Saturday, October 17, 2020

I can't believe that people pay money for them

 So I had to have some warranty work done on the Truck.


The Dodge dealer gave me a brand new Jeep Renegade to drive. 

What a shitbox.

The transmission never stops shifting, the dash looks like it was laid out by a 4th grader, and the controls feel cheap.

The acceleration is mediocre at best, the engine sounds like a sewing machine eating gravel while tripping on meth, and the handling is almost as good as my Kubota tractor.  The Fiat 124 was a better car 50 years ago.

I cannot believe, as competitive as the small car market is that Jeep sells these things. For $22k, one can buy a LOT of small car from Toyota, Hyundai, Nissan, Kia, even Ford and Chevy and Subaru. None of them are luxury cars, but at least they are decently engineered. 


On the bright side, the outward vision from the Renegade was decent...and the turn signals worked. 

6 comments:

cannon said...

2.4L 4 cylinder engine.....whadda ya expect??? if ya could get a 5.7 hemi....now THAT i would drive.

Peteforester said...

This is what you get when you marry the worst carmaker in America to the worst carmaker in Europe!

"Put a dodge in your garage... and leave it there..."

"Oh, Fer Chrysler's sake; NOT AGAIN!"

"Fiat: Fix It Again Tony..."

That being said,... I own a '97 Jeep Wrangler... which was made by Mopar... It's had a couple of "Chrysleresque" problems, but has otherwise been a pretty reliable ride. Then again, this was before "The Great Bailout..."

The Freeholder said...

They're trying to make up for a lack of engine displacement with a lot of transmission speeds. It works up to a point. While it annoys car guys, most people never notice. My wife has a 19 Jeep Cherokee with the same drive train. She thinks it's wonderful. I hate driving it. I'll stick with my 19 YO pickup with a 5.3 and 4 speed automatic. Much mo betta.

DaveS said...

That constant shifting is why I bought a Toyota 4Runner rather than a Jeep Grand Cherokee. 5 speed automatic in the 4Runner. Sure do miss those manual transmissions!

B said...

Cannon and Freeholder:

I have an Outback with a 2.4 liter 4 cyl. It's a MUCH better drivetrain.
My parents have a Camry with a 2.4 inline 4 cyl and a 5 speed automatic. It drives a lot nicer too.
THe engineering on the Renegade is for shit.

The Freeholder said...

Had a 2011 Outback. Sold it. CVTs are junk. They may eventually get the metallurgy and engineering right. Eventually.