2016 Jeep Renegade vs Jeep Cherokee

What's the difference?

Rugged, dependable and good off-road are the most obvious qualities of the Trailhawk. It stands out from the rest of the mini-SUVs by being able to do the S and the U with plenty of vigour.

It's just a shame that its on-road manners can't match that of its big brother, the Cherokee. Unless you're planning on proper off-roading, the Trailhawk might not be quite what you're looking for.

A Jeep Cherokee is not the default SUV choice like a Mazda or Toyota is for Australians, and there are those weird quirks, but buyers will be rewarded by an SUV which not only looks unique but is enjoyable to drive with its V6 engine and comfortable ride. Plus there’s the good value this 75th Anniversary Edition brings. 

In what is absolutely not a coincidence, the Renegade immediately conjures up the Wrangler. Upright grille from the Willys Jeep (references abound here), round headlights, squared off wheel arches to mimic the Wrangler's guards, short overhangs and big rear view mirrors.

The 17-inch wheels look completely lost in the wheelarches which are even more cavernous owing to the Trailhawk's 50mm of extra ride height. The wheels are also a bit cheap looking but will probably survive the belting the car is intended to take.

Less rugged is the interior, despite a fairly self-conscious effort to make it look and feel chunky. The front seats are flat and unsupportive with the rears just as lacklustre making sure everyone is sliding around together. Luckily, front passengers get a dash-mounted grab handle.

It seems quite well put together, however, but with carpets and easily-marked plastics, you'll hope your passengers don't bring the mud in with them too often. And the "Since 1941" stamped into the steering wheel can go.

The dashboard is reasonably clear and has plenty of information to share via the screen between the dials but whoever thought marking the redline with a water splash graphic in bright orange should probably rethink their design decisions.

Storage is limited to two cupholders up front, door pockets in each door and nets on the front seat backs.

The Jeep Cherokee 75th Anniversary Edition is based on the Longitude-spec Cherokee range and is the same size at 4624mm long, 1859mm wide and 1634mm tall. Those dimensions mean the Cherokee is one of the larger SUVs in the mid-size segment where it’s up against rivals such as the Mazda CX-5 and Toyota RAV4 which are 4540mm and 4605mm end-to-end respectively.

The Cherokee looks very different to the rest of the SUV crowd. There’s that upside down face for starters with the LED driving lights placed high and the headlights down low, and there’s the goofy-looking toothed grille and long bonnet. But that different look is also part of its appeal; it’s not just another SUV which looks like a sneaker.

The cabin has a premium look and comfortable feel, while the Mazdas and Toyotas seem to have a high-quality build, the Jeep is more luxurious.

I can only just manage to sit behind my driving position with the width of a business card in knee clearance.

You can tell a Cherokee 75th Anniversary Edition from a Longitude by the Bronze colouring to the 18-inch five-spoke wheels and roof racks, grille and bumpers. There’s also cool 75th badging – one’s a little profile of the original army Jeep.

The limited-edition Cherokee comes in three special paint colours – Brilliant Black, Bright White and our car's Recon Green. In the sunlight it’s close to military issue green and makes the Jeep stand out from every other car on the road, but in low light it’s the colour of mud. There’s a gloss clear coat over it – I reckon it would have been better to give it a matte finish like the early army vehicles.

The interior comes with special edition Tangerine and Pearl coloured stitching on the seats, dash, door trims and armrests. There’s also a Morocco Black cloth interior trim with 'Linen to Black' mesh seat inserts and elements around the cabin are given a Moroccan Sun (bronze) colour.

The Cherokee 75th Anniversary Edition costs $45,000, if you want the Recon Green paint it’s another $500.

The Longitude 4x4 variant it’s based on costs $42,000. So an extra three grand for different badges, then? Well not just badges, you’ll get a 8.4-inch touch screen (the Longitude only gets a 5.0-inch), sat-nav, nine-speaker Alpine stereo and 18-inch alloys.

Look at it this way, the next rung up from the Longitude is the $49,000 Limited and the 75th Anniversary Edition gets almost all of its features apart from leather seats (heated ones in the front, too). So it’s a bit of a bargain in Jeep context.

The transmission in the Cherokee is a nine-speed automatic (yes, nine speed).

Then there are the features the edition shares with the Longitude. There’s dual-zone climate control, reversing camera, rear parking sensors, power tailgate, auto headlights, terrain mode selector, puddle lights, leather-clad steering wheel and gear knob, plus a cargo net.

Jeep’s pricing of the Cherokee Longitude verges on overpriced in comparison to say the equivalent grade in a CX-5 or RAV4 and for $45,000 you could get a CX-5 GT with the advanced safety package or the top-of-the-range RAV4 Cruiser with $500 to spare on both.

The Trailhawk is powered by Fiat's 2.4-litre four naturally-aspirated four-cylinder producing 129 kW and 230 Nm. Jeep reckons you'll get 7.5L/100km on the combined cycle. Our mostly city driving with a longish motorway run produced an 11.0L/100km average over a week.

