Hey all
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Greetings from the UK. Welcome to the world of the Jeep Renegade.
:ReneBlueWave:
:ReneBlueWave:
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113 Posts
There's another thread with a poll for people to indicate which trim level they have, which shows that about 40% of people on this forum have trailhawks. The forum obviously attracts enthusiasts. If you look at dealer inventory, the percentage of trailhawks is way lower.Whats with all the Trailhawks. Does nobody drive on roads anymore.
Think Jeep thought TH would do 20% of types sold. Must be way over that now. Or is it just TH & forums go together.
Anywho....
Welcome & enjoy
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85 Posts
FWD models don't attract enthusiasts generally, and the triple-combination of lower ground clearance, larger and lower front valence, and lack of 20:1/rockcrawl modes probably hurts enthusiast sales of all other models. The Trailhawk is also a bargain when measured against the others, if one doesn't care about excessive user-touched electronics or leather then it's extremely well priced for the amount of capability, and there's literally no other competitor to it on the market.
She wanted a truck-type driving position and upwards of 30MPG. I wanted a capable 4x4 that wouldn't scrape-up the front clip. This was the only vehicle that met those two criteria.
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87 Posts
I'd argue there's another flavor for enthusiasts too, the 1.4T/Manual transmission versions, especially the AWD ones.
Lower Ground Clearance
- Front-wheel Dr: 6.7"
- 4WD, non-Trail: 7.9"
- 4WD, Trailhawk: 8.7"
Front Valence
There's no denying the TH bumper cover is the way to go. I've been keeping an eye out for scrapped Trailhawks so I can scavenge its bumper and tow hooks.
Crawl Ratio
First Gear Ratio × Axle Ratio (aka Final Drive) = Final Ratio
- 1.4 Turbo Manual: 4.154 × 4.438 = 18.44:1
- 2.4 Auto, non-TH: 4.700 × 3.734 = 17.55:1
- 2.4 Auto, TrailH: 4.700 × 4.334 = 20.37:1
Furthermore, if we attach the engine's max torque output to its respective final torque ratio, we see the 2.4 naturally-aspirated I4's 175 lb•ft with the Trailhawk's 20.37:1 torque multiplication yields a maximum torque of 3565 lb•ft to the wheels in first (excluding mechanical loss). The 1.4T's 184 lb•ft and with its 17.55:1 torque multiplication yields a maximum torque of 3393 lb•ft. So realistically, instead of saying the 1.4T is within 91% of the TH's final torque ratio, it's more relevant to say the 1.4T is within 95% of the TH's torque to the ground.
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So yes, the Trailhawk undoubtedly has other trims beat with respect to its off-road prowess. The underbody protection and its supposed extra electrical seals for water fording as well help it out. Nonetheless, a manually-equipped Renegade isn't terribly far behind some of the meat and potatoes stuff, and in others (ground clearance and approach angle), can be easily made to match it. In other words, if one really wanted a stick-shift Trailhawk (like me), it's far, far easier to start with a 1.4T/manual and add some Trailhawk doo-dads than do a transmission swap in a Trailhawk.
And finally, there is some extra cool points for the manual, in my humble opinion. Car driving enthusiasts in general normally fancy a manual as it makes the driving experience more engaging. Also, A stick shift SUV is pretty rare, and a stick shift SUV with all-wheel drive is even rarer with just four options in total (Crosstrek, Forester, Countryman, and Renegade are it). The 1.4T can also have a notable bump in performance for just a few hundred dollars as it's easier to extract more power from a factory-tuned turbocharged engine than it is a naturally-aspirated one (for little money, anyway). I've been keeping an eye on a few tuners, notable Madness Autoworks, to see what some dyno numbers look like and how its reliability is.
Anywho, in short, while I'd agree by not having those aforementioned TH features does indeed "hurt enthusiast sales," I'd nonetheless argue that a TH Renegade and a 1.4T/Manual AWD Renegade attract enthusiasts alike and perhaps even in equal measure.
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87 Posts
PS.
The Bargain
By not paying more for the automatic ($1400 on Latitude), the manual is quite the bargain, too. A Limited 1.4T/Manual 4x4 with Cold Weather Pkg is $24,835 after destination. At the time I purchased mine, $1500 of rebate and $1k off from dealer made it $22,335. That's a a pretty tiny number for such a lot of car!
The Bargain
By not paying more for the automatic ($1400 on Latitude), the manual is quite the bargain, too. A Limited 1.4T/Manual 4x4 with Cold Weather Pkg is $24,835 after destination. At the time I purchased mine, $1500 of rebate and $1k off from dealer made it $22,335. That's a a pretty tiny number for such a lot of car!
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nah I'm good. If people on the Internet could make me mad then I'd need to get-out more... *grin*Bet your sorry you said Hello now.
I am a little surprised that they didn't package at least the manual transmission with the Trailhawk suspension/body. I know a few people that like their four wheel drives to be of the manual-variety, and two of the three that my parents have had throughout the years were like this. I'm sure that a fair number of buyers are dissatisfied because of this.
I've never been a huge fan of forced-induction in off-pavement applications. I've read enough horror stories to not want a breakdown away from pavement as the recovery costs are so high. Had my wife not wanted this vehicle I'd probably have looked for something much older and much more basic in its mechanical design- maybe not quite as far back as WWII or M38, but CJ-5 or M38A1 was on my mind.
So, admittedly in some ways the Rene is a compromise for us, but it feels like it'll be at least as capable as the old first-gen Isuzu Trooper I grew up with or the Chevy Tracker and Hyundai Santa Fe that my folks currently have. That should be good enough for anything we'll throw at it.
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