Stellantis’ new twin-turbocharged “Hurricane” inline-six engine is proving its worth in our testing, beating the old Hemi V-8 in both acceleration and fuel economy. Test results for the 2023 Jeep Grand Wagoneer L with the new 510-horsepower version of the twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six show that it’s both quicker and more efficient than the 2022 Grand Wagoneer with the 6.4-liter V-8—even though the six-cylinder SUV we tested was the bigger, heavier long-wheelbase L model.

​​​​​​​We got the 6428-pound Grand Wagoneer L to 60 mph in a scant 4.7 seconds, beating the old, 102-pound-lighter V-8 model by 0.7 second. That advantage shrunk to 0.4 second and 2 mph in the quarter mile, as the off-the-line advantage of the turbo's 3500-rpm brake torque launch wears off. That’s quick for a full-size, truck-based SUV, beating out the Ford Expedition Stealth Performance model’s 4.9-second run to 60 mph and coming closer than we would have expected to the supercharged, 682-horsepower Cadillac Escalade-V’s 4.3-second sprint.

It's not all upside for the inline-six, however, as the Wagoneer L's rolling-start 5-to-60-mph time of 5.9 seconds is a tenth behind the 5.8-second run from the V-8-powered barge. The passing times are no better either, with the 30–50-mph time a dead heat at 3.2 seconds, and the 50–70-mph time a tenth worse for the inline-six at 3.9 seconds. Although we'd categorize the Jeep's boosted six as quite responsive, turbocharged engines' power delivery is never as instantaneous as that of a naturally aspirated engine.

In our 75-mph highway fuel economy test, the smaller-displacement turbo-six won out, too. It achieved a result of 20 mpg to the V-8’s 19 mpg; not exactly a huge difference, but impressive considering the extra grunt the smaller engine also provides.

The addition of the inline-six has complicated the Wagoneer’s powertrain lineup somewhat. The inline-six is standard on all long-wheelbase L versions, although the Wagoneer L has the 420-horsepower standard-output version and the Grand Wagoneer L has the 510-horsepower high-output version. Among short-wheelbase variants, the 3.0-liter six is optional, as the base Wagoneer continues with its standard 5.7-liter V-8 and the base Grand Wagoneer with its 6.4-liter V-8. But based on the new engine’s strong performance, it seems a worthy upgrade if you’re shopping for one of these behemoths.

Jeep was planning to keep the design of this car a secret until the fall of 2024. But it just did not work out for them. Someone posted photos of the highly anticipated car on the brand's Facebook page, and it looks every inch a Range Rover Velar.

The leaked photos showing the Jeep Wagoneer S in production guise were immediately deleted. But Mopar Insiders were fast enough to save them before they disappeared from Facebook.

Just last week, Jeep showed a video teaser of the upcoming electric Wagoneer, accompanied by the information that the crossover would hit 60 mph (97 kph) from a standstill in just 3.5 seconds.

The teaser showed the front end of the car with the backlit faux grille sporting the seven vertical slats illuminated, flanked by LED slim headlights, connected by an LED strip.

Everyone thought that was as far as disclosing the design of the model would go. Just five days later, we got to see the whole car in leaked images of the first Jeep-badged, US-bound EV. The car looks more like the Range Rover Velar and less like the concept that previewed the production model.

The model in the photos wears a silver paintwork and black roof and rides on multi-spoke wheels with a black finish. The rear end mirrors the front fascia, as an LED strip connects the ultra-slim taillights. The descending roofline extends into a rear wing at the back.
The Wagoneer S will be sold exclusively as an EV and will slot right next to the ICE-powered Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer in Jeep's lineup. Just last week, Jeep announced that it would come with 600 horsepower, which should be squeezed out of two electric motors, one on the front axle and the other one at the back, operating in an all-wheel drive setup.

The vehicle will be the first to receive Stellantis' all-new STLA Large Platform, specifically designed for models in the D and E segments, with lengths between 187.6 and 201.8 inches (4,764 and 5,126 millimeters) and widths between 74.7 and 79.9 inches (1,897 and 2,030 millimeters), while the wheelbase should stretch between 113 and 121.1 inches (2,870 and 3,075 millimeters).

