QOTD: Where Did Jeep, Stellantis Go Wrong With Plug-In Hybrids?

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

Stellantis is killing off the 4xe in Jeeps and the Chrysler Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid.

Where did a promising attempt at electrification go wrong?

Was it the execution? I found every 4xe Jeep I ever drove to have transitions between modes that were just a tad too harsh. The fuel economy, both measured in MPGe and MPG, was pedestrian. And the MSRPs were nothing to sneeze at.

Or maybe Jeep buyers are just too old-school to accept electrification?

Perhaps the issue is something else I'm missing?

You know what to do. Go ahead and sound off below.

[Image: Jeep]

Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by  subscribing to our newsletter.

Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

More by Tim Healey

Comments
Join the conversation
5 of 38 comments
  • Tmvette454 Tmvette454 on Jan 10, 2026

    I know everything is Trump or the right wing for all faults. The real problem comes down to cost. The $7,500 tax credits kept prices artificially high. When ever the government provides subsidies prices remain high. Just look at higher education costs since Pres. Obama took over college lending. Colleges and the government allowed 18-19 sign on to huge loans, some more than the cost of buying a home, without regard to the ability to repay. Another example is the cost of the ACA. It was supposed to lower health insurance premiums instead they have soared almost 3x the inflation rate

    • See 2 previous
    • Lloyd Bonified Lloyd Bonified on Jan 12, 2026

      Do I get credit for the previous "wars for oil" I fought in and when can we expect to see that oil?


  • Lou_BC Lou_BC on Jan 13, 2026

    Price, functionality, reliability, and range. Throw in a post pandemic shift away from offroad style vehicles.

  • Peeryog Everytime I see one I am reminded of the current Santa Fe. And vice versa.
  • Original Guy I watched that Moscow parade thing. (With the Cyrillic captions because my Russian is a little rough.) I won't give the whole thing away, but it started off with a couple of dudes riding around in stupid useless convertibles, standing up like Hitler, who I'm pretty sure was an actual Nazi. They drove around in circles and kept stopping to ask if anyone had seen all the missing military equipment, and all the guys kept moaning back, that no, they hadn't, ask the next section of guys.They looked around for someone shorter and sicker-looking than Putin but they were unsuccessful so they let him speak.The North Korean military was there, I guess the invasion has begun. The North Korean guys were skinny but their rifles were nicely polished, I guess they have plenty of time on their hands between meals.Some of the Russian military guys carried little white flags, I assume they keep those handy in case they run across any U.S. Marines.
  • Marc J Rauch EBFlexing on ur mom - Ethanol is compatible with more types of rubber, plastic, and metal than gasoline and aromatics. This means that ethanol is less corrosive. The bottom line is that long before ethanol could have any damaging effect on any engine component, gasoline and aromatics would have already damaged the components. And the addition of ethanol doesn't exacerbate the problems caused by gasoline and aromatics; it actually helps mitigate them.
  • Original Guy Today I learned that a reverse brake bleeder (and a long borescope) can be helpful if you are autistic and don't have any friends and no one wants to work with you to bleed your brakes. Also it is quick, once you figure out the process.When Canada assembled my truck back in circa 1995, they apparently used a different clip to attach the brake pedal (and switch) to the brake booster than what is technically called for. It is tough to realize this when the spring steel clip flies off to who knows where. Of course I ordered the wrong clip trying to match the style that I saw buried up in the dash before it flew away. My truck now has the 'correct' clip, everyone can relax.I ordered some more brake fluid (DOT 3, nothing fancy) but it turns out I still have two fresh bottles (my shelves aren't empty, I just have too many shelves).Went to install my fancy new Optima YellowTop battery and it turns out I need a new side post terminal bolt. (Yet another order placed, bring on THE TARIFFS.) It would be a shame to strip out the threads on a nice new battery, no?Good news: The longer it takes me to get my truck started again, the more I save on fuel. 😁
  • Normie Weekends here would be a great time for everyone to join in praise of dog dish hubcaps on body-color matched steelies!
Next