After nearly five years in the market, the Jeep Renegade has been pulled off from the brand’s Australian range – and it could be gone for good.
The decision to kill it is apparently blamed on a weak Australian dollar, reports CarAdvice, after speaking to a company representative. The publication found out that the subcompact SUV has slim chances of making a comeback, as it will do so only when (or if) it becomes “commercially viable”.
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Last year, Jeep only sold 70 units of the Renegade locally, compared to 481 units of the Ford EcoSport and 509 examples of the Nissan Juke, two of its main rivals. In 2018, Jeep delivered 163 units which cannot be compared to the vehicle’s best year in Australia, in 2016, when 1,051 Renegades were shipped to owners.
Dropping the Renegade from the lineup has left the compact Compass to take on the role as the brand’s entry-level model. It starts at AU$28,950 (US$19,454) for the Sport trim and AU$34,950 (US$23,486) for the Longitude, while for the Limited and Trailhawk you’re looking at a minimum of AU$42,950 (US$28,862) and AU$43,950 (US$29,534), respectively.
Based on a shared platform with the Fiat 500X and 500L, the Renegade entered production in 2014. It’s assembled in Italy, China and Brazil, and comes with a boxy styling inspired by the Wrangler. Depending on the market, you can get it with a wide range of petrol and diesel engines, as well as a plug-in hybrid powertrain that combines a 1.3-liter turbo gasoline unit with an electric motor. It has a peak output of 237 HP (240 PS / 177 kW), can accelerate to 100 km/h (62 mph) in around 7 seconds and offers an electric range of 50 km (31 miles).
