The Jeep Renegade facelift has been spied for the first time in South America. The Renegade, Jeep's smallest SUV, was unveiled back in 2014 and is sold in multiple international markets more or less unchanged. The Renegade will be Jeep's next locally assembled product for India and as reported by us earlier, India will get the facelifted model which will see a global unveil in late 2018.
The 2019 Jeep Renegade facelift will get styling tweaks to its neo-retro styled fascia that actually are similar to the original Jeep Renegade, a version of the CJ3 which was sold back in the 1970s. Although nothing much can be ascertained by the thick camouflage on the SUV's nose seen in the spy shot, it was recently hinted to us at the new Jeep Wrangler’s unveil (at the 2017 LA motor show) to expect the off-roader’s new-yet-familiar styling to trickle down to other Jeep models in the near future. What this could mean is Jeep could incorporate a Wrangler-like nose on the Renegade, which means the grille and headlamp design, replete with LED elements, could be seen on the facelifted Renegade. Also, the refreshed Renegade's grille could get a bit slant towards the top just like the Wrangler in pursuit of better aerodynamics. Moving on to the sides, no changes can be identified on the test-mule, however it would be safe to expect mild tweaks to its cladding and a new design for alloy wheels. At the back, the facelifted Renegade will get a mild update to its tail-lamp design including new LED inserts and a chunkier design for its rear bumper.
Under the hood, the India-bound Renegade is likely to come with a 140hp, 2.0-litre diesel and a 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine. Expect Jeep to offer both front-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive variants in India. The Renegade will compete in a very competitive segment that includes stalwarts such as the Hyundai Creta, Renault’s Captur and the upcoming Nissan Kicks. Jeep is currently in talks with suppliers for the Renegade to ensure it is heavily localised at launch, which will result in competitive pricing, just like the Compass. Sources tell us that the Renegade will see a localisation level of up to 65 percent at launch, which will go up to 80 percent at a later stage.
Also see:
India-bound Jeep Renegade SUV: 5 things to know
Compact SUVs relevant but not essential says Jeep head
Jeep to expand India range to five SUVs by 2020
Jeep Compass helps FCA India gain market share