It has been four model years since the Jeep Renegade made its debut. The Renegade has become one of the most important vehicles for the Jeep brand. While the Wrangler is the face of the brand, the Renegade is the sales leader in many countries around the world. For the 2019 model year, the Renegade is due to receive its first update.
For 2019, the Renegade will receive revised front and rear fascias. The front will get styling inspired by this year’s Renegade B-UTE Concept from the Easter Jeep Safari. The seven slot grille gets a shorter but a wider look. The new LED headlights are a direct styling treatment from the 2018 Wrangler JL, with LED running light halos around the headlight assembly. The street based models (Sport, Latitude and Limited) get a new styled bumper that has triangular-shaped vents under the turn signals. Fog lights will be bigger and moved to the lower part of the front bumper.
While most of the prototypes that have been seen rolling around Europe and Metro Detroit seem to be still carrying the current Renegade’s tail lights with the bold white “Xs” in them, a few recent ones have had the tail lights covered in camouflage. The B-UTE Concept showcased a new version of the “X” tail lights but in red. We believe those to be the units or something fairly similar to be on the 2019 model.
In other spy shots, the interior looks to be mostly unchanged styling wise. The center stack gets most of the focus, with upgraded UConnect systems. It looks like the 8.4-inch UConnect system will be optional on upper trim levels. Other models will get the 7.0-inch UConnect system. The climate control knobs are also being upgraded to a unit similar to what’s found in the Jeep Compass and Jeep Cherokee.
As for powertrains, we expect the 2.4-liter Tigershark to return as standard equipment across the lineup for the North American market. The 2.0-liter Turbocharged I-4 from the Cherokee would be a welcome option, however it sounds like packaging might be a problem. It does look like that FCA is working on an electrified model, as seen in the spy shots from our friends at Real Fast Fotography. The 9-speed automatics will return with all new shift maps, for smoother shifts and less hunting for the right gear. A manual option will more than likely return to the Sport models.
We should be seeing the 2019 Jeep Renegade some time later this year. That marks a handful of new or heavily revised vehicles within the year for the Jeep brand globally with the 2018 Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited (JL), 2019 Cherokee (KL), the China-only Grand Commander (K8), the all-new Wrangler pickup due in April 2019 and of course the revised Renegade (BU).
