Test Drove A Renegade Trail Hawk Today
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The rear headrests are a bit large and do obscure the rear view mirror's vision area a bit, but the windows in the rear are huge. Quite easy to see out of.
Also, the "proper" way to set your mirrors is to lean against the driver's window and adjust the side mirror until you barely see the side of the car. Then lean as far over towards the passenger mirror as possible and adjust that mirror.
While adjusting the driver side mirror, I ran out of space. I had it moved all the over to the left and it was showing a bit too much of the car because the mirror doesn't tilt left/right enough. Normally when I drive I less frequently have to look over my shoulder because I can see my entire blind spot. I can still see most of my blind spot with the mirror all the way to the left, but I still have to do a head check for the sake of safety.
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Always, ALWAYS do the head check. I have a habit of doing it and it's saved my butt a few times. As much as you want to think you know the position of everyone around you, fact is you don't.
Why is everyone so preoccupied with 9th gear?
I know you'd think that they'd use all of the gears in their transmission, but I don't see why it's such a big deal.
I thought 9 gears was ridiculous to start with so I guess that's why I'm not surprised that the vehicles don't use it that much.
I know you'd think that they'd use all of the gears in their transmission, but I don't see why it's such a big deal.
I thought 9 gears was ridiculous to start with so I guess that's why I'm not surprised that the vehicles don't use it that much.
............^^^^^^^
................This!
While you can't account for everyone around you at all times, setting yourself up for that and having good habits that keep you more aware keep you far ahead of the pack that only looks straight
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If/when the tranny shifts into 9th is when the engine ideally is operating at max fuel efficiency.
Keep in mind I said engine...this doesn't necessarily mean aerodynamics. The faster you go, the more air resistance you encounter.
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It IS kind of a big deal actually, and its a pretty big engineering/design fault
Good thing is that the Trailhawk anyways, has much shorter gearing and this gearing from Ops post here seems to indicate that the trailhawk gearing is better matched for the 9 speed zf transmission.
I understand that, but I think FCA may be realizing that their 9th gear can't provide the torque required to maintain the vehicle at the optimal speed to achieve the 9th gear and maximize fuel efficiency.
I think 9th gear may be where diminishing returns begin as far as power and fuel efficiency go. I don't know if it's a matter of tweaking the software or mating it to a different engine (it seems it's even harder to hit 9th with the 3.2L V6 in the Cherokee), or if the actual transmission requires a redesign.
I'm speaking out of my league now as far as engineering and mechanical knowledge go. I just think they have the software pretty much dialed in to maximize fuel efficiency and if that doesn't include the 9th gear, then we might be thankful to not see it more often.
I still do a head check, I would be crazy if I never did.
PS: ...did the mods edit my post?! The title and my original post have been tweaked. :O
Agreed, it IS a big deal. If the engines that the 9-speed is mated to can't carry 9th gear at 'normal' road speeds (highway or otherwise) because they don't produce enough torque, then what's the point? Exactly, there isn't one, and 9th gear ends up basically being a gimmick and dead weight. This 9-speed has a number of design flaws that I just don't understand. For one, with 9 gears to choose from, they should've been a lot more reasonable with the overdrive gears (maybe putting 9th where 8th currently resides) and had more closely spaced gears in-between (which tends to yield better performance). It's a huge point of contention with me, so much so that it may sway us away from the Renegade altogether.
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Just relax for now...who even knows until you get a chance to take it for a spin. I know in my 6-speed Mitsu Ralliart that I just got rid of, 6th hit at about 50-55mph while accelerating on the open road, but at low speeds maybe at 40mph. If the Renegade never actually makes it to 9th until it hits 70mph, then you now know why even the trailhawk gets 29mpg highway.
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WG, Thanks for a first hand review from a consumer's viewpoint. Much appreciated. Question - When you mentioned that the dealer was not taking orders at this time - did he indicate when special orders would be accepted and approximately how long it might take to get one?
When I went in to check out the renegades my dealer had on the lot, they said to me that the "ordering tool" had just been activated on Sport, Latitudes, and Limiteds, overnight on Tuesday/Wednesday. They told me that the Trailhawk ordering tool wasn't available yet...
Take that for what you will.
Take that for what you will.
The 9 spd will be different in the Trail Hawk with its lower (4:11) final drive gear ratio. 1st gear is the 20:1 crawl ratio and is not used in normal driving making the tranny essentially an 8 spd. The lower final drive should make the upper gears more useable than the non TH versions and when the magazines get to drive and compare the difference things should get clearer.
Thanks for the excellent review. I found it to be more interesting and informative than all of the "professional" reviews I've seen so far.
I don't see the head rest issue being important. In all of the cars I've owned in the last 30+ years, I've never had to use them except for the few times I've had to sleep in the car.
Did not know about the flashlight in the spare compartment. None of the reviews have mentioned it. Very cool! And, as I already carry a cig lighter flashlight in all of my vehicles for emergency purposes, this is a very nice standard equipment touch.
I don't see the head rest issue being important. In all of the cars I've owned in the last 30+ years, I've never had to use them except for the few times I've had to sleep in the car.
Did not know about the flashlight in the spare compartment. None of the reviews have mentioned it. Very cool! And, as I already carry a cig lighter flashlight in all of my vehicles for emergency purposes, this is a very nice standard equipment touch.
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How's the driving position? I haven't seen any reviews yet that talk about how high/low you feel in the Trailhawk.
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