Renegade

[frankg813]

I'm a new member of this forum. I'm also a new iTunes subscriber. I was really excited about the new Renegade, but listening to the podcast, I could help but to detect some negative vibes. First and foremost I don't consider myself one of those hardcore jeep enthusiasts like what I'm hearing on the podcast. I want something small, good looking with off road capabilities that I will occasionally want to use. I plan long drives to visit my daughter in Austin Texas, so it has to run good on the freeway. What is so wrong with the Renegade for users like myself? Is it because it's not like those jeeps that you want to heavily customize - like I hear on your podcast? Is it because it's loaded with electronics that improve the driving experience for those of us who are NOT hardcore? From the reviews that I've read, it seems to handle off roading pretty good. How can anyone tell how bad/good the Renegade is before it's been officially released? Please enlighten me.

Thanks,

Love the podcast

Frank

[prerunner1982]

I like the look of the renegade more than the cherokee.....

Part of it is that Jeep is trying to enter too many markets rather than concentrating on the market it is best known for and where it's heritage is. Granted they are just trying to make money, but it kind of waters down the Jeep name...

The other part is the fact they are using name plates that are notorious for Jeeps we all love on vehicles that do not represent the vehicles the names previous belonged to. Granted the Cherokee (XJ) was for all intensive purposes meant to be a grocery getter and it too got flack from the Jeep purist when it was "born", but the Renegade was a package on the CJ7... that included V8, lower gears, and trac-lok. Unfortunately it was also used as a package on the Liberty.

Call them anything else... call it a Fiat... but they are using the historic Jeep name to try and sell a cute-ute, that most Jeep loyal don't find all that appealing.

My step mother may be getting one in the near future so I will have some time to check it out for myself.

You are still welcome here. Don't take the good natured ribbing personally... it's not you...it's us... err the vehicle. :D

[xj-jake]

Hello Frank and welcome to XjTalk.

You have some good points and I hope you understand that we as XJ owners like to poke fun at some of the new vehicles that Jeep is producing. It's not the vehicle itself that we are poking fun at, just the fact that the heritage behind the nameplate that is being used. You should have been around when the new Cherokee was introduced!

That being said, I work for a Jeep dealership and sell these vehicles on a daily basis. The Cherokee, as ugly as it is in my opinion, is really an excellent vehicle in both driving and in interior comforts. The fuel mileage is excellent and it is a very safe vehicle.

I'm actually very excited for the Renegade to come to the dealership. I believe it will fill a niche in the market and gives consumers an option for a 4 wheel drive vehicle without having to spend a ton of money. On top of that it's pretty dang cool looking and has a bunch of luxury interior stuff that will compete well with the other vehicles in the segment that do not have 4x4.

Hang with us. A lot of things are said tongue in cheek. We really are a nice bunch of guys that just love our XJ Cherokees and like to poke some fun at the new Jeep offerings.

Welcome to the forum.

[abebehrmann]

I think it's mostly playful jabbing at a vehicle that isn't like the Jeeps of the past, with the different looks, fully independent suspension, small size et al.

What a lot of us don't consider is the CAFE regulations that are set to hit all automakers. I'm hoping Jeep sells a ton of these less Jeep-like vehicles to boost the CAFE ratings so they can continue to make one model, the Wrangler, with solid axles front and rear. We shall see though.

[4.3LXJ]

Actually I kind of like the concept of the Renegade. But I am with others on the name, just call it something else. I was around when the Renegade was made and owned an earlier CJ5 at the time. And believe me, this little thing is not that vehicle or anything close. Now if they took a Rubicon and called it a Renegade, that would be much better and keeping with the Jeep tradition. I think another area that Chrysler deserves some fun being poked at them is the off road capability department. These things can go off road, but even with the Trail Hawk package, it is laughable really. These things flex as much as the the home made go carts I made as a kid. Yes they got a Cherokee up the Rubicon, but it was with a 22 man crew over several days. Well, I could go on about that, but I won't. There is another area that Jeep has departed from on these rigs, customization. You cannot really modify them. It is nearly impossible to modify them. You get what you get and that is all you get

