Jeep Renegade 4xe (2021) review Car News

The remarkable growth of the Jeep brand’s European activity since its integration with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, now itself a subsidiary of Stellantis, has been fueled by several models but none more than the one we are revisiting this week: the smallest Jeep. and the cheapest but one of the most important, and now also one of the most technically daring.

The Italian-built, Fiat-platform Renegade was unveiled in 2014 and, in its second full calendar year of sales (2016), made Jeep the 100,000-a-year player in the European automotive market that ‘he had never dreamed of becoming before. The manna didn’t stop there. The company crossed the 150,000-unit threshold in 2018, with 45% of its Continental sales volume coming from you know where. Now the car is bringing Jeep into the electrified era.

Hitting UK roads late last year, the Renegade 4xe became Jeep’s first plug-in hybrid and it will be the first of several PHEV models intended to reduce CO2 emissions from its lab tests. exhibition fleet.

He won’t be a small player adopted by a few, but avoided by those who want a “good Jeep” either. It is expected to make up a significant portion of the car’s sales mix, and in one key respect – by dint of being one of only three four-wheel-drive options – it could be considered the l one of the rare Jeeps in the Renegade range. .

Technical specifications

Tested model: Renegade 4xe Trailhawk

Price: £ 36,500

Tested price: £ 38,450

Engine: 4 cyls, 1332cc, turbocharged, gasoline plus AC synchronous motor

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Driveline layout: front engine, all-wheel drive

Model tested

Renegade 4xe Trailhawk

See all specs and rivals

Engine

4 cyls, 1332cc, turbocharged, gasoline plus AC synchronous motor

Transmission

6-speed automatic

Drive train arrangement

Front engine, all-wheel drive

Fuel economy

122.8 to 128.4 mpg

Fuel economy

122.8 to 128.4 mpg

The Renegade range at a glance

Substantial changes have taken place in the Renegade mid-life lineup. There is now only one diesel engine on offer, and it is the only Renegade with mechanical four-wheel drive. Otherwise, the only way to get two axles powered is to go for a PHEV. The electrified versions are delivered with or without turbo for the 1.3 liter petrol engine. Trim levels range from longitude to Limited and Trailhawk models. Other trim levels are offered in non-hybrid cars.