Jeep Avenger 4xe The North Face Edition review

What’s happening here?

Take a deep breath: this is the Jeep Avenger 4xe The North Face Edition. For the sake of clarity, we’ll call it the Avenger North Face. Car-and-fashion collaborations may not be as routine as they once were, but Stellantis clearly still believes in them. In the lineage of the mighty Peugeot 205 Lacoste come the new Fiat 500 Giorgio Armani and this more outdoorsy Avenger.

Its seats enthusiastically embrace the North Face puffer-jacket look, the bonnet wears an anti-reflection decal reminiscent of an old rally car, and the boot contains a tent plus other camping paraphernalia. Mountain contours are engraved everywhere.

Starting at a touch above £35,000, it costs £4,000 more than a standard Avenger 4xe – or roughly £50 per month. Yet anyone who has treated themselves to even a modest North Face shopping trip outside Black Friday might consider that a predictable, perhaps even reasonable, increase.

What sits underneath?

It remains the nimble little Avenger we know and rather enjoy, but now with hybrid 4WD. A 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine powers the front wheels, assisted by two 28bhp electric motors, positioned one per axle. The rear motor is not in constant operation and disconnects altogether above 56mph to improve fuel economy, although it remains available to help the car clamber across rougher ground than a conventional front-wheel-drive Avenger could tackle.

At speeds below 19mph, power is generally divided 50:50 between front and rear. That is excessive for the school run, perhaps, but it brings the most conventional Jeep-like flavour yet to an Avenger that feels distinctly European – no criticism, given its 2023 Car of the Year title.

There are several terrain settings, including Snow, Mud and Sand, as well as standard mud-and-snow tyres – or optional all-terrain rubber – on 17-inch alloy wheels. You also get sophisticated multilink rear suspension and plenty of figures to excite those whose hobby involves getting muddy: approach, breakover and departure angles of 22deg, 21deg and 35deg respectively, plus 210mm of ground clearance, 10mm more than standard. This allows it to ford water up to 400mm deep or tackle a loose-surface incline of 40 per cent. Jeep says the Avenger 4xe can provide up to 20 per cent more traction where the front axle has little or no grip.

I’ll be using mine on the road, thanks

That should be enjoyable too. Fundamentally, the Avenger is light, nimble and unexpectedly entertaining, and the additional complication of hybrid drive and 4WD does remarkably little to dilute those qualities. At 1,475kg, it is 220kg heavier than the entry-level front-wheel-drive Avenger with its manual gearbox, yet it is appreciably lighter than the Avenger Electric, which presumably did the heavy work in collecting that COTY award.

Its performance is adequately brisk rather than remarkable, with the combined 134bhp maximum arriving at 5,500rpm and delivering 0-62mph in 9.5 seconds. Top speed is 120mph, while the official figures stand at 52.3mpg and 122g/km of CO2.

How does the Jeep Avenger 4xe handle?

The ride is generally good, although its chunky ‘M+S’ tyres create some disturbance – all-season tyres may be the better choice if it will remain on tarmac. It handles with gratifying nimbleness, seeming to travel through bends as a cohesive whole and using all four tyres evenly for dependable, predictable grip. Push particularly hard from a wet junction, though, and the front axle can still briefly spin its wheels. It turns in with all the eagerness expected from its compact footprint and moderate mass, while showing a delicacy that Jeeps have not traditionally possessed.

Naturally, it is nothing like a classic Cherokee or tough Wrangler, sharing much of its hardware with what feels like an endless selection of Stellantis crossovers: the Vauxhall Mokka, Peugeot 2008, Fiat 600 and Alfa Romeo Junior, among many others. Still, the Avenger rises above them for more reasons than its ground clearance. Its personality and its plush cabin both seem drawn from the higher shelves of the Stellantis cupboard, and this Avenger feels noticeably more upmarket than the Citroën C3 we tested recently.

What are the hybrid components like?

They are welcome additions. There is a worthwhile level of brake regeneration, with no bewildering modes required to engage it. This is neither a hybrid that plugs in at home nor one capable of travelling huge distances on electricity alone, but its engine switches off reasonably frequently in slow-moving traffic and while cruising more gently. We achieved 46mpg in mixed and frequently brisk driving, so those intending to use it mainly in town should comfortably match the official figures. Although, in that case, a front-wheel-drive model – or the EV – is probably the wiser option anyway.

What makes the North Face Edition special?

That depends on how keen you are to resemble an unpaid brand ambassador, especially as a regular Avenger 4xe has the identical powertrain for usefully less money. If the appearance shown here is essential, however, white, grey and black paint are available before the North Face logo is liberally applied across the small Avenger.

Production is limited to 4,806 examples, matching Mont Blanc’s height in metres. That Franco-Italian mountain’s summit features prominently throughout the bold decorative treatment of this North Face Edition. The most unusual detail may be the toolbelt-style fabric straps and elasticated cords fitted to the front seatbacks, creating much the same visual impression as a flexible adventure rucksack. Silly? Naturally. That does not make it wrong – unless your children spend an entire motorway journey to the in-laws twanging those cords.

And Avenger sales seem to be progressing extremely well. More than 200,000 have been sold in only two years, while Jeep’s UK sales have been strong so far in 2025. As Stellantis apparently mishandles the futures of Alfa and Maserati, its smallest-ever Jeep looks to be a success amid the disorder, gaudy North Face makeover or not.