2020 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk Turbo Off-Road Review 

Renegade or Crosstrek?

I'm happy I got my brand new renny trailhawk for only $ 26,000 usd on black Friday last year. It has leather seats, panoramic sunroof, blind spot assist, 8.4 inch screen, beats speaker and heated seats and steering wheel. I love it!

As a previous subaru owner and current renegade owner, there’s no question for me that the renegade is worlds beyond even subaru’s when it comes to off road prowess. I’ve taken my renegade through texas mud bogs and moab rocks and it has yet to fail me. That being said I have done some modifications but that is another great part about this car is the aftermarket support and the great community!

Luv my trailhawk. I have been off roading in my trailhawk all over the west. The only thing you really need to offroad the trailhawk is offroading knowledge thats all. Know and understand its limitations and its capabilities. Learn about the importance of tire pressure, and the different offroad modes and what they do. Take a jeep offroad driving lesson. Yep Jeep offers offroad driving lessons all over the country. Take one. Lastly get some good all terrain tires, the stock tires are ok for dry unimproved forest roads but when the rocks get sharp and the weather turns for the worse all terrains are going to get you home. Oh and some recovery gear, I have a towstrap, maxx trax, a jack and an air compressor to air up my tires when I get back on asphalt. Thats it thats all you really need to head out into the west and explore.

I think a lot of people forget that while the Crosstrek does have a lot of offroad features and may be a little cheaper it does not have the angles the renegade trailhawk does. Approach, departure, and breakover angles are very important! Youll notice the renegade trailhawk has a different front bumper than all the other trim levels.

I MUST be getting old, these little bricks on wheels are starting to look right up my alley.

Good review, but you missed a couple points: 1. Subaru has 8.7” ground clearance 2. Trailhawk has lot of underbody protection compared to other SUVs in the same category

I would argue that the turbo motor is a lot better choice for this than the old 2.4. The old 2.4 had much less torque much higher in the rev range. While the turbo needs a little speed to spool up, it will still have more torque at Torque Converter stall speeds than the old 2.4, especially at elevation. I think the addition of the Turbo motor is a big reason to buy this new model over the old one.

I was able to go onto the Jeep website and without adding anything except the winter group, I was able to get an MSRP of a Renegade Trailhawk down to $26,855, with the same 1.3L turbo and automatic. Heated manual cloth/leather seats, a 7” UConnect, no sunroof (less weight and no leaking) and less to break down for FAR less money than what you’ve tested, but the same capability. You could probably get extra $3-4k off at the dealership too.

Another good thing to note is that the jeep does come with skid plates on the trail hawk! Awesome video!

I’m old enough to remember when the power this Jeep has use to be reserved for a sport car. Remember when a trans am had 180hp.... yeah I do.

My wife wants one. I can totally see why. I like it. Doable monthly and worth the money imo.

My wife has the Renegade Trail hawk, I drive a Rubicon And yes the Renegade keeps up with a tug now and then on leisure trails but for the most part is spot on, no complaints.

I like that you use the same hill to test all cars, which gives us a fair comparison. I also don't care much how or what engages in the Renegade, it did the job and that's all what matters... Thanks

Renegade for me! The more I see of this 2020 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk, the more impressed I am. I love the idea of having a small, capable 4wd vehicle that can actually fit in my garage. I think I found my next 4wd vehicle. Thanks!

I have a 2016 fully loaded trail hawk. Has its problems but I still love it. Snow mode has come in handy in more than 1 occasion. Got stuck at the beach. Used sandmode to get out and hooked up to the other cars stuck using the dedicated hooks. The trail hawk also has a higher clearance, sloped front/back and skid plates underneath in comparison to a regular renegade. I'm also able to pop off 2 plates off the top to make it feel more like an open top Wrangler.