[Mudderoy]

I'm a new member of this forum. I'm also a new iTunes subscriber. I was really excited about the new Renegade, but listening to the podcast, I could help but to detect some negative vibes. First and foremost I don't consider myself one of those hardcore jeep enthusiasts like what I'm hearing on the podcast. I want something small, good looking with off road capabilities that I will occasionally want to use. I plan long drives to visit my daughter in Austin Texas, so it has to run good on the freeway. What is so wrong with the Renegade for users like myself? Is it because it's not like those jeeps that you want to heavily customize - like I hear on your podcast? Is it because it's loaded with electronics that improve the driving experience for those of us who are NOT hardcore? From the reviews that I've read, it seems to handle off roading pretty good. How can anyone tell how bad/good the Renegade is before it's been officially released? Please enlighten me.

Thanks,

Love the podcast

Frank

Thanks for taking the time to post Frank and listen to the podcast.

Honestly much of the "Jeep" bashing is just fun. You may have heard both Josh and I say that we are obviously wrong as the public is really eating up these new Jeeps, including the Cherokee.

There is nothing wrong with you liking the Jeeps, that's your choice. I personally think they're fine, but I don't think they should be called Jeeps. My Cherokee is just a station wagon but it was designed in a way that other people came up with ways to lift it, augment it to make it a more capable off road rig.

I seldom go off road, I use it mostly for street and highway, but I have the ability to go off road.

My fear for the Jeep brand is they are becoming a car company. Something you can find anywhere. How many truly off road vehicles are still being made?

Jeep has been a trail blazer (pardon the pun) and now they are just following the rest of the crowd, and to add insult to injury they are trying to make the public believe they are still making off road vehicles.

The Renegade, 2014/2015 Cherokee are NOT off road vehicles. Hard core or not I would at least like the opportunity to go hard core if I wanted to in the future if I wanted to. My only choice is to buy a used not in production Jeep, or buy a JK Wrangler. One true off road vehicle from the brand named Jeep?!?!?!

[Mudderoy]

Hello Frank and welcome to XjTalk.

You have some good points and I hope you understand that we as XJ owners like to poke fun at some of the new vehicles that Jeep is producing. It's not the vehicle itself that we are poking fun at, just the fact that the heritage behind the nameplate that is being used. You should have been around when the new Cherokee was introduced!

That being said, I work for a Jeep dealership and sell these vehicles on a daily basis. The Cherokee, as ugly as it is in my opinion, is really an excellent vehicle in both driving and in interior comforts. The fuel mileage is excellent and it is a very safe vehicle.

I'm actually very excited for the Renegade to come to the dealership. I believe it will fill a niche in the market and gives consumers an option for a 4 wheel drive vehicle without having to spend a ton of money. On top of that it's pretty dang cool looking and has a bunch of luxury interior stuff that will compete well with the other vehicles in the segment that do not have 4x4.

Hang with us. A lot of things are said tongue in cheek. We really are a nice bunch of guys that just love our XJ Cherokees and like to poke some fun at the new Jeep offerings.

Welcome to the forum.

Change the name plate from Jeep to FIAT and remove the 7 slot grill please. :D

[abebehrmann]

Just remember this 2wd convertible was one of the first civilian Jeeps ever made. :smiley-taunt002::rolleye0012:

[Mudderoy]

I'll also add my huge personal disappointment when I heard about the NEW Cherokee, then saw it. Keep in mind Dodge and Chevy had done the same thing recently...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Dodge-Charger-1969-Front.jpg http://static.cargurus.com/images/site/2010/02/22/09/00/2008_dodge_charger_r_t-pic-6026858323125854842.jpeg

http://onebigphoto.com/uploads/2011/10/beautiful-camaro.jpg http://www.spectacularvehicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Chevrolet-Camaro-10.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Jeep_Cherokee_front_20070928.jpg [img]http://pictures.dealer.com/c/contemporarychryslerdodgecllc/0547/40967f9852e130c712c24de4e8dfcdb6x.jpg

[frankg813]

Thanks for all the feedback. It seems clear to me that my suspicions were right. Hardcore jeep lovers just love their off roading machines...they also love to tinker and customize them. More power to them. To be completely honest I'm not sure if I will ever be at that stage, but who knows later???

