Jeep reveals updated Renegade
BY ROBBIE WALLIS | 7th Jun 2018
JEEP has unveiled the updated version of its Renegade small SUV at the Turin motor show, and the refreshed high-rider will feature revised styling and new powertrains when it hits Australian showrooms in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Little has been revealed by the American SUV specialist on its smallest model, although there are some changes to its exterior styling – the first time the Renegade has been updated visually since it launched in 2015.
The ubiquitous seven-slot grille now has wider slots, while the rounded headlights now appear to be ringed by LED daytime running lights.
A boxier lower bumper has been added that features black cladding enveloping the wheelarches and door sills like on the outgoing model, and the orange light on the side of the front flanks has been changed to white.
Rear styling changes are much more subtle, with a silver lower bumper replacing the old black one, while the quirky X-shaped headlights gain body-coloured bezels and more prominent red colouring.
Two new petrol powertrains in three different states of tune will be offered globally, including a 1.0-litre three-cylinder mill producing 89kW/190Nm.
A 1.3-litre four-cylinder engine will also be offered in two states of tune – one with 112kW and unspecified torque and a more powerful unit with 134kW/270Nm.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Australia has yet to confirm whether the new range of engines will be offered in the local Renegade, or if they will replace or be offered alongside the current line-up.
At present, the Australian Renegade is offered with a range of four-cylinder engines including an 81kW/152Nm 1.6-litre aspirated mill, a 103kW/230Nm 1.4-litre turbo and the 129kW/230Nm 2.4-litre Tigershark engine in the top-spec Trailhawk version.
The new engines could also be used in the as-yet-unnamed baby SUV that Jeep announced last week. It is expected to join the Jeep range by 2022 and sit below the Renegade in the line-up.
Sales of the Renegade have struggled through the first five months of 2018, with just 85 sales registered compared to 328 to the same point last year, representing a 74.1 per cent slide.
It is well off the numbers of small SUV sales leaders such as the Mitsubishi ASX (7292), Mazda CX-3 (6946), Subaru XV (5931), Nissan Qashqai (5015) and Honda HR-V (5003).
Jeep said more Renegade details will be released later this month, while Australian timing, pricing and specification will be revealed closer to the model’s release in the fourth quarter.
