In everything that I've read, they say that the 2016 Jeep Renegade is a top pick for a compact SUV. As many who have read my review/blogs know, I am a Jeep fan! I lean more towards the Gr. Cherokee and Wrangler line up, however, I am still impressed with the room, ride, fuel economy, and especially the 4 wheel drive systems of the Patriot, Compass, Cherokee, and Liberty. I didn't have the chance to drive Jeeps Renegade, until now. We recently picked up a 2016 Jeep Renegade Latitude 4x4 for our lot in Baraboo. Now, we've had a couple Renegades over the years, but they were sold before I was able to take one home for the night. I like to take vehicles home to familiarize myself with them, make sure everything is in good working order, and no surprises arise when I am with a guest, and so I can write these blogs informing you of my experiences. So when this 2016 Jeep Renegade Latitude 4x4 landed, I made sure to be the one to give it it's test drive after going through our shop.
I have to say at first glance, it does have the Jeep look, a boxier body with stylish body lines and of course the seven slot front grill. It looked like it was going to be a little more on the smaller side, which in a vehicle is not really my liking. I have to say however, I may be a little judgmental of this vehicle, because it's my least favorite look of all the Jeep line. However, with that being said, everyone I knew whom I came across while driving it, loved the look and style, especially my kids.
As I got into the Renegade, I was impressed with the interior color combinations and look. This Renegade has a light gray insert surrounded by a grayish brown with orange highlights around speakers and other components which tied everything together great. Jeep (along with the rest of the C/J/R/D brands) has stood by their soft touch interior that was introduced in 2011 and perfected it. I was especially surprised by the amount of room that was not only in the driver compartment, but throughout the vehicle.
As always, I started to adjust certain features to my driving habits like reaching down to on my left side and adjusting the power driver seat, moving my left arm up onto the door and finding the power side mirrors button located right above the power windows and locks for the vehicle on the drivers door. After I adjusted everything to my liking, I started to familiarize myself with the rest of the vehicle. The steering wheel has your U-Connect hands free controls and controls to navigate through displays on your dash on the left hand side, and cruise control on the right hand side. The Renegade has the push button start feature, so I press down the brake and pushed the button to start. From there I looked over at the display screen for the radio and other features, and clicked the "accept button" so I could tune the radio to 96.3 FM for the ride home.
As I started on my way home, I came across some pluses, and minuses to this Renegade. With gas being $4.67 a gallon right now, I was looking forward to the 24 City/31 Hwy E.P.A estimated fuel economy. This Jeep Renegade is powered by a 2.4L 180hp motor, (which by the way is the bigger of the two offered) and is paired with a 9 speed automatic transmission. With that being said, I am a little spoiled by the mid sized vehicles with a 6 or 8 cylinder powering them, so yes the fuel economy was great, but the power and performance were a little less than I am use to. The in town driving was fine, getting up to speed to merge onto the highway was still better than the performance of most 4 cylinder vehicles I have driven, but it wasn't the quick response I'm used to. Once up to speed the Renegade traveled down the interstate perfect, and the ride was pleasant and comfortable. Once the cruise was set I couldn't tell the difference between this or the vehicles I'm used to driving even while maneuvering between traffic. I did like the line of vision that this renegade has, with all the windows and the height, it was easy to see and I felt like I had a ton of room in the vehicle.
When I arrived at home, my kids came out to check out the "Cool Jeep", and I started going over some of the other features it has, like the drop down 60/40 split rear seats, Alloy Wheels, and played around with the very easy to use remote start. After driving the Renegade, my mind was changed as if I would drive one, rent one, or possibly own one down the road. It ay not have had the get up and go that I'm used to, there was definitely a lot of other great features and options that made up for it.
Del--Oliver Motors
