Jeep Avenger Review & Prices

The Jeep Avenger may sound like a big, tough, go-anywhere 4x4, but really it’s a cute and easy-to-drive small SUV that’s well suited to urban life. It comes with a wide range of engine options, too, but it’s neither very comfortable nor practical.

A bit like a pair of Doc Marten shoes with a chunky sole, the Avenger certainly looks rugged from afar, but you soon realise that it’s just like any small, town-oriented SUV - just with an added layer of body cladding.

In fact, the Avenger is mechanically related to the Peugeot 2008, Alfa Romeo Junior and Fiat 600, which you should consider if you like the Jeep but fancy a different take on the recipe. There’s also the Ford Puma, Volkswagen T-Cross and the hybrid Toyota Yaris Cross, as well as the BYD Atto 2 and Jaecoo 5.

The Jeep is the best looking of the lot, though. If you saw a photo of it in a field you really would think the Avenger is far larger than it is, thanks to its bulging wheel arches, square-jawed front end and plastic cladding around its lower half. It’s only when you walk towards it in person and notice it’s not getting any bigger that you realise it’s less shire horse, more Shetland pony.

Jeep hasn’t been quite as successful with the interior. It’s not ugly per se, with a fairly simple and inoffensive dashboard which resembles the shape of the front grille, topped by a 10.3-inch infotainment display. It’s not a particularly clever piece of software, but physical shortcut buttons on the dashboard and a row of real climate control switches mean it’s easy to use.

Material quality isn’t very impressive, as there are plenty of hard, dark plastics all around the cabin. The round gear knob may be pleasant to hold, but it scratches far too easily. Something to bear in mind if you’re a ring-wearer.

At least it’s roomy enough up front with a good amount of storage for such a small car. The cupholders are adjustable for big bottles, the door bins are generous and there’s extra space on the dash for odds and ends. You feel quite close to your passenger, however, and the back seats are a bit too tight in both the head and leg departments. The 355-litre boot is smaller than in a petrol-powered Renault Clio, too.

You can have an Avenger in petrol or mild hybrid guise. the former of which gets a manual gearbox, the latter, an automatic. We managed around 40mpg in a petrol model, which is down on the claimed 49.6mpg, but not far off the 42mpg we saw in a Puma.

An automatic may be easier to drive in traffic but really, as far as manuals go, the Avenger is a piece of cake in town. The clutch and gear lever are light, the steering is easy to twirl around and - bumpy suspension aside - it’s well suited to tight, urban streets.

It’s a bit more comfortable on the motorway, but there’s a fair amount of wind and road noise to contend with. Don’t bother trying to hustle the Avenger down a back road, as it shimmies about awkwardly over ruts and dips.

Verdict

The Jeep Avenger is a very charming, likeable small SUV - but it’s neither practical nor comfortable enough to recommend over the Toyota Yaris Cross or Ford Puma. If back seat and boot space isn’t a priority for you, however, it’s definitely a fun choice worth considering.

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Starting at around £31,000 in petrol, manual guise, the Avenger is a good chunk more expensive than when it was launched in 2023. That makes it around £5,000 more than a Ford Puma and £2,000 more than an Alfa Romeo Junior. It’s certainly not cheap.

You can only buy a new Avenger in the rather posh 85th Anniversary, Summit and Skyview trim levels, all of which come with 18-inch diamond-cut wheels, LED lights, parking cameras, and cruise control as standard. Summit models add hill descent control, 360-degree parking sensors and heated front seats, while Skyview cars gain a glass sunroof (geddit?), electric boot lid and leather upholstery inside.

Easy to drive about town, but it’s not much fun in corners and can be a bit noisy at speed

In town

The Jeep Avenger is perfectly designed for inner-city life because it’s relatively small but has a tall, upright design, so you get a good view of the road around you and can easily judge the car’s extremities in a tight spot. It’s a bit jiggly on a scarred road surface, but generally smooths out sharp edges so it never feels particularly uncomfortable.

Entry-level petrol models only come with a manual transmission, so your left leg goes through a bit of a workout in heavy traffic. The e-Hybrid is the better choice here because you get an automatic gearbox and its electrification smooths out low speed driving.

Rear parking sensors are standard-fit, but front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera are only standard on top-spec cars. Other trims require you to pay for an expensive option pack to get a reversing camera, though it is bundled in with a bunch of other kit including everything from privacy glass to automatic high beam headlights.

On the motorway

While the Avenger can jiggle about a bit over bumps at lower speeds, things smooth out at higher speeds, so it’s actually pretty composed on the motorway. It’s a bit disappointing, then, that it’s not very quiet, with some wind and tyre noise meaning you might have to turn your podcast up a bit when you get up to 70mph…

Usefully though, cruise control is included on all models, but if you want to get adaptive cruise, which automatically maintains your speed and distance to the car in front, you need to go for the Altitude or Summit trims.

On a twisty road

Considering its tall design and hint of off-roading ability, the Jeep Avenger is capable enough on a twisty road - but you’re better off taking it easy. There’s a bit of body lean in corners, but not so much that you fear the car will topple over, and there’s good enough grip from the tyres.

