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Old 03-17-2015, 05:51 PM   #1
mryan55
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Default 2015 Jeep Renegade

In the Great Lakes Business Center, most dealerships are starting to get 2015 Renegades on the ground. All of these are pre-spec units, but I think the vehicle has a good chance of being a hit!

I took a Renegade Latitude 4x4 with the 2.4L Multiair WGE and the 9 speed auto built at the new plant in Tipton, IN out for an extended drive today.

First impressions
  • Build quality: excellent... small panel gaps, everything seems to work well together. Passenger window switch seems to be messed up, but there will always be little things at the start of a model run.
  • Fit and finish: FCAs best offering yet... the Melfi, Italy plant has built the Fiat Panda for some time... even though the materials might not be the highest quality (hard plastic door trim, although dash and most other touch point are soft), the execution is all well done!
  • Space: Probably not too far from the Grand Cherokee and KL Cherokee in terms of usable space. Although the measurements tossed around make it seems smaller, there's plenty of space there. Very high ceiling as well.

As far as ordering, ordering will be done by committee in Auburn Hills, just like the Fiat 500L, which is made in Serbia. FCA US will order the cars, and dealers will pick from units that are available at port in Baltimore, MD. Yes, this makes a sold order pretty much impossible, but hopefully a good mix is imported from the Melfi plant.

All told, I'm pretty impressed. It's early days with no real press yet, and we already have 3 on the ground and 6 more in transit from Baltimore. This launch is much better conceived than the Dart, 2013 Ram, and 2014 Cherokee before it.

Here's a photo of my black tester, with upgraded wheels and the 2.4L I4 / 9 speed auto transmission as the only options.


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Old 03-18-2015, 07:59 AM   #2
XDCX
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Thanks for creating the thread - great information.

I was not aware that the dealers were not going to be able to configure their own orders for stock. I know the method you described is what a lot of the Japanese OEMs used 10 - 20 years ago and it clearly worked for them.

I also agree with your comments regarding the launch of the vehicle. I like it when new product starts arriving at the dealership before there's been much advertising for the vehicle.

It will be interesting to see what happens with the Renegade and what type of customers it draws to the dealership. Based on your comments it sounds like a very solid vehicle and hopefully it will generate incremental sales.
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Old 03-18-2015, 09:31 AM   #3
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I'm sure it's larger in size, but body reminds me of a Kia Soul merged with a Nissan Rogue.
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Old 03-18-2015, 09:56 AM   #4
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Originally Posted by Txflyer View Post
I'm sure it's larger in size, but body reminds me of a Kia Soul merged with a Nissan Rogue.
I need to see the two of them side by side, but based on the photo above I'd be somewhat concerned that the Renegade might cannibalize some Cherokee sales.

Also, as a Jeep Guy the Renegade branding implies to me that the new vehicle is one of the most off-road capable. Is that the case or is the Cherokee the more capable vehicle?
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Old 03-18-2015, 07:42 PM   #5
mryan55
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Originally Posted by XDCX View Post
I need to see the two of them side by side, but based on the photo above I'd be somewhat concerned that the Renegade might cannibalize some Cherokee sales.

Also, as a Jeep Guy the Renegade branding implies to me that the new vehicle is one of the most off-road capable. Is that the case or is the Cherokee the more capable vehicle?
I think the Trailhawk and Limited trim levels could well steal some sales from the volume leading Cherokee Latitude 4x4. My non-scientific projection is that we will still two Cherokees for each Renegade. If the Renegade Latitude 4x4 becomes the volume leader as the Latitude 4x4 designation has for Cherokee, there will still be a $4,000 MSRP gap between the two.

As far as off-road capability, the two should be fairly equal. Both are soft-roaders through and through, for sure. The Renegade only offers a single-speed PTU for all trims (except Trailhawk, with 4Low standard).

Cherokee has an option 2 speed PTU on Latitude and Limited, a 2 speed PTU with 4Low is standard on Trailhawk.

Other than the wider availability of 2 speed PTU on Cherokee, the majority of Renegades and Cherokees will share the same powertrain: 2.4L I4, 9 speed auto, and FWD or 4x4/AWD with 1 speed PTU.

Renegade will offer a 1.4 I4 turbo (think Dart launch engine, Fiat 500 Abarth, etc) and 6 speed manual combo as well, but this will be only on Sport and Latitude models, and I haven't seen any pre-specs that are shipping with the little turbo engine. I don't expect this to be a volume configuration.
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Old 03-18-2015, 07:44 PM   #6
mryan55
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Txflyer View Post
I'm sure it's larger in size, but body reminds me of a Kia Soul merged with a Nissan Rogue.
The Kia Soul influence is definitely there... most of the Renegades will probably be priced a lot higher than the Souls though.

