Renegade was retired, Compass went up a class, and the smallest Jeep suddenly became the most important in Europe. That stocky pet from Tychy. And because Stellantis knew that 270 thousand customers rarely make mistakes together, they sewed a new shirt for it and put a brand new heart under the hood. This is - Jeep Avenger 2027.
Three years. That's how long it took to Jeep Avenger from a bold European experiment to the brand's best-selling model on the old continent. Half of Europe now sees it parked in front of shopping malls, while the other half finds it unfair that it can't even be bought in the United States. With the departure of the Renegade, the Avenger remains the smallest Jeep you can buy, and this is a big enough responsibility that the company bent over the plans and redrawn them once again.
The result is a central renovation for year 2027, which at first glance looks like the eleventh phone in the same series – a little brighter, a little slimmer – but in reality, under its boxy body, it hides significantly more changes than you would expect.
Glowing mask and tartan on the bonnet
Let's start with the face, because with Jeep, it all starts with the face. Famous seven slits in the mask is still in place – without them it wouldn't be a Jeep, it would be a Citroën – except now they are illuminatedYes, like on a holiday tree, only with more flavor.
The illuminated grille, previously reserved for the biggest Jeeps—the Grand Wagoneer and the new Compass—has now trickled down to the smallest member of the family. The irony is as sweet as gold icing on a birthday cake: The first Jeep in history to feature an illuminated grille is one that can't even be bought in America.
The exterior gets redesigned bumpers, two new body colors with names Forest and Bamboo (both with the option of a contrasting black roof) and refreshed 17- and 18-inch wheels with a center cap featuring the stylized profile of the legendary military Willys. A detail that 99 percent of passersby won't notice - but the remaining percent will buy the car for it.
Because Jeep is celebrating this year 85 years from the first mass-produced car, they also prepared a limited edition with tartan hood sticker, gold accents on the bumpers and rims, gold stitching in the interior and of course the illuminated grille in the package. Charismatic kitsch or kitschy charismatic – decide for yourself.
The end of the empire of hard plastics
The old Avenger interior had one notorious problem: plastic. Lots of hard plastic. That plastic that, when hit with a ring, sounded like an empty first-grader's piggy bank. In 2027, Stellantis finally made a move. The door panels are now made of softer materials, the lower part of the dashboard gets a soft lining, the seats in the equipment Altitude and Summit and a new cover made of fabric and artificial leather.
The most interesting are the seats in the plug-in hybrid version 4xe: they are covered in new washable, resistant green fabric, which looks like a cross between a hiking windbreaker and an Italian upholstered armchair. It sounds terrible, but it looks great.
They added technology matrix LED headlights and a front-mounted camera that complements 360-degree view system around the vehicle. For a small city car that will spend most of its life in underground garages, this is an incredibly useful accessory – even if the owner will mainly use it to avoid the merciless concrete bollards.
A new heart that finally no longer drinks oil
And now to the most interesting thing, what's hidden under the hood. Stellantis' new 1.2-liter turbocharged three-cylinder It replaced the old one, which had one very unpleasant habit: its timing belt ran in oil. A wet belt is a genius thing in theory – but in practice, a way to convince the owner to replace the engine before replacing the ring.
In the new version, the belt was thrown out and replaced with distributor chainThe engine block, pistons and piston rings were also replaced to improve "Comprehensive robustness and controlled oil consumption", as they say at Stellantis. Which is the most corporate way of saying: "there will be no more blue smoke at the traffic light."
The new engine develops 74 kW (100 HP/100 hp) and 205 Nm (151 lb-ft) of torque. The numbers aren't stellar, but they're perfectly adequate for a car of this size. Most importantly, the power goes to the front wheels via 6-speed manual gearboxYes, you read that right. In 2026, Stellantis, going against all industry trends, decided to keep the hand crank. God bless them.
Soft hybrid, stubble hybrid and electric
The petrol Avenger is not the only option. In fact, the entire range of powertrains for the B-SUV segment is above average.
- Mild hybrid (MHEV) keep 80 kW (108 hp) and 6-speed dual-clutch transmissionThe most balanced choice for everyday use.
- Plug-in hybrid 4xe get electric motor on the rear axle, which adds to the Avenger four-wheel drive and total 107 kW (143 hp)This is the Jeep that can dig into the snow in the parking lot in front of the ski resort without the owner having to apologize to his friends.
- Full electric Avenger, which Jeep, without a shred of modesty, proclaims as "the pinnacle of Avenger technology", pauses 115 kW (154 hp) and 260 Nm (192 lb-ft) of torque.
Electric Avenger: 400 kilometers of silence and 9 seconds of euphoria
First, the numbers that will be of interest to anyone considering switching to electricity. In electric Avenger is hiding 54 kWh battery, which after WLTP cycle allows up to 400 kilometers (249 miles) range. Enough to drive a decent chunk of Europe without panicking, not enough to compete with the largest family electric vehicles on long distances. But let's face it – the Avenger is not a car for long distances. The Avenger is a car for everyday urban reality, and it is fully up to it.
Fill yourself with strength up to 100 kW at fast DC chargers, which is enough to charge the battery from 20 to 80 percent between two cups of coffee. Acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h done in 9 seconds, final speed but is electronically limited to 150 km/h (93 mph)No, it won't make your hair stand on end – but it will be a very pleasant way to move the family through traffic without using a single drop of fuel.
Conclusion: a car that sold character cheaper than the competition
Of all the small SUVs that have been trying to find their place in the sun in Europe over the past three years, the Jeep Avenger has been the one that has found its place faster and with a more recognizable face than its competitors. The seven slots in the grille are such a strong trademark that you would recognize the car even if you were blindfolded - a real holy grail for the marketing department.
Year 2027 brings exactly what needed to be fixed: softer materials inside, more reliable gasoline engine without a wet belt, more technology, a little birthday gold, and a lighted mask that's so delightfully kitschy it's impossible to resist. In all of this, Stellantis also left alone what didn't need fixing: four-wheel drive in the 4xe version, 400 kilometer range in the electric version and Manual transmission at the gas station – which in 2026 is a small but significant act of civil disobedience.
Stellantis has not yet revealed official prices for the updated Avenger. Currently, the petrol Avenger starts at around €25,000 in Europe, while the all-electric model starts at around €37,000 – the updated version is not expected to be significantly different. Given that 270,000 buyers have already confirmed its value in three years – even when the interior was worse and the engine was more sensitive – the answer is even more obvious today.
The Avenger isn't the fastest, most spacious, or cheapest small SUV on the market. But there is something that always outweighs it in the end: characterAnd if it ever becomes necessary to add an illustration to a word pair in the dictionary "charismatic little SUV", Jeep just put out a model. Tartan, gold, illuminated grille and all.
