Jeep Renegade 75th Anniversary 2016 Review

Jeep Renegade 75th Anniversary
Quick Spin

What’s it all about?
It’s been 75 years since the first Willys hit the dirt, and to celebrate, Jeep has launched a bunch of limited-edition vehicles based on Jeep’s current crop of… ahem… off-roaders.

The ‘ahem’ is, of course, because many models of Jeep are now two-wheel drive – including the vehicle we’re looking at here – the Jeep Renegade 75th Anniversary.

Based on the Renegade Sport it adds bronze 18-inch alloy wheels, roof rails, front fog light and tail light surrounds and 75th Anniversary badging, black cloth seats with mesh seat inserts, and accented stitching on the seats and centre console lid.

The Renegade is based on the Fiat 500 platform so it’s certainly not the biggest SUV on the market. That said it does pack a lot of kit into the small package.

How much does it cost?
The Jeep Renegade 75th Anniversary will set you back $33,500 (plus on-road costs). Despite it being the ‘affordable’ Jeep, there’s not much on the options list – it’s all included.

Those inclusions extend to blind-spot monitoring, reversing camera, dual-zone climate control, rear parking sensors, auto headlights and wipers, electrochromatic rear-view mirror, an excellent six-speaker audio system and roof rails.

The warranty and servicing provisions are acceptable at three years / 100,000km. Service intervals are set at a slightly less customer-friendly six-month / 10,000km interval.

Why should I buy it?
While the Renegade looks like a big, tough SUV, it isn’t. It is very manoeuvrable around town and in reality, that’s exactly where it belongs.

It’s handy to do the shopping, well-kitted for urban use and its diminutive 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine is frugal. Jeep claims fuel economy of 5.9L/100km but our test revealed a real-world economy figure of 7.2L, which is a fair way off the claimed mark.

The 1.4 MultiAir Turbo delivers 103kW and 230Nm. It’s a front-wheel drive running through a six-speed dual-clutch transmission. Delivery is peaky, with little low-down torque, and turbo lag is evident.

On the plus side it’s fairly comfy in either the front or back seat and noise levels are relatively low.

Who will it appeal to?
With its unique looks, which I suppose could be described as ‘metro-macho’, the Renegade has a broad appeal. For those looking for a convenient SUV-style conveyance that won’t break the bank it could be worth a look.

Smaller families with a couple of littlies might be tempted by its ease of entry and exit as well as convenient loading and space in the rear.

The 75th Anniversary model is offered with some unique colours which potential owners may or may not like. Our test vehicle was finished in Jungle Green.

Jeep’s specifications sheet tells us the Renegade is equipped to tow a 1200kg braked trailer so that might come in handy for a small camper or jet ski.

Where does it fit?
As we’ve mentioned, the Renegade is Jeep’s entry model. It’s reasonably frugal to run and will prove to be a roomy yet manoeuvrable vehicle.

It is quirky, and that will certainly appeal to those who don’t want a run-of-the-mill hatch. It certainly has a lot of technology and safety features aboard for the money, and if you did a features-for-price comparison with some of its competitors it would certainly fare well.

So, what do we think?
On the road, the Jeep Renegade is pretty good small SUV in terms of driving and ergonomics. It’s certainly no high-performance machine, but will happily keep with the traffic and respond to overtaking duties when required.

Vision from the driver’s perch is great, thanks to the tallish stature of the Renegade, and that will certainly appeal to some.

It’s a comfortable vehicle to gad about town in – just don’t trust that it’ll do anything like what its ancestors did 75 years ago.

2016 Jeep Renegade 75th Anniversary pricing and specifications:
Price: $33,500 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 103kW/230Nm
Transmission: Six-speed dual-clutch
Fuel: 5.9/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 137g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star (EuroNCAP)

Also consider:
>> Honda HR-V VTi-L (from $33,340 plus ORCs)
>> Mazda CX-3 sTouring (from $33,390 plus ORCs)
>> Suzuki Vitara S turbo (from $22,990 plus ORCs)

Related reading:
2016 Jeep Renegade Review