2015 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk Long-Term Road Test - Introduction

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,305
edited August 2015 in Jeep
image2015 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk Long-Term Road Test - Introduction

Edmunds introduces a 2015 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk into its long-term test program.

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  • zoomzoomnzoomzoomn Member Posts: 143
    Interesting little vehicle, but I get that fuel mileage out of my 2014 Dodge Durango. And that's a seven passenger SUV with a peppy little V6. Just saying.
  • s197gts197gt Member Posts: 486
    edited August 2015
    nice choice. i'm curious to hear your (collective) impressions on the engine. i expect it will be fine for around town and mild off-roading but i suspect it will be on the highway where you will be wishing for more powah...
  • kirkhilles1kirkhilles1 Member Posts: 863
    Huh, okay. Pretty ugly thing, though.
  • hank39hank39 Tallahassee, FLMember Posts: 144
    Could they not have designed the rear cup holders better for the rear seats? When the seats are folded down, all sorts of dirt and and crud could get in the cup holders. Other companies' cars (Mazda3 HB) integrate them into the seats and are hidden from the cargo area when the seats are flat.
  • stuntman_mikestuntman_mike Member Posts: 57
    You dodged a bullet on your Cherokee, considering all of the problems that the ZF nine-speed transmission has been having. Now you're going into the lions' den again with this Renegade. I'll be curious to see if your good fortune continues, or if subsequent posts will be detailing firmware updates and TCM / transmission replacements.
  • misterfusionmisterfusion Member Posts: 471
    edited August 2015
    It's more likely that Edmunds' experience with the Cherokee was the common one, since only a miniscule percentage of transmissions have had actual hardware problems. Part of the problem has been software (since refined), and part of it I believe is a case of "That's just how this weird-[non-permissible content removed] transmission operates".

    In general however, I do think ZF has come up with a needlessly complicated solution to something that was not really a problem in the first place. Why couldn't they have just made a variation of their more conventional (and smooth, and reliable) 8-speed for FWD/AWD applications?
  • gprit15gprit15 Member Posts: 2
    Really like the Renegade...looking forward to your collective take on it!
  • gslippygslippy Member Posts: 514
    I test-drove an early Renegade back in March, and came away very disappointed. The transmission shifts were abrupt and unevenly spaced, and the 2.4 engine was rough and loud. The FWD car exhibited torque steer (!), something I haven't seen in years. The ride was rough, and my tall sons found the back seats to be tighter than the numbers would indicate.

    Fit and finish were uneven. The vehicle was red, but one frame rail near the engine was pink - as though the paint barely covered the primer. The headlight switch was loose in the dashboard.

    Some of these were possibly startup problems, but some were clearly design issues.

    I really wanted to love the Renegade, but I can't just yet. I'm looking forward to your long-term test with great interest.
  • bassracerxbassracerx Member Posts: 188
    zoomzoomn said:

    Interesting little vehicle, but I get that fuel mileage out of my 2014 Dodge Durango. And that's a seven passenger SUV with a peppy little V6. Just saying.

    it only has 1,000 miles on it a lot of new cars guzzle gas until the 1st or 2nd oil change
  • bassracerxbassracerx Member Posts: 188
    for 30 grand wouldn't you be better off with a subaru forester XT if you wanted compact +offroad? Also the Mitsubishi outlander with 4wd could probably go anywhere this renagade could. I would like to see an offroad test to prove me wrong.
  • ctpaulctpaul Member Posts: 46
    get the Fiat too to see how their version compares
  • bankerdannybankerdanny Member Posts: 1,021
    bassracerx said:

    for 30 grand wouldn't you be better off with a subaru forester XT if you wanted compact +offroad? Also the Mitsubishi outlander with 4wd could probably go anywhere this renagade could. I would like to see an offroad test to prove me wrong.

    The Forester is a different class of vehicle. An XT with similar equipment will sticker for at least $3k more and is a much larger vehicle. And while quite capable for light off roading, the Forester really won't be able to match the 2 range transfer case equipped Renegade when the trail gets tough.
  • brohio216brohio216 Member Posts: 2
    so glad you guys picked one up for a LT test. This is the exact Renegade I have been considering, so hopefully the team can provide better insight into day-to-day ownership.
  • zoomzoomnzoomzoomn Member Posts: 143
    bassracerx said:

    zoomzoomn said:

    Interesting little vehicle, but I get that fuel mileage out of my 2014 Dodge Durango. And that's a seven passenger SUV with a peppy little V6. Just saying.

    it only has 1,000 miles on it a lot of new cars guzzle gas until the 1st or 2nd oil change
    It isn't gonna change that much. My neighbor's brother has the new Cherokee with the same 2.4L powertrain and that's his biggest complaint in that the gas mileage sucks for such a small SUVand has never hit the EPA MPG estimate.
  • nagantnagant Member Posts: 176
    The problem with any American FCA product is the NVH nightmare Tigershark engines. Sergio takes the cash from Jeep and Ram sales and uses it to keep Fiat from going under in Europe and leaves MOPAR with no competitive 4cyl engines. The 1.4 was a reliability disaster. Where is a decent 4cyl turbo? Like them or not, they are the future. Its ok for Toyota and Honda to be so late in the game when they have such excellent and smooth NA engines but FCA should have forgotten the Hellcat and spend the money on an engines that is sorely needed; a smooth and modern 4cyl.
  • nagantnagant Member Posts: 176
    My wifes parents 14 Escape 1.6EB 4WD gets about 18 in town and over 26 on the hwy and is so much smoother and quieter than any Tigershark, along with so much more TQ at much lower RPMs. In a modern engine the "break in" period just does not mean much anymore. The MPGs will go up a tiny bit but new engines dont "guzzle" gas, period.
  • satish5satish5 Member Posts: 2
    I Like Jeep Renegade . but i want to know what' up mileage and features.
  • prndlolprndlol Member Posts: 140
    I like this l'il trucklet. It has a few too many smug Easter eggs from what I've read, but I like it.
  • any1thereany1there Member Posts: 21
    edited September 2015
    'Looks like I'm a little late to these comments, but thought I'd mention I just went to the Edmunds build-and-buy section, and found that most of the options and packages for the Lattitude are available only with the widely-derided 2.4 liter/9-spd automatic power train. While I find the Trailhawk model desirable, as well, it's limited to this one, ill-refined engine/trans combination (while Jeep should - at the least - offer the choice of the 6-speed manual transmission, across-the-board, and especially for the Trailhawk). I feel the heart of this relatively-heavy vehicle deserves better than a tiny, boosted 1.4 or rough-running and inconsistent-shifting 2.4/auto.
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