That's a nice versatile vehicle! Does it have a cvt or regular tranny?
Nope, it is a real 4WD on a renegade...with the different driving modes not like most AWD "cars." And we quit buying Subaru's because they went CVT... We'd had five over the years. I was ambivalent about the "modes" when I got it. MPG and good 4WD are essentials in MT. Once I got it and get 7 mpg better than my 1500's (before the 2500) on a good day was great. Then I found out the snow mode really works in that it uses low torque in snow so you don't break the tires loose.
THEN, one day while driving off road on the National Forest roads I was playing with the modes and lo and behold in Sand Mode, all the power got compressed into a narrow band with no thought of mpg and will go up most any dirt road at speed and then coming down engine brakes with the best of them. I've turned numerous people onto this hidden "feature" of the tranny up here. The tranny is tuned in Auto for MPG by Stellantis/FCA for CAFE standards at the expense of ANY favorable driving experience. The other jeeps have a "sport" mode like my wife's Cherokee and that addresses much of the performance improvements. But the "sand" mode on the Renegade is like a hidden gem "super sport" mode imho. It isn't the same car in that mode, but, that mode is really too much for regular in city driving but absolutely perfect for better maintained dirt roads or even not well maintained dirt roads. We got em. And it is a little unstopable beast on Snow like we get. If you look at the West Yellowstone picture you can see how they plow roads here. See how they have a few inches of snow on them, no pavement? That's what we get ALL winter from usually the first big snow until sometime in mid to late March when the thaw cycle starts... A ni, ce feature for MT roads is that even in Auto you can switch from auto 2wd to auto 4wd with a simple finger push on the tranny dial that sits right next to your knee, you hardly have to put any effort in turning it off or on and so when you are on good road 2wd. See a snowy or wet with hydroplane possibilities, simple push with your hand on your knee and you are in 4wd. Its very user friendly I've found. I asked at the dealership as Stellantis can't give them away apparently but my dealer here in Helena MT is apparently the biggest seller of Renegades in the US and has a bunch on their lot. The dealer told me or agreed with me that first they are comparatively cheap, have a good four wheel drive and are like a perfect western Montana vehicle and now days I think they all have the 8.4 screen, here at least the heated seats so for where I live, that is all you need in a car. And they don't look bad always interesting. OH, and they are a GREAT DOG car. Put the back seats down and you can put at least two big dogs back there. Ask me how I know... We don't even put the back seats up. They are pristine new under the blankets.
And the biggest surprise for the Renegade has been on washboard roads in Sand Mode. All my Subaru's just absolutely sucked for air on washboard. Short wheelbase can be a problem but for some reason I can't fathom, the Renegade is really good on washboard and it is easy to find that sweet spot on speed to kind of drift over it. And I do drift on some of the good back dirt roads we have up here... Like I said, I had few expectations for it when I got it but have been very pleasantly surprised. If they had made it flat towable every Class A and C out there would have one is my thinking... And now they have a turbo as the primary engine vs the old NA I have. I hear mixed things on it but also my engine. It seems on the old ones you either got a good one or they started losing oil and needing systemic fixes. I must have gotten a good one. The turbos are apparently more reliable overall but mixed on power... They originally had manual versions on the most basic version. I spoke to one person who had one and they absolutely loved it even at bare bones. Oh yeah, this is the HD forum... Here's my Laramie, Fab Four front winch bumper, and rough country rear...
My 22 Laramie is my tow beast, yard hauler and does transfer station duty...with 50% of my miles towing the travel trailer.
