The Continuing Saga Of Replacing The FieSTa With Something That's Not A Subaru...

"JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t" (jawzx2) 10/26/2018 at 18:35 • Filed to: Unnecessary Car Shopping

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So, I went up to the local Jeep dealer and finally got my ass behind the wheel of a Renegade. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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Interesting. First off the Altitude trim is quite loaded, dual zone climate, heated seats and steering wheel, the big screen (which is very responsive) and most noticeably and awesomely; that huge-ass panoramic sunroof. That thing is sweet.

Seriously, very nice.

Lets talk about my impressions:

1) interior- Not bad.

it doesn’t have leather, which is fine, but there’s plenty of soft touch in all the right places. The switchgear feels OK, though the turn-signal stalk is oddly notchy... it feels like the mechanism is definitely PLASTIC, you know what I mean? The front seats are pretty comfortable, driving position is decent, lots of movement in the steering wheel. For the life of me I could not figure out how to adjust the seat height, despite the info indicating it is adjustable... The place was busy so I did not get a full tour before they left me to the test drive. The side mirrors suck. Ford has spoiled me. Did I mention the awesome, humongous sunroof? That thing rocks!

2) engine- not bad. It’s the 1.4 multi-air turbo, which is a surprisingly stout little power plant.

It doesn’t sound as riotous as it does in the Abarth, but it has a little growl to it when you get into it... too bad it’s a MUCH heavier car than the Abarth. There’s a surprising amount of low-end torque, I mean I shouldn’t be surprised, the FieSTa is the same way, but its a smaller, less powerful engine in a heavier car, so it really is... well... surprising. Flogging it hard gets about the the sort of acceleration I expect from the FieSTa when I’m “being polite, but in a hurry”.

3) transmission- OMG, that shift knob is... I don’t know, wrong. It’s too big, and too spherical, and too... wrong. it’s just wrong damnit. The clutch is feather-light, but you can just tell what’s going on well enough to drive it well. The shift feel is fine, not as nice as the FieSTa, and a little rubbery in the three-four shift, as if the center gates are less well defined than the side gates.

It’s a fine stick, it feels fine.

4) handling/ride- This is most surprising and interesting and schizophrenic bit. Driving along in a straight line it feels wobbly side to side, with undamped motion, like an old Wrangler...

is this just the tall sidewalls? The F150 has tall sidewalls and doesn’t feel like that... what’s going on here? This is especially at odds with the very direct, and quick steering. It has almost the same “zero dead-spot” feel the FieSTa does, but with less loading of the feedback in the corners... And speaking of corners, once you commit and bend it into an on-ramp it changes character in the wierdest way... the weight almost seems to move lower, the side-to-side motion goes away, it takes a flat set and... it handles. I mean it’s no FieSTa, but it feels well planted, neutral (at the speeds I was going) and sure-footed. I mean, how does that jive with the floppy side to side thing? You fling it around, and it responds! Even jerking i t side to side or transitioning in s curves that side-to-side wobble disappears . I was not expecting that. but then...

Holy mother of road-noise batman! I mean, damn, it’s loud under there. Not dealbreaker loud, just not what I was expecting.

On rough stuff the ride is quite firm, I think there’s less suspension travel than you might expect given the big tires and tons of fender clearance. It does handle wash-boardy dirt with much more friendliness to the kidneys and ass than the FieSTa. The AWD allows the slightest hint of front wheel slip on loose surfaces before kicking in the rear under a hard launch, not like a real full-time AWD system (ala Audi or Subaru), but quicker and more seamless than a Rav-4 or Element (the only similar-ish vehicles I have any experience in).

The brakes?

They are good.

I give it a solid obamanotbad.gif. I just wonder what’s up with that side-to-side flop? In any case, tomorrow I drive the longer distance to the less-local VW dealer that has a manual Golf Sportwagon 4motion and give that a spin.

pip bip - choose Corrour > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/26/2018 at 18:51

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buy a Subaru

HammerheadFistpunch > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/26/2018 at 18:51

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If choosing between the 1.4t renegade and the sportwagen I would do sportwagen 100% of the time.  bigger, faster, just as economic, more fun to drive...its no contest for me.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > pip bip - choose Corrour 10/26/2018 at 19:00

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:P

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > HammerheadFistpunch 10/26/2018 at 19:01

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Well, i have some bad blood with older VAG devices, but I’m going to check it out. The Renegade surprised me, it was better than I thought it would  be.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/26/2018 at 19:33

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A Renegade seems like an interesting choice, honestly... almost like it’s trying to take the place of the Element in the current “boxy car” market.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/26/2018 at 19:38

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I had a renegade trail hawk for a rental and it was quite present. The trail hawk has the 2.4 and it was more than adequate. I didn’t have any issues with the handling either.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/26/2018 at 19:55

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What is your budget? 

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas 10/26/2018 at 19:57

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U nder $ 25K. The rebates and deals on that Jeep put it at $23K, despite all the equipment...

and 100 more > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/26/2018 at 19:57

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Sounds like an alignment issue, I wonder if the toe was out of spec. 

