The Jeep Renegade is the company’s smallest SUV and made its local debut with the Multiair turbo engine and manual gearbox. The iconic nameplate launched in South Africa with front-wheel drive but 4×4 versions and more powerful engines will follow. We have the pricing and information from that test.
What is it?
Designed in America, built in Italy the Jeep Renegade is a cauldron of flavours and influences in the fashionable, but not necessarily off-road compatible, compact SUV segment. It is the company’s first truncated SUV, straddling B-segment size with C-segment price and equipment. Throw in a pinch of premium brand appeal and that core ‘adventure and passion’ that has been a trademark of all Jeep products and you come away with an eclectic result. That newfound style should open the brand up to a diverse demographic and if the Cherokee was the first step to broaden the brand, the Jeep Renegade is about to radically change perceptions. It’s not short of competitors; Nissan Qashqai, Ford Kuga, Kia Soul, Mini Countryman…all new foes to the Jeep brand.
What’s it like?
A miniaturised Hummer or an overgrown Suzuki Jimny. Actually to be technical, similar to the Fiat 500L which is part of the family and therefore the two overlap in a few places. Standing apart from the crowd in a range of bright colours the overall design is rugged and simplistic. Distinctive Jeep cues like the grille and trapezoidal arches stand proud, the windscreen is heavily raked and short overhangs have one believing it would fare well off road. A bit more ride height would have been welcome – sub 200mm is not usual for Jeep – but the exterior proportions are very effective for urban assault.
The 1.4 Multiair is a previous Engine of the Year winner and in any application it excels, here in its warm-ish state of 103kW and 230Nm. It may finally bring calm to Jeep’s catastrophic fuel consumption – we averaged 8l/100km – and with the six-speed manual gearbox the Jeep Renegade was brisk with a rorty soundtrack to go with it. A 1.6-litre normally aspirated engine will power base models while a diesel model and 9-speed gearbox will follow in the Trailhawk. Here’s a car that makes you feel rather cheeky in city traffic, dare we say almost invincible.
Similarities in drive between it and the Fiat 500L were kept to a minimum, the Renegade having the nicer variable steering and possessing some of the smoothest characteristics over gravel road we’ve ever encountered. Noise insulation, when looking at its bluff shape, is excellent.
All test models were Limited specification which is actually Jeep’s way of saying well appointed. A base Longitude version will arrive along with the Trailhawk sometime in September. The Limited version earns you leather seats (a bit firm and narrow by Jeep’s standards), the bigger touchscreen and nicer alloys, amongst some other small additions. The lane departure system does more than just send pings into the cabin or rattle the wheel – it applies corrective action providing a few precious seconds to regain control. All considered it has been a long time since we drove a Jeep without heated seats, power tailgate or keyless entry. Attention to detail is relatively high with quirky illustrations scattered throughout the cabin. Fiat’s input in dash design and tactile feel is immediately noticeable.
Should I buy one?
A premium badge deserves premium pricing… well that’s what Jeep will be counting on. At R375 900 the Jeep Renegade Limited is about R50 000 more than other SUVs which will accomplish much of the same and without AWD, a lot of Jeep’s ingrained USP has been chipped away. A charming and endearing car that turns heads and drives neatly but at the price you’re still stuck with the less popular manual shifter and a mechanical foundation that has been around the block more than a few times. But if the heart decides, it won’t care about any of that.
