Jeep provided a night in a hotel so Ars could attend the Wagoneer S first drive. Ars does not accept paid editorial content.

The numbers are good—600 horsepower, 3.4 seconds to 60, and up to 303 miles of range—but this EV rides and drives like a rookie effort.

The Jeep Wagoneer S EV will be judged against the heritage and ethos of the brand. “Is it a real Jeep?” The answer is yes, but it’s complicated.

Jeep is entering the EV market with this, the 2024 Wagoneer S. After first seeing it last spring, it was clear the Wagoneer S would be the most road-biased SUV from the brand in years. Now, having spent the day getting to know it in and around the Carlsbad area,

Jeep's first all-electric SUV carries a big price and even bigger expectations, but we found more surprises than that from behind the wheel.

This is it folks, our chance to drive the world’s first-ever all-electric Jeep has arrived. It’s called the Wagoneer S, and as you can tell by its nameplate, it’s a version of the Auburn Hills’ automaker's flagship model. While the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer both made triumphant returns a few years ago, the Wagoneer S marks many firsts.

The 2024 Jeep Wagoneer S Launch Edition is a cleanly styled, convincingly upscale, and competitively equipped electric SUV. My main complaints are its high price, hard-to-keep-clean screens, and dissatisfying steering. In nearly all other respects, this is a premium EV worth considering.

We’ll spare you a chronology of Jeep’s electrification misadventures; suffice it to say that the Wagoneer S was supposed to arrive last year, along with the Jeep Recon EV, giving the brand two all-electric offerings in the U.

Jeep wants you to take a chance on its first EV, with discounts on the Wagoneer S, ranging from a few bucks to well over 10 grand at some dealers.