Wrangler will take plug-ins off-road

The versatile Jeep Wrangler, known for tackling off-road terrain, is about to add another talent to its skill set: plug-in hybrid advocate.

A plug-in version of the rugged SUV is expected to arrive in 2020 alongside a good old-fashioned diesel model — the antithesis of an electrified Wrangler. While the diesel iteration has been demanded by Jeep loyalists, the hybrid could broaden the Wrangler's consumer base and build greater acceptance of electrified powertrains, said Jeremy Acevedo, senior manager of insights for Edmunds.

Acevedo believes "the essence of the brand will remain intact" with a plug-in Wrangler.

"I think it takes something like a Wrangler to take down some of these boundaries. In that way, you can be doing a huge service to the industry overall," Acevedo told Automotive News. "If the Wrangler, arguably the most iconic SUV on the road, can pull off a plug-in hybrid, I think that it does give credibility to this technology having some merit beyond efficiency if it is truly a great off-roader [and] if it does carry that torch well."

Jeep is charting divergent paths with the Wrangler's expanding powertrain options.

On one end, the Wrangler hybrid should please the environmentally conscious crowd with a more efficient option that can still deliver on weekend adventures. At the other is a diesel off-roader with a torque boost over regular gasoline models.

While the grunt of a diesel engine fits the rugged Jeep attitude, a quieter hybrid adds a new layer to its image.

Jeep hasn't shared performance specs for the plug-in, but some say capability shouldn't be an issue. Karl Brauer, executive publisher of Kelley Blue Book, thinks the hybrid could present some useful perks.

"Hybrid technology invariably adds weight and complexity, but it also widens a vehicle's performance and fuel- efficiency spectrum. A hybrid-powered Jeep Wrangler will have more low-speed torque to assist with off-road excursions," Brauer wrote in an email.

"It should also have improved fuel efficiency when driven on pavement. Across the industry we're increasingly seeing hybrid vehicles with clear advantages over their non-hybrid siblings. Even the cost and weight penalties traditionally associated with hybrid components is dropping every year as manufacturers improve and refine the technology."

Jeep said the diesel variant, which ups the torque to 442 pound-feet from 260 on the gasoline version's Pentastar V-6, is an answer to "overwhelming consumer demand."

The diesel already has a built-in base of future adopters among the "really core Wrangler buyers, the guys who like to off-road and such," said Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting for AutoForecast Solutions.

"The diesels for Jeep have been very niche, very specific to the real Jeep buyers, I call them," Fiorani said. "Not the people who commute back and forth and take the kids to school. People who actually like to get the grunt of a diesel. I don't think it's a fuel economy thing as much as the torque."

Steve Wolf, dealer principal of Helfman Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep-Ram- Fiat in Houston, said consumers have been dropping by to ask about the diesel Wrangler. He believes there's pent-up demand on which Jeep can capitalize.

Wolf doesn't think the controversy surrounding Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' earlier EcoDiesel engine will ding the Wrangler's prospects. U.S. regulators said FCA used defeat devices to cheat on emissions tests, which led to a settlement worth around $800 million announced in January.

Wolf says the Wrangler plug-in likely will pull in younger buyers, adding that he assumes "it's going to have all of the capabilities that a Jeep demands."