RENTAL CAR REVIEWS BY THE ROO

Ahhhh…… the Renegade. There’s already a collective, uncontainable tribal chant from diehard Jeep devotees with this car, and this review. “That isn’t a real Jeep!” is the universal outcry.

“It’s a Fiat! It’s not a real Jeep!”

“It’s not American! It’s not a real Jeep!”

“It can’t off-road! It’s not a real Jeep!”

Okay, okay! Let’s get all of this out in the open before discussing the Renegade any further. No, it is not a Wrangler. It never was intended to be and never will. The Wrangler will always hold the title as the most iconic and capable Jeep out there. But, with Wrangler prices skyrocketing north of $40k and becoming unobtainable for the masses, this little critter starts below $20k and is intended for budget minded buyers and soft-roaders who can’t afford the “real Jeep”. The two products do not overlap or compete, and the Renegade is not replacing the Wrangler anytime soon (unlike the situation 30 years ago when Ford planned on replacing the beloved Mustang with the Probe). Sure, it’s built in Italy on a platform shared with the Fiat 500X. Yet Jeep has beefed up the suspension, raised the ground clearance, and added the same 4WD systems that are shared with other noteworthy Jeep models, namely the Cherokee. Sure it’s the first Jeep product ever built outside of North America, but this is becoming a globalised world. Now that all of our panties aren’t in bunch, let’s move on…..

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Owning a Jeep Liberty could be likened to possessing an exotic animal, such as a tiger or a serval.  Sure, it’d be fun and a little wild, and your neighbors would think of you as being adventurous and fearless.  Heck, they may even be a little envious.  But life with a Liberty, or that aforementioned serval, could get tiresome and unwieldy once the novelty has worn off.

Like any exotic critter, the Liberty doesn’t belong in the city.  It’s natural habitat is in the great outdoors.  All Libertys, and most Jeep models, proudly wear a “Trail Rated” badge on their flanks.  That isn’t just some overcrazed marketing hype- it’s the real deal.  Any Jeep model that can pass the challenging Rubicon Trail in the high Sierras or overcome Moab is given the lofty status.  The main idea of the Liberty is to be a serious off-roader first and a comfortable boulevard cruiser second.  This is both the Jeep’s biggest strength and also exposes its most obvious flaws.

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