Jeep Renegade review

Category: Small SUV

Small SUV offers distinctive styling and decent practicality, but most rivals make it feel agricultural

Jeep Renegade front right driving
  • Jeep Renegade front right driving
  • Jeep Renegade rear cornering
  • Jeep Renegade interior dashboard
  • Jeep Renegade interior back seats
  • Jeep Renegade interior infotainment
  • Jeep Renegade right driving
  • Jeep Renegade front cornering
  • Jeep Renegade rear driving
  • Jeep Renegade rear badge
  • Jeep Renegade headlight detail
  • Jeep Renegade interior steering wheel
  • Jeep Renegade rear lights detail
  • Jeep Renegade interior front seats
  • Jeep Renegade interior detail
  • Jeep Renegade boot open
  • Jeep Renegade front right driving
  • Jeep Renegade rear cornering
  • Jeep Renegade interior dashboard
  • Jeep Renegade interior back seats
  • Jeep Renegade interior infotainment
  • Jeep Renegade right driving
  • Jeep Renegade front cornering
  • Jeep Renegade rear driving
  • Jeep Renegade rear badge
  • Jeep Renegade headlight detail
  • Jeep Renegade interior steering wheel
  • Jeep Renegade rear lights detail
  • Jeep Renegade interior front seats
  • Jeep Renegade interior detail
  • Jeep Renegade boot open
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Introduction

What Car? says...

The Jeep Renegade is a first foray into the small SUV market by the legendary US brand that invented the sport utility vehicle.

Under the skin, the Renegade is closely related to the Fiat 500X – in fact the two cars are built at the same factory at Melfi in southern Italy because of Jeep and Fiat's shared ownership. You'd probably never guess that from looking at them, though, because the Renegade has more ground clearance, Jeep's trademark grille and chunky off-road looks.

Those rugged looks should help it stand out in the small SUV class – as does the retro-looking Mini Countryman in its own way. However, the market is a hotly contested and diverse one that covers all bases.

You want the economical one? Try the Toyota Yaris Cross. Need something roomy with impressive seating flexibility? Look at a VW T-Cross. Want something fun to drive? How about our reigning Small SUV of the Year, the Ford Puma.

This Jeep Renegade review will tell you everything you need to know about what this small SUV is like behind the wheel (on and off the road), plus which trim and engine options make the most sense.

When you're ready to buy a car of any make and model, it's quick and easy to check out the discounts available with our free What Car? New Car Buying section.

Overview

The Jeep Renegade has distinctive styling and is fairly practical, but it feels quite agricultural compared with rival small SUVs.

  • Plenty of standard equipment
  • Trailhawk has genuine off-road ability
  • Holds its value better than many rivals
  • Unsettled ride
  • Awful refinement
  • Comparatively expensive
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Target Price from £30,500
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Nearly new deals
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Performance & drive

What it’s like to drive, and how quiet it is

On paper, the Jeep Renegade’s turbocharged 118bhp 1.0 petrol engine makes a lot of sense, because it seems to promise decent low-down grunt with respectable fuel economy.

In practice, though, it just doesn’t have enough power to shove it along with the sort of conviction you’ll find in the 1.0 TSI 110 Seat Arona. You never feel as though you're making quick progress, even if you rev the engine towards the red line, and 0-62mph takes 11.2sec.

The more powerful 148bhp 1.3 – which you'd expect to solve the lack of grunt – is let down by a surprisingly slow dual-clutch automatic gearbox that's so jerky that we cannot recommend it. This engine is due to be replaced soon with a mild-hybrid 1.5-litre petrol and a new dual-clutch automatic, so we’ll update this section when we’ve tried it. 

One version that promises low running costs is the 4xe plug-in hybrid (PHEV). It uses the same 1.3-litre petrol engine as the regular Renegade but gains a 59bhp electric motor that drives the rear axle to make it four-wheel drive. Between the two is an 11.4kWh battery that provides enough power for an official electric-only range of 26 miles.

Jeep Renegade image
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There's a choice of two combined power outputs for the PHEV, depending on the trim level: Longitude and Limited models have 187bhp while the more off-road-focused Trailhawk has 237bhp.

In electric vehicle mode, the Trailhawk model we tested had enough zip for journeys in town. If you drive with a light right foot and plenty of patience, it will get up to motorway speeds on volts alone. When you wake the engine up in this particular Renegade, you’ll find it has a surprising turn of speed.

