[Bionic]

My wife and I got a test drive in a Sport yesterday at Junction Auto. We have very few complaints. My wife likes the step-in height better than my Element, and she definitely likes getting into the back seat better. The ride is firmer and it turns in sharper Slightly worse ride over the rippled pavement made by 18 wheelers in the neighborhood. Very quiet. The 2.4 is peppy, but you probably won't be doing burnouts. We went to 2 dealers and haven't seen a manual yet. We also haven't seen MySky. We did see a Trailhawk. Worst features of the Renegade in this trim? No real cupholders in the rear seat unless you get a Limited with 40/20/40. Angled bottle holders in the door. I'll most likely find something on the aftermarket. Electric parking brake is kind of wrong, but it's sort of cool to hear a motor pulling your brake cables.

The 5.0 radio has changed, and also changed in the Jeep web page. The buttons have been moved and the CD slot is gone. The new button placement looks better. The buttons fill up some empty space now. The radio appears to be just a radio/Sirius/phone interface and the car UI is between the steering wheel buttons and the dash. It's nice and simple if you don't desire either CD playback or nav. There is a USB jack for USB stick playback.

Our car was reporting MPG in metric units. I fixed it after the test drive.

Both dealers have reported good sales on Renegade.

 

[Nate]

The 40/20/40 arrangement is available on the Latitude too. Did you happen to take any pics?

 

[Bionic]

The 40/20/40 arrangement is available on the Latitude too. Did you happen to take any pics?

I should have taken some pictures. About half of what I saw wasn't quite prepped. That seat shows "-" on all models except Limited on the "Availability by Model". It couldn't hurt to ask the dealer, it'd be a simple bolt-up. At this point it's a build to order car for me anyway as I'd want a manual.

 

[Nate]

I should have taken some pictures. About half of what I saw wasn't quite prepped. That seat shows "-" on all models except Limited on the "Availability by Model". It couldn't hurt to ask the dealer, it'd be a simple bolt-up. At this point it's a build to order car for me anyway as I'd want a manual.

Pictures are always great! Yeah, you might be waiting a while for a manual. The configurator on Jeep's website says the 40/20/40 is included on the "popular equipment group" but forces the addition of the automatic 2.4L, and for some reason the keyless enterNgo with the remote start system. Increasing total price by $2700.. I'd like to ask FCA, why?

 

[Bionic]

Pictures are always great! Yeah, you might be waiting a while for a manual. The configurator on Jeep's website says the 40/20/40 is included on the "popular equipment group" but forces the addition of the automatic 2.4L, and for some reason the keyless enterNgo with the remote start system. Increasing total price by $2700.. I'd like to ask FCA, why?

FCA really likes to sell automatics.

 

[Brinbro]

Both dealers have reported good sales on Renegade.

Lol, this is why we all despire dealers. These guys just got probably a hand full of Renegade's (if even) - what sales numbers are there even to report? You mean you sold one aready? Give me a break. They just want to scare you into getting this one before it's (or you are) gone. The real numbers all come after the initial wave of buyers, after the early adopters who have waited almost a year for this vehicle. Given my geographic region I'm betting we'll see one late to mid April if Im lucky (not a big market here) but I'm not sure I can afford it anyway until some incentives roll out.

 

[bwbike]

The first four Renegades my dealer is receiving (they have one Sport so far) were pre-spec units. They had no choice in how they were configured.