A Dodge model should arrive soon after it, and it might be the electric Charger, previewed by the Charger Daytona SRT concept car. The muscle car is also due in late 2024. The architecture supports both 400- and 800-volt configurations and integrates battery backs with capacities between 85 and 118 kWh.

The Wagoneer S, already seen in photos posted on Facebook and saved by Mopar Insiders, and will be Jeep's first electric model for the American market, and it will roll off the production line at the company's Toluca Assembly Plant in Mexico, together with the Recon and next-gen Cherokee. The brand sells the Avenger crossover with zero emissions on the European market.

The Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer are the largest and some of the most expensive vehicles Jeep has ever produced. These big and luxurious vehicles came with equally big and luxurious promises in both the sales and customer service departments — but the sub-brand experiment looks like it’s over. Jeep is bringing the Wagoneer name back into the fold.

Via a post on X, MotorWeek reports that Jeep CEO Antonio Filosa says that once the Wagoneer S EV launches later this year, Wagoneer will no longer be a Jeep sub-brand and will be folded back into the Jeep brand. This means that going forward, all Wagoneer models will wear Jeep badges.

So, what does this all mean for the work Jeep has done to make Wagoneer into a premium brand? It’s confusing, as these things usually are.

When Jeep debuted the Wagoneer models, it promised that the big price tags would be justified by a special customer experience. It was a big selling feature, as the company was targeting people who had never considered a Jeep before; after all, the Wagoneer line was meant to be cross-shopped with Cadillac Escalades, Mercedes GLSs, and Range Rovers. Knowing this, Jeep seemed to say that their dealer would be committed to providing an upscale buying experience.

Dealers that sold Wagoneers were “Wagoneer certified” dealerships. These dealers apparently had a dedicated sales staff that would accompany the buyer every step of the way. We’re talking white button-up shirt-wearing, tablet-holding people that Jeep calls “Wagoneer Ambassadors.”

These ambassadors had to be certified in Wagoneer sales training before they could even try to sell one of the SUVs, and they were so integral to the sales process that former Jeep CEO Christian Meunier said it would “be almost impossible for a salesperson to sell that car without that training, and without the Wagoneer Ambassador certification.”

​​Along with this certification at both the dealer and salesperson level came a more literal set of promises. Jeep rolled out 10 that Wagoneer-certified dealers would follow, including things like providing complimentary WiFi and snacks along with the buying experience:

Another key component of the buying experience is Wagoneer Client Services. These are concierges who handle certain concerns that Wagoneer owners may have. Need to schedule an oil change for your Wagoneer? Get in touch with Client Services, and they’ll schedule it for you with the dealership. Dealers were also supposed to have dedicated sales and vehicle presentation areas specifically for the Wagoneer.

So, are all these premium features going to stay with the Wagoneer once it wears a Jeep badge? It looks like that’ll be the case. Jeep’s Senior Vice President Bill Peffer told Jalopnik that the move to rebrand Wagoneer as Jeep came from feedback from both customers and dealers.

“We’ve listened and look forward to making Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer vehicles more accessible and inclusive across Jeep Dealers while maintaining a premium experience customers anticipate, delivered by our certified Jeep Wagoneer Ambassadors,” Peffer said.

So even though Wagoneer models will wear the Jeep badge, Jeep still expects dealers to continue to invest and maintain the premium experience for Wagoneer customers — just without the prestige and exclusivity of it being its own sub-brand.

But will dealers listen? Because it doesn’t seem as if the dealers were ever actively participating in this premium exercise in the first place.

Jeep informed me that customers can use the “find dealer” tool on Jeep’s site, which includes a Wagoneer Certified filter that you can select to filter out the more standard Jeep dealerships. Using this tool, I was able to find nine dealerships across Southern California that are listed as Wagoneer Certified.

But this really meant nothing once I got in contact with four of those dealers. I asked the first dealer if it was Wagoneer Certified; the dealership simply responded with information about the Wagoneer lineup itself. The second dealer more or less did the same thing.

The third dealer was the most irritating. Upon asking whether or not they were Wagoneer Certified, the salesperson’s answer was “I’m not sure what you mean.” After rephrasing the question, he then said, “I’m not familiar with that program.”

The fourth dealer showed promise... at first. The salesman seemed to be super excited to get me the information I was asking for.

“Oh, yeah, sure! Give me a few minutes, and I’ll get that information over to you,” he replied when I asked him whether the dealer was certified or not. An hour later I got the answer he was referring to: A walk-around video of one of the seven Wagoneers the dealership had on its lot. It’s safe to say that many of the supposedly “Wagoneer Certified” dealers are unfamiliar with the Wagoneer perks.

While Jeep would like to maintain this premium-ness with the Wagoneer even though the models will now wear a Jeep badge, maybe it’s for the best that it’s not a sub-brand anymore. Throw in the usual disconnect between what automakers want and what dealers actually deliver, and you’ve got something that’s not really worthy of a premium brand or buying experience. Jeep deciding to go the sub-brand route with Wagoneer this late in the game might not have ever really been a good idea.

We spoke with Stellantis Chief Design Officer Ralph Gilles at the Jeep Wagoneer S reveal, and he shared a bunch of interesting tidbits about the development of the electric SUV's design. And among our questions was why the Wagoneer S was the lead for an electric Jeep, especially as the Recon seems more obviously Jeep. Gilles said that a major factor was the desire to offer something with significant range, noting that the 300-mile range was an important target. That naturally lent itself to something lower and more aerodynamic.

As for when design work started, Gilles said it was about four years ago, and something he brought up during the main reveal presentation was that the Wagoneer S design team was primarily made up of Millennial and Gen Z designers. The main sketch that was guiding project was done by a 29-year-old. We asked him how that happened, and he said it really was a happy coincidence. The EV project seemed to attract the younger designers. He was impressed with how collaborative they were, saying, "They became kind of like a family," as well as how they had "no paradigms" or constraints to what had to be a Jeep. He also said he was "proud of the maturity of the design," how it didn't look obviously like an EV.

The young design team also contributed to some of the Wagoneer S's materials decisions. He said they were instrumental in moving away from more traditional luxury materials like wood, favoring instead all variety of metal trimmings including aluminum and zinc. Chrome was out, too, due to its environmental issues (chrome plating involves some pretty nasty chemicals), and it being more on the traditional side.
On the topic of materials, something that we were immediately excited to hear when Gilles announced it was the lack of piano black plastic in the interior. In some areas where it would normally be used, ceramic-coated and textured aluminum takes its place. Gilles told us that this was partly due to customer feedback regarding fingerprints and scratches. He even told us that Jeep actually gives new Wagoneer owners microfiber cleaning cloths to help keep the panels clean in those SUVs.

Aerodynamics are of course an important factor in an EV to get range, and especially for the Wagoneer S with its 300-mile target. Key to getting there was the "R-Wing," which hides the Wagoneer S's sloping fastback. And Gilles revealed in the presentation that styling was the only reason for it at first. Certainly it did allow for a more traditional SUV look with fastback aero, but that was all it did. But he added that eventually the aero team was able to make the wing more functional.

We asked about the exciting and challenging aspects of designing an EV, and Gilles said a big one was "trying to reestablish the iconic grille of Jeep without having a grille." He "welcomed the freedom of not worrying about cooling," but then what do you do with things like that piece of design iconography? Indeed, the Wagoneer S grille is solid, and what the team did was fit lights above the grille slots that would reflect the light back out. We asked if they had thought about doing something like on the Charger, which employs the "R-Wing" idea to the front grille. Gilles said that wasn't an option for the Wagoneer S as having a usable frunk was important on a utility vehicle, and a pass-through grille with vent would eat into that.

One of the last things we asked about was the Trailhawk concept and the story behind it. Turns out, it was a pretty recent development. Gilles said that when Jeep was planning its EVs, the Wagoneer S was designed to be more of the high-range luxury model, and the Recon would handle more of that Wrangler-style off-road capability. "But we can't help ourselves," Gilles said, and so of course they wanted to try doing a Trailhawk version. He also pointed out that Jeep does Trailhawk versions of just about every model, so it was only natural to try applying it to Wagoneer S.

The Jeep® brand is known worldwide for pushing the limits of capability design through its rugged and capable concepts. Easter Jeep Safari and Moab, Utah, have long been a test bed for that creativity. Now, the brand is showcasing the art of the possible with the unveiling of the Jeep Wagoneer S Trailhawk concept. This rugged and fully electric SUV concept can easily transition from the pavement to off-roading terrain showcasing the flexibility of the STLA Large platform and Jeep Wagoneer S lineup.

