MOTORS: Renegade by name but is this Jeep all it's cracked up to be?
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Jeeps have been around for a long time – getting on for 80 years – and the brand proudly boasts that they were the first to come up with an all-terrain vehicle.
The Willys arrived a full eight years before Spencer Wilks, boss of the Rover Car Company, used the island of Islay, where he had a home, as a testing ground for his creation, the Land Rover.
It gave astounding service during World War II and it was there that the name emerged as an abbreviation of the term general purpose, or GP, vehicle.
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More car reviews from Alan Douglas
Over many years it has become a generic term for a go-anywhere vehicle but there has been a subtle change along the way – and that involves the distinctive vertical slot grille.
The original Willys was built with Ford who first designed a nine-slot grille but after the war, Ford kept the trademark so when a civilian version was produced it had to come up with the modified seven-slot grille.
That has continued over the years through a series of corporate takeovers and mergers and has now
ended up in the hands of the giant Stellantis Group, which owns a host brands including Fiat, Citroen, Peugeot and Vauxhall.
The seven-slot grille is used in variations across the current four-model range and is so distinctive it almost doesn’t need to have the Jeep name on the bonnet.
One of the newest models to display that name also has the latest hybrid technology built in under the surface.
The Renegade is Jeep’s entry into the small SUV market which is a pretty crowded place these days with some fine examples from Skoda, Ford, Audi and even Mini.
There are a range of engine and transmission options but I spent some time behind the wheel of the 4xe plug-in hybrid which uses the same 1.3-litre petrol engine as the standard version but also has two electric motors to provide four-wheel-drive.
Together they offer the possibility of 29 miles of electric-only driving.
It was the top-trim Trailhawk model, with its heated leather seats and stacks of equipment as well as £2600 of extras including an electric panoramic sunroof.
There are three operating modes – hybrid, electric, e-save – and there is also a button for enabling increased brake regeneration which helps to keep the battery topped up.
There’s a six-speed automatic transmission selector to engage the different driving modes – auto, snow, mud and sand, and rock – and sport mode for enhanced throttle response and steering.
On the road, the ride quality is OK but isn’t as sophisticated as others in this sector.
The steering feels light and you’re aware of a bit of a body lean on tight bends while the suspension does its best to soak up potholes and ruts but you still feel most of them.
The driving position is comfortable and visibility all round is good, helped by the reversing camera, which comes as standard in the Trailhawk.
But the door mirrors are large and create a bit of wind noise at speed.
I was surprised that the interior wasn’t more spacious and you might find that some long-legged passengers will be struggling to stretch out comfortably while there is also not a lot of room for their luggage.
The interior design looks good but the materials feel a bit hard and utilitarian.
There are plenty of buttons on the centre console for things like the climate control, which is good, but a lot of other info is hidden within the 8.4-inch infotainment screen and it requires a fair degree of fiddling to find it.
The official economy figure is around 141 mpg but I think you’d have to work hard and be very sensible with the electric power to achieve that.
Officially, the 4xe can be recharged at home on a 2.3 kW system in less than five hours but if you upgrade the wallbox to 7.4 kW, you should get a full charge in under two hours which should be enough for a short commute.
