Some cars get a big send-off when they leave the market. Auto writers and YouTubers lament the loss, reminisce, and maybe even call for the automaker to bring it back into production. Other cars come and go without much fanfare. However, the Jeep Renegade was quietly ushered offstage and seemingly erased from public memory with one of those Men in Black zappers after its discontinuation following the 2023 model year.The Renegade sold well enough in its early years, moving 106,606 units in 2016. A decade later, the Renegade closed out the 2024 sales year with just 8,440 sales in the United States. A few years after its retirement, the Renegade is the Jeep nobody seems to miss, making it easier than ever to find one for cheap. But, is A Renegade worth a purchase? Or should you be saving up for a Grand Cherokee? Italy's Take On A Jeep Cherokee? Jeep If you've ever driven, seen, heard, or taken a ride in a Renegade, you've probably asked the same question as everyone else: "This is a Jeep?"It has the signature grille and body cladding, and there's even a Trailhawk trim with 8.7 inches of ground clearance. Still, the car's Italian roots are unmistakable. This is a Fiat with a rugged, outdoorsy makeover. Stellantis built this subcompact crossover in Melfi, Italy, on the same platform as the Fiat 500X, and it feels more like a big Fiat than it does like a small Jeep.The Renegade wasn't so much a subcompact companion to the Wrangler as a competitor to all-terrain daily drivers like the Volkswagen Taos and the Subaru Crosstrek. As such, it might not be fair to expect this car to perform like a real, made-in-America Jeep SUV, even if the badging invites just such judgment. Just Don't Think Of It Like A Jeep Jeep In our initial review of the 2023 Jeep Renegade, we noted that the Trailhawk model in particular does deliver on its off-road promises. But it's not the most spacious vehicle, and trunk space for a Jeep is downright pitiful, offering just 18.5 cubic feet behind the back seat. So, long road trips and excursions into the nearest national forest might not be the best way to experience this SUV.As a city car, the Renegade gets a solid 23 miles per gallon in town (29 mpg on the highway, 26 mpg combined). The model has compact dimensions, measuring 74.2 inches across at the mirrors and 101.2 inches long at the wheelbase, making it possibly the easiest Jeep to park. Whether you want to buy a Jeep for short trips in the city rather than long adventures with the family on the trail is another question.If you think of the Renegade as the American version of a Fiat 500X, it's "surprisingly capable" as an adventure vehicle. The disappointment comes from expecting this Jeep to be more like a Jeep, just because of the badge. Later, Renegades Are More Reliable Jeep When J.D. Power last rated the Renegade for the 2021 model year, it earned a Quality & Reliability score of 79/100, which qualifies it as "Average." RepairPal reports that the Renegade is fairly cheap to maintain, with an annual maintenance cost of $498. The following are the most expensive common fixes. Intake manifold gasket replacement $800 - $1,058 AC condenser replacement $789 - $909 Window regulator motor replacement $553 - $593 Air bag control module replacement $531 - $577 Tie rod replacement $408 - $448 CarComplaints sees the vast majority of issues coming in for the 2015-2018 years. After that, there's a steep fall-off, with later models only generating a few recalls per year. The 2015 model year, for instance, has 22 complaints on file for surging and hard shifts, 11 complaints for hesitant acceleration, and 17 complaints for stalling and loss of power while driving. The 2023 Renegade, meanwhile, has no complaints on file.Our advice is to stop worrying about fixing whatever's wrong with the older Renegades and just buy something from 2019 or later. Build Quality Issues Are Common Jeep Call it survivorship bias at this point, but drivers on the r/JeepRenegade subreddit report that most of the problems facing the SUV are not so much blown transmissions and leaky head gaskets as general build-quality issues.Many owners report more than a quarter-million miles on the original powertrain. Still, electrical issues are common, computerized modules can fail, air conditioning hoses can spring a leak, and early models, in particular (predating the 2019 facelift), had many build-quality issues. If you're driving an early Renegade, expect issues like rain leaking into the cabin and misaligned panels that make it difficult to close latches.In fact, Jeep had to issue a recall for 8,581 Renegades, from 2015 to 2016, with trailer hitches that were liable to separate from the SUV entirely due to missing fasteners.The Renegades that are still out there, running on their original engines and powertrains, are unlikely to fail anytime soon. When test driving one, listen for annoying rattles, check for misaligned latches, and make sure there are no build-quality problems that are going to drive you bonkers after a few hundred miles. Used Renegades Are Going For A Little Over Half Their MSRP Jeep Starting with the 2019 model, our price-tracking tool currently shows the cheapest all-wheel-drive model, the Renegade Upland AWD, selling for about half its original MSRP of $23,775, on average. These numbers are based on up-to-the-minute sales data, so the price may be up or down a few dollars by the time you read this.If we take a look at current listings, here's what we find on the CarBuzz Marketplace: A 53,058-mile 2023 Upland is selling for $21,995 in Idaho. A 43,928-mile 2020 Limited is selling for $15,049 in Florida. The cheapest model we can find is a 146,947-mile 2019 Latitude selling for $6,295 in Michigan. A 65,115-mile 2019 Sport is selling for $9,500 in Texas. A 98,387-mile 2021 Sport is selling for $10,499 in New Jersey. There's no telling what will be out there when you're ready to buy, but these listings give us an idea of what to expect across various model years and mileages.At these numbers, you could spend as little as $7,000 on a throwaway Renegade you'll sling around trails and backroads for a few summers, and then sell for scrap. With a budget of $15,000, you've got your pick of low-mileage models that could last another five or ten years with a little TLC. Do You Really Want A Jeep Renegade, Though? Jeep The Jeep Renegade is technically a Jeep, but not really. If you're expecting a downsized Cherokee, that's not what you're getting here, and, for what it is, you could do better. As our own Gerhard Horn puts it:The Jeep Renegade appeared to be the perfect car launched at the perfect time. It arrived just as the compact crossover segment was starting to boom, and it had a Jeep badge pasted to the front. Unfortunately, it was also one of the lesser successful badge engineering jobs in recent history. It's based on the same platform as the Fat Fiat 500, also known as the 500X.And it was powered by a 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, also made in Italy. A 2.4-liter NA four-cylinder was also available, but paired to Stellantis' infamous nine-speed automatic. This gearbox seemed to operate in a constant state of existential crisis, never knowing what gear was applicable. One could live with the fact that it was an Italian in disguise, and the slightly poor build quality, but the gearbox ruined the overall experience.If you're looking for a real driver-oriented SUV, the Renegade will disappoint. If you want a Jeep, but smaller, the Renegade might disappoint. If you want some fun out of a Renegade, our advice is to get a high-mileage example at a low price and drive it like you stole it.Jeep has reportedly been tinkering away on a hybrid version of the Renegade, which could be worth a look when it hits the market. But the original version was fairly unremarkable.
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