Jeep Avenger

SUV originator primes itself to make it big in the UK and across Europe with a battery-powered B-segment SUV Jeep's cars have never really caught on anywhere in Europe outside of Italy (where its success is largely a by-product of its relationship with Fiat) and, remarkably, only about one in 100 SUVs sold in Europe is a Jeep. After many false dawns, then, here’s the car Jeep’s new owner Stellantis hopes will change that: the Jeep Avenger.Now, having already taken the European Car of the Year gong, the Avenger arrives in the UK already with much clout. The big reason for this is it's the first Jeep designed and engineered for Europe in Europe, and it will also be built here. So European-centric is this Jeep, in fact, that it won’t even be sold in the US.At 4.08 metres in length, the Avenger – Jeep's smallest ever road car – is pitched at the heart of the booming supermini SUV segment, competing against the likes of the Ford Puma and Renault Captur, and is electric. Talk about on-trend.Indeed, Jeep Europe boss Antonella Bruno calls the Avenger “the right car at the right time”.Keenly priced it will be, too, starting at £35,700 here in the UK (although this does boost all the way to £39,000 before options), with a simplified range of trims and easy-to-add packs and colour options to make the buying process as simple as possible.The Avenger will begin life as a front-wheel-drive model with a 154bhp, 192lb ft electric motor. There is a 51kWh (usable) battery that is good for a 249-mile range, and can charge at up to 100kW, and a heat pump comes as standard to add 10% more to the range than would otherwise have been possible.There will also be petrol and hybrid versions too launching next year - this was originally just planned for Italy, Poland, and Spain given their lack of EV infrastruture, but such was the outcry, it will come here too. Next year will even see a more powerful four-wheel-drive 4xe model arrive, but further details on that have yet to be divulged.UK driving impressions by Will Rimell