Review: 2024 Jeep Renegade e-HYBRID is Italian like Pizza Hut

I highly recommend renting a Jeep Renegade e-HYBRID for a trip to the Italian island of Elba. No, scratch that…I highly recommend any vehicle for a trip to Elba, because Elba is a Mediterranean jewel, and the Jeep Renegade is, well, basic transportation.

Sorry, let me explain.  

This summer, we took our two kids on their first European vacation.  Our girls love the beach, so we booked seaside apartments in Elba, Italy and Lagos, Portugal for our stays.  

Finding a car that was small enough for Italy but big enough for our family was the challenge.  My kids don’t need much backseat legroom, but we were traveling with a 25” checked bag, a 21” rollaboard bag, a compact stroller, and four backpacks.  I gambled that a subcompact SUV would do the trick.

My gamble met reality at the Pisa airport rental car center.  The friendly Alamo desk agent assigned us a 2024 Jeep Renegade e-HYBRID—“it is made in Italy,” she said, and she wasn’t lying—and I had a moment of fright when I saw its tight trunk.  Thankfully, after unlatching the privacy panel (so it would float on top of our bags), both suitcases and the stroller fit in the back.  Our backpacks ended up on the rear bench and in the passenger foot wells.

My kids are preschool and elementary school aged.  Although the Renegade’s rear legroom was tight, it was plenty for my girls in their booster seats.  In fact, thanks to the Renegade’s tall roof and upright seating position, adults could ride in the back without too many complaints.

Up front, my wife and I familiarized ourselves with the Renegade e-HYBRID’s controls.  Our cloth-upholstered seats were manually adjustable in six directions—forward/backward, up/down, and reclined/upright.  (The driver’s seat also had inflatable lumbar support.) The steering wheel tilted, and the large wing mirrors (with Euro convex ends!) were electronically adjustable.  With little fuss, I found a comfortable driving position in the Renegade.

The Renegade mixed old and new technologies in ways that are unusual in the US.  In addition to the manual seats, it lacks keyless entry, and I needed to twist its metal key in the ignition to start the car.  Yet, its gauge cluster is fully digital, and its infotainment screen is generous.

(I kept forgetting the analog ignition throughout my week with the Renegade, and frequently had to fish in my pocket after I’d settled into the driver’s seat.)

The Renegade’s infotainment system paired flawlessly with my Android phone, and we used Google Maps on wireless Android Auto to get us to our first night’s hotel.

The hotel was in old Pisa, so I was pleased to have squeezed our luggage into the subcompact Renegade instead of upgrading to a larger vehicle.  Italian city streets are much narrower than their American equivalents, and Italian parking lots are the automotive equivalents of sardine cans!  

By buona fortuna, we quickly found a space in the public parking lot near our hotel.  The Renegade’s backup camera helped me get centered in my spot, although I wished for front and rear parking sensors to keep me from bumping other cars’ flanks.  Once parked, the Renegade automatically folded its mirrors when I locked the car.

Though central Pisa was charming, and it was gratifying to see the Leaning Tower the next morning, we left the city before noon.  As my kids’ whining protests proved as we walked to the Piazza del Duomo in the building heat, they are beach girls first and cultural tourists last.

We took secondary highways from Pisa to the Elba ferry port at Piombino.  The Renegade e-HYBRID was functional, if bland, transportation along the coast.  Its most exciting feature was its always-on lane departure correction, which steered the Jeep away from the highway’s dividing line.  Exciting?  Yes, because the nudges frequently pushed me back towards the shoulder-riding mopeds and bicycles I was giving space!

(The Renegade’s lane centering and other active assistants can be toned down but not turned off.)

Our Renegade e-HYBRID used a 48-volt mild hybrid system to augment its 1.5L I4 gasoline engine.  Together, they produced about 130 hp and 177 lb-ft of torque.  While no barn burner, the little Jeep was plenty peppy for jumping through traffic at T-junctions and merging onto the highways.  The engine note was generic four-cylinder and emotionally empty, but somehow fitting for the €30k cheapo Jeepo.

