Tested: Jeep Renegade 1.6 Limited

In the case of Land Rover that’s still the case, possibly because all JLR’s designers are working on a replacement for the late lamented Defender, but arch rival Jeep has finally joined the party.

The new Renegade shares quite a bit of DNA with the Fiat 500X, and it’s built on the same line in Italy, but it looks like a Jeep and, in a market where image counts for a lot, that’s important.

There’s more to the Renegade than its rough ‘n’ tumble looks, though. Jeep bosses reckon it’s the first sub-compact SUV with real off-road potential and you can have a four-wheel drive system should you so desire - an unusual feature in a sector where front-wheel drive is pretty much standard.

ON THE ROAD: The exterior styling is unmistakably Jeep - with the traditional seven bar grille, the chunky profile and squared off wheel arches. It couldn’t be any other way: the Renegade is sold in 100 markets worldwide and it has to be instantly recognisable at a glance.

Jeep’s efforts to mimic its best-seller, the Grand Cherokee, means the Renegade looks more like a ‘proper’ SUV than the current class leader, Nissan’s funky little Juke.

Then there’s the fun stuff.

You’ll find nods to the Renegade’s heritage, like the grille logo in the headlamps, the ‘X’ shape tail lights which mimic the original Willys Jeep’s fuel can, ‘No step’ warnings on the plastic sill covers, a fake spider behind the fuel flap (although the ‘Ciao baby’ message does rather give the Renegade’s Italian roots away) and another gas can in the brake lights, all over the vehicle.

None of these Easter eggs serve a practical purpose, other than to remind you that the Renegade has a backstory you won’t find in a Juke or a Renault Captur, but my kids had fun finding them.

Despite its diminutive size Jeep says the Renegade has achieved its famous ‘Trail Rated’ status which means there’s more to the vehicle’s off-roader status than its looks.

The short wheelbase gives it an advantage over the larger Cherokee off-road and the four-wheel drive system (where fitted) switches seamlessly between two and four-wheel drive. If you’re determined to go rock crawling then the Trailhawk models are optimised for maximum off-road fun with extra clearance and taller suspension. The Trailhawk is the only Renegade to use the 170bhp version of Fiat’s 2.0-litre multijet diesel and it comes with mud ‘n’ snow tyres, skid plates and a beefed up transmission. The ‘Rock Mode’ setting is a special off-road setting and not a nod to its butch status.

Jeep opted not to send a Trailhawk for testing, so I stayed clear of rock beds and ploughed a happy furrow on tarmac instead.

The 1.6-litre Multijet may lack its big brother’s oomph (it’s 50 dobbins shy of the Trailhawk) but the Renegade never felt outgunned and small capacity engines are common in this class and 320Nm of torque makes it agreeably flexible, particularly around town.

The Renegade is built on Fiat’s new small-wide 4x4 architecture which has an upperbody engineered as a single unit for maximum stiffness. An aluminium bonnet, front cross beam and rear crash box help reduce weight while hot stamped steel enhances forward visibility by allowing thinner pillars.

Purists might scoff at the car-style suspension but most Renegades will spend their time on the road where the improved body control and damper are well worth having. The little Jeep feels safe and secure at all times and passengers had no complaints about the ride quality.

ON THE INSIDE: Jeep has gone to town inside adding more little touches that serve as reminders that you’ve bought a car with real pedigree.

There’s a little Willys Jeep decal climbing up the front windscreen, a bigfoot on the back window, mud splats on the rev counter (where you’d expect to see a red line) and the familiar Jeep grille design is pressed into various bits of plastic on the fascia and centre stack. The touch-screen’s plastic surround has ‘since 1941’ embossed in the top - another reference to the original Willys Jeep. On some models the loose change cubby at the base of the stack has a insert that’s a trail map of Moab, in Utah, America’s best-loved off-road playground. It’s all stuff ‘n’ nonsense but I couldn’t help smiling every time I found one. This is a small car with a big heart.

The chunky steering wheel features controls for the audio and, on the Limited model sent for evaluation, cruise control. There’s a button to make it heat up in cold weather - a handy addition if you live in the frozen north.

HOW PRACTICAL IS IT?

The Renegade is based on the 500X, one of the roomier small soft-roaders, which means its interior makes better use of the available space than its bigger brethren in the Jeep range. There’s decent room in the front and the rear is okay for a couple of average-sized adults. The rear seats split fold 60/40 (Trailhawk models can be specified with a three-way 40/20/40 split and a ski flap for long, thin loads).

To maximise possible carrying space, the front passenger seat folds forwards.

The boot can accommodate 351 litres of load space with the rear seats in place. The boot is wide and deep. With the seats folded flat there's 1297 litres of load space.

WHAT DO YOU GET?

Every model has air-conditioning with Limited and above adding dual-zone climate control. The Renegade has Jeep's Uconnect system which provides an interface between vehicle occupants and communication, entertainment and navigation touch screen and even voice control. Uconnect comes in two versions, each with its own size of screen: Uconnect 5.0 with a 5-inch screen is in Sport and Longitude models while Uconnect 6.5AN with a 6.5-inch screen comes with Limited and Trailhawk models. There’s also a USB and auxiliary inputs for music lovers with older kit. Jeep has done a deal with Apple to use Beats speakers in the Renegade and the music system certainly has a full-bodied sound.

The Uconnect 5.0 system enables handsfree calls from Bluetooth phones. Compatible smartphones can send from a list of 18 pre-defined text messages. The system also announces the receipt of a message, identifies the sender and ‘reads' the message aloud. Music can be streamed wirelessly while the AM/FM DAB radio can be controlled by voice commands. The bigger screen does all this and throws in satellite navigation.

Naturally there’s the full range of safety equipment but I couldn’t get on with the lane departure warning which seemed to want to wrestle the steering everytime I crossed a white line. The first couple of times it happened I wondered if I had a flat tyre, it felt so strange. Thankfully there’s a switch on the dashboard to turn it off.

RUNNING COSTS: The 1.6 Multijet engine returns nearly 65mpg on the official combined cycle - think high 40s in the real world - and its 115g/km of CO2 means no road tax bills for you my friend.

VERDICT:

If you want a small off-roader, but don’t like the funky looks of some cars in this class, then Jeep has the ideal vehicle for you.

SPEC: Engine: 1.6-litre turbodiesel Power: 120bhp Torque: 320Nm Top speed: 111mph 0-62mph: 10.2 seconds CO2: 120g/km Fuel consumption: 61.4mpg (official combined figure).

Price: £23,995