We will see what happens... it looks like FCA is aiming more at the high-end compacts like Mini Countryman, the soon-to-release Honda HR-V, etc...
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Old 03-19-2015, 12:28 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mryan55 View Post
I think the Trailhawk and Limited trim levels could well steal some sales from the volume leading Cherokee Latitude 4x4. My non-scientific projection is that we will still two Cherokees for each Renegade. If the Renegade Latitude 4x4 becomes the volume leader as the Latitude 4x4 designation has for Cherokee, there will still be a $4,000 MSRP gap between the two.

As far as off-road capability, the two should be fairly equal. Both are soft-roaders through and through, for sure. The Renegade only offers a single-speed PTU for all trims (except Trailhawk, with 4Low standard).

Cherokee has an option 2 speed PTU on Latitude and Limited, a 2 speed PTU with 4Low is standard on Trailhawk.

Other than the wider availability of 2 speed PTU on Cherokee, the majority of Renegades and Cherokees will share the same powertrain: 2.4L I4, 9 speed auto, and FWD or 4x4/AWD with 1 speed PTU.

Renegade will offer a 1.4 I4 turbo (think Dart launch engine, Fiat 500 Abarth, etc) and 6 speed manual combo as well, but this will be only on Sport and Latitude models, and I haven't seen any pre-specs that are shipping with the little turbo engine. I don't expect this to be a volume configuration.
Thanks for the information.

I was just watching an episode of MotorWeek on TV and I didn't realize the Renegade was as small as it was. Maybe it won't be too much of a threat to the Cherokee based on its size.

I know some of the hard core Jeepers are opposed to the Renegade because of its DNA but I'm sure the vast majority of the retail buyers won't care. Hell, if the Jeep brand could survive the Compass I'm sure it will survive the Renegade.
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Old 03-19-2015, 12:30 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mryan55 View Post
The Kia Soul influence is definitely there... most of the Renegades will probably be priced a lot higher than the Souls though.

We will see what happens... it looks like FCA is aiming more at the high-end compacts like Mini Countryman, the soon-to-release Honda HR-V, etc...
It will be interesting to see how FCA prices the Renegade.

In my opinion, some of the most successful launches Chrysler has ever had were the ones where the initial allocations were priced low and then Chrysler added several mid-year price increases once the vehicle was established in the market.
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Old 03-19-2015, 06:32 PM   #9
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The Renegade is head and shoulders above it's Belvedere-build older siblings... in terms of build quality and off-road capability, especially with the Trailhawk model.

So far our most-expensive pre-spec is $26k, three of them are $24k. So at least $2-5k lower than a comparable Cherokee.

There is a full-on 2015 Renegade configuration already on Jeep.com -- it hasn't even been turned on in VOIM yet for us dealers, so I'm learning by playing around on the Jeep website.

Here's a link!
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Old 03-20-2015, 11:55 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mryan55 View Post
The Renegade is head and shoulders above it's Belvedere-build older siblings... in terms of build quality and off-road capability, especially with the Trailhawk model.

So far our most-expensive pre-spec is $26k, three of them are $24k. So at least $2-5k lower than a comparable Cherokee.

There is a full-on 2015 Renegade configuration already on Jeep.com -- it hasn't even been turned on in VOIM yet for us dealers, so I'm learning by playing around on the Jeep website.

Here's a link!
Thanks for the update.

It's interesting to hear that Auburn Hills is providing more information via their retail site to their customers than they are via DealerConnect/VOIM for their dealers.

Concerning the pricing, compared to the Cherokee the pricing sounds awesome. It appears Auburn Hills is on the cusp of a successful launch of the Renegade and if they do everything right it should generate some incremental Jeep sales for the dealers and the factory.
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Old 03-22-2015, 08:51 AM   #11
mryan55
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Well, it's early days for the Renegade... we have only had a couple of demo drives, so far customers are receiving it well.

Haven't sold one yet.

It is garnering lots of comparisons to the Kia Soul... the boxy look is the same, but I think the Jeep is a little brawnier in every way possible... and it's a bit bigger overall.
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Old 03-22-2015, 11:58 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by XDCX View Post
It's interesting to hear that Auburn Hills is providing more information via their retail site to their customers than they are via DealerConnect/VOIM for their dealers.
Dealer order guides with complete pricing and options were available back in January.
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