On the highway, the Renegade was happy to run along at 130 kph (~80 mph) and higher. Its suspension felt slightly too stiff for comfort—the Jeep jolted over the bigger bumps—but on point for high-speed handling.  I resisted the temptation to bleed some air out of the Michelin Primacy 4 tires (215/60R17) to soften the impacts.

The Renegade’s compact footprint paid dividends at the ferry.  We were able to buy the small-car ticket and threaded the Renegade up the ramp to the ship’s upper parking deck. Everyone appreciated the placid seas as the ferry chugged to Elba.  

Upon disembarking, I was happy to have the Jeep Renegade’s alpine-tuned handling, as Elba has sufficiently spectacular roads to warrant an annual rally competition.  The local tarmac was chock-full of second and third gear squiggles, healthy doses of hairpins, and routes that frequently strung along cliff faces over the Mediterranean.  

In this environment, the Jeep Renegade’s quick steering and tight body control were assets.  I chased local traffic with appropriate zeal as we made our way to our Marina di Campo apartment.  Though I could slice it up with the locals, little road feel made it to my fingers, as the Renegade’s steering is Novocaine numb and EPAS rubbery.

During our island stay, the Renegade e-HYBRID played beach shuttle and supermarket schlepper as we enjoyed Elba’s towns and coast.  Marina di Campo was wonderfully walkable and had a charming assortment of pizza restaurants and gelaterias.  (My diet in Italy.)  Cavoli Beach was incredibly picturesque, and we loved scrambling on its granite boulders and swimming in its turquoise waters.

With our suitcases stowed in the apartment, the Renegade’s trunk felt appropriately sized for beach blankets, boogie boards, and shopping bags.  (Though a typical beach umbrella is too long for the space.)  And we were comfortable in our upright seats, positioned high enough to enjoy the roadside views of the mountains, farms, and seashore.  However, the thick, upright A pillars created a dangerous blind spot at crossroads.

As we went about our idyllic days, I kept spotting Jeep kitsch in the Renegade.  Jeep’s iconic vertical grille and round headlights were sprinkled on the speaker surrounds and hidden in the tail lights.  The tailgate was embossed with a large grille.  A little CJ Jeep was found in the window decals, as was a Yeti.  While fun, these trinkets did little to elevate the Renegade’s driving experience beyond boring.

As an e-HYBRID, the Renegade returned excellent fuel economy.  The trip computer reported approximately 6 liters/100 km over the last 2,500 km, which roughly equates to 39 mpg.

The Renegade’s 7-speed dual-clutch transmission was reasonably responsive and quickly served up downshifts on mountain climbs.  There were no flappy paddles, so I bumped the gear lever up or down when rowing my own.

The Renegade’s brakes worked well, too, enduring the island’s grades without complaint.

But, given all of Elba’s amazing twisties, I dreamed of hooning the hills in a tidy little Fiesta ST instead of the (plus-sized for Italy) Renegade.

(It is said that the Renegade stands out from the subcompact SUV competition thanks to its off-road capabilities.  I assume this applies more to the trail-rated Renegades than to our FWD e-HYBRID rental.  Considering our rental’s specifications and my insurance deductible, I didn’t attempt any off-roading in Elba.)

On our last day, we departed Elba and made for Rome.  My final two hours with the Renegade were an autostrada blitz. I happily chased faster traffic in the Jeep, and was saved from a mobile speed camera debacle thanks to the headlight flashes of oncoming motorists!

After our week in Italy, two things stood true:

First, the bland but functional Renegade had served my family well as we explored Italian cities, highways, and countryside.  The driver and passengers were comfortable, though the luggage space was a bit tight.  I wouldn’t avoid the Renegade in the future, but I’d like to try its competitors. 

Second, the spectacular Island of Elba holds far more treasures than we could explore in five short days.  Next time we’ll visit some new beaches and bring a spicier car!