Test Drive

"thedevilinside" (thedevilinside) 03/11/2016 at 16:50 • Filed to: None

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Not many plans this weekend and I finally found a Renegade 4wd Manual so I made an appointment to drive one tonite. No intentions of buying yet, but I am intrigued. Should be something fun to do anyway. Luckily it is a 2016 so not as discounted as a lot of the 2015's are. Those I might tempt myself. Pircute of how I envision my test drive:

Anyone own one or put significant miles on one?

HammerheadFistpunch > thedevilinside 03/11/2016 at 16:53

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its too bad that the turbo engine isn’t available with the 9 speed. Not that I prefer autos to manuals, but you don’t get the low gear with the manual and the “low gear” needs an engine with more low end grunt like the turbo.

mazda616 > thedevilinside 03/11/2016 at 16:55

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From what I’ve read, all of the Renegade’s problems stem from the 9-speed auto, so I bet a manual one would be a decent little trucklet.

thedevilinside > mazda616 03/11/2016 at 16:55

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Same things I have read.

thedevilinside > HammerheadFistpunch 03/11/2016 at 16:56

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I have read (only casually not much research) the 9 speed is problem prone and the low speed really just locks the car in first? I know little about offroad stuff or these cars. I just like the idea and the looks.

HammerheadFistpunch > thedevilinside 03/11/2016 at 17:14

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yeah, the low gear is just 1st gear but with the large ratio spread of the 9 speed plus a lower final drive ratio in the trailhawk its a decent 20:1 crawl ratio. Trouble is that the torque from the tigershark 2.4 is insufficient at low rpms to really make use of it. The 1.4 peaks at 184 lbs-ft at 2500 rpm, where the 2.4 has only 171 lbs-ft at a much less useful 4400 rpm. Around town this wont matter much but if you are trying to go up a steep hill off road from a stop, you are at the mercy of the max hp of whatever the TC slip speed is, with the 1.4t you would (my guess) have about 20-25% more power...which is about all it needs to get the job done. Right now the 2.4 just doesn’t have enough grunt to move you forward while trying to brake the wheels too.

(skip to 13:20)

I realize this type of thing isn’t exactly what most people will do, but its what people might expect a trailhawk Jeep should be able to do.

thedevilinside > HammerheadFistpunch 03/11/2016 at 17:38

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Very informative. Thank you! And I agree with your last sentence. This is the kind of stuff I need to learn up on.

HammerheadFistpunch > thedevilinside 03/11/2016 at 17:41

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In searching for some info I found that the “crawl ratio” of the manual is 18.4:1, which is pretty good, its about what you would get from a Forester, for example. Granted you don’t get the torque multiplication of the torque converter, but with the extra torque on tap I bet the 1.4t could actually take you to some pretty great places.

I really like these in concept, but I feel like they are only 90% to where they should be. I mean you have to remember these are BIGGER than XJ Cherokees.

thedevilinside > HammerheadFistpunch 03/11/2016 at 21:17

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I just drove one, frustratingly the 4wd one I checked about before I went wasn’t there of course but I drove a fwd one for ~5 miles. It was a nice little car overall. I didn’t get too serious into it or anything but it seemed fairly well done. Not much power of course but I drive a FoST so driving something like that it is kinda hard to judge. And I didn’t do any sort of offroad driving so I can’t comment on that. I think as a car you might take to go mountain biking and some overlanding type or light offroad it could work. Adding much power wouldn’t be that easy so they are quite limited on upside.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > thedevilinside 03/11/2016 at 21:54

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I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts - I’m a big FIAT fan, and the Panda 4x4 is well-regarded for how surprisingly well it does off-road. Considering the Jeep Renegade is based on the same (albeit modified) platform, and considering I love manuals and miss my old Subaru Impreza......a small little Jeep like the Renegade with 4x4 and a stick might be the ticket someday! :)

thedevilinside > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 03/11/2016 at 22:09

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I drove one tonite, frustratingly the 4wd one I checked about before I went wasn’t there of course but I drove a fwd one for ~5 miles. It was a nice little car overall. I didn’t get too serious into it or anything but it seemed fairly well done. Not much power of course but I drive a FoST so driving something like that it is kinda hard to judge. And I didn’t do any sort of offroad driving so I can’t comment on that. Adding much power wouldn’t be that easy so they are quite limited on upside.

I think as a car you might take to go mountain biking and some overlanding type or light offroad it could work. I thought it drove comfortably on the road in a commuter roll. Over one bump it did feel a bit unsettled compared to a sedan but still good for an “SUV” I cannot make many good comparisons because I rarely drive SUV’s or Crossovers. If I were in the market for a ride right now I would seriously consider it. I would use it as a fun daily with capability to go through a simple rough park road in places I go hiking once in awhile or around a farm I am on some/mild snow in the country.

I didn’t spend long with one but let me know if you have questions about specific areas.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > thedevilinside 03/11/2016 at 22:12

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I’m not worried about power, just fun and “basic” (I drive a base-model Hyundai Accent with no power anything and a stick), so speed and hp are not everything to me.

Thanks for the comments! I’ve only seen one in person so far and it looked quite nice! :)