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Its square, though not in its nature – it’s a Jeep after all, which means it comes with an all American eau de toilette cool air about it. The Jeep brand began during WWII (1941), making the famous Willys Overland. Seven decades on - the Renegade is Jeep’s newest family member, it’s a youngster on the crossover block, but every bit a Jeep.

My test Renegade arrived – it was bright yellow. Hard to miss, it made a bold statement, to say the least. I’m pretty visual as a person, so every time I looked at the yellow Renegade I had visions: Malibu beach, Pamela Anderson and David Hasselhoff running with a lifesaving buoy and the Bay Watch theme music playing in the distance.

Jokes aside, the Renegade is a compact crossover lifestyle vehicle that is built off a shared platform with Fiat - used on 500L and 500X. It’s a solid foundation on which to add the Jeep’s signature aesthetic toppings.

Loaded with quirky details that are true to Jeep heritage, beginning with an open-air driving experience thanks to two special sunroof configurations. There’s also a host of over 30 kitsch but cool Jeep iconic signatures (old-school Jeep seven slat grille and two round headlamps) hidden within the cars detailing, each bringing a smile as you find yet another treasure concealed in the detail.

More than a pretty face: the Renegade features the same Uconnect system as used in the Fiat and Alfa, albeit tweak with Jeep flair. Standard features include a Bluetooth interface to access extra functions such as phone call management and reading received SMS text messages and not forgetting a USB port and AUX-IN connector.

Built for the challenges of the city – the Renegade features ‘Best in class’ safety: including 6 standard airbags, ESC with Electronic Rollover Mitigation (ERM), Parkview rear camera, Forward Collision Warning-Plus, Adaptive Cruise control and LaneSense Departure Warning-Plus

Locally the new Jeep Renegade is available with the Limited trim levels – Longitude, and Trailhawk arrive this month (September).The Jeep Renegade will initially be powered by a fuel-efficient 103 kW 1.4l MultiAir II Turbo petrol engine with Stop&Start featuring a six-speed manual transmission and 4x2 configuration.

Pricing on the Jeep Renegade 1.4L Limited starts at R375 990.00 and includes a standard 3 year / 100 000 km warranty and class leading 6 year / 100 000 km maintenance plan.

www.jeep.co.za