Jeep Renegade seen testing in India for the first time - Spied

29/01/2016 - 18:23 Jeep Renegade, Spy pictures, Jeep Aravind Jayachandran

Smallest member of the Jeep family was removed from the Indian business plan.

The Jeep Renegade has been spotted testing in India for the first time ever, courtesy of MotorOctane reader, Rituraj. Note that FCA has cancelled the launch of Jeep Renegade in India after confirming it in 2012. Perhaps the company has changed its mind seeing the craze for SUVs, and the confirmation of premium five-seaters VW Tiguan and the Hyundai Tucson.

Jeep Renegade testing in India — The Renegade is about the size of the Ford EcoSport, measuring 4.23 m long, 1.8 m wide and 1.66 m tall, with a wheelbase of 2.57 m.

It could also be that the Renegade was brought to India for global benchmarking, given that the FCA Small Wide platform it rides on will underpin the slightly bigger Jeep 551 Compact SUV, which is confirmed to be manufactured and launched in India in 2017.

In the UK market, the Renegade is powered by a 1.6-liter petrol or 2.0-liter MultiJet II diesel. A 6-speed manual and 9-speed automatic serve as transmission options, while an AWD system is optional in higher grades. Other variants are powered by 1.4-liter petrol and 1.6-liter diesel engines. The fully loaded Renegade gets 6 airbags, traction control, adaptive cruise control, 6.5-inch touchscreen with sat-nav, and 18-inch wheels.

Jeep Compass:Patriot replacement (551) front thee quarter IAB Rendering — The Jeep 551 will ride on the same Small Wide platform from the Jeep Renegade, which could explain FCA importing the Renegade for testing.

Also Read: Next-Gen Jeep Wrangler to spawn Diesel, Hybrid and Pickup variants

Initially FCA India will only sell the Jeep Wrangler, Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT and Jeep Cherokee, once the iconic brand launches in the Indian market at the Auto Expo 2016, which opens its doors to the media on Feb 3.

[Source: Motor Octane]