2015 Renegade Trailhawk

[WrenchMonkey]

it's a cute little Jeep

I think it's a neat little car

awesome little rigs.

a nice little rig

That's definitely the impression, but really, they're not all that small. I passed one on the road in my XJ, I was stunned how similar it was, size-wise.
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I looked it up, and the Renegade runs almost the exact same wheelbase and overall length as an XJ, and is actually 3" taller, and 4" wider.
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I know the XJ isn't a huge vehicle, but I thought it was interesting that a new subcompact is actually bigger than what was once considered "midsized."

 

[kojackJKU]

Interior size is small for cargo.

 

[WagoneerSX4]

That's the thing, people expect the interior to be as big as the old mid-size SUV's just because the exterior sizes are similar, but there's a lot more crumple zone and crash protection in the doors that really add to the overall size and take away from interior size.

Not to mention older vehicles were square which is the most efficient shape for interior room where as new vehicles have tapered roofs and tailgates for aerodynamics which greatly takes away from cargo room.

I miss my 850R wagon. By today's standards it was square as a box but the stuff I could fit in that with the seats down was simply amazing purely because of the totally square cargo area. And that thing still had a .32 drag coefficient, which is better than most cars on the road today not to mention safer. Engineering is going backwards.

 

[kayadog]

And so it begins.......

http://www.allpar.com/forums/threads/renegade-has-software-problems.160818/

I like both the Renegade and Cherokee in Trailhawk form but won't consider buying either due to reliability concerns.

 

[WrenchMonkey]

Interior size is small for cargo.

That's the thing, people expect the interior to be as big as the old mid-size SUV's just because the exterior sizes are similar, but there's a lot more crumple zone and crash protection in the doors that really add to the overall size and take away from interior size...

Fair enough!

 

[Comanche Scott]

"Still think that Trail Hawk would be an awesome Daughter-goes-to-college vehicle"

Do you mean for the Dad who is now free of shuttling kids around or for the daughter (what a waste...)???

BOTH! :beer:

 

[Geodoc]

Still waiting. Last I heard it was in the "Trim" stage at the factory (that's the final stage in assembly before it goes to the various inspectors prior to shipping to the US). I was hoping to bring it the NWOR, but.....

As an FYI, I ain't giving up the '01 Cherokee - gonna let the 16 year old daughter use it for school transport (and I'll keep it around to haul heavier stuff).

 

[kayadog]

I believe all Renegades have been held at the factory until a software issue has been resolved. Estimated to resume delivery in mid-June. I'd be really nervous buying a new Cherokee or Renegade.

 

[Geodoc]

Quit with the negative waves Moriarty! Woof, woof.

 

[kojackJKU]

I have no issues buying either. I know lots of people with Cherokees and have no issues.

 

[kayadog]

Like I said, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you are going to buy a new Cherokee or Renegade, you really need to do some research. There is a documented design flaw with the ZF 9 speed transmission, not just in Jeeps but in Land Rovers, Acura's, and all other vehicles using this transmission. Cherokees are getting the most bad press due to the large number sold. There also appears to be software issues with Cherokees and Renegades that me or may not be related to the ZF 9 speed. I really want these fuel efficient Jeeps with off the shelf off road ability to succeed, and my next Jeep will likely be an anvil KL Cherokee Trailhawk, but I have decided to keep my Liberty with its ancient and reliable 4 speed a little longer while they work this out. My guess is that the ZF 9 speed will be replaced in both vehicles-- the refreshed KL Cherokee is just around the corner. Again, not trying to be a hater but I want to make sure my fellow expedition Jeepers are fully informed.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/jeep-r...ms-may-or-may-not-be-related-to-9-speed-auto/

http://www.nitrobahn.com/news/fca-transmission-fix-focuses-on-snap-ring/

http://blog.caranddriver.com/holy-s...ases-third-software-update-for-jeep-cherokee/

http://jeepcherokeeclub.com/394-fca...smission-problems-not-cherokee-exclusive.html

If you do end up getting one, I truly wish you the best of luck and please post pictures and updates!

