Got to see a Renegade tonight

Mtny · Feb 27, 2015

I went to a car show tonight and took some pictures of the Jeep display and I know some people are up in arms for all sorts of reasons about the Renegade, but I thought I'd share my short experience with it. Unfortunately my phone was dying and people were starting to crawl all over it so I tried to be quick about it. They brought in a black 2.4L Limited model with white leather and orange and brown accenting, an interesting color combination to say the least. I found it to be very comfortable up front (I'm 6 ft tall, 160lbs) though some larger folks might find it a little cramped. It has a small and fairly vertical windshield that's pretty similar to our Pats except the Renegade's has a slight curve to it as well. I was pretty happy to see the topo map of Moab behind the shifter and I also found another one in the bottom of the center console storage bin. Both front doors also have a small fixed triangular window at the A pillar.

Leg room in the back was OK with the seat all the way back, the Jeep guy disconnected the battery so I could not adjust it or play with any of the gadgets, but there was about a mile of room between my head and the ceiling. I didn't get a chance to check out the rear cargo space because people were getting in and out and since the battery was disconnected, I couldn't open the rear hatch.

The main thing I didn't like about the interior was a black box mounted on the windshield behind the rearview mirror. I talked to the sales rep and he said it contains sensors that can auto dim your highbeams to lowbeams and automatically dim the rearview mirror when it detects headlights behind you. I think he also said it houses the rain sensors to turn on your wipers automatically too. Not the greatest execution of sensors IMO.

The overall size of it was close to what I was expecting it to be, maybe a little bigger, but it's definitely smaller than the Patriot inside and out. I tried to use my girlfriend as a scale reference for the size comparison pictures lol, she is about 5 ft 3 in. She also works at the Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep dealer and says they should be available for sale by the end of March. I'm going back to the car show tomorrow night so if anyone wants pictures of anything on the Renegade or any of the Jeeps, I can try to get them.

The Patriot they brought was a High Altitude model I think, it had the gray wheels, black leather, 4x4, and UConnect.

On to the pics...

And this is that weird box with the sensors I mentioned above..

Girlfriend for scale..

...and the lonely Patriot, shoved in the corner with a Compass hiding behind a Grand Cherokee

O'DubhGhaill · Mar 4, 2015

The similarities are indeed there, and one reason why I went with the MK, amongst other reasons, for now, for now...

RossoRacer · Mar 4, 2015

Cherokar took on the Rubicon? Srsly? That somehow doesn't sound right. And with the renegade, seems almost all they did was try to make it look more like a Jeep while keeping all the way-too-high-tech crap they're passing off in the Cherokar.

Tyler-98-W68 · Mar 4, 2015

This is just 1 in a series of 10 I think

Also

RossoRacer · Mar 4, 2015

Maybe a few Easter eggs in the Cherokar, but the renegade has the jerry can taillights, Wrangler-ed windshield(Cherokar doesn't show a Wrangler in the bottom right corner like Wrangler does), and a few extras that make it seem to actually be a Jeep. And yes, I know the Patriot isn't actually an XJ. I was having fun referencing how the Patriot is more or less a modern version of the XJ.

crashback · Mar 4, 2015

I like how the vents on the sensor housing look like a Jeep grille and headlights haha.

miketmx · Mar 4, 2015

I've said this before I have owned 4 XJ Cherokees but none had limited slip differential and all would spin wheels without getting traction. I remember needing a push to get out of an ice and snow covered field that our Patriot with BLD's would have easily taken.

Tyler-98-W68 · Mar 4, 2015

Here's my theory on what makes a jeep a jeep, capability. Regardless of what it looks like, any jeep model with 4x4 has had an effort made from a design standpoint to excel at least slightly offroad, and that is compared to anything with awd or similar vehicles.

Subaru vehicles come close to the offroad capability of some of the MK models, but not a single crv, tuscon, or whatever vehicle isn't going to go very far offroad compared to a JEEP.

A renegade TH is designed to some some offroading, so its a jeep
a Cherokee KL is incredibly capable in stock form its a jeep.
MK's are made to go offroad especially in FDII trim, its a jeep
Grand Cherokee's are amazing offroad, they are a jeep
Obviously Wranglers are a jeep

So for me, looks aside Jeep is trying to bring vehicles to the market for people in all aspects of life, and every model does have some capability that other vehicles on the market don't.

rcguymike · Mar 4, 2015

Tyler-98-W68 said:
So for me, looks aside Jeep is trying to bring vehicles to the market for people in all aspects of life, and every model does have some capability that other vehicles on the market don't.

