[Wrangler03]

Greetings Renegades!

I can't wait for these bad boys to start hitting showrooms this coming March. I currently own a heavily modified 2003 Wrangler that used to be a hobby vehicle, but now has become my daily driver. I'm getting sick of the constant repairs and bumpy ride and think I'm ready for something new. Especially since I don't do nearly as much 4wheeling as I used to.

I plan to use the Renegade as a daily driver in Colorado. Things that attracted me to this particular Jeep include AWD for better handling in the snow and Ice, promise of great gas mileage (30mpg+), and of course offroading capabilities. My goal for my next vehicle is to fit 4 skiers/snowboarders with equipment comfortably.

Anyone have experience fitting adults in the back seat? Leg room seems to be where concessions were made to shorten the length of the vehicle. Anyone know how much room is behind the driver when the seat is pushed all the way back?

Disappointment set in when I learned that the Trailhawk version was not going to be offered with a manual transmission. I really want the towing option as well as the removable MySky panels and I believe both of these features are available as part of the Sport and Latitude (6-speed manual) packages. I could not, however, determine if there was a way to increase clearance or add skid plates without giving up the manual transmission.

 

[andrew_l_s]

Welcome to the forum! I was able to sit in the back seat of one at the Detroit auto show, with the front seat all the way back there was still plenty of room. One review I saw said you can comfortably fit a 6 foot person behind another 6 foot person.

The skid plates should eventually be purchasable as Mopar accessories as they are for the Cherokee and in Europe.

 

[CalTom]

Greetings Renegades!
I currently own a heavily modified 2003 Wrangler that used to be a hobby vehicle, but now has become my daily driver. I'm getting sick of the constant repairs and bumpy ride and think I'm ready for something new. Especially since I don't do nearly as much 4wheeling as I used to.

Welcome, it is great another Wrangler owner is excited about the Renegade. I'm tired of some of the diehard Wrangler owner's saying it is the end of Jeep and the sky is falling.

I look forward to your off-road experience helping some of us off-roader newbies figuring out proper off-road techniques for our Trailhawks.

Again welcome.

 

[LonN]

I really want the towing option as well as the removable MySky panels and I believe both of these features are available as part of the Sport and Latitude (6-speed manual) packages.

Although the configurator tool does seem to allow the trailer tow package on a 1.4/6sp drivetrain, this is likely a bug in the configurator. Several other documents - and an e-mail response I got from Jeep - indicate that the tow package will only be available with the 2.4/9sp automatic drive-train. I'm personally coming around to the idea of choosing the 2.4/9sp. But I really want to drive them both and see. If I end up with the 1.4, I'll probably look for an aftermarket 1 1/4" hitch for my bike rack. Not ideal - since that will probably hang below the rear bumper and reduce departure clearance. But such is life.

 

[tony]

Welcome to the forum! I was able to sit in the back seat of one at the Detroit auto show, with the front seat all the way back there was still plenty of room. One review I saw said you can comfortably fit a 6 foot person behind another 6 foot person.

The skid plates should eventually be purchasable as Mopar accessories as they are for the Cherokee and in Europe.

That's great, being able to comfortably seat a person sized like that positions the Renegade well within its segment for that one category, being one are we won't have to worry about!

 

[Wrangler03]

I was able to sit in the back seat of one at the Detroit auto show, with the front seat all the way back there was still plenty of room. One review I saw said you can comfortably fit a 6 foot person behind another 6 foot person.

This is great to hear! I also have a Mazdaspeed3 and there is no room in the seat behind me while driving and it's actually a longer vehicle than the Renegade.

 

[Wrangler03]

Although the configurator tool does seem to allow the trailer tow package on a 1.4/6sp drivetrain, this is likely a bug in the configurator. Several other documents - and an e-mail response I got from Jeep - indicate that the tow package will only be available with the 2.4/9sp automatic drive-train. I'm personally coming around to the idea of choosing the 2.4/9sp. But I really want to drive them both and see. If I end up with the 1.4, I'll probably look for an aftermarket 1 1/4" hitch for my bike rack. Not ideal - since that will probably hang below the rear bumper and reduce departure clearance. But such is life.

That's too bad. On my wrangler, I have a tow hitch built into the after market bumper so it doesn't impact my departure angle. I wonder if that would be possible on the Renegade. Guess it depends on how the rear bumper is mounted to the chassis.

Does anyone know if gas mileage is better when mounting bikes/snowboards on the roof or on a tow hitch rack?

 

[CalTom]

Does anyone know if gas mileage is better when mounting bikes/snowboards on the roof or on a tow hitch rack?

First choice should be your tow hitch rack, anything on the roof causes drag and can reduce mpg from 3% to 15%.