Jeep Avenger

First electric Jeep is a small SUV that puts on-road manners well ahead of off-road ability On sale June Price from £34,800

- Will Nightingale

NOT EXACTLY A friendly name, is it? Especially given that the new Avenger is a remarkably affable car. Perhaps it's been sent to avenge the unfavourable star ratings we've given most of Jeep's model line-up over the past few years.

But joking aside, the Avenger is a very different proposition from the famous American brand. For starters, it's the first fully electric car in Jeep's 80-odd-year history. It's also tiny (barely any longer than a Volkswagen Polo) and it doesn't even have four-wheel drive.

This small SUV is intended to rival the likes of the Hyundai Kona Electric, Kia Niro EV and Peugeot e-2008 (with which, incidentally, the Avenger shares its basic underpinnings). Does that mean it's a better Jeep for those who plan to drive on the road (in other words, most of us) rather than traversing the Rubicon Trail? Powered by a single 154bhp electric motor, the Avenger accelerates from 0-62mph in 9.0sec. Granted, that's fairly modest performance by broader electric car standards (the Kona Electric and Niro EV are noticeably quicker to build speed), but you'll always be able to keep pace with fastmoving traffic in the Avenger, - even on the motorway.

The Avenger has a slightly larger battery (51kWh usable capacity) than the e-2008 and its other siblings (from Citroën, DS and Vauxhall). That means it can go farther on a charge, and its official  range of 245-249 miles (depending on trim) is more than respectable. For some context, the Vauxhall Mokka Electric has an official range of 209 miles and the Kona Electric 39kWh 189 miles. Mind you, the 64kWh version of the Kona promises 300 miles between charges and the Niro EV 285 miles.