As for now I've been searching for a new car buy that satisfies the following;

- Small SUV - I want something compact and fuel efficient, but most of the small SUV's out on the market all look the same. At one point I was considering the AWD Mini Cooper Countryman, but decided against it because of all the bad quality related rumors that I heard.
- It's gotta have character - The look of the renegade is different - either hate it or love it, but it's very different than the typical SUV (RAV4, Escape, CRV, etc.)...another reason why I considered the Countryman -- by the way I heard that it did well at Dakar.
- Used primarily for in town drives and car trips - It's gotta be comfortable and smooth to drive. I get the hard suspension and knobby tires (pardon the term - I'm also a mountain biker), but this is really noisy and uncomfortable on day long trips on the freeway.
- Be able to do some off roading - Since I've never done it, I don't envision myself pushing the limits the way I hear you guys are doing it, but still would enjoy being able to haul my bike to remote camping sites to do some mountain biking, hiking, or fly fish.
- Since I commute on a daily basis on my bike, it's gotta be wife friendly, so it's got to have the tech conveniences that all the new SUV's have or else this won't make the wife happy, since she'll be driving it.
- Last but certainly not least, price is one of my pain points.

The way I see it, if I get to the point where I really want to take it to the next level, off-roading wise, then I can at least know what I want out of a JEEP after driving the Renegade.

Frank

[abebehrmann]

Sounds like a plan to me! And if you ever get bitten by the off-roading bug, XJs are getting cheaper and cheaper everyday and modify that while keeping your DD Renegade stock.

[TallGuyJeep]

If price was not an issue i would recommend a porche cayenne turbo. I've driven one on numerous occasions, and they are AWESOME! You get the room of an SUV but drives and handles like a sports car (i have also driven a 911). The newer turbo does 0-60 in like 4.2 seconds... Too bad it costs over 100 grand though.... :(

[xj-jake]

Frank

If you have any questions about the new Renegade feel free to contact me. I'll try to help you the best I can.

[Mudderoy]

I'd like to have something sporty but Murphy's law clearly dictates I'll be sitting at the edge of some impassible situation thinking "Why didn't I drive my built Jeep today?!?!?!" with the other hundreds of people that are thinking "When will the government come help me? Oh whoa is me!"

[TallGuyJeep]

True. I will admit there have been a couple of times where i have put two tires up on the curb/sidewalk to go around the traffic and get into the turn lane. Wouldn't be able to do that in a car. The Renegade could handle it though. I heard it is fun ti drive too!

[XJ Wheeler]

If I was in the market for a awd car I personally would stay away from jeep. Not just for the aforementioned dislike but also because they haven't been doing it long. While jeep has only been making cars for less than ten years others have far more experience in it. Take Subaru, they were/are one of the leaders in awd car manufacturing. Over the many years they have making them I assume they got it down by now. Also, I would second guess buying the first year of a new vehicle. The first year is usually the time they are working out the bugs. Take the new cherokee. Its first year was FILLED with transmission trouble and some random engine failures.

[4.3LXJ]

Frank, thee is lots of vehicles nowadays that could fit your bill. Now you wouldn't believe where I had my Subaru Outback today. Long story, but I did stop when body damage was eminent. In the off road department, the Renegade might have made it farther, but not likely without the Trail Hawk package. The reason I bring this up is this little turbo under the hood that makes this car lots of fun to drive. It has 265 hp and can be taken to 320 hp for a C note. Quite fast really, and there are sporty versions of the same car that have an STI emblem on them. Just food for thought