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > and 100 more 10/26/2018 at 20:00

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interesting... perhaps? It seemed odd behavior given the surprising stability and apparently well-thought damping evident mid-corner.

smobgirl > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/26/2018 at 20:02

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As someone who has always wanted an Element, I’ve been intrigued by these since the first concept release. But I’ve driven so many shitty rental Jeeps I couldn’t bring myself to test drive one.

What I REALLY want is a Kia Trail’ster, so basically a fantasy. I’ll be curious where the Renegade  ends up in your decision process.

BobintheMtns > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/26/2018 at 20:04

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Another vote for the vw.. those sportwagens are dope

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/26/2018 at 20:05

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If it doesn’t have to be new, I have seen a few 2 year old fwd volvo v60 and used tourx models.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/26/2018 at 20:05

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not familiar with either to recomend, but may open up the pool

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas 10/26/2018 at 20:10

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I’ve owned Volvos. I would own a V90 Cross Country if I could afford it, but a cheap Volvo is much like a cheap [insert expensive to repair European car brand here], in that it is often much more expensive than it appears at first. The regal TourX is significantly bigger in person than it looks in pictures... maybe bigger than i want.

DipodomysDeserti > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/26/2018 at 20:15

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You have a lot of FCA dealers near you? You can find ‘17  CPO Trailhawks with low miles for around $16k. Slightly used Latitudes are going for $13k near me. These things have terrible resale. If you plan on holding onto it I guess it doesn’t matter, but I don’t think they build these things to last. My local dealers are also have quite a few buy back Renegades on hand which makes me think they aren’t building them too well. I’d be wary of one that drives like it needs an alignment when new.

P5guy now GTIguy > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/26/2018 at 20:26

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Fca quality < 6 yr 72k warranty. Sportwagen all the way 

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/26/2018 at 20:27

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V olvos are great cars , but I know what you mean.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > DipodomysDeserti 10/26/2018 at 20:31

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N oted. I like the trim level, but I don’t want white, so I’d be looking for a different one, not that exact one. There are quite a few FCA dealers in Northern VT, but only three of them handle Jeep. I’m not that intere sted in a T railha wk anyway... and for some reason all the used Renegades in my area seem to be at the Buy here Pay here joints.

Nom De Plume > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/26/2018 at 22:39

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Quit going for an enthusiast vehicle and go find the next one everyone appreciates?

and 100 more > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/26/2018 at 23:45

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That’s why I’m wondering, maybe the suspension is well-sorted over all, but a little toe -in in the front would make it darty in a straight line, but turn -in would be sharp.

Might be worth it to test another one of a different trim level, see if  it has the same behavior. It might just be that particular Renegade, and they might be able dial out that dart iness.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > and 100 more 10/27/2018 at 10:25

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It didnt really feel darty though, it litterally f elt like it was 10 feet tall and wanting to lean over, then flopping back the other way... It seemed to track perfectly straight. This, over small p avement imperfections... Again, once commited to a corner the feeling was as if the center of mass of the vehicle had somehow moved about 50% lower and it took on a completly different feel... Ive never had an alighnment issue that felt like that... But maybe ive just never experienced tha t particular issue. I'm curious now and really want to drive a different one and see how it feels. 

boxrocket > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/27/2018 at 11:26

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Are the transmission issues fixed on the Renegade?

I’d get a CarMax Volvo V60 Cross Country before I’d consider any VAG product.

Have you thought about the CX-3 or CX-5? If handling is important, Mazda has that very well sorted.    

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > boxrocket 10/27/2018 at 11:48

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I’m still trying to avoid an automatic if I can, which leaves the V60xc and cx3/cx5 in AWD off the list for now . The nine-speed Fiat-Chrysler auto is a mess on just about everything except the Promaster City for some odd reason... I was unaware of any manual trans issues.

Duck Duck Grey Duck FTMFW! > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/27/2018 at 17:23

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Pssssst.... Buy a Subaru!

boxrocket > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/29/2018 at 07:16

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Glad they fixed the PMC. when it was first out it was widely despised - even by the folks selling and servicing them. I also see so many Transit Connects I forget that the PMC exists.

I didn’t realize you were keeping it manual. Too bad that Suzuki isn’t here anymore. A modern SX4 or its larger siblings would be great.

I think the Outlander Sport offers a manual with AWD still, but that could be my imagination. 

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > boxrocket 10/29/2018 at 17:44

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I t’s your imagination. No outlander sport with AWD and manual . The Jeep Compass as it turns out, is available with manual and AWD. I’m willing to give the Hyundai Kona 1.6t a go, despite the lack of manual, and as much as I DO like the driving dynamics of the CX3, the lack of manual coupled with the seats that don’t seem to fit me after fifteen minutes and the higher price put the Renegade 1.4t/AWD/Manual ahead of it.

cloverworks, aka Mrs. Boost > pip bip - choose Corrour 10/29/2018 at 20:28

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Just a little taste of the local Subaru resale market:

https://vermont.craigslist.org/cto/d/2003-subaru-impreza-wrx/6731277513.html

cloverworks, aka Mrs. Boost > Nom De Plume 10/29/2018 at 20:29

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He doesn’t work that way.  Luckily, the salespeople are patient.

CaptDale - is secretly British > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 10/30/2018 at 12:12

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I hate light upper elements. I will not buy a car with one. Or if I must I WILL change it to a dark upper.