TDI fades into regulatory oblivion; Enter Miata

[Tave]

I had originally hoped that the Renegade was going to be more of a mini-Wrangler than the compact CUV that it ended up as. But at least it's good at what it was designed for.

To be fair I didn't drive even a gravel road. It had really good visibility, and as I said, rode well over broken roads. I didn't get a chance to adjust the AWD but it has multiple settings for different conditions. I can picture it being a decent trail bomber but couldn't tell you that for sure.

[Soup DeVille]

Bruce Wayne drove a Jeep Renegade at the beginning of Batman vs. Superman. I have no idea why a multi billionaire would drive a POS like that. They dubbed in V12 sound effects to make it sound faster than it was.

That entire movie was just a skeleton to hang product placement on, but they could have at least chosen a believable vehicle.

[giant_mtb]

To be fair I didn't drive even a gravel road. It had really good visibility, and as I said, rode well over broken roads. I didn't get a chance to adjust the AWD but it has multiple settings for different conditions. I can picture it being a decent trail bomber but couldn't tell you that for sure.

They're not incapable off road.  Ground clearance is probably their biggest issue, but it's plenty for dirt roads and light trail use.  They're like a new generation Geo Tracker.  Tiny little SUV that can handle itself on a trail. 

https://youtu.be/oYjwG4sFyhM

[BimmerM3]

Yeah, after I made the comment, I looked into them a little more, and it looks like the Trailhawk wouldn't be bad at all.

I'd still don't see me getting one over an XV Crosstrek, for example, if just for reliability concerns.

[68_427]

I know someone that had their Renegade Lemon'd, and it was a huge ordeal as FCA didn't want to lemon it until a lawsuit was dropped on their doorstep.  It was a base model FWD manual Renegade as well.  It replaced a manual Crosstrek, and that family is now back into two Subarus.

[2o6]

Yeah, I had a friend that had a Fiat 500 Lemon Lawed, too.

[mzziaz]

How big of a turd is the 500e's btw? The ones that are coming off lease in Cali are super cheap.

[MX793]

Yeah, I had a friend that had a Fiat 500 Lemon Lawed, too.

A friend with a 500 Abarth just had his shift linkage break for the fourth or fifth time.  Car is off warranty now and apparently this time the parts made it past the 24 month new parts warranty.

[Tave]

FWIW the Renegade's tranny is the much-lauded ZF box and only programmed by FCA. It's absolutely atrocious.

On my way to pick up my Miata. Smell ya later Journey!

[ifcar]

How big of a turd is the 500e's btw? The ones that are coming off lease in Cali are super cheap.

Probably not as much as the normal ones. Fewer pieces to break in an EV.

[MX793]

FWIW the Renegade's tranny is the much-lauded ZF box and only programmed by FCA. It's absolutely atrocious.

On my way to pick up my Miata. Smell ya later Journey!

One of the Renegade's autos is made by ZF, but it's not the widely lauded ZF 8HP 8-speed that is found in the likes of Jags, BMWs, and Audis.  That gearbox will not work in transverse applications.  The Renegade gets the 9HP 9-speed unit, which has been problem-prone in some applications (Acura TLX, Jeep Cherokee) and is not particularly lauded by anyone.

[Tave]

Well I stand corrected.

[Tave]

I've never had so many random people come up to me and start talking about cars as with the Miata. Every once in awhile my 1st gen 4Runner would get some love, but nothing like this.

[Laconian]

Really? Nobody really cared about my NA and my ND seems to be nothing special now. I only get waves from NA stancebros.

[Tave]

Really? Nobody really cared about my NA and my ND seems to be nothing special now. I only get waves from NA stancebros.

Well in all fairness, your car is gray, so they probably just can't see it. 

Kidding of course that color is awesome on the Targa, but yeah it's multiple times a week for me. I think the Soul Red is probably more eye-catching, and there's also the novelty factor of seeing a guy at my height climb in/out of it.

[FoMoJo]

Well in all fairness, your car is gray, so they probably just can't see it. 

