When Jeep revived the Wagoneer name in 2021, it was originally meant to be a subbrand that would offer premium models under the Jeep umbrella. Well, plans change and Wagoneers are back to being just Jeeps but vestiges of the original plan remain.

Like with this Wagoneer S, Jeep’s first ever global EV. And we were recently invited out to San Diego, California for a first drive in the first-to-arrive “Launch Edition”. Lower trims will be coming soon but for now, our focus is on the top-of-the-line model.

The “S” in Wagoneer S should stand for “Sport” as this is a midsize utility not fullsize, as it only seats 5 and is even slightly smaller in size than the Grand Cherokee. And its exterior has an athletic build, with aerodynamic front and rear styling that includes a new illuminated take on the iconic 7-slot grille and this sweet rear spoiler. Along with a black roof and 20-inch gloss black wheels.

The Wagoneer S shares the same platform as the all-electric Dodge Charger Daytona we recently tested. That means two motors are mounted front and rear for standard all-wheel drive with Jeep’s Selec-Trac active terrain management system. So the Wagoneer S isn’t going to conquer the Rubicon Trail but it can head off pavement and tow up to 3,700 lbs.

Total system output here is a potent 600 horsepower and 617 lb-ft. of torque for a projected 3.4 second 0-60 run. Yes, it’s pretty darn fast. But that’s not all.

“One of the first things I noticed while driving this Wagoneer S is just how comfortable it is. I mean, this suspension has luxury levels of comfort, and it’s just a passive suspension. It’s not active. It’s a pretty simple set up, but it works so well.

Overall NVH for this electric utility is really good. I’m on the highway right now and, highway speeds. This thing is pretty quiet. Very easy to have a conversation here in the cabin and just overall very smooth. I can totally imagine road tripping this thing.

Now, 600 horsepower seems like a lot. And it is. But you really are only going to feel like you have 600 horsepower when you pop this thing into sport mode. And I have to be honest, I’m feeling Trackhawk levels of performance here because this thing is super agile, very nimble. The beauty of having that battery pack, just really keeping this center of gravity so, so low that you really don’t have a ton of body roll. Yeah, just really shocking by how much performance you can get out of this thing. So the beauty is you’ve got Trackhawk levels of performance and Wagoneer levels of luxury.”

There are two settings to customize regenerative braking, “Min” which allows you to coast and “Max” which enables one-pedal driving, so you can tailor the driving experience how you see fit.

Jeep says the 100.5-kWh battery pack can see around 300 miles on a single charge and the 400-volt architecture has a peak charging rate of up to 203 kilowatts for a 20-80% charge in around 23 minutes.

The interior is certainly inspired by both the Grand Wagoneer and Grand Cherokee with 45-inches of total screens in the dashboard, including passenger and climate displays, all running the latest Uconnect 5 designed for a BEV.

There’s a good mix of sportiness and luxury too with things like this available Radar Red interior, massage front seats, dual pane sunroof, 19-speaker McIntosh audio system, and ambient lighting. Plus, scratch-resistant material replaces not-so-durable piano black around the shifter.

Second row seats are heated and ventilated and cargo space behind the second row is 30.6 cubic feet with another 3 cubic feet available in the frunk.

The top-tier Launch Edition starts around $72,000 and is arriving in dealers now.

We’ll have more on the Wagoneer S as Jeep releases more info on lower trims and we’ll have a full review of the Launch Edition coming soon, so keep it locked right here on MotorWeek!