovers and looks credible for snow, sand, rough tracks, and moderate mud, but it is still not a replacement for a Wrangler-style, low-range 4×4.
Despite the familiar 4xe badge, this is not a plug-in hybrid. It is a 375 hp, dual-motor battery-electric four-wheel-drive model, priced from €52,650 for the Upland and €56,150 for the Overland. It arrives as the range-topper in a Compass line-up that already includes mild-hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and front-wheel-drive electric versions.
The 4xe combines a 157 kW front motor with a 132 kW rear unit and a 96.1 kWh usable battery. Jeep quotes a WLTP range of more than 600 km and a 20-80% DC fast charge in 27 minutes. The larger battery also makes it notably more versatile than the regular 213 hp front-wheel-drive Compass EV, which is rated at around 500 km.
It also changes the Compass’s character. The existing e-Hybrid Plug-in has 225 hp, a battery enabling around 90 km of WLTP electric driving, but it is front-wheel drive.
It is priced from around €43,000 and can tow up to 1,500 kg. The electric 4xe is rated for 1,300 kg of braked towing, making it the strongest-towing EV Compass, but it’s still 200 kg behind the PHEV. That may matter to buyers towing a caravan, horse trailer, or heavier leisure equipment.
Difference off-road
The difference is more significant off-road. The PHEV has 200 mm of ground clearance, 470 mm of wading depth, and approach, breakover, and departure angles of 20, 16, and 27 degrees, respectively. It is a useful PHEV SUV for everyday driving and occasional rough tracks, rather than a genuine off-road proposition.
That distinction matters because Jeep originally presented the new Compass 4xe as a tougher plug-in hybrid with a rear electric motor. The production car has taken a different route.
The actual 4xe is now the fully electric flagship, while the current PHEV is a front-wheel-drive e-Hybrid Plug-in. The 2025 promise of a 195 hp PHEV 4xe with electric rear-axle drive, raised suspension, and off-road hardware, therefore, does not describe the PHEV now on sale.
The electric 4xe, however, has the hardware to make Jeep’s “Capability Stories” videos more than pure marketing theatre. Its suspension sits 10 mm higher than other Compass versions, producing 28-degree approach, 17-degree breakover, and 31-degree departure angles, plus a 480 mm wading depth.
The Upland comes with hill-descent control, 19-inch M+S tires, roof rails, and a rear tow hook. The Selec-Terrain system adds Snow and Sand/Mud modes, along with a 4WD Lock function.
Jeep also gives the rear motor a 14:1 reduction gear and claims up to 3,100 Nm at the rear wheels. That figure is wheel torque after gearing rather than a directly comparable motor-torque number, but the underlying principle is credible.
Electric motors can meter torque rapidly and independently across the axles, which is valuable on loose climbs, snow, wet grass, sand, and mud. The company claims the Compass can climb a 20% gradient even with no traction at the front axle.
The verdict is qualified but positive. On paper, the Compass 4xe looks like a credible electric soft-roader and a more capable all-weather SUV than most electric rivals.
Its geometry, dedicated rear-drive unit, terrain modes, and tires give it meaningful advantages over the front-wheel-drive PHEV and the regular EV versions. It should be well-suited to unpaved access roads, Alpine tracks, snow, sand, and carefully driven muddy terrain.
Not a Wrangler
It is, however, not an electric Wrangler. At more than 2.3 tonnes, with 19-inch wheels, no low-range transfer case or mechanical locking differentials, and no independent evidence yet of battery cooling, underbody protection, or durability in repeated hard off-road use, it remains a crossover rather than a serious expedition vehicle.
The first “Capability Stories” video shows the Compass 4xe coping with soft sand in controlled conditions on Sardinia’s dunes. Jeep says three further episodes, each focused on a different Selec-Terrain setting, will follow by the end of the year.
The footage is a useful demonstration of the EV’s traction system, but independent tests will still be needed to establish how it performs beyond a prepared filming location.
