Detroit to L.A. — Day 2 - 2015 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk Long-Term Road Test


How does a 2015 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk handle the mountains of Colorado? Let's just say manual mode is a lifesaver here.
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How does a 2015 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk handle the mountains of Colorado? Let's just say manual mode is a lifesaver here.
Comments
The car also had the loudest power door locks I've heard, its like the actuators were full on hammering the doors to lock.
I really don't understand why it is so hard to get the programming right. Italy has mountains and hills. The transmission is computer controlled, in theory it could have an infinite number of programs or even give the owner the option to map his own preferred program.
I am not a fan of CVT's, but at some point you just have to stop adding gears and go to the infinite gearing of the CVT and it seems to me that Chrysler has reached that point with this transmission.
Added to that, 2.4 liters is a fairly large swept volume to fill with mixture at that high an engine speed, and with the throttle that far open, it's running in a somewhat enriched mode. And it's apparent that even on the flat, with it staying in ninth gear, that throttle is pretty far open to get the mpg it's getting. Again - the larger, heavier Cherokee, with the same transmission but the 3.2L Pentastar V6, was doing 28-30 mpg in this same kind of driving.
And you can say, well, ninth gear is just too long, and that's why there's hunting on upgrades, but he says that 80 mph was 3k rpm in top gear...that's like 26.6 mph/1000 rpm, or just over 2250 rpm at 60 mph. That's NOT really long gearing by any stretch.
With highway mpg in the low 20s, this thing actually should be a barnstormer.
The Tigershark 2.4 is a TURD that is keeping the Renegade from being a compelling small CUV.
Exactly the same experience when my wife and I drove one. Its just a mess....you need to rev it to merge but you never want to again if it means you have to listen to the Tigershark moan and buzz.. Our PT Turbo is a gas hog but at least it can scoot when needs be. I dont mind slow if the car is quiet and gets good MPGs but slow, gutless AND crappy MPGs is not a good combo.