Just bought a 19 renegade 2.4 Saturday. . Love it so far

I have seen your videos and I can truly say much better off roader than the competition, hands down

I have an ‘18 Trailhawk and I’ve gotten the “jump in with me, your Jeep won’t make it” from my wrangler friends. I laugh and go anyways and they get impressed that my baby Jeep, or my toaster Jeep can go everywhere the wranglers can go. Obviously not meant to rock crawl but off-road is easy for it.

Who said that renegade isn’t a real jeep?! Great car, great video! 👍

I don't have the trail hawk but I have the latitude but that being said it is still amazing off-road it came with 4x4 and different drive modes like mud,rock,sand,snow and 4x4 lock took it to a very muddy trail never got stuck once!

I love your reviews one day you'll hit 5million subscribers keep doing what you are doing.

That looked like a fun day for you! I've always loved jeeps. I own a GC Summit diesel and a Cherokee TH. My son owns an Impreza Sport manual transmission. Both brands have been reliable and given us smiles when using them. Thanks for the video and take it easy all.

This car is the perfect marriage between on and off road. Imagine if you tested the EU version with the turbo 2.0L diesel low end torque engine! It feels almost like having a real low range.

These little Trailhawks are amazing! There are tons of videos on RU-vid showing these baby jeeps tackle some pretty challenging trails. 200 lb/ft of torque is pretty amazing for such a small package. 😎👍👍

Anyone else notice that Volbeat came up when he went to audio? Great taste in music

I bought this Jeep a couple of days ago, same power train except in Limited trim, and I love this thing! Same color as in the video as well. Reviewers should keep in mind that people that are going to be going for cars like a Renegade or even a cross trek are normal folks that aren’t looking for the vehicle to pull off the line like a... sports. car. It may be a college student looking for something sporty and capable. I’m coming from a 2008 Ford Escape, so really anything is better than what I had. The power is awesome, the power is really there when you need to pass someone on the highway. I’ve gone thru THICK mud and made it out... in a limited trim. I’d recommend this thing forsure! Also, with rebates you can get that $37k down to $30-31 easy, maybe even less. My limited came out to $23k.

I have a 2015 trailhawk with the 2.4 engine and I bought a madness autoworks autoflash and go pedal to give it more pep. Works just fine gives me the power I need. Autoflash makes the transmission shift smoother and the go pedal makes the gas pedal more sensitive to touch. Takes off faster from the line. I have had the two items for about 3 years now I believe. They posted my video on RU-vid when I first got it and had them installed.

Thanks for the comparison with Subaru, that was really interesting! I always liked the Subs but love the little Renegade very much (looks much better imo).

Who skips to the offroad part when you guys see DSTV new video? I do

I need to stop watching or I'm gonna rob a bank and buy this tonight right away

Great video! I have a Jeep Renegade Trailhawk, it is an amazing car. Greetings from Brazil!

Watching these compact suv videos showing off road performance makes me appreciate the old 2001 Chevy Tracker ZR2 (same as suzuki vitara) we had. Same size as this but has a sold rear axle, body on frame (no unibody), REAL 4x4 with real low range, and a decent 6 cyl engine. These new ones have better mpg and are more refined and safer but I don't think they are built as durable.

Test drive a base model bronco sport and renegade trail hawk. The bronco sport was 29000 and did not come with much. The renegade was loaded with everything. I ended up getting the trail hawk and couldn't be happier. To get the same features in the bronco sport you would have to spend 38000. I was able to get my renegade for 27000.

I thought the Subaru awd system is the best in the market now but this thing is actually even better. Well done jeep!

Just One Word For It... "AWESOME "

Great video. Definitely changed my opinion about them seeing their capability.

Love your videos, liked and subscribed. Thanks!

Both the Renegade and the Crosstrek were on my list if I hadn’t gone with the Wrangler. I like them both. I really love my JLU Sport S, tho 😊

That's very impressive! I bet with some different tires like the bfgoodrich ko2! It would do amazingly well!😎👍

I would be very happy to be able to go where he went with that Renegade. It sounds like he is probably paid by Subaru, it's the only way I can make sense of some of his comments. Looking through the comments I see people have found his errors in trying to make the connection to the 2 vehicles. The video footage of what the Jeep was capable of was amazing.

