New cars, new technologies, and new features. What works for you and what annoys you? Let's get down to our Renegades. Good: 1) USB charging ports everywhere. 2) Cigarette ports everywhere. These are charging ports now. 3) DC to AC power converters. 4) Auto rear wiper activation when reverse with the front wipers on. 5) Headlights brightens in the direction you are turning. Bad: 1) Cannot drive with the door open. I like to maneuver with the door open to check edges and make little adjustments when positioning the car to be worked on. The Renegade will engage the electronic ebrake and that will disable your gas pedal from giving commands to the drivetrain. The engine will rev, but the car won't move. Does this mean no burnouts? 2) Cannot engage 4Low in park. I don't know the reason, but why can't it? More options helps in this case. It's simple, but it bugged me when I found this out. I know now to engage 4Low in drive and don't have to think about it. 3) Slow response auto/manual shifter. Sure I can choose what gear I want to be in, but it takes forever for the transmission to shift. I know it's not a sports car, but why don't all auto/manual shifter cars have a better response shifts. Any else?
How hit and miss LED bulb compatibility seems to be. I'd like to replace all the incandescent bulbs with LEDs, but so many people have reported issues that I don't want to risk it. Also, how difficult post-purchase factory upgrades are. Things like adding factory fog lights if not equipped from the factory or upgrading the stereo etc. Though this seems to be a problem across platforms as cars continue to be so heavily integrated with their computer.
Because that's what the manufacturers are telling us what "we" want. They design it to be nice and "cushy" for mom to go and get groceries, not immediate, positive (uncomfortable for mom remember) shifts (which is actually much easier on the transmission). I am a die-hard manual transmission fan, and almost all of the vehicles I've had in my 40 years of driving have been manuals, but just bought the Renegade with the 9-speed auto because we have a boy just learning to drive. (just put the 6-speed Camaro and the wife's 5-speed Miata in the barn for winter storage....) But autos do have their good points...people can talk on their phone while smoking a cigarette and drinking their $5 cup of coffee much easier. My main downer so far about the Renegade with 1000 miles on it is the size of the fuel tank! Mid 20's mpg is decent, but wish the tank held more than my bladder.
