[tjd]

Am in my 60s and am an outdoor guy. Last time I went backpacking had to hike extra miles because I couldn't get my car up the washed out path. Getting to that point where would like to get as far up by vehicle as I can (still in denial though). The forum members seem to have a lot of expertise and experience. Looking for your advice on whether a first time Jeep buyer should go with a wrangler or the 2015 renegade trailhawk. Interested if you are a wrangler owner why you are considering a renegade. Still work in a suburban area and will be a daily driver (like the convertible aspect, currently own one) with using it for occasional trips. Probably go on moderate jeep trails as part of our trips. Both sound great. Enjoy reading your forum. thanks

 

[CalTom]

Am in my 60s and am an outdoor guy. Last time I went backpacking had to hike extra miles because I couldn't get my car up the washed out path. Getting to that point where would like to get as far up by vehicle as I can.

Looking for your advice on whether a first time Jeep buyer should go with a wrangler or the 2015 renegade trailhawk. Interested if you are a wrangler owner why you are considering a renegade.

Still work in a suburban area and will be a daily driver.

Using it for occasional trips. Probably go on moderate jeep trails as part of our trips.

Welcome tjd, glad you joined us. Let me try to help on your questions:

Am in my 60s and am an outdoor guy. Last time I went backpacking had to hike extra miles because I couldn't get my car up the washed out path. Getting to that point where would like to get as far up by vehicle as I can.

Look at the Jeep videos, here is one of my favorites:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd1j7LPXKRY
If your washed out path is no worse than what they show the Renegade doing, you'll be fine. if there are two foot deep ruts and two foot boulders, not so much.

Looking for your advice on whether a first time Jeep buyer should go with a wrangler or the 2015 renegade trailhawk. Interested if you are a wrangler owner why you are considering a renegade.

My wife and I rented a Wrangler in Sedona a couple of years ago and caught the bug. Looked at buying one and soon realized...

Still work in a suburban area and will be a daily driver.

Daily driver, NO QUESTION, the Renegade, the Wrangler is not intended for on road comfort.

Using it for occasional trips.

Occasional trips, NO QUESTION, the Renegade, the Wrangler is not intended for on road comfort.

Probably go on moderate jeep trails as part of our trips.

The Renegade Trailhawk will do fine on "moderate jeep trails" That is what we are planning to do with ours.

 

[CARiD]

Hello and welcome to the forum! Let us know what was your final decision. Either way, I'm sure you gonna love it.

 

[tjd]

Great link and reasoning, appreciate the insight. Look forward to driving the Renegade when it arrives in March. Thanks for the welcome

 

[Tombinator]

Wrangler Owner Looking at a Renegade

Tjd,

To answer the questions you pose, I am a current Wrangler owner who is seriously going to look at a Renegade. My daily driver is a 2007 Wrangler Unlimited Sahara that I bought new, which is my second Wrangler, the first being a 2000 2-Door Wrangler. We've also owned a 2002 Grand Cherokee, so we've been a Jeep family for quite a while.

There's a few reasons I'm looking at a Renegade:

1. The biggest being that my Wrangler is a 6-speed and I've moved to a large urban area (Washington DC) where having a manual transmission is more of a curse than a blessing. Being stuck in rush hour traffic with the very long clutch travel and the low gearing, it really isn't much fun to drive.

2. I've gotten to a place in life where I want more creature comforts. My Wrangler, at the time I bought it (just after the 4 door body style became available) was great. Who couldn't hate power windows and door locks, right? Well, since I bought the Wrangler, my wife upgraded her Grand Cherokee to a BMW X3 (wait... hear me out), and as I'm (sometimes) allowed to drive the BMW, I've gotten to wanting some of the creature comforts that are available on a newer car (heated seats, a sunroof, rear camera, the cross path / blind spot monitoring). I love the Wrangler's soft top and can take it down and up by myself; but it's a 5-6 minute ordeal going down and less than five minutes going up... whereas the button on the wife's BMW (or the Power MySky) is a WHOLE lot easier. I find myself putting down the top on my Wrangler only when I can keep it down for a couple of days at a time... which is way less than I really want to.

3. My Wrangler gets pretty horrible mileage; about 19 MPG on a good day, the last time I checked. And it's a bear on windy days... or when raining with no drip channels and not being completely water tight after nearly 8 years of daily driving.

I've been considering moving away from the Wrangler for a while, but honestly nothing has sparked my interest from an "it" factor (insert any other small(ish) SUV here... Mazda CX5, Jeep Cherokee/Patriot/Compass, Honda CRV, etc). I could buy a number of smaller, fuel efficient SUVs, but I don't want to drive a rolling lump... I want something that also feeds my soul, which is the feeling I got when I went to the car show and saw the Renegade. I went to the car show wanting to hate it (it's made in ITALY!) and I so want to preserve American jobs... but after looking at it, I know I'm going to go look at one, and maybe more... even though I thought I never would.

For me, on the surface at least, the Renegade has all that I'm looking for; Wrangler styling at 3/4ths size, with more creature comforts/technology and better gas mileage.

The key will be if I can fit in it... I'm 6'3" and not exactly petite, and that's something the Wrangler does well... fit.

Other Wrangler owners can talk more about the Wrangler's off road prowess (I'm not a wheeler; though I have gone in the woods) so I've not really used the Wrangler to its full potential. For the snow and limited off roading I do, honestly, any of the Renegades will do fine for me... though I think I'm most interested in a Trailhawk... most likely because it comes in Solar Yellow.... the color of my original 2000 Jeep TJ.

That's my $.02 and hope this helps ~ Tombinator

 

[CalTom]

The key will be if I can fit in it... I'm 6'3" and not exactly petite, and that's something the Wrangler does well... fit.

Hi Tombinator, Welcome and thanks for the insight from a Wrangler owner's perspective. I've have sat in both the Wrangler and the Renegade. The Renegade in fact has more legroom than the Wrangler so you should fit just fine.

 

[Tombinator]

Hi Tombinator, Welcome and thanks for the insight from a Wrangler owner's perspective. I've have sat in both the Wrangler and the Renegade. The Renegade in fact has more legroom than the Wrangler so you should fit just fine.

Thanks and thanks for the warm welcome to the forum, CalTom.

I hope that you're right on the being able to fit part. I find that what doesn't fit on many vehicles are two things: the dead pedal being uncomfortable at a really steep nearly vertical angle (or not having enough room on the floor to just avoid using it), perhaps from the small foot space needed for crumple zones during a crash and the space being too defined where my knees get boxed in. Looks like the Renegade doesn't have a lot of plastic "stuff" near the shifter, which should make it more comfortable. Being able to sit more upright and still have room for my knees and feet is what's most comfortable for me... and the pictures (and your info) seem to suggest the Renegade might fit.

I live less than a mile from the local Jeep dealer and pass by there a few times a day, I keep eagerly looking at their lot awaiting their first delivery so I can try it out for size.

~ Tombinator