mmarshall

Driving by one of the local Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep dealerships yesterday (a huge place, one of the largest on the East Coast), I noticed that they had a bunch of Renegades in....dozens and dozens of them in two long rows. I had briefly seen the Renegade at the D.C. auto show a couple of months ago....but it was up on the turntable (doors open), and Jeep, of course, wouldn't allow entry. So, I stopped, parked, got out, tried to be inconspicuous enough that I wasn't immediately hit by salespeople (they can smell a prospective customer two miles away, even blindfolded) and found some of the Renegades unlocked, so I decided to do some quick static-reviews and check them out. I know a couple of people currently interested, right now, in a vehicle of this type.

Overall I wasn't terribly impressed. It was a nice, quite-compact size (I'd say borderline sub-compact) for easy parking, with classic shoe-box styling for good interior space-efficiency, and, of course, had the multi-mode AWD/4WD for varying surfaces. But, overall, perhaps reflected somewhat by the relatively low price, it seemed designed and built to a similarly low budget. Jeep and Fiat both had a hand in its design, as it was a joint-venture with the new Fiat 500X AWD, done on the same platform. Like I said, the interior was space-efficient, but generally done with cheap materials. A few ***** and switches had nice chrome-trim and operated smoothly and solidly, but the rest of the switchgear was cheap flat-black plastic. The AWD/4WD selector ***** were way down under the center-dash, almost on the floor. The cupholders were a simiiar long reach down between the two front seats. The fabric front seats were hard, flat and unsupporting, Most of the trim inside was black plastic, with some thin felt-fabric inserts on the door panels. The primary gauge-trim, door-locks/handles, and a few other trim-pieces were done in the same low-gloss, semi-matte painted-silver trim that most automakers gave up several years ago.

The exterior had some interesting paint colors (I often complain about too many overly-dull, funeral-home shades), but generally a cheap look to the paint job itself, and few or no metallics. The exterior trim was mostly black or flat-black, with cheap-looking flat-black rubber strips exposed around the doors and windows where many vehicles usually have nicer trim. The sheet-metal, though, seemed of decent quality, and the doors shut reasonably solidly. I didn't bother to take a test-drive, as, like I said earlier, I wanted to avoid the salespeople, and they would have had to get me the key and a dealer-plate.

So, if cheapness in the trim and fit/finish is not a factor, one likes that size and shoe-box space-efficiency, and one is willing to take somewhat of a chance on Fiat-sourced reliability, then maybe look at one. Otherwise, I'd probably put my money somewhere else.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

Mike, I think a lot of people on Car Chat will agree that the Renegade, at the price point, is going to have cheap materials such as hard plastics and cheesy textiles.

But does the Renegade have a similarly priced competitor that can do the off-road capable hauls that Jeep is known for?

Otherwise, for being a compact crossover of sorts, can this really compare to the urban perennial favorites such as a Forester or XV Crosstrek, or AWD Rav4?

TangoRed

I agree with this post, however the Forester and RAV4 are a class above. The Chevrolet Trax, Honda HR-V, and Kia Soul all play in this zone. The Trax has the worst interior by far.

Perhaps I was already expecting a step down from the Jeep Cherokee in terms of interior materials, but the Renegade was right in line with my expectations. It starts at $18k. As you can imagine this vehicle starts to make less sense when it has every last option, in Trailhawk form, and pushing $32k.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

At least most of the cabin materials are nicer than the Liberty from a few years ago

mmarshall

Yes, that's why I mentioned that it seems to be built to a low development budget. It appears to be aimed primarily at those who want something maybe a step or two above a dune or beach-buggy.

The only Renegade model officially certified for any significant off-road work (and then, it's no Wrangler) is the TrailHawk version, which, price-wise, is one step below the top-line Limited. As far as off-road competitors go in that price range, probably the closest one in the American market would be the absolute, base, entry-level version of the Nissan XTerra, but that will soon be out of production. The XTerra is also somewhat larger and heavier. I assume that you aren't considering base-model Wranglers as competitors, they they are sold by the same company.

I think that all of the vehicles you just mentioned are significantly better-built....but they don't have any Trail-rated versions.

mmarshall

Agreed. I wasn't a fan of the Liberty, either. Crude, uncomfortable, and tipsy-handling on the corners, though not as tipsy as the classic roll-over specials from years ago....Samurai, CJ-5, Bronco, etc......

ashtray

iTrader: (12)

I've been in the market for a ***** Wheeler 2 door wrangler for some time now and I've done 2 test drives and I love the feel of the Wrangler...I saw a few of these on the lot and No Thank You.