Almost the end of an era
The American branch of the Stellantis group is rapidly eliminating the Hemi-V8 with which the company has been making waves for decades. After the Ram 1500 models, it is now the turn of the Jeep Wagoneer to ditch the V8.
By ‘the American branch of Stellantis’ we refer to the former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, more specifically the Chrysler part of that company. This consists of the brands Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram and was for a long time considered the patron of the V8. Major competitor Ford decided a long time ago to put six-cylinders in ‘full-size’ SUVs and pickups, but at Chrysler, Dodge and Ram, the Hellcats, Demons and TRXs still sold like hotcakes.
However, this is changing in a fairly rigorous manner. For example, we recently learned that the Ram 1500, Ram’s popular pickup, will no longer be available with a V8 for the 2024 model year. All models exchange that engine for the Hurricane straight-six, most likely up to and including the bizarrely powerful TRX. Now the Jeep Wagoneer is also following.
Wagoneer, Grand Wagoneer and L
The Jeep Wagoneer was presented in 2021 as Jeep’s long-missing answer to really large SUVs like the Ford Expedition and Chevrolet Tahoe, while the more luxurious Jeep Grand Wagoneer targets luxury alternatives Lincoln Navigator and Cadillac Escalade. Confusingly enough, a Grand Wagoneer is not larger, but it is more luxurious and often more powerful than a regular Jeep Wagoneer. The Wagoneer is also available in an even longer version, indicated with an ‘L’. The Jeep Wagoneer L is therefore a competitor to, among others, the Chevrolet Suburban (the long brother of the Tahoe) and the Ford Expedition Max, the Grand Wagoneer L competes against the Cadillac Escalade ESV and the Lincoln Navigator L.
Six-in-line standard
Until now, the Jeep Wagoneer models were fitted with a 5.7-liter or 6.4-liter Hemi V8 as standard, the workhorse of the American part of Stellantis. The new Hurricane six-cylinder was optional, but that will change for the 2024 model year. From now on, every Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer will be equipped as standard with a twin-turbo six-cylinder, which according to Jeep is up to 15 percent more efficient than the V8 it replaces. The Hurricane delivers at least 420 American horsepower in the Wagoneer (426 according to our measuring method). The Grand Wagoneer has a more powerful version on board as standard, with no less than 510 ‘hp’.
V8 almost gone
Now that the Hemi has been dropped from both the Ram 1500 and the Wagoneer, the engine remains only available in a handful of models. The Chrysler 300, Dodge Challenger, Dodge Charger and Dodge Durango are all very old and will therefore disappear in the foreseeable future, while Jeep will undoubtedly not grant the somewhat crazy niche model Wrangler 392 – also with Hemi – eternal life either. That leaves Ram’s ‘heavy duty’ trucks. Those 2500 and 3500 trucks could well have a V8, but then we are talking about vehicles that we should actually consider as trucks according to Dutch standards (and legislation).
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl