2025 Jeep Wagoneer S: Grandpa’s SUV revolts
Forget the wood-and-leather Grandpamobile of the 1980s or the refrigerator-on-its-side look of the 2020s model. This EV is more akin to the Jeep Grand Cherokee in looks.
2025 Cadillac Optiq AWD Sport 2 vs. 2025 Jeep Wagoneer S Launch Edition 4XE: A new class of EV SUVs.
This week: Jeep Wagoneer S
Price: $73,790 as tested.
Conventional wisdom: Car and Driver likes the “impressive acceleration performance, nicely styled cabin, looks like a Jeep from the future,” but not the “unrefined and rough ride quality,” that the “regenerative braking settings feel grabby,” and that it’s “more expensive than the competition.”
Marketer’s pitch: “The rush of all-electric freedom.”
Reality: Definitely a rush.
Competition: Last week’s Optiq offered a sedate EV drive at a gasoline-powered price, but hard seats and tough visibility ruined the experience. Other competitors include the Audi Q4 E-tron, Genesis GV60, and Mercedes-Benz EQB.
What’s new: A funny thing happened on the way to testing the Wagoneer S. I set it up for a comparison with the Nissan Armada; they’re both big, honking SUVs, right?
Until it rolled into my driveway and I thought the fleet service had changed things out at the last minute. It looked like a Grand Cherokee that didn’t believe what I just said, with its headlights and glass squished down.
The EV was introduced for the 2024 model year; a cheaper Limited model with fewer options and slightly less oomph is the main story for 2025. But that’s not this story.
Up to speed: This is one crazy-fast EV. Car and Driver reports it gets to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds.
I actually wonder if the C&D numbers are an undercount, or would it be overcount? Either way, I think it’s even faster. I laid lots of rubber showing off for the Lovely Mrs. Passenger Seat, and she and Mr. Driver’s Seat found themselves pushed firmly into the seats during these road rallies. The EV motors combine to make 600 horsepower, and this is drag-racing-level acceleration (which incidentally, I once did in a distant cousin, the Dodge Demon).
The Limited model creates 500 horsepower but still gets to 60 in under 4 seconds, according to Stellantis.
Shifty: I’ve whined about Chrysler’s round gearshift dial, but I’m never sure I managed to get this specific about my issues with it. The Wagoneer S was best backed into the garage for reaching the home charger, and the dial makes this an awkward experience. I kept skipping past Reverse because there’s nothing to slow down the dial from going to Park. Annoying.
On the road: The Wagoneer S is actually quite nice on the road. It doesn’t offer rollicking fun on the curves, but it does zip through them, especially for an SUV. The battery weight along the floor probably accounts for a lot of the improved handling.
Driver’s Seat: The Driver’s Seat struck me as quite firm at first, but the week was spent in relative comfort. The massage feature for the front seats is there to work out any kinks should the seats prove too hard for you. Still, it was light-years beyond the Optiq’s seats, which were a spine punch.
The flat-topped and -bottomed steering wheel feels odd. The ceiling is covered in something like 1980s velour, and it’s awkward.
Friends and stuff: The rear seat is as comfortable and as stylish as the front. It’s angled just right, and the corner seat pods don’t impede on the middle. Legroom is good except for the big hump and console intrusion in the middle.
Cargo space is 30.6 and 64 cubic feet, only slightly above the Optiq’s, depending on seat position. Towing capacity is 3,400 pounds, more than double the Cadillac.
In and out: A button for exiting from the interior is difficult to find and then difficult to use as well, positioned awkwardly near the armrest.
Play some tunes: Dials for volume and tuning are the only throwbacks to days of yore.
The 12.3-inch touchscreen does its job fairly well. Icons down the side get you to all the functions you really need, but the equalizer controls are a long walk from CarPlay.
Sound from the 19-speaker McIntosh high-performance system is quite good, about an A.
Keeping warm and cool: An ebony touch pad underneath the infotainment system is quirkier than most, tilted at 45 degrees upward and quite small. I had a hard time seeing the icons.
The icons also disappeared one morning for an entire trip. Luckily there’s a touchscreen option available, which is required for more intense changes.
Fuel economy: The Wagoneer S has a range of 294 miles, on par with the Optiq, and goes from 20-80% (180ish miles) in 23 minutes at a high-speed charging station.
Where it’s built: Toluca, Mexico. Mexico supplies 55% of the parts; the U.S. and Canada, 31%.
How it’s built: Consumer Reports hasn’t caught up with this model yet.
In the end: It’s hard not to fall in love with a vehicle that’s this crazy fast. Fortunately it also does so many other things better than the Optiq. But Jeeps tend to fall on the low end of the reliability spectrum.
Given my pick of the competition I’d have a hard time not choosing the Genesis GV60.