Some brands have more credibility than others when it comes to SUVs, and one of the most credible of all is Jeep, which has been building variations on the off-road vehicle theme longer than anyone. The Jeep Renegade, launched in 2014, isn’t much like a wartime Willys Jeep, but it’s more rugged than most without sacrificing too much ability on the road.
One thing it offers in spades is a sense of fun, backed up by an authenticity missing from almost all of its rivals. Four-wheel drive models in particular are genuinely capable in the rough stuff, while the latest hybrid and plug-in hybrid engines keep fuel and tax bills low too.
The small SUV market is choc-full of competition these days, with most, like the popular Nissan Juke, Renault Captur, Peugeot 2008, Vauxhall Mokka and others, biased more towards road driving than unpaved surfaces. For most people, they’ll make more sense - but we can fully understand the appeal of the Renegade.
First introduced in 2014, the Jeep Renegade sits towards the bottom of the Jeep range, below the Compass and Grand Cherokee, but from 2023, just above the diminutive, European Car of the Year-winning Avenger. It has effectively served as the brand’s competitor to less rufty-tufty crossover competition such as the Nissan Juke, but the most recent update in 2022 has given it some eco credibility too, with the whole range now hybrid powered - either with a plug, or without.
The Renegade certainly has style on its side. The upright, chunky styling won’t be for everyone, but when most competitors go for the same vaguely amorphous shape, the Renegade stands out, helped by bright colour options, boxy wheel arches, and the traditional seven-bar Jeep grille design and round headlights. The cross motif in the tail lights is a nice touch too, referencing the jerry cans you’d see hanging off vintage Jeeps.
The boxy design also means interior headroom is plentiful and there’s plenty of space for passengers up front too, though things are a little more squeezed in the back - the tradeoff being a pretty useful 351-litre boot. The interior design isn’t quite as geometric as the exterior, but it still has a chunky look and feel, and if the plastics seem a little cheap, they should at least be long-lasting. The infotainment system isn’t bad to use, either.
In terms of driver appeal, the Renegade drives much like it looks. Several rivals are more sophisticated on the road, the Renegade’s ride being a little bouncy on occasion, and the body leaning over in corners more than a more low-slung car. It’s also a little noisier at speed than some alternatives - that boxy body isn’t the most aerodynamic.
Jeep has at least moved with the times with its powerplants though. 1-litre and 1.3-litre turbo petrol engines were offered for a time, as well as a 2-litre diesel, but the Renegade range is now all-hybrid, with a 1.5-litre mild hybrid model and then a smaller-engined, but more powerful, 1.3-litre plug-in hybrid in two power outputs. The plug-ins are all-wheel drive, too (the Trailhawk model being the best suited to off-roading), and quite brisk, to go along with their ability to drive around on electric power alone.
The Renegade isn’t short of rivals. You’ll find everything from the strong-selling Nissan Juke and the larger Nissan Qashqai, to the MINI Countryman, Renault Captur, Ford Puma, and Hyundai Kona in the same price range. The Jeep will take you further off road, and certainly project the image that it can, but most of its more conventional rivals offer better on-road manners.
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Of the earlier Renegade models, we’d recommend keeping an eye out for the 1-litre variants. It doesn’t sound like much of an engine to move an SUV around but it’s actually quite punchy for family duties, and the manual transmission is slick - later Renegades are auto-only. Since the range went hybrid, the 1.3-litre plug-in model is the pick of the range. Not only is it efficient - if you plug it in to maximise the time it can spend running in EV mode - but the combined efforts of turbocharged petrol power and an electric motor make it brisk too, whichever power output you choose.
Limited and Upland specifications offer the best balance of equipment and affordability. The Trailhawk is naturally well set up for gentle off-road use from new, but as a used purchase you’ll be relying on the last owner putting proper mud and snow tyres onto it to maintain its off-road ability.
Jeep Renegade 1.5 e-Hybrid: A mild-hybrid, front-wheel drive model opens the Renegade range. It uses a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine for a 130PS output through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox, and can run for a short time on electric power alone. 0-62mph comes up in 9.7 seconds, with 49.6mpg economy.
Jeep Renegade 1.3 PHEV 190HP: The first of Jeep’s two plug-in hybrid Renegades uses a 1.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine and a rear-mounted electric motor to produce a combined 190PS, and a brisk 0-62mph time of 7.5 seconds, through a standard six-speed automatic gearbox. Jeep claims economy of up to 134.5mpg.
Jeep Renegade 1.3 PHEV 240HP: Using a similar drivetrain to the other 1.3 PHEV, the range-topping option produces 240PS, bringing its 0-62mph sprint down to 7.1 seconds. It barely loses anything in terms of economy, with a claimed 128.4mpg combined.
There shouldn’t be much confusion with the Jeep Renegade trim levels, with just three grades in the current range, from an entry-level Limited to the off-road biased Trailhawk. Jeep has been generous with equipment in all three trim lines, with most features included right from the start. The Upland and Trailhawk receive a cut-away front bumper design better suited to off-roading, but only the Trailhawk gets tyres to match - and if you’re buying used, make sure the Trailhawk you’re viewing is still equipped with suitable tyres.
The Jeep Renegade Limited kicks off the range with a healthy equipment tally, including 17-inch alloy wheels, roof bars, fog lights, an 8.4-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and dual-zone automatic air conditioning.
The Jeep Renegade Upland gains a diamond-cut finish for its own 17-inch alloys, as well as replacing the headlights and foglights for LED items, and the front bumper for a more off-road suitable one with a steeper approach angle. There’s also privacy glass, and cloth and vinyl seat trim with bronze stitching.
The Jeep Renegade Trailhawk is the off-road focused model of the range, and its 17-inch alloy wheels come with mud and snow-rated off-road tyres as standard. There’s a special Trailhawk decal on the bonnet, while inside the fabric seat trim and the steering wheel feature red stitching, with red detailing for the air vents and door speakers too.
The Jeep Renegade’s dimensions are:
Length: 4230mm
Width: 1810mm (without mirrors)
Height: 1690mm
Ground clearance: 175mm
The Jeep Renegade’s boot space is:
351 litres
1297 litres with the rear seats folded
First-year VED or ‘road tax’ is dictated by the Renegade’s CO2 output, which means the current plug-in hybrid models cost nothing to tax in their first year, all sneaking below the 50g/km CO2 limit for alternative-fuel vehicles that ensures a zero-rate figure. At 128g/km, the 1.5 e-Hybrid will cost £200 in its first year. From the second year onwards, both e-Hybrid and PHEV will be £170 per year, while regular petrol or diesel models post-2017 come in at £180 per year.
Renegade insurance starts from group 13 for a 1.5 e-Hybrid in Limited specification, and rises to group 25 for a range-topping Trailhawk with the 240PS 1.3 PHEV drivetrain. The upper of these two models is more than you’d expect for most similarly-sized crossovers, but then the PHEV is more powerful than most too. The 1.5 e-Hybrid though is on-par with models like the Nissan Juke, which starts in group 12.