These little Jeeps are awesome. I have a Wrangler JK and my wife has a 2018 Renegade. We have mods on both. These little Jeeps can do way more then what was shown in this video. Renegades have also gotten a Jeep culture all their own. There are tons of Renegade Face Book group pages. renegades are showing up at all the trail rides and holding their own. I have even seen one perform a rescue by pulling out a Toyota FJ. It started out as a joke and then a question of can it do it. IT did. There is a video floating around somewhere. It was at Uwharrie in NC.

My wife has a Renegade Sport Upland, which has most of the TH capability without all the expensive crap. We test drove a Crosstrek when shopping for the jeep and found driving the CVT painfully boring. They also have issues with burning those CVTs up driving on hills or more difficult off-road situations. The Renegade has it's issues, but I found it to be a lot more fun and capable.

I have a 2018 Trailhawk w/2.4L. Ive driven it almost everywhere Ive taken my Polaris RZR, and its handled everything like a champ. The Colorado Rockies roads/trails I frequent are a lot more aggressive than anything in this video. Ive plowed through 2 feet of snow, and crossed streams up to 16” deep. I haven’t modified anything on my “Baby Jeep”, and I don’t intend to. It’s a remarkable little SUV on and off road. I average a combined 27mpg, and its nice to only pay $25 or so to fill it up. It’s not the most powerful vehicle in the world, and you have to plan ahead to pass someone on 2 lane mountain roads. I wouldn’t recommend the Renegade to anyone with more than 2 children over 9 or 10 years old unless your making short trips around town. Honestly, the back seat leg room is lacking. For my girlfriend, my small dog, and I, it’s perfect even on long drives. As far as cost, mine had a sticker price of $31,900.00, but I waited, for sales and discounts. I payed $26,500 including the extended warranty, and a couple other things. If you like the vehicle, wait until you can get serious discounts on it. Full honesty, I love my “Baby Jeep”, and it has some great perks, but it’s not worth the $37,000.00 sticker price they are asking for!!!!

Dude, your vids are fricking sweet.

My 2015 Renegade goes 0-60 in roughly 16 seconds if I'm flooring it. So seeing a renegade 5 years later being able to do it in nearly half the time is a big plus right out of the gate, along with all of the other standard features it seems that they have added.

At least you took it up some steep rocks. There are reviewers with hundreds of thousands of views who never took it off pavement. To be honest, I drive stuff like that 1st rocky road in a 2007 2wd manual transmission Hyundai Accent with no ground clearance, like all the time. Just to get to hikes. I'm surprised what tame conditions people take these out on as off-road tests. But it makes me more confident when I see this stuff that some of the negative youtube commenters a la "get a wrangler" are mostly full of it. Sometimes it comes down to the driver and picking a line.

I have a 2015 Renegade Latitude. For me, I wanted something with decent gas mileage (averaging around 27/28mpg), more room than a sedan, 4x4 (great for PA winters) and a manual transmission (more of a want than a need). My Renegade hit all of the marks for me. It has some electronic issues, nothing major, but I can't seem to keep my brakelight on. All in all, I love it.

This is a really good review, thanks 👍

5:30 that car has the same problem as my 08 Yaris... You have to rev higher if you want to feel like you're actually moving and not holding up traffic... I can get better mileage in town if I'm willing to "snail" around but if I want to even keep up with traffic between lights you have to rev it out a little bit more before you shift... Another great review...

I got a kick out of your comment “shift by committee.” An apt description of transmission shift performance. I have the same situation with my 2015 Ram Promaster City with the 2.4 TigerShark and 9 speed automatic. All too often there is a one and two count before the movement of the gas peddle is answered by the engine and transmission.

