The Renegade’s chunky, thick styling and broad pillars means it falls short of matching similarly-sized hatchbacks for space. It’s a short car, and that’s reflected in the seating, which encourages an upright posture to make the most use of the headroom. You can get four adults in, but those thick pillars make it feel a bit claustrophobic without the optional glass sunroof. Three kids can sit across the rear bench, though, and for middle-seat occupants the central tunnel is quite low, wide and flat.
The door bins and centre cubby are also smaller than some rivals – on the rear doors the speakers take up room and leave just a bottle-shaped holder. There’s a feeling of being hemmed-in by the rather bulky dashboard too – an attempt to mimic the upright feel of a classic Jeep (right down to a passenger grab handle) despite the far-away windscreen. The packaging is certainly unusual, but it adds to the car’s character.
And it’s not all bad. The Renegade’s wide-opening and tall rear doors make getting to the back seats rather easier than in recent, trendy coupe-SUVs – which is a big benefit when helping infants into child seats.
Boot space and storage
What do you expect from a car less that measures than 4.3 metres long? Probably more than 351 litres of boot space – or just 330 litres for the 4xe plug-in hybrid. It’s a flat, wide shape and you’ll find it easy to fill efficiently. Loading height, at 760mm, is lower than you might expect for a car that looks this tall – the 4xe’s is higher.
A big plus point of the self-charging e-Hybrid model is that the electrical equipment doesn’t impact the amount of space you get inside. Jeep stashed the battery pack in the central tunnel, and the electric motor is mounted in the gearbox, so boot and passenger space is identical to the pure petrol model.
Fold the seats flat and the tall roof becomes a further benefit, with maximum space swelling to 1,297 litres for the petrol and full hybrid variants.
There’s a small net or pocket for loose items in the side of the boot, but on higher-spec models the opposite side holds a subwoofer. Overall, the Jeep Renegade doesn’t offer any particularly innovative solutions to carrying your lifestyle gear.
Despite the ample torque and grip of the 4xe, it has relatively low towing capability – just 1,150kg braked. The 1.0-litre petrol can handle 1,250kg or the 1.3-litre automatic can tow 1,450kg. Jeep hasn’t yet confirmed how much the new e-Hybrid variant can haul.
Is it easy to park?
With its large mirrors and squared-off body, the Jeep Renegade is easy to park – particularly as it’s not very long and the reversing lights cast a good pattern to judge distance. However, you do need to go up the range to get front parking sensors and many rivals now offer 360-degree cameras when you’re spending that much. An optional parking pack adds automatic parking and rear cross path detection for models lower down the SUV’s pecking order – although it comes as standard on the 4xe Trailhawk.
Safety
Reasonable Euro NCAP performance
Plenty of kit included as standard
4xe adds security of all-wheel drive
When launched and tested by Euro NCAP in 2014, the Jeep Renegade achieved five stars. It was retested in 2019, achieving three stars. Isofix points are present on the outer rear seats, and it performed well in the child seat compatibility tests.
It has seven airbags, adding driver’s knee protection to the front, side and full-length curtain arrangement, and as a result the percentages for occupant (including child) and pedestrian protection did not change much, despite tougher benchmarks. The change in score reflects a lack of safety assistants such as autonomous emergency braking or active lane keeping on the base model.
These safety assistants are now standard on all Jeep Renegades, and while we can’t say that this makes it a five-star car, it addresses the main reason the 2019 test score was so low. On lower specification models the primary omission now is adaptive cruise control. Blind-spot monitoring is also an option, which is included in Jeep’s parking pack.
Safety is more than just crash protection, and the Jeep Renegade 4xe’s all-weather all-wheel drive offers a measure of additional security in wet or loose gravel conditions. On the whole, though, you may want to look to more recent alternatives if having the safest small SUV is your priority.
WATCH: Jeep Renegade Euro NCAP crash test (2019)
Basic equipment
The basic equipment list includes equipment that is standard across all versions of the Jeep Renegade.
