An all-electric Jeep was inevitable. That's simply the reality of current government mandates and initiatives. The trick is for Jeep to make a high-amperage electric that still looks and drives the way Jeep buyers expect.

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

The only thing I could think when I climbed out of the 2024 Jeep Wagoneer S was that I was somehow broken. The $73,590 Launch Edition shoved my chest and shoulders so aggressively into the seat back that it quashed any need for an exhaust note—which is saying something,

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.

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.

The $71,995 2024 Jeep Wagoneer S Launch Edition piles on the standard equipment—everything from heated and cooled power front seats, all the digital displays, wireless smartphone charging, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and delicious sound that emanates from a 1,200-watt McIntosh sound system with 19 speakers and a 12-inch subwoofer.

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,

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.