Yup, they'd go out of business if they didn't...but watch Rosso say it's ruining the brand...I'm at least be thankful they still have the Wrangler and now maybe some extra cash to put into making it even better(8 speed is coming!).

PTAaron · Mar 5, 2015

Reading through this it is funny to see comments that the "look" makes it a "Jeep" - by that definition the Grand Cherokee hasn't been a Jeep for the last 10 years, but we can all agree that it definitely is a Jeep. Remove all the markings and you'd be hard pressed to pick it out of a lineup of other SUVs - case and point there is one I see regularly at the corner store that has been debadged, had chrome accents added and new wheels - I had no idea what it was until I saw the grille. The current Compass also doesn't look like a "Jeep" - but that is certainly a Jeep as well.

I'm in the camp that if it says "Jeep" on it, it is a Jeep. Whether I would buy it is a completely different story - but I base that on how I feel about the style and also about how it fills the need I have for a vehicle. The Renegade could be the most capable Jeep to ever come out - but I just don't like how it looks, and it is too small to be useful for what I need it for.

RossoRacer · Mar 5, 2015

The WJ might not be the most boxy, but it does have a distinct style and is one of my favorites among the 1995-2005 Jeep lineup. Heck, I was even disappointed when the WK first came out, but that's grown on me. As for the KL, there's a Trailhawk in my local dealer's showroom. I was in there getting my little steering issue looked at, and happened to get a dead front view of the KL Trailhawk. With the higher fascia and red hooks it does look kinda "mean", but is still missing some Jeep-ish design cues that even the Renegade almost has, and kinda disappeared in 2014 concepts.

dixiedawg · Mar 5, 2015

The only thing I would like for the MKs, and any other vehicle they make with BLDs, would be an off switch for those. Sometimes they are great to have, sometimes not so much.

Tyler-98-W68 · Mar 5, 2015

The MK is the only vehicle that has a problem with them. All other jeeps with a proper low range t case don't have the bogging issue we do.

rcguymike · Mar 5, 2015

Yeah, give us a 2 speed PTU and a v6 and I bet our MPGs would far surpass the KL and Renegade

Wooden Dog · Mar 6, 2015

"If only the Ford Escape was reliable... Well-finished and nimble, we enjoy driving the Escape, especially in top Titanium trim with the optional 2.0-liter EcoBoost turbo four-cylinder. Thus equipped, the Escape ranks only second to the official Top Pick Subaru Forester. But below average reliability costs the Escape our nod. Competition trails far behind the Escape. Despite being all-new for 2014, the Jeep Cherokee proved disappointing in our tests, and it is the least reliable small SUV you can buy."

https://autos.yahoo.com/news/10-best-american-cars-buy-143000019.html

Of course, the old XJ was often called "unreliable" but I mine was incredibly trouble-free.

Ignatz · Mar 7, 2015

Wooden Dog said:
"Despite being all-new for 2014, the Jeep Cherokee proved disappointing in our tests, and it is the least reliable small SUV you can buy."

They're speaking of a 2014 vehicle and calling it the "least reliable"? How can a vehicle less than a year old be anything less than reliable? How many vehicles a year old fail to start or function safely, of any make or model, foreign or domestic? Is the Cherokee less reliable than a Trabant, Vega, or Yugo? Even those ran for the first year!

DJMurphy · Mar 7, 2015

Wanted to see one in person, none in stock at any dealer in town. I had priced one out online, a Trailhawk that was almost $41K out the door CDN (31K+3K options+13% sales tax)so I wanted to see what I'm getting for that.

Salesman I talked to had no delivery estimate, and only offered me 6K as a trade on my Patriot which is less than half of what it's probably worth if I sell it myself.

miketmx · Mar 7, 2015

On the Jeep Canada build website a Renegade Trailhawk plus options is almost as much as the KL Cherokee Trailhawk.

http://www.jeep.ca/en/2015/renegade...rands_48547_ValueMessage&utm_source=MXM&utm_medium=email&utm_content=EN_Trigger

Wooden Dog · Mar 7, 2015

I don't guess it matters how new something is, if it experiences lots of problems that get reported or get the vehicle taken in to fix....

Got to see a Renegade tonight

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