From £32,6996

Jeep’s ten-year-old boxy SUV is updated for 2024 - can it still keep up with the competition?

In the past, this is where the Renegade would have come unstuck, as its petrol and diesel engines of old were thirsty and uneconomical. But have things changed with this all-electrified line-up? 

Let’s start with pricing. The Jeep Renegade E-Hybrid commands a £30,500 pricetag, which appears expensive when compared to the Mini Countryman (£29,335) and the Audi Q2 (£29,680). 

CAP expects the Renegade to outperform the Nissan Qashqai in percentage terms over four years

That said, the equipment you get on the standard Altitude specification is comprehensive. It includes 17in alloy wheels, automatic LED headlights, those two digital screens, a reversing camera, dual-zone air conditioning and a suite of safety technology. 

Mid-range Summit models add some appealing extras, including a leather heated steering wheel, keyless entry, adaptive cruise control and front and rear parking sensors. 

If you’re into off-roading, Overland adds an off-road bumper, washable seats, higher ground clearance and a mode three charging cable (4xe only). 

Trailhawk, at the very top of the range, gets bespoke seats with red stitching, skid plates for the transmission, front suspension, fuel tank and transfer case, plus a terrain selection system, a red tow hook and all-season floor mats.

The Renegade 4xe kicks off from £38,000 - plenty of PHEV SUVs are pricier, like the Toyota CH-R at £39,145. However, the car’s limited inward practicality may not trick family buyers quite as easily.

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Plenty of PHEV SUVs are pricier still, of course. And yet the Renegade 4xe doesn’t quite have the electric range it would need to squeeze into an 11% benefit-in-kind company car tax classification and to reach out as an outstanding fleet option, either.

As it is, the 14% bracketing of our test car still ought to appeal to plenty. But it does seem odd that Jeep isn’t offering a cheaper, sub-50g/km, road-tyred, mid-spec version of the Renegade 4xe that might bring its 237bhp hybrid powertrain to a wider fleet audience.

Electric range for the car proved to average around 21 miles on test – the kind of showing that we were used to from PHEVs five or 10 years ago but now looks a bit tokenistic and might be unlikely to drive down your monthly fuel budget too far.

Disappointing real-world fuel economy when the car is running on a depleted battery won’t do much to help there, either. You’ll do well to breach the 40mpg barrier on a long motorway cruise.