Motoring Middle East: Car news, Reviews and Buying guides

Check out our videos featuring all the details of the all-new baby Jeep that arrives next year

By Shahzad Sheikh

I really like the look of this thing. It’s seems to do what Suzuki should have done had it kept developing cars like the brilliant little SJ. See our previous story on the Jeep Renegade

My walkaround of the new 2015 Jeep Renegade, plus a look inside

The 2015 Jeep Renegade is a small, light, fun off-roader that should open up the segment at the bottom end of the SUV market where ability goes hand-in-hand with trendy looks.

In fact the Renegade Trailhawk version is ‘Trail Rated’ with Jeep Selec-Terrain system and Jeep Active Drive Low including 20:1 crawl ratio, so it should really be able to do the business when it comes to off-roading.

Watch Mark Allen, Head of Jeep Brand Design explain the design elements of the new Renegade

It will be offered with two engines – a 1.4-litre MultiAir Turbo mated to a six-speed manual transmission or a 2.4-litre Tigershark with MultiAir2 equipped with the nine-speed auto seen in the new Jeep Cherokee. It’s this latter configuration that we’re likely to get for our region. That will serve up 184bhp at 6400rpm and 177lb ft of torque at 4400rpm.

While the engines will be built in Michigan, the car itself will be assembled in Melfi, Italy, as the platform is shared with the Fiat 500L.

Phil Jansen – Director, Vehicle Line Executive (Engineering) talks about how the new Renegade was developed

It has McPherson strut, coil springs, flat front steel crossmember at the front and Chapman strut, high-strength steel links with isolated steel rear cradle for 4×4 for the suspension. It’s the first Jeep SUV to integrate Koni’s frequency selective damping front and rear strut system.

The Trailhawk version gets increased ride height, 17-inch wheels with on and off-road tyres, 8.7inches (22cm) ground clearance, 8.1 inches (20.6cm) of wheel articulation, 19-inches (48cm) of water fording, and 30.5degree approach, 25.7degree breakover and 34.3degree departure angles.

The interior design language has been dubbed ‘Tek-Tonic’ and features soft-touch surfaces with bold design elements and anodized coloured trim panels with the well-known Jerrycan ‘X’ motif liberally employed in both the interior and exterior designs (check the taillight and roof). Naturally there’s loads of typical Jeep ‘Easter Eggs’ to find on the car too.

Linking it to the Wrangler with its removable roof, the Renegade has a ‘My Sky’ roof system with manual removable or power tilt/slide twin panels in the roof, featuring honeycomb fibreglass panels that can be removed and stored in the luggage compartment.

Unfortunately there has been no indication on pricing yet, I’m hoping for somewhere below the AED100k mark.

Do you think the Jeep Renegade will sell here? Let us know below