"Like all Jeep brand SUVs, the new 2024 Jeep Wagoneer S descends from a rich heritage and is composed with legendary capability, innovative design and the flexibility to perform at its best both on- and off-road," said Antonio Filosa, Jeep brand CEO. "The Jeep Wagoneer S Trailhawk concept vehicle, builds upon the flexible STLA Large platform, showcases what the all-electric Jeep Wagoneer S lineup is truly capable of, whether cornering tight turns with ease or traversing new ground off the beaten path."

The Jeep Wagoneer S Trailhawk concept debuted alongside the all-new, all-electric 2024 Jeep Wagoneer S Launch Edition, the Jeep brand's first global battery-electric vehicle (BEV), launching first in North America. Planned for markets around the world, the Wagoneer S will launch first in the U.S. and Canada in the second half of 2024.

Superior performance and Jeep 4xe capability

The Jeep Wagoneer S Trailhawk concept is 100% electric and 100% Jeep brand SUV. All-electric technology enhances the fun, freedom and adventure that the Jeep brand is known for, while providing unprecedented performance, uncompromised 4xe capability and instantaneous torque.

The Jeep Wagoneer S Trailhawk concept features all the capability of the new production vehicle and takes off-road exploration to the next level. The standard Selec-Terrain system's Auto, Sand, Snow, Eco and Sport is enhanced with Rock mode and a driver-selectable electronic rear axle locker. The trail-ready, four-wheel-drive concept vehicle also features rugged 31.5-inch all-terrain tires.

Authentic Jeep brand styling - Form follows function

The Jeep Wagoneer S Trailhawk concept - a go-anywhere, do-anything SUV - is the perfect blend of off-road capability, high-speed performance and authentic Jeep brand design inside and out.

Designed for capability, the Jeep Wagoneer S Trailhawk concept boasts a lifted suspension plus an aggressive front and rear design that includes heavy-duty tow hooks and functional air extractors to improve performance in high pressure zones under high-speed conditions.

The Wagoneer S Trailhawk concept's distinctive front-end expression tells the tale of an SUV that is designed to drive and thrive on dusty trails and rocky terrain. The iconic Jeep brand seven-slot illuminated grille boasts a bolder rugged look with textured slots and Storm Gray metallic accents.

The concept's special-edition Banner exterior color is loaded with rugged features designed for the toughest adventures, including an anti-glare hood decal, flush badging inspired by modern aircraft, front and rear orange tow hooks, unique 18-inch multi-piece wheels, laser-cut aluminum roof rack and a dual-pane panoramic sunroof for an open-air experience.

Rugged interior upfitted for adventure

The Jeep Wagoneer S Trailhawk concept's interior has been upfitted for adventure with soft surfaces wrapped in Mantis Green non-leather synthetic material and accented with meteorite-inspired real stone veneer. Storm dark metallic accents and Radical Red anodizing are used to visually highlight the vehicle's capability features.

A redesigned octagonal steering wheel design allows the driver to lock in their preferred hand position for precise control:

• Tactical-inspired grip section at the 9 and 3 o'clock positions for all-terrain driving
• Rounded profile for hand-over-hand maneuvering over any terrain

The concept's instrument panel features a functional cross-car grab bar for passenger stability off road. Embedded into the grab bar are exposed fasteners and 1/4-20 threaded inserts to mount gear, devices and accessories. Behind the grab bar, the instrument panel is accented with a unique meteorite-inspired genuine stone veneer that's natural, durable and adds a visual connection to the geological elements from which the concept vehicle is crafted.

Aggressive front seats retain their balance of sport and luxury appointments from the standard Jeep Wagoneer S. The heated and ventilated seats are wrapped in Mantis Green with a unique chevron perforation pattern. Wrapped trim includes Ultraviolet accent stitching with textile decorative piping.

The doors and center console feature a new modular cargo management system with re-configurable elastic straps that enable the user to customize gear storage and organization. The center console features a large open storage bin with a wireless phone charger and multiple USB outlets to power all modern tools and accessories essential to outdoor adventures.