3x3 point rear seat belts
ABS
Alarm
Audio remote
Driver`s airbag
Electric mirrors
Front electric windows
Isofix child seat anchor points
PAS
Passenger`s airbag
Rear electric windows
Remote locking
Side airbags
Steering wheel rake adjustment
Steering wheel reach adjustment
Traction control
Equipment by trim level
To view equipment options for a specific trim level, please select from the following list:
Equipment included on some trim levels
Air conditioning
Alloy wheels
Climate control
Cloth seat trim
Cruise control
Electric driver`s seat
Electric passenger`s seat
Electric sunroof
Folding rear seats
Front fog lights
Heated mirrors
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Leather seat trim
Lumbar support
Metallic Paint
Parking sensors
Partial leather seat trim
Roof rails
Sat Nav
Space saver spare wheel
75th Anniversary equipment
75th Anniversary standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Climate control
Cloth seat trim
Cruise control
Electric sunroof
Front fog lights
Heated mirrors
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Leather seat trim
Lumbar support
Parking sensors
Sat Nav
75th Anniversary optional equipment
Air conditioning
Electric driver`s seat
Roof rails
Space saver spare wheel
80th Anniversry Edition equipment
80th Anniversry Edition standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Cloth seat trim
Electric driver`s seat
Electric passenger`s seat
Folding rear seats
Heated mirrors
Heated seats
Lumbar support
Parking sensors
Roof rails
Sat Nav
80th Anniversry Edition optional equipment
Climate control
Cruise control
Front fog lights
Height adjustable drivers seat
Leather seat trim
Space saver spare wheel
Dawn Of Justice equipment
Dawn Of Justice standard equipment
Air conditioning
Alloy wheels
Cloth seat trim
Cruise control
Front fog lights
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Lumbar support
Metallic Paint
Parking sensors
Roof rails
Sat Nav
Dawn Of Justice optional equipment
Climate control
Desert hawk equipment
Desert hawk standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Climate control
Cruise control
Folding rear seats
Front fog lights
Heated mirrors
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Leather seat trim
Lumbar support
Parking sensors
Partial leather seat trim
Roof rails
Sat Nav
Desert hawk optional equipment
Cloth seat trim
Electric driver`s seat
Space saver spare wheel
Limited equipment
Limited standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Heated mirrors
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Leather seat trim
Sat Nav
Limited optional equipment
Climate control
Cloth seat trim
Cruise control
Electric driver`s seat
Front fog lights
Lumbar support
Parking sensors
Roof rails
Space saver spare wheel
Longitude equipment
Longitude standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Cloth seat trim
Cruise control
Front fog lights
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Parking sensors
Roof rails
Sat Nav
Longitude optional equipment
Air conditioning
Climate control
Lumbar support
Night Eagle equipment
Night Eagle standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Climate control
Cloth seat trim
Cruise control
Front fog lights
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Lumbar support
Parking sensors
Roof rails
Sat Nav
Night Eagle optional equipment
Air conditioning
Night Eagle II equipment
Night Eagle II standard equipment
Cloth seat trim
Cruise control
Front fog lights
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Parking sensors
Roof rails
Sat Nav
Night Eagle II optional equipment
Air conditioning
Alloy wheels
Climate control
Lumbar support
Metallic Paint
Space saver spare wheel
Opening Edition equipment
Opening Edition standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Climate control
Cruise control
Folding rear seats
Front fog lights
Heated mirrors
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Leather seat trim
Lumbar support
Parking sensors
Roof rails
Sat Nav
Opening Edition optional equipment
Cloth seat trim
Electric driver`s seat
Space saver spare wheel
S equipment
S standard equipment
Cruise control
Heated mirrors
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Leather seat trim
Lumbar support
Parking sensors
Roof rails
Sat Nav
Space saver spare wheel
S optional equipment
None available
S Limited equipment
S Limited standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Electric driver`s seat
Folding rear seats
Heated mirrors
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Leather seat trim
Lumbar support
Metallic Paint
Parking sensors
Roof rails
Sat Nav
S Limited optional equipment
Climate control
Cloth seat trim
Cruise control
Front fog lights
Space saver spare wheel
Sport equipment
Sport standard equipment
Air conditioning
Alloy wheels
Cloth seat trim
Height adjustable drivers seat
Sport optional equipment
Cruise control
Roof rails
Sat Nav
Tough Mudder equipment
Tough Mudder standard equipment
Air conditioning
Alloy wheels
Cloth seat trim
Cruise control
Front fog lights
Heated mirrors
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Lumbar support
Metallic Paint
Parking sensors
Roof rails
Sat Nav
Tough Mudder optional equipment
Climate control
TrailHawk equipment
TrailHawk standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Cruise control
Heated mirrors
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Leather seat trim
Lumbar support
Roof rails
Sat Nav
TrailHawk optional equipment
Climate control
Cloth seat trim
Electric driver`s seat
Front fog lights
Parking sensors
Space saver spare wheel
Upland equipment
Upland standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Cloth seat trim
Cruise control
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Lumbar support
Parking sensors
Roof rails
Sat Nav
Space saver spare wheel
Upland optional equipment
None available
Euro NCAP Rating – 3 stars
The Jeep Renegade was tested by Euro NCAP in 2019 and was awarded a 3 star overall rating.
This overall rating is calculated from the following individual ratings:
Euro NCAP provides motoring consumers with a realistic and independent assessment of the safety performance of some of the most popular cars sold in Europe.
The safety ratings are determined from a series of vehicle tests, designed and carried out by Euro NCAP.
These tests represent, in a simplified way, important real life accident scenarios that could result in injured or killed car occupants or other road users.