2017 Jeep Renegade Review

The 2017 Jeep Renegade is part of a new wave of subcompact crossover SUVs. Some of these models aren't so great at keeping you comfortable, but not the Renegade. It has a smooth highway ride, well-shaped front seats and, if you option it out correctly, Jeep's impressive Uconnect infotainment system that gives the cabin a truly modern feel. There's also plenty of headroom thanks to the Renegade's tall, boxy design.

On the outside, the Renegade has a variety of design cues that help it fit into the Jeep family. The vertical-duct, Wrangler-style grille is a dead giveaway, of course, as are the circular headlights. The design touches are more notable than you might think because the Renegade actually shares much of its underpinnings with the Fiat 500X. But the Renegade also backs up its mudslinging heritage with its available Trailhawk version, which comes with a higher ride height, all-terrain tires and an off-road-tuned suspension. If you're hoping to keep going when the pavement ends, the Renegade Trailhawk will more than likely oblige.

The Renegade isn't without fault, though. Even though it's a small vehicle, the Renegade isn't very efficient; EPA estimates are average at best. And if you're looking for a crossover with room for five, you might want to look elsewhere. The Renegade's backseat has limited legroom, and the trunk isn’t very large. We're also not fond of the the nine-speed automatic transmission and its clunky shifting.

If the 2017 Jeep Renegade doesn't light your fire, there are several other options to choose from. We'd start by recommending the Honda HR-V and Mazda CX-3. The Honda is one of the roomiest vehicles in the class, while the CX-3 offers a sporty driving experience and a refined road-going demeanor. There's also the aforementioned Fiat 500X and the improved Chevrolet Trax to consider. The Subaru Crosstrek is the only other off-road-worthy opponent, but it's larger than the Renegade (which may or may not be a bad thing). Still, we like the Renegade and consider it a viable option, particularly if you're looking for a fun subcompact crossover that can readily bounce along light-duty trails.

Standard safety equipment for the 2017 includes antilock brakes, traction and stability control, driver knee airbag, front side airbags, side curtain airbags and hill start assist. A rearview camera is optional for the Sport and standard on all other trims. Other optional safety features include rear parking sensors, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane departure warning and intervention, forward collision warning, and forward collision mitigation with automatic emergency braking.

The Uconnect Access system can provide emergency and roadside assistance, remote door locking and stolen vehicle location services.

In our brake testing, a Jeep Renegade Latitude stopped from 60 mph in just 116 feet, which is excellent for its class. A Renegade Trailhawk, largely because of its specialized tires, required a bit longer, 123 feet, to stop from 60 mph.

In government crash tests, the Renegade earned an overall rating of four stars (out of a possible five), with four stars for total front-impact protection and five stars for total side-impact protection. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave the Renegade a top score of Good in its moderate-overlap front-impact, side-impact and roof strength tests.

The 2017 Jeep Renegade is a five-passenger subcompact crossover SUV offered in four trim levels: Sport, Latitude, Limited and Trailhawk.

The kind of driving experience you get out of your Renegade depends on what trim level and suspension setup you go with. Front-wheel-drive versions feel more carlike with light, direct steering and the ability to change direction quickly. If you go with the taller, off-road-oriented Trailhawk, you'll get some more body roll in the corners and a bit of bounciness to the ride. With the Trailhawk, though, you get a compact crossover that's legitimately good at going off-road, which is something not many others can boast. Regardless of which Renegade you go with, the highway ride is one of its best features. Small bumps are easily dealt with, along with most of the large ones, and there's a comfort level you wouldn't expect from a vehicle of this size. The Jeep's boxy shape does end up producing a noticeable amount of wind noise at highway speeds, though.

As previously mentioned, there are two engine-and-transmission combos for the Renegade. They make about the same power, but they have different characteristics. The 1.4-liter engine has smooth power delivery and is the sportier of the two, but it comes only with the manual transmission and you can't get it in higher trim levels. The manual shifts well, though, so city driving shouldn't be difficult. The more common 2.4-liter engine feels and sounds coarser during hard acceleration, but its stronger low-rpm torque means it's more responsive from a stop or at low speeds. Unfortunately, it comes only with a nine-speed automatic that's prone to clunky shifting at low speeds and a lack of downshift swiftness when you press on the gas for a quick burst of speed.

It might look rugged on the outside, but on the inside the Renegade is comfortable and well-trimmed. Although a bare-bones Sport does without air-conditioning and cruise control, most Renegades come pretty well equipped and have soft-touch materials for the dash and armrests.

The Uconnect that controls the Jeep's infotainment is one of the easiest systems on the market to use. The upgraded 6.5-inch touchscreen is responsive and feature-packed with access to the Yelp local search and Uconnect Access apps on owners' smartphones. Uconnect Access offers text-to-speech and speech-to-text capability, both of which work quite well, plus remote locking and starting and, for an additional fee, Wi-Fi hot-spot capability. The Limited model also comes with an upgraded display in the instrument cluster that shows enhanced trip computer information.

Measured from front to back, the Renegade isn't very long, but for its class it is pretty tall and wide, which gives it some useful interior dimensions. The boxy shape and tall cabin mean lots of headroom and three-across seating is possible thanks to the exceptional width. Up front there's plenty of legroom, but adults will be a little cramped in the rear. Behind the second row, the Renegade has 18.5 cubic feet of cargo space. Lowering those seats will give you 50.8 cubes to work with. These are respectable numbers, though vehicles such as the Honda HR-V or Kia Soul wagon offer even more.

The Renegade's two opaque My Sky roof panels can be removed (if ordered that way), but they also gobble up some of the already limited cargo space and add a noticeable amount of wind noise. If you're looking for that Wrangler-convertible feeling, they help a bit, but otherwise we'd steer clear of the removable panels.