You won't want to be going fast if the road is a winding one, though. The Renegade leans over far more than the Ford Puma in corners and the steering is very light and imprecise, which can make you doubt whether you've turned the wheel enough to get you round a bend. 

The ride comfort is no better than the handling. You can feel every crease in the road surface, and the suspension doesn’t cushion you from the effects of speed bumps, potholes or expansion joints like the Skoda Kamiq so deftly does. At motorway speeds, there is ever-present wind noise from the upright front window and large door mirrors, and the engine booms at a cruise. 

Woe betide anyone who asks for more power in the Renegade – especially one with an automatic gearbox. They all dither about what gear to be in, and the 1.3 engines are very coarse when revved, making a sound a bit like a cat that's had its tail trodden on.

Jeep Renegade rear cornering

Interior

The interior layout, fit and finish

Most people should be able to find a decent driving position in the front of the Jeep Renegade, although they might not want to spend too much time there because the seats are not particularly well padded or supportive.

The driver sits high up so they get a good view over the bonnet but the view out of the back is limited because of the wide pillars. The only way to get around that is to add a reversing camera, which is available as part of the Parking Pack provided you go for the Limited trim or above.

All versions come with an 8.4in infotainment touchscreen, which is responsive to inputs and has a handy row of shortcut buttons to get you directly to the menu you want. It also comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring, so you can use your phone apps on the screen.

The Renegade's interior quality is several rungs below what you'll find in the Mini Countryman, let alone the far less expensive Skoda Kamiq. The chunky dials, passenger grab handle and coloured highlights around the air vents, gearlever and speaker in Trailhawk models look good, but don't distract you from the masses of hard scratchy plastic on the dashboard and door cards.

Jeep Renegade interior dashboard

Passenger & boot space

How it copes with people and clutter

Six-footers will be well sorted for head, shoulder and leg room in the front of the Jeep Renegade, but limited rear leg room means adults might struggle for comfort on the narrow rear bench, which is better suited to two people than three (the Mini Countryman and Skoda Kamiq are roomier). 

As with most small SUVs, it has a 60/40 split rear seat fitted as standard. A more flexible 40/20/40 arrangement is available with the Function Pack II on Limited or Trailhawk models.

The Function Pack II – called Function Pack I on Longitude models – adds height adjustment to the boot floor, although if you add the optional full-size spare wheel, it eats into the cargo-carrying capacity, so it won't make much difference.

Even without a spare and with the boot floor in its lowest position, storage isn't a patch on the Ford Puma or Seat Arona. The Renegade’s rear does at least have a uniform shape with good access.

Jeep Renegade interior back seats

Buying & owning

Everyday costs, plus how reliable and safe it is

The Jeep Renegade holds its value better than many rivals but also costs more to buy in the first place, and its service intervals are quite short (every 12 months or 9000 miles).

Fuel economy and emissions are merely average compared with many small SUV rivals, and the Trailhawk version of the plug-in hybrid has a higher benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax rate than most PHEVs. Even in its best 190 form, the 4xe is well beaten by the Renault Captur for electric-only range and CO2.

More positively, even the most basic model, Longitude, has cruise control, sat-nav and rear parking sensors. We wouldn't selecting a higher trim level than that because it will make the Renegade expensive, although adding one of the function packs is a good idea so you get an adjustable boot floor.

You get lots of safety aids as standard, including lane-departure warning and automatic emergency braking (AEB). However, when it was retested in 2019, the Renegade didn’t have this across the range, and Euro NCAP capped its score to just three stars out of five.

Every Renegade comes with a three-year unlimited mileage warranty, while the PHEV has an eight-year or 100,000-mile policy for the battery pack.

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Jeep Renegade interior infotainment
At a glance
New car deals
Target Price from £30,500
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Nearly new deals
From £20,990
RRP price range £30,500 - £39,000
Number of trims (see all)4
Number of engines (see all)2
Available fuel types (which is best for you?)petrol parallel phev, petrol
MPG range across all versions 148.7 - 51.4
Available doors options 5
Warranty 3 years / 60000 miles
Company car tax at 20% (min/max) £987 / £1,899
Company car tax at 40% (min/max) £1,973 / £3,798
Available colours