2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe: How Virtuous Is Your Hybrid?

YOU ARE GOING to need a long toga for this one, Socrates. The 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe—the plug-in gas-electric hybrid version of Jeep’s freshly redesigned bestseller—poses a number of thorny questions about human nature and the greater good, well beyond the scope of the average sales manager.

Our guest needs no introduction. Now in its fourth decade and fifth design generation, Grand Cherokee is the Stellantis-owned brand’s upwardly premium midsize SUV, offering two or three rows of seating (Grand Cherokee L); 4x2 or 4x4 drivetrains, with heavy and heavier-duty suspension options; and a choice of three engines: a legacy 3.6-liter V6 (293 hp); a likewise well-seasoned 5.7-liter V8 (357 hp); and the new, PHEV-enhanced turbo four-cylinder, whose maximum output, um, depends. But we’ll get there.