The transmission is a nine-speed ZF automatic driving all four wheels.

The Trailhawk also has Jeep's five mode Selec-Terrain system which should cover pretty much every eventuality – Auto, Sport, Mud, Sand and, just for the Trailhawk, Rock. The Trailhawk is rated to tow 400kg unbraked and 907kg braked.

The 75th Anniversary Edition is all-wheel drive and has the same 200kW/315Nm 3.2-litre V6 petrol engine as the Longitude. The same people who make razor blades must make car transmissions because one, two, three and even four blades (or gears) isn’t enough for them. The transmission in the Cherokee is a nine-speed automatic (yes, nine speed).

The Trailhawk name suggest that things are going to get muddy – compared to the rest of the range, the range-topper rides 50mm higher and has exposed, easy-to-reach tow hooks in the fairly unlikely event you get stuck. It also has a 20:1 low-range crawl ratio and Active Drive 4x4 which means it can switch between front and all-wheel drive. It'll also wade through almost half a metre of water. It's a genuine mud-plugging proposition and will take on some much bigger machinery out in the bush.

On the road, where we spent all our time in the Renegade, it's not what you'd call particularly inspiring. There's a number of sources of noise that contribute to a less than quiet cabin and having to constantly correct your course at freeway speeds adds to the tiring nature of the Renegade.

It's much better at lower speeds, pottering around but then again, its nine-speed transmission needs a lot more work on the shift mapping because it seems to forget which gear it needs to be in when you sink the right foot. If you don't need the Trailhawk's extra off-road goodies, consider the 1.4 litre Limited or Longitude.

There’s a wonderfully old-school feeling driving a mid-size SUV powered by a V6 in an era when the rest have downsized to four-cylinders. The Cherokee’s rivals feel far less powerful... because they are. The most powerful petrol RAV4 makes 132kW and 233Nm, while the equivalent CX-5 manages 138kW and 250Nm. Look at the Jeep’s stats above, it blows them out of the water.

Sure the Jeep is thirstier and will drink about 2.0L/100km more, but to me this car's engine is a big selling point.

It’s not turbocharged either, and that brings a controllable and steady delivery of power. Great for moving quickly when you need to, such as pulling out into traffic and overtaking. It eats hills in its stride.

The auto transmission is made by ZF whose excellent eight-speed auto is in everything from Rolls Royces to Land Rovers, and you’d think it would be ‘one’ better, but no. The nine-speed feels undecided at times, almost dual-clutch-like in the way it will roll forward slightly during a shift from Drive to Reverse when pointing downhill in a reverse park manoeuvre.

Those A-pillars, like most SUV's in this segment, are thick and sometimes get in the way.

Jeeps tend to have overly soft suspension for a more comfortable ride – it’s how Americans tend to like it. Our special edition Cherokee’s ride was indeed comfy, but a bit jiggly which tells me it could be over sprung (the shocks could be better tuned to calm down that springy-ness). That’s not a major problem though and handling for a mid-sized SUV is good – but it’s not as adept as the CX-5.

We didn’t take the Cherokee off-road this time, but we have in the past and the 'Selec-Terrain' system works well with its Auto, Snow, Sport, Sand and Mud modes. The Trailhawk grade has better off-road capability with Jeep’s Active Drive Lock and four-wheel drive with a low range.

Visibility isn’t bad – but those A-pillars, like most SUV's in this segment, are thick and sometimes get in the way. The reversing camera’s picture is great in the day, but murky at night while others do a much better job of seeing in low light.

Some strange quirks you should know about – the key is a plastic one and needs to be inserted into the ignition barrel to start the car. Kind of annoying when the others at this price have a start button. But what’s more annoying is there’s button on the key to start the car remotely (yes while you’re inside having a cup of tea). The button is too sensitive and I’d restart the car almost every time I walked away from it while putting the key in my pocket. A bit of a worry if you don’t hear it start, then get on a flight for a two week break in Bali.

Also, the auto boot button is right next to the driver’s right knee on the dash board and I kept bumping it until I learnt not to. But those are the little quirks you’ll learn live with if you buy one.

As with all Cherokees built after 2014 the 75th Anniversary Edition has a five-star ANCAP rating. There are  seven airbags, including curtain airbags which extend to cover the second row seats.

Cherokees do not have the advanced safety technology commonly featured on its rivals. Equipment such as Auto Emergency Braking, blind spot warning, steering-assist and rear cross traffic alert is no longer confined to high-end models, it’s offered as standard on the mid-range CX-5 Maxx.

For child and baby seats you’ll find three ISOFIX points and three top tethers across the back seat.

What is great to see is a full-sized spare wheel under the boot floor – in a country like ours where it’s easy to find yourself somewhere remote, it’s very much a safety feature.