On a couple of camera angles I thought he was sensoring rocks. I was like "why is he sensoring a rock? is it innapropriate or something lol?" Then I realized it was a rain drop XD

I got rid of my 2016 Renegade Trailhawk because it was eating a quart of oil every other month. Bought a 2020 gladiator and have zero regrets 🤪

If you reverse calculate the break over angle to determine mid vehicle clearance you can figure out that the Subaru Crosstrek is going to be 9.1 in off the ground mid vehicle. The Renegade Trailhawk however, is 11.55 inches off the ground mid vehicle. It has to be to achieve the break over angle that it has of about 25 degrees. You can use wheelbase and breakover angle to find mid vehicle height. What this means is that on the Subaru the suspension arms are more flush with the bottom of the vehicle and on the Renegade they're going to droop down more ... And then that's where that 8.7 in number is coming from is the bottom of the suspension arms which is really almost tire size dependent. So for perspective the Wrangler Rubicon extreme Recon is 12.9 in to the differential with 35 inch tires . To the same place on that Renegade it's going to be about 11.5 inches , maybe 11 in the front. So you're only 2 in lower than a Wrangler with 35s... 200 bucks will probably get you a 2-in lift and bring the center clearance of that Renegade to the same as a Wrangler with 35s... It's crazy stuff but when you do the math you'll be surprised... With just a 2-in lift on my Cherokee Trailhawk and 30.6-in tires I'm beating the breakover angle of a Wrangler Rubicon extreme Recon that has 35 inch tires. With just a simple lift I'm 40° front and rear and then I'm 28° break over. When you put a Cherokee Trailhawk at about the same height as the Wrangler you get almost the same angles actually. You'll get better break over and you'll get almost as good approach and departure.... Kind of surprising but it's true. I'm actually 14 in to my rock sliders with a 2 inch lift and only a half inch lift from the tires... But if you read the spec sheet it's going to say 8.7 in because that's to the suspension arm... And then with the bigger tires it's going to be 9.2... but I'm 14 in to my rock sliders.... Other than the Renegade having better angles and clearance I would agree with you that the Subaru is probably pretty close. Cherokee Trailhawk... No... It will kill a Subaru... No contest.

In order to do a proper 0-62Mph timing, you'll need to put her in manual and shift to 1st gear. These 9-speed auto boxes start in 2nd, only going down to first in some offroad modes by default or when up against an incline.

I really liked this review, heading off onto a road that you've never been on and conquering it with no problem. The Trailhawk did a real good job for what it is but I'd still prefer the Subaru. My sister had (emphasis on HAD) one of these Jeeps when they first came out. She needed it for snowy situations because she works at a ski mountain here in Maine and the road up to the mountain is pretty steep, it's paved but steep. It did what she need it to do for about 25k miles and then it died one day. After getting a $2500 wiring harness put in it was fixed, but then wheel bearings started to go and then suspension bushings. She finally got rid of it at four years old with 36k miles on it and she finally listened to me and bought a trouble free Subaru.

14:27 no it's not proper hard locker, but it still makes difference that you can preselect it instead waiting for slip

Wish the Cherokee had the this front end!

"Turbo motors don't have a lot of low end torque." What?...that discredited the entire video for me.

On my 2nd Renegade Trailhawk love them.. I offroad 30k miles a year and 20k on pavement

Muito show esse Jeep Renegade! Excelente vídeo, pergunto se esse aí é o pneu original? Parabéns pelo vídeo e obrigado por compartilhar...

Renegade also has skid plates, also the lower end renegades are just missing rock mode and hill decent…so you can easily compare them to the crosstrek

Good test off road, thank you. In France, I saw a test : only on a stone road....bad guys !!

I will own one of these soon.

nice review

I guess when manufactures usually give you the top if the line cars with all the bells and whistles , you get spoiled and become disappointed when you get a car without all the toys installed. I also laughed at the laborious breathing when driving up the trail. Like sitting on your butt with power steering is a strenuous workout. 😂

LOCK button in Renegade is kind of tricky - car still may be in FWD mode. It only locks the driveshaft at front.

