Traded my '08 JKU on a Renegade Latitude 75th Anniversary Edition. Took over a year to make the final decision because I was hoping to wait for a compact/mid-sized truck along the lines of the RAM 700/1000/1200. Will be keeping my 97 Ranger a few more years, meanwhile I have a decent road rig capable of any conditions typical to where I live. Doubt I'll even try an off-road park but I trust the design of the Renegade's AWD for handling mud and snow which are fairly common occurrences for me.
I traded an 06' Ram 1500 4x4 Quad cab on 16' Renegade TH. I've been pleased with my little toaster. It's a change from driving the Hemi but serves me very well. I haven't modified the TH yet, but some upgrades are coming. The front seat room is very comfortable, I'm over 6'4" .
May I ask why you chose to come down from a full-sized pickup? The reason I ask is that I have a personal blog site called Roadwhale dot com where I discuss how today's trucks have become grossly oversized. I'm interested in your reasoning, whether you agree or not.
They're a couple reasons for the downsizing. The first reason is that I just plain needed another vehicle. My wife told me that she wanted a divorce so I got a vehicle that is still 4wd , gets good gas mileage , I really like , and I could afford to buy it new. I have no problem with the size of trucks. I do really like Renegade TH. I don't think you ought to go into the purchase thinking it's just as capable as the JK because it's not. It's unique styling and the capabilities it does have make it a good value. I must say that I have also owned a 05 LJ and a 99' Ram 1500 4wd quad cab. These were also great vehicles.
Thank you. I understand the need for fuel mileage since you're going to need to economize with your upcoming divorce (sorry to hear it though) as those big trucks just don't, yet, get the economy they should and I'm quite sure you got a decent trade-in too... What? paid just about half the car in one shot? As for capability, I haven't had the opportunity to test its capabilities all that well, but wet grass with a moderate slope onto the in-Law's driveway had many family cars (4x2) spinning their wheels and the Renegade climbed it with only a hint of a slip (and the strong hit of the other axle coming online to push us through.) I'm sure most people feeling that hit think it's a problem but I have enough experience driving (over 40 years) that I recognized the added push for what it was. Only way to avoid that is to pre-set the dial (or hit the center button) before you start rolling and remember to release it once on good pavement.