Kidding of course that color is awesome on the Targa, but yeah it's multiple times a week for me. I think the Soul Red is probably more eye-catching, and there's also the novelty factor of seeing a guy at my height climb in/out of it.

Well, he lives in Seattle as well and it's always raining.  Who wants to stop and chat in the rain?

[MX793]

Well, he lives in Seattle as well and it's always raining.  Who wants to stop and chat in the rain?

It's only rainy from mid/late fall to mid spring.  Seattle summers are actually quite dry.  The northeastern US (cities like Buffalo or Syracuse) actually gets more precipitation days per year than Seattle by a large margin.

[Raza]

I actually saw a gray RF the other day, but I wasn't in my car, so I didn't wave. 

[Laconian]

I noticed your lack of a wave. I was so sad.

I knew it was you because I recognized your watch and arm hair

[Tave]

Today I got a waive and a "Wooooooooo!" from a kid in a new Mustang I passed at an intersection.

[Raza]

I noticed your lack of a wave. I was so sad.

I knew it was you because I recognized your watch and arm hair

I just got a new watch, though. 

[Tave]

Getting after it on Dragon yesterday, might end up buying a couple prints (I'd never been in the summer, didn't realize photographers set up roadside)

[MrH]

Car looks great.  Shame there's such an ugly driver ruining the picture.

[Tave]

Don't hate when you see me flexin!

[Tave]

Even though I got up there kinda late and my back is killing me this week, I made more passes (5 or 6 round trips) that I had on previous trips. Did some really clean runs with a couple fast groups.

By far the highlight of the day was playing with a red F-type SVR convertible. I saw him at the end of a lap I started from the NC side while he was coming in from TN, flipped around, and caught him before the bridge. We waited for a big gap, he opened his exhaust, and we just crushed it. I turned off my stereo the entire time because his engine sounded so great on the overrun. After seeing how well I kept up w him, he traded me the lead for the last stretch and I definitely made him work for it. I'd really like to find a print of the both of us in frame.

The Jag is phenomenal on corner entry and mid-corner, so dialed in. If you had told me it was ~200 lbs lighter than mine instead of 1000 heavier, just based on the way it looked as it attacked turn-in and flowed through the transitions, I would have believed it. That engine is a monster though, he had no hope of putting his power down on the exits. I actually did most of my damage on the "straights" by simply being able to hook up earlier.

Best part is the dude had a road bike and far-tire mtn bike on a backrack and was hucking it harder than the guys in Vette's, Camaros, and 911s.

Fastest group of the day (other than a couple solo bikers) was a motorcycle and Civic Si that were almost above my limit. We had a seriously fast run. I'm continually impressed by how well the FWD hot hatches handle that road; they're sooooo confident in the turns. Still can't put the power down like the Miata though. 

[CaminoRacer]

That's some nice body roll. I guess I'll take that as proof of your speed.

[FoMoJo]

That's some nice body roll. I guess I'll take that as proof of your speed.

Needs coilovers?

[Tave]

I had a huge "oh shit" moment about 5 minutes into the day.

Hit a loose patch of gravel and my outside rear kissed the road edge. Made such an awful noise, at first I thought I scraped the exhaust. Spent a good 1/2 hr hyperventilating and touching every spec of dirt on the rear undercarriage before I was convinced it hadn't hit. I think what happened is the shock topped out while I ran over some debris and/or my inside lip scraped and the diff stopped and/or it was hanging loose and the diff stopped. Alignment seems fine--no vibrations at speed and it tracks straight--but I should probably have it done anyway.

Dodged an expensive bullet. Even more freaky I wasn't on it that hard and had my TC on, just a gnarly bit of gravel.

[AutobahnSHO]

Even though I got up there kinda late and my back is killing me this week, I made more passes (5 or 6 round trips) that I had on previous trips. Did some really clean runs with a couple fast groups.

By far the highlight of the day was playing with a red F-type SVR convertible. I saw him at the end of a lap I started from the NC side while he was coming in from TN, flipped around, and caught him before the bridge. We waited for a big gap, he opened his exhaust, and we just crushed it. I turned off my stereo the entire time because his engine sounded so great on the overrun. After seeing how well