Right. Just gonna come right out and say it: I like the Renegade - at least, what I've seen of it so far.
Qualifying that statement: I've been XJ-less for three years, thoroughly dislike the Compass / Patriot (I tried to give them a fair shake; they just didn't cut it), and owned a 1999 Subaru Forester for a time since the XJ. That last one is a mistake I will *not* repeat.
The reality is that Jeep is not going to make another XJ. It just won't happen. They'll keep the Wrangler as the 'real' Jeep with some off-road ability nods in the direction of the Grand, and everything else will be in the lineup to either boost sales and/or bring down CAFE numbers for the vehicles with the capability we'd want.
I hate to say it, but this is the reality - across the board - of the auto industry today: smaller engines, better economy, fewer vehicles suited to a specific task. For anyone who remembers the 1970s, this may seem oddly-familiar, but with a slightly different twist on things.
One thing I will add, though: before moving to the US in 1998, I briefly owned a 1987 Fiat Panda 4x4. This was the old, all-flat-glass, beer-can-doors-and-panels Panda, which is worlds apart from the one Fiat is making now under the same name. I had the upmarket Sisley model (RHD and blue, for anyone who Googles it). It may have had all of 998cc to power it and no low range, but that little ****er ploughed through everything, had grip like you wouldn't believe, and was just *tough*. It also had coils up front, leafs in the rear, and a unibody - not unlike the XJs I later owned. Steyr-Puch may have designed the 4WD system on it, but the rest was off-the-shelf Fiat. And it never let itself - or me - down once.
Granted, that semi-ancient Fiat isn't the Renegade, and it certainly isn't the XJ. But given the history of what Fiat can do with a capable small off-roader, the Renegade deserves a fair shot. If they fail on the trail, fine - but if they outdo the Compass and Patriot in the process, I'd call it a win.
