Jeep Renegade Trailhawk 2016 new SUV review
While the bigger Jeeps cruise over obstacles, the Renegade performs beyond what most would expect.
The Renegade is the ‘baby’ of the range. While the bigger Jeeps cruise over obstacles, the Renegade performs beyond what most would expect.
The 2016 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk is a small SUV. Yes, it is a lot closer to the ground at a relatively modest 211mm of ground clearance, but small dimensions and clever engineering have it scurrying around like a terrier.
If you don't look too deep, it is surprising that the Renegade has not done better in the New Zealand market, but the price, at $49,990, explains a lot. Why the steep price tag? The justification is that our Renegades come from an Italian production line, increasing costs by the time they make it to this end of the world.
On the road
That is not the only direct link to Fiat; the Renegade is based on the same platform as the Fiat 500X. The 2.4-litre ‘TigerShark' engine is shared with the Cherokee, and while it is reasonably zesty – at 129kW and 230Nm of torque - it is not the most refined tool in the box. Neither is the nine-speed ZF automatic it paired with.
It does have one trick up its sleeve; it can lock itself in first gear and lock the front and rear axles together, giving an effective 20:1 low ratio gear for off-road crawling.
Being ‘Trail-rated’ by Jeep, which no longer means it can conquer the Rubicon Trail, still should give the Renegade a little off-road cred. As will its Jeep Selec-Terrain system, with provides five modes to set the car’s four-wheel-drive and traction control systems up for a range of conditions - Auto, Snow, Sand, Mud, and Rock.
On the road, it is not at all bad. It’s not sporty and the steering is a bit vague, but it does not feel as top-heavy as it looks on its relatively narrow 17-inch alloy wheels. The 0-100km run takes 8.4 seconds.
The Renegade sadly is not that frugal. Jeep claims combined cycle consumption of 7.5-litres per 100km, but we didn’t see close to that, tracking in the low double-digits, although admittedly that included a small-stretch of fuel-sapping beach driving at Muriwai.
Inside and out
Interior styling is chunky and hardwearing. We like the look of it. Our review vehicle had the optional leather trim with red stitching and red interior highlights. Also on the short options list is ‘My Sky’ removable roof panels, a black painted roof and must-have lane departure warning. There are a few other niceties. The front seats are heated, the steering wheel too.
There is LED ambient interior lighting, along with automatic Bi-Xenon headlamps. The Renegade is impressively spacious for a car of its size, much down to its high-rise glasshouse style. Inside you sit upright and a long way from the similarly raked windscreen. Inside it is funky and a wee bit chunky. Hard-wearing but good quality plastics abound.
FCA’s Uconnect system remains a solid offering in the infotainment area with its 6.5-inch screen and integration with a smaller screen in the dash cluster. In the Renegade we get the full Beats Audio system. It's more boom than fine-tuned, but that kind of suits the nature of the car.
How the trunk is so roomy when there appears to be so little between the end of the rear window and the back of the car is beyond me, although, with a full-size spare wheel in the boot it is a little shallow. The hard numbers: you will get 351-litres in with the seats up, 1297-litres seats down.
Safety is covered well with seven airbags, including one for the driver's knee, blind-spot monitoring, stability control, and a roll-mitigation system.
Overall
We have given the Renegade 3.5 stars but desperately want to give it more. It really is a four-star car hampered by a slightly thirsty engine and a significant price tag. Get over those, and it is a great little lifestyle vehicle — you could fall in love with.
Note: this was reviewed as a new vehicle.
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Peter Louisson 
Kyle Cassidy 