For the money, You would think they would have a bigger engine. At least it doesn't use a cvt....Great review as always.

My 2023 Renegade Limited is very responsive without much turbo lag at all. It is a fun little Jeep inspiring confidence on the road in daily use. Nice to have the AWD system when the weather becomes a challenge. These vehicles are actually quite capable if you drive them correctly. The Limited has better on road performance with wider wheels and tires. So far it does everything I ask of it. At the limit the Jeep will perform better than the Subaru CVT.

To be fair, driving by committee is every car today, not just this Jeep.

$37,000 for a compact cuv! No thank you!

Where’d you film the off-road bits? Looking for some local trails :)

seriously contemplating trading my 2016 Kia Soul+ in for a 2017 Renegade Limited model. I reckon it'd handle these New England winters miles better than a Soul could.

The Renegade is getting long in the tooth since 2020 is it’s 6th model year. The 2.5 in the 2021 Crosstrek will finally give it proper power.

When a Jeep and Kia soul go out to dinner...... 9 months later the renegade was born lol

My wifes renegade gets 27.7mpg. We drive about 480 miles a week. And we haven't reset that calculation in two years. Also my understanding is that when you engage 4-lock, you aren't going to transfer power front to back anymore. It works like a typical 4x4.

Now for the final test .... Reliability

9:55 What do you mean turbo motors dont have low end torque? Like wtf are you smoking??

Subaru has 8.7”, not 8.9” of ground clearance.

If you want torque, you need to test the european version with the 2.0 turbodiesel 170hp, like mine... I'm italian

I wonder how the 2.4 trailhawk compares to the subaru forester

great review! i have a very similar spec. traction off may have improved 0-60? who knows

There are a lot of amazing things about this Jeep and I would totally buy one except there's a dealbreaker: it's a Jeep.

If I was in charge of that I'd probably go ahead and raise the ground clearance them extra few points to 9 inches. A nice even number. Not sure how much difference that would make offroad. But I doubt it would hurt.Maybe see about another 20 ponies under the hood and something about the low end. Although admittedly you don't really need a particularly fast vehicle for offroad. But you might like the extra pep on the way to the trail,or in your daily driving. A young guy I go to Church with got a Renegade ( I think Latitude trim) to drive to work and back a few years ago. He seems to really like it. I guess it gets good fuel economy and handles bad weather good. If memory serves he said his drive to work was around 45 minutes. He got his wife a Journey. I'm curious as to what they got planned now that they got a 4th kid on the way.

Which forest road is this? I'd love to get my Rubicon up there.

Is there a big deferent between trailhawk and limited in suspension system And Thank you for this video Iam really injoyed

9:23 It would be super cool if you could get OBD telemetry / other data from the cars you test, to show what's happening behind the scenes!

do you air down on your off road tests at all?

I love jeep

With my 2017 DesertHawk I found that if you stomp on the gas then quickly release and then ease into it that it picks up faster. Probably not the healthiest thing to do since it will jerk the car forward.

I like that the average Joe can have a RU-vid channel

I want one again. I miss it, my Rubicon is my baby but I miss my Reni

is it only the trailhawk series that comes standard with 4x4? what about the 2.4L? of course the 2020 version probably has upgraded feature comforts and technology.... is the 1st gen a bad choice to choose from?

This should be a great little car when FCA puts the electrified drive train in it, 4xe. There is a 2020 Renegade Trailhawk near me in Georgia, similar equipment, for $26,377.

i have the "stretch version" of this and id say it takes me where ever i want to go.. but of course, no crazy rock crawling

I’ll admit it. I did not think that a lifted fiat 500 would be that good.

Great review as always! Which is better offroad - the Renegade or the Compass? Thanks!

You forgot to discuss the skid plates on the Renegade vs the Cross trek which I suspect does not have skid plates when going off road.

Kinda funny to watch people ooh and aww over this thing doing stuff my 2013highlander does everyday with no drama😂

WOW! A Big Fiat Panda 4X4 :)