What Did We Leave on the Table? - 2015 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,316
edited September 2016 in Jeep
imageWhat Did We Leave on the Table? - 2015 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk Long-Term Road Test

The three empty tabs on the steering wheel of our 2015 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk suggest we cheaped out, but the Renegade actually just doesn't offer those options.

Read the full story here


Comments

  • gslippygslippy Member Posts: 514
    I know it's Edmunds' policy to configure cars loaded with most of the available options, but sometimes I think that does readers a disservice. In this case, more is not better. The drivetrain of the Renegade Sport (1.4T/6M) - while not the most popular - is actually the better one in terms of driveability.
    What your test has demonstrated is that the mainstream Renegade is an expensive gas hog that's terrible to drive, which was confirmed during my own brief test drive of one.
    To be fair, I don't recall any of the add-on options hurting the impressions of the Renegade, other than making the picture worse by driving up the price. Some of the shortcomings of the Renegade could be forgiven if it was $23k, but none of them are acceptable in a $30k CUV.
  • daryleasondaryleason Member Posts: 501
    "What did y'all leave on the table?" I almost decided to make a snarky joke at the Renegades expense. But then I got to thinking about it. It seems more like FCA left a lot on the table when they came out with this little Cute-Ute. I know it's gone over it's miles, but it seems like there were a lot of issues (both resolved & continuing) with this Renegade. First, there was the weird noise in the drive-line. Then there was the issue with the tires (which could be attributed to the car accident, but who knows). The Transmission has been complained about. The engine is sort of lauded in one area, denigrated in another. I'm curious if this will end up being a vehicle that Edmunds would recommend to people. It seems like a decent looking poser Jeep for the Starbucks runs, but not a "real" Jeep to me. Of course, the only Jeeps I do/have ever liked were the Wranglers (2 door only - Purist here), Comanche pickups, Cherokee (XJ only), & CJ Series.
  • misterfusionmisterfusion Member Posts: 471
    gslippy said:

    Some of the shortcomings of the Renegade could be forgiven if it was $23k, but none of them are acceptable in a $30k CUV.

    Exactly this. Normally I'm all for the idea of optioning up a cheaper car, as opposed to getting a stripped version of an ostensibly "nicer" car for a similar price. But there are exceptions, and Renegade may be one of them. Buy a stock Sport, or even the lowest-configured trim with the 2.4/9-spd combo, and I think you've got a "cute & fun" ride for not too much money (if that's what you're looking for). Wait for the 2017's to arrive, and you'll get more standard features as well.
  • prndlolprndlol Member Posts: 140
    They're actually unmarked Ctrl-Alt-Del keys for locking and restarts.
Sign In or Register to comment.