Her + His Car Reviews
2016 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk 4x4
There are two sides to everything, right? To keep our car reviews innovative and interesting, we provide an animated, insightful, detailed and sometimes uncouth two points of view on the same car from - Her + His perspectives.
Her: Anne Fleming, Car Buying Advocate, women-drivers.com
His: Don Hammonds, Writer, AutomobileJournal.com
| HER | HIS |
|---|---|
| Price | |
| $30,075 | $26,495 base; $31,175 price with options |
| Performance | |
| Jeep has certainly created an interesting category here for the new Renegade, which comes in either a Trailhawk or Latitude model. The Trailhawk, 4 x 4 is uniquely amped with a 2.4 Liter, 9 speed automatic transmission engine that produces 180 horsepower. Handling is responsive and good on road and off. | These are solid, well built products, but Jeep does a fantastic job making them even more fun because they have such different personalities and that comes through clearly. The Trailhawk clearly is designed to hit the road when you want to go off road. And the Trailhawk is a plenty comfortable place to be in on the open road. There's a bit more tossing around behind the wheel when you hit potholes and have to through mud, gravel and such, but it's all good. You are comfortably seated inside on luxurious leather seating being entertained by Jeep's fabulous UConnect 6.5 (optional equipment) navigation, climate and entertainment system. |
| Fuel Economy | |
| 21 city, 29 highway, and 24 miles per gallon overall. Not a grabber in its class. | With the 2.4 liter engine, gas mileage is 21/29/24 combined |
| The Car | |
| So, why do I say a new category? You look at this Jeep and for a momentary lapse you might think its going up against the Kia Soul, which is much more moderately priced. But, the Renegade, with its performance and off-road capabilies, falls squarely into the subcompact SUV category challenging the Mini's and Nissan Juke's of the world. No one saw the Renegade coming - and its appeal to millennials, and especially women! Well done. Now, for the real off-roaders reading this, it's the Renegade's Select-Terrain that provides versatility in off road conditions-like shifting from gravel, to mud, snow, or rock. Even sand, naturally. The Active Drive Low provides lower speeds to negotiate in rougher terrain. The cabin of the Renegade has a contemporary, "Jeep" feel. Seats 5 comfortably. In the upgrade you get heated front, bucket seats and heated steering wheel, drivers seat with lumbar, windshield wiper de-icer, 60-40 seats with rear seat pass-through for longer packing items. Let's talk about the "strikes against" the Renegade. We wish that the Renegade had more standard features and higher reliability scores. While opening up at $26.5, future buyers quickly realize they will be paying for most of the tech features, cos they are 'upgrades.' And, there is a concern about reliability. Meaning, these owners may be less willing to buy into the natural progression of Jeep's products due to costs associated with ownership of the renegade. Just be mindful. |
These Renegades are both terrific products, but you will need to decide precisely what you wish to do with yours. If you mainly run errands around town, love to have fun behind the wheel and look cool doing it, and you want the added safety of all-wheel Drive, try the Latitude. But if you are even slightly interested in off-roading, you will want the Trailhawk, which is considered to be one of the best compact off-road performers around. I applaud FCA for bringing to market such a unique product as the Renegade to market. It has its own flavor, style and theme which brings some of the Jeep traditions with it, but still carves its own niche. Of course, it is also great that it is in a price segment that many would-be Jeep enthusiasts can afford. Jeeps can get a little pricey, so this new one is quite welcome. |
| Safety | |
| TAirbags o'plenty with front, side and rear, including supplemental front sear mounted ones, Four Wheel Drive, Electronic Stability Control, Traction Control, Capless Fuel Access, Hill Start Assist, Tire Pressure Monitoring. Rain Sensitive Wipers, and more. | Standard features include pretty much the same as you get in just about any car these days, but Lexus adds the Lexus Enform Safety Connect, which includes automatic collision notification, stolen vehicle location and emergency assist button and enhanced roadside assistance with one year trial subscription included, Lexus Enform Remote that includes one year trial subscription. Safety features that are standard include: automatic collision notification system, stolen vehicle location, emergency assist button for SOS; enhanced roadside assistance; Lexus Enform Remote, ten airbags of various kinds and locations, along with Push-Button Start/Stop. |
| Technology | |
| Push button start, very-fun Removable Roof Panels, Rearview Camera, Rear parking Sensors, USB Port, Bluetooth, Power windows and locks, an aux input and a USB port, Dual zone climate control for personalized temperature management, kick 9 Beats audio system and 6 speakers, Lane Departure Warning, Blind spot monitoring, Forward Collision Warning, Rear Cross Traffic Alert. FCA's Uconnect infotainment system with a 6.5? touch screen for GPS Navigation, Sirius Radio with Travel and Traffic 5 year subscriptions, HD Radio. Use with Integrated Voice Command. |
Standard equipment includes a rear backup camera, electronic roll mitigation, Select-Terrain system, all speed traction control, speed control, capless fuel fill, daytime running lamp system, hill start assist, a tire pressure monitoring display, Uconnect 5.0, an Integrated Voice Command system with Bluetooth, six speaker, XM satellite radio with a subscription for one year, air conditioning, silver shift knob, leather wrapped steering wheel, media hub, ambient LED interior lighting, rear 60/40 folding seat, front seat back map pocket, sun visors with illuminated vanity mirror, height adjustable rear cargo floor, power windows, black side roof rails, aluminum wheels, tire service kit, automatic headlamps, cornering fog lamps, and power heated mirrors. |
| Aesthetics & Styling | |
| Jeep is a very popular brand, with such appeal to women and families. The company certainly gives younger consumers the opportunity to purchase or lease one NOW - that doesn't look like their parents Jeep, nor like every other subcompact SUV on the road. That's the beauty here - a win-win. Cute - Funky - Universal - Performance-based. And Off-Road... all in one. |
Cool, cool, cool! One of the neatest looking products on the road. It is unmistakably a Jeep, with many of the Jeep trademark styling clues. But it is also done in a very contemporary way - the profile and the colors reflect that. The interior is one of the most unique ones around, and there is a very clever mix of Jeep branding, theme, colors and materials used in the Renegade. |
| Warranty | |
| 3 years/36,000 miles Basic, 5 years/60,000 miles Powertrain. | Three years or 36,000 miles for basic warranty, 5 years or 60,000 miles for powertrain. |
