The 2015 Jeep Renegade Sport 4X4 provides classic Jeep styling with rugged off-road capability. As I drove my Colorado Red Renegade Sport 4X4 to the beach for an October weekend away with my daughter, the X-Ambassadors’ recent hit “Renegade” (made famous in part by Jeep’s awesome marketing department) kept running through my head. I had a red Jeep Wrangler in college that got me more than a few first dates (girls love Jeeps!) as well as through many a Michigan winter. I was more than a little excited to check out Jeep’s latest offering. I was half hoping for some snow or some muddy off-road terrain to really test out this Renegade!
All Renegades 4X4’s come equipped with the Selec-Terrain™ System with the Renegade Sport 4X4 having four modes, auto, snow, sand and mud and with the Renegade TrailHawk 4X4 getting a fifth mode — rock. The Renegade Sport is nimble and fun to drive equipped with a 1.4-Liter I4 MultiAir® Turbo Engine delivering 160 horsepower and 184 lb-ft torque matted with a 6-speed manual transmission. If you need a little more power, for an additional $1,200, you can opt for the 2.4L motor which increases the horsepower to 184 (but lowering the torque to 171 lb-ft). The Sport comes equipped with 215/65R/16 all season tires – not oversized but large enough to get down that trail or through the snow without any difficulty – sized just right for this vehicle. You can go with the included 16 inch steel rims or dress it up with 16 inch Aluminum rims for an additional $595.
The suspension is stiff enough to remind you that you could take this Renegade off road if you wanted to, but not so stiff as to make it uncomfortable on the highway. While driving my Renegade from Northern Virginia to Ocean City, Maryland for the weekend, I found it quite comfortable for highway cruising. And the 31 mpg highway fuel economy was pretty kind to my wallet. Its an eye-catching Jeep. I had a few people at the beach stop and take a look at it. “Is that the new Jeep Renegade?” they asked me. “Pretty cool!!!”.
The interior is all Jeep. No-nonsense and rugged looking, but containing all of the features and comforts you expect in a sub-$20,000 vehicle. For an even more classic Jeep feel you can add the My Sky™ Fixed/Removable roof panels. For an additional $1,095 Jeep adds two massive roof panels that can be manually removed and stowed in the included MySky™ panel bag in the rear cargo area. Mine didn ‘t have this option but I would have loved it at the beach for that open air feel without having the loud soft top of a true convertible.
The Renegade Sport 4X4 is a lot of Jeep with a lot of off-road capability for a starting base price under $20,000. If you are in the small SUV market and have visions of doing some light off-roading, the Renegade Sport 4X4 is a must drive.
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