 

[DailyJeep]

Like I said, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you are going to buy a new Cherokee or Renegade, you really need to do some research...

If you do end up getting one, I truly wish you the best of luck and please post pictures and updates!

My folks bought a Cherokee Trailhawk last summer and immediately took it on a 1500+ mile ramble through the Midwest. It's equipped with the V6 and over the course of the trip it even outperformed the EPA highway rating of 27 mpg and almost eclipsed 30 mpg on long highway stretches according to the car's computer.

I've driven the car numerous times and really don't perceive all the issues people mention. Upshifts are fine, it just wants to make them as quickly as possible. Downshifts are slower in that you need to use the accelerator in order to induce the shift or else the car will attempt to chug along at low RPMs. When it does downshift, I never found it to waffle between gears. Do I wish it performed slightly differently? Yes. However, the more you drive it, the more you realize you can overcome the nuance simply by the way you use the accelerator. It's not much different than driving my XJ on 33s, if I see a hill coming up, I know I need to get into the accelerator to make the transmission downshift or else I'll lose 5+ mph before the car would make the shift itself.

Now with this said, this is with the V6. I could definitely see this being more an issue with a 4 cyl variant since it won't have the same torque profile. So what might be a minor gripe with the V6 could be a big annoyance with the 4 cyl, especially if all this work actually decreases fuel economy. I'm hoping to get being the wheel of a Renegade soon to test this out myself, but the stop-sale order has delayed that from happening.

 

[kayadog]

Unfortunately I think the problem is bigger than odd shifting, at least in the Cherokee. The odd shifting may just be the nature of the 9 speed. The reported problems are much more serious. Check this post from Allpar.com from this morning:


-- The ZF 9speed in the Cherokee were having problems right away, error codes, bad shifting, refusal to start with trans messages, leaving drivers stranded, but NOT failing (as in needing to be rebuilt). Some have had multiple replacements of the trans directed by FCA to dissect and find what went wrong.

Yes, other manufacturer's vehicles are having problems with the ZF 9spd, so part of it is ZF and their design, the Cherokee is having worse problems and FCA did the software and control parameters themselves, and thus its pretty evident FCA screwed it up even more for the Cherokee. The Renegade, which uses the ZF software, they've said the software announcement is NOT for the transmission, so there is no reason to suspect that the trans is any more of a problem than any other new vehicle with a ZF 9 spd. Of course everyone is a bit suspicious, we've seen things like this before.

 

[DailyJeep]

Unfortunately I think the problem is bigger than odd shifting, at least in the Cherokee. The odd shifting may just be the nature of the 9 speed. The reported problems are much more serious. Check this post from Allpar.com from this morning:


-- The ZF 9speed in the Cherokee were having problems right away, error codes, bad shifting, refusal to start with trans messages, leaving drivers stranded, but NOT failing (as in needing to be rebuilt). Some have had multiple replacements of the trans directed by FCA to dissect and find what went wrong.

Yes, other manufacturer's vehicles are having problems with the ZF 9spd, so part of it is ZF and their design, the Cherokee is having worse problems and FCA did the software and control parameters themselves, and thus its pretty evident FCA screwed it up even more for the Cherokee. The Renegade, which uses the ZF software, they've said the software announcement is NOT for the transmission, so there is no reason to suspect that the trans is any more of a problem than any other new vehicle with a ZF 9 spd. Of course everyone is a bit suspicious, we've seen things like this before.

Certainly suspicious indeed... and one thing FCA certainly lacks is the ability to communicate. Then again, they certainly aren't going to go out on a limb to sully their brand. Regardless, I think you're correct in that the ZF 9 spd might disappear as quickly as it appeared. It also seems other brands who were once eager to adopt the 9 spd have decided to make their own transmissions in house and with less gears. Isn't Ford making their own 8 spd transmissions for upcoming crossovers? I might be wrong. For the sake of my parent's Cherokee, I'll at least hope if they can avoid these gremlins then it'll prove to be reliable over the life of the vehicle.

 

[calicamper]

Waiting on crash test results. I wouldn't be putting a teen in one thats for sure.