The rather gutless engines and light steering mean you won’t be choosing the scenic route home for some post-work giggles, and there’s an unpleasant wobble from the back end if you have the misfortune of catching a bump, pothole or even a drain cover as you take a corner. If sportiness is what you’re after, the Ford Puma is much more fun to drive.

Interior storage is pretty good, but the rear seats are cramped and boot is quite small

For front seat passengers, the Jeep Avenger is relatively spacious, and there’s plenty of adjustment in the seat and steering wheel for the driver to find a comfortable position.

Storage is impressive too, with a wide, shallow tray in the dashboard that’s useful for holding your keys and phone offering some extra storage you rarely see in other cars. More common is the cubby hole beneath the armrest, and the large area ahead of the gear shifter that’s also home to the wireless phone charger on top-spec Summit models.

There’s a pair of cupholders between the seats, though these are quite shallow and can struggle to keep hold of your coffee cup during spirited driving, while the door bins will just about take a one-litre bottle.

Space in the back seats

It’s much less spacious in the back, so kneeroom is tight even with the front seats pushed forward. If the person in the back is quite tall, it can mean front seat passengers have to squish their knees up against the dashboard.

Headroom is really good, at least, though being quite a narrow car means that fitting three adults across the back should be reserved for shorter journeys where possible. You’ll have more room in the back of the Volkswagen T-Cross.

This does all mean that fitting a child seat is a bit of a squeeze, too. It can be particularly uncomfortable if there’s a person in front, because you have to push the seat forward to accommodate a typical child seat.

Boot space

The lack of space continues in the boot, because at 355 litres the Jeep Avenger has less capacity than most alternatives. The Fiat 600 offers a bit more space at 360 litres, while the Volkswagen T-Cross has 385 litres and the Ford Puma gets 456 litres. Basic versions of the Citroen C5 Aircross are in the same price range as the Avenger, and that has a cavernous boot by comparison – its sliding rear bench means you have between 580 and 720 litres to play with.

At least accessing the Avenger’s boot is easy enough, with a squared-off opening and no load lip to lift items over, and you have a little underfloor storage, too. Drop the rear seats and you get just over 1,000 litres, which is some way down on each of the cars noted above.

The Jeep Avenger’s interior has a cool, clean design, but the infotainment is clunky and dated

The Jeep Avenger’s interior design is pleasantly simple, with a minimalist rather than basic feel for the most part. There are a few cheap materials to be found, but it generally feels hard-wearing rather than bargain basement.

You get fabric seats in the basic Longitude model, but this is upgraded to a cloth and vinyl combination for Altitude and Summit cars. These two trims can be upgraded to leather upholstery as part of a pack that includes heated front seats and a massaging function for the driver, though this costs more than £1,000.

All cars get a 10.3-inch infotainment screen, but it’s quite basic and quite clunky to use. You can pay extra for navigation on the top-spec trim, but your best bet is to connect your phone through wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.

Entry-level cars get a 7.0-inch digital instrument display, which is upgraded to 10.3 inches for Altitude and Summit cars.

There are two variations of a 100hp, 1.2-litre petrol engine available, alongside the battery-powered Avenger Electric, reviewed separately.

The entry-level engine is a pure petrol unit with no electrification. It’s available exclusively with a six-speed manual gearbox, and official fuel economy figures are measured at up to 50.4mpg, though we saw around 42mpg in our time with the car.

For approximately £1,700 extra, you can get the e-Hybrid. The name is a bit cheeky, because this is a mild hybrid rather than a full hybrid, so although it can do very short distances on electric power at low speeds, you don’t see huge fuel economy benefits. That said, official numbers suggest up to 57.6mpg is possible. It comes with an automatic transmission, and coupled with the electrical assistance, should make it the more relaxing car to drive.

Both have low emissions so fall into the same cheap Vehicle Excise Duty band, though they face quite a high benefit-in-kind tax, so company car drivers would be better off going for the Avenger Electric.

Jeep Avenger Euro NCAP score (2024): 3/5

Adult occupant: 79%
Child occupant: 70%
Vulnerable road users: 59%
Safety assist: 53%

When the Avenger was tested by Euro NCAP, it scored a fairly disappointing three stars. Protection for adult and child occupants was reasonable, but it scored poorly in protection for vulnerable road users as well as the safety assist category, mainly due to limitations with its autonomous emergency braking system.

Standard safety kit includes traffic sign recognition, a system to keep you centred in your lane, and even some basic off-road technology. Mid-spec Altitude models add adaptive cruise control, while top-spec Summit cars get blind spot monitoring, all-round parking sensors and a reversing camera.

Altitude models can be upgraded with a pack that gets most of the Summit’s safety kit, but all models feature a trio of ISOFIX points - two in the back and one on the front passenger seats.

Jeep came eighth out of 30 brands in the 2026 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey, which is a solid result, and ought to give you peace of mind. Jeep’s historic reputation for reliability is a bit hit and miss, but an unlimited mileage warranty ought to help should you encounter any trouble.

That being said, it only covers you for three years, which is fairly basic. It’s not as good as Hyundai (five years), Kia and MG (seven years) or Toyota (10 years with annual servicing).