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Should I buy a Renegade?

12K views 15 replies 9 participants last post by  sciond 
#1 ·
My husband and I are looking into buying a 2016 or 2017 Jeep Renegade 2.4l automatic (we can't drive manual) to replace the 2011 Kia Soul we've been driving the past year. There's nothing wrong with our car, other than the fact that we don't technically own it or are making direct payments for it, as it's still his dads car who we just give money to for him to make the payment each month in his name. We want a new car so we can actually have it work towards our credit. We pay for the insurance and $300 a month for the car, and pay for any repairs needed, like recently paying $500 for all new tires and replacing a rim last month. We're tired of not actually owning the car we take responsibility for.

That being said, we love our Soul. It has just enough space for us, good mileage and good reliability. The reasons we aren't going with another Soul is because 1. We've never been a fan of how it looks 2. It sits lower than we like, and 3. We want to go with a bolder color. So basically, all aesthetic. We want a car with similar features as the Soul and from what we've researched the Renegade looks like a good match.

I have some questions and concerns about it though and would like to hear from people that have experience with it.

First question, how reliable has your Renegade been? Have you had to pay out for lots of repairs already while you've had it?

How does it handle? As far as steering, breaking, and acceleration go. I've heard a mixture of things but nothing from actual consumers.

Is the engine too loud? Our Soul is pretty quiet, but not silent. I've heard from people that it's pretty noisy, but I've also heard that when you're in the Renegade it's not that loud, as compared to the sound outside. I would be fine if it is this way, as long as it's not ridiculously loud inside the car. I've read that the 1.4 is a lot quieter than the 2.4, but since we won't have the option of the 1.4, I'm concerned about the noise level.

Lastly, how safe do you feel driving your Renegade? We're about to have a newborn in July and I don't want a car where I feel I have to be over cautious with everything. Always felt that way in my old buick, but not with our Soul.

Thanks for your feedback in advance x
 
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#2 ·
First off - I absolutely love my Jeep. I drive the 1.4L, so I can't answer most of your questions, but I would be remiss in not following up on something....

I have a 4 year old and a 6 year old. Having gone through the "younger years", I cannot stress how much stuff you will have in the car, between car seats, strollers, etc. My Rene is my "go to work" car and serves me well, but the truck/hatch is awfully small. My wife drives a Forester, which has considerably more space, but still barely fits the double stroller, etc. Since you are having your first child soon, I strongly encourage you to consider something with more space. Could you figure out a way to make the Renegade work .... possibly. But I would not recommend trying.

If you don't have all of the "stuff" that comes with a newborn, I'd suggest you borrow a stroller, car seat, etc., and take it to dealerships to see how easy/difficult it is to get these things in and out of the cars you are considering. Depending on where you live, maybe you can hit the Detroit/Chicago/LA auto shows and do it all in one visit.

Here is a good review from a "family" perspective:

 
#3 ·
You can do most of the research on all you items here in this forum. There are those who have and terrible problems with the Renegade, mostly 1st year buyers (2015). With any new vehicle there is always a chance that it might be a lemon. Do your research, test drive multiple times. Understand what it is and what it is not. Look the vehicle over and have dealer correct any mechanical or cosmetic items before you sign the contract. It has a quirky transmission, it not fast off the line and it is not as capable as a Wrangler. If you can live with those things then you will be happy. Love mine but time will tell with long term reliability.
 
#5 ·
I have a trouble-free 2015 TH. I'm not going to answer your specific questions, but I'll give you sooner advice and a recommendation. It's been a long time since I've had to haul around kids, but my children have 15 month old twins and I can tell you that there isn't enough room in the Renegade for all the great they have to carry. With one baby, you should be able to squeeze what you need to carry to go a couple of hours for a day trip, but unless you get a roof top carrier I really don't think you'll be able to carry what you'll need to spend a night or weekend. It sounds like you're thinking the Jeep will be your primary or only vehicle. If that's the case, my grandfatherly advice is to look for something with more carrying capacity. The three of you will be much more comfortable.
 
#6 ·
Thanks for your responses. Our problem is that we hate large SUVs and vans. Hate the style (too "mom"-ish lol) and hate how they drive. We're definitely more for the smaller vehicles and wanted something that still had some style. We had basically agreed that the Soul was about as big as we want to go. I know with having a new baby, storage will be important. Does anyone have any recommendations of smaller vehicles with adequate storage space? I've been looking around but can't seem to find anything that catches my eye as much as the Renegade does.
 
#7 ·
@;

I have a early 2015 (March) 1.6CRD Limited here in the Uk that is coming up to 20 000 miles and have loved every bit of the 6000 miles I have put on the clock in the last 7 or so months of ownership - my Jeep was an ex rental so it was 13 months old when I got it and had done close on 14 000 miles and you know the type of abuse a rental can have in a short space of time.

Before getting my Renegade I had looked at a Mini Countryman and even the Clubman ( new shape) and found that value for money the Renegade won hands down. Slightly better spec ( heated seats and wheel ) for a lot less money than the Mini

The mini is about the one only other vehicle I can think of that comes in your requirement besides the Kia - Do you get the Skoda Yeti where you are - thats very much a Kia Soul size and quite good too. The other is the 500X (Fiat ) that the renegade shares parts and underpinnings.

I love the ride in my Renegade the 1.6 has enough get up and go for me and I have no real need for 4 wheel drive

Best thing I can say is take one for a drive - I did and was sold on it within 5 mins of being behind the wheel. An hour or so later I was signing the paperwork.

Good luck with the little one and happy motoring in what ever you choice - but you cant go too wrong in a Jeep :-D
 
#9 ·
Congratulations on the newborn. I have an early 2015 Trailhawk (built January 2015) and it has been flawless. I only have 11,500 miles on it since I have three vehicles to use. I like how it drives. It certainly isn't a powerhouse, but it can get out of its own way.
I'm a conservative driver and get reasonable fuel mileage (22-25 city and 28-32 highway). If you're hard on the gas, the number may be lower than you expect (as it would be on any car).
The engine isn't Honda quiet, but the sound isn't intrusive as far as I'm concerned. The 9-speed works well and has a manual mode. There is a relatively steep hill on my way to work every morning and the transmission "likes" to hold a lower gear causing the engine to stay around 3000-3500 rpm -- this is slightly annoying. But this is easily fixed by bumping the shifter over to manual mode and shifting to a higher gear or two bringing the rpm's down to a more reasonable 2,500 rpm which is then quieter.
Good luck with your purchase. I'm glad I purchased my Renegade. The looks by far are better than any of the other SUVs out there.
 
#10 ·
. . . And see if your dealer will let you take one out for an extended test drive so both you and your husband get a chance to drive it. Find some hills, bumpy city streets, and some highway. You'll then know if you like how it drives.
 
#11 ·
We live in TN so we definitely have a lot of hills to test the Jeep on. After further consideration, we're still practically sold on the Jeep. I just can't get over how much I love the look of it. We'll be test driving one at the dealership soon, but will most likely be ordering a new one if we decide to go with it. I have a couple "mom" cars I'm going to look at, but doubt I'll go with them.

If my husbands mom could fit twin infants and everything they need in her little Wrangler, I'm sure I wouldn't have a problem with one little baby in a Renegade! Growing up my parents would pack two weeks worth of necessities for me and my 5 siblings, plus themselves, all in one large suitcase. I've noticed most parents nowadays overdo it when traveling with babies. I'm confident we'll be able to make it work. I'll just have to shop around for car seats and strollers that will fit best. Plus, my mom owns a children's store so I have plants of things to work with!
 
#12 ·
My household is currently living with my 2015 renegade trailhawk, and 2011 kia soul +.

If you like the soul in terms of livability, you will find the renegade to be slightly better. Passenger space is the same more or less (more headroom for the driver in the renegade), fitting a stroller in the cargo area will be easier, but it is doable with either. With either, if the front passenger is tall, a rear facing car seat may be an issue. It will come down to the specific combo, but something like the cheaper safety 1st alpha omega all in one car seats will be the most problematic.

In terms of reliability, I've had mine for about 20 months, and I've had ~$100 in out of pocket maintenance costs and been without the vehicle for a 7 day stretch to deal with a problem best described as a beta testing issue. Same problem toady would likely be about 48-72 hours to turn around because the dealer has more experience with the renegade now.

In terms of fuel economy, the soul will kick the renegades butt. My wife averages 28mpg with predominantly sane city/suburb traffic. I'm averaging 19.something (its in my sig) with mostly city driving that's traffic jam based. Realistically, she's seeing about 4mpg better fuel economy than I am both city and highway.

Renegade wins in noise, vibration and harshness. The powertrain can be a bit more vibratey in the renegade, but the sound insulation in general is a LOT better than the 2011 soul. The soul's engine isn't exactly quiet either. Which isn't surprising, they have common ancestral DNA from the whole GEMA joint venture. I haven't test sat the newer models to see if this is fixed, but a test drive of both should point out the differences in short order.

The soul transmission is less bleeding edge than the 9 speed in the renegade, and thus behaves much more normally.

The soul is quicker. 0-60 just comes faster than in the renegade.

The renegade electronic steering is nicer. I may be biased, but I particularly like what they did with the variable assist electronic steering in the renegade. Unlike other electric power steering cars I have driven, I actually prefer it to conventional hydraulic power assist. I believe my wife's 2011 is hydraulic, but I have driven other hyundai/kia vehicles with their electric power steering and found them to peak at meh.

Handling, the renegade absorbs bumps better. Suspension setup is a little bit on the sporty/adventurous side in the rear end. using the hole dirving it at 10/10 analogy. The soul's 10 and the renegade's 10 are probably about the same place, but the soul is sort of linear. The renegade stays kind of boring from 1-6, 7-8 feels sporty (or scary if your that kind of person), 9-10 feels like you really pushed things and got lucky. Personally, I think this is a good thing. It feels like you are doing crazy stuff before you are doing crazy stuff. The soul is more about feeling appliance like until you have used up your traction budget entirely. Which is better if you don't want to get the adrenaline going. Different things are "fun" to different people in different ways. Neither are winning any performance awards, but I find the renegade to be more fun.

Ground clearance, unless you get the trailhawk, they are essentially the same.

Unless you are shopping the cheap end of the renegade line, if you are having a fit of responsibility and boringness, cross shopping a cr-v and forester might be the thing to do. Both are likely to have less QC issues than kia or jeep, and both will bring more practical space to living with a baby in them.
 
#14 ·
Between our 2015 soul and our 2016 Renegade, I find we take the Renegade on more trips. There's just a little more storage, slightly better ride, and it's a little quieter. They drive very different, it's hard to explain the difference, but I prefer the Renegade. If you have any specific questions about the differences of the two let me know.

I have the manual, so I get a little better range with the Renegade as well. It's been trouble free and fun to drive for the last few months.
 
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