Jeep Avenger

Maiden EV is a small car with big hopes of cracking Europe. Does it have what it takes?

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MODEL TESTED ELECTRIC SUMMIT

Price £39,545 Power 154bhp Torque 192lb ft 0-60mph 8.3sec 30-70mph 6.9sec Economy 3.4mpkWh Max DC charging speed 103kW 70-0mph 59.3m

Its designers have done a fair job in convincing the casual observer otherwise, but the Avenger is not your typical Jeep. For one thing, while the odd zero-emission concept car from the maker has surfaced in recent years, this is the first purely electric production model to bear perhaps the most famous name in off-roading. For another, to date it is the only Jeep entirely styled, engineered and constructed outside of the US, teams in Italy and Poland having been given responsibility.

The Avenger also breaks new ground in terms of footprint. Discount the original Willys, dating from 1940, and the Avenger is the most compact Jeep ever conceived. (The 61bhp hero of World War II is about an arm's length shorter.) You should also know that, behind the signature seven-slot grille, the short overhangs and the bevelled proportions, the Avenger has about as much in common with the beloved Wrangler as it does the Vauxhall Corsa, with which this pint-sized new Jeep shares a platform. Given all of the above, it is only natural to wonder whether this is a real Jeep at all.