One year ago, the minivan went to the Great Junkyard in the Sky with less than 40k on the odometer due to circumstances that shall remain vague. I had to source a replacement very quickly because we are most definitely a two-car household by necessity. We had a good experience with the wife’s Jeep Cherokee, so I opted for another Jeep and picked up a 2015 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk with only 8k miles on it.
Fast forward to January 2019, and the Renegade now has a little under 20k miles on it. It has been a trouble-free car so far. The only things that needed fixing were the front sway bar links, which had started to make popping sounds about six months in, and they replaced those under warranty. Other than that, no problems or annoyances to report.
It’s a surprisingly roomy car on the inside thanks to the box shape of the cabin. There’s almost no front or rear overhang, and the car is very nimble, which means that I can squeeze into parking spots few other cars can claim, like the ones where the spots on either side are taken up by giant tugboat SUVs parked right on the line or slightly beyond. The turning radius is ludicrously small. The seating position is high, and the windows are large, so visibility is great. And the Jeep 4WD system works as well or better in the snow than my old Subaru’s AWD.
I like this little car. It’s agile, fun to drive, and easy in bad weather. Sometimes I miss the space of the minivan (usually when trying to transport something bulky), but most of the time I drive around in the Jeep by myself or with just the kids, and the Renegade is plenty big enough for that. It’s a small car that feels bigger than it is. I wouldn’t want to do a multi-day trip with the whole family in it, but it’s pretty much ideal as a daily runabout in a rural setting in the snow belt. And it has some credible off-road chops as well–the Trailhawk trim means it has a slight lift for higher ground clearance, a rock-crawling 4WD mode, skid plates to shield the oil pan and undercarriage, and external tow hooks front and back.
Oh, and the color has really grown on me. It’s super visible in bad weather, and it’s very easy to spot in a parking lot. Turns out that yellow is the least common color for vehicles. (I wanted to get a vanity plate that said WASP-A, but the wife said people would think it stands for White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, so I ended up getting a regular plate instead of a vanity one.)
Ah so Jeeps actually work over in the U.S? My parents got a jeep compass (top badge) in 2014. No issues with it, but it’s not really fun to drive, really sluggish, and jeeps in general seem to not deal well with Australian roads and such. And they’re cheap as over here too, compared to Toyotas, Mazdas, and Nissans. I’m personally a big mazda fan. Getting a CX-5 AWD soon, bit of a luxury feel for a regular SUV. Don’t think Mazda is that big over in the states yet but they’re a solid manufacturer.
Sorry I missed your books until now…I to have a 2015 Renegade…red, but your sense of humor told me I would enjoy reading your books…and it’s been awhile since I have read any science fiction…which I always read until recently…thanks
Yellow is indeed funky and visible, but never ever try to dress a toddler in mustard-like colours, unless you are ready to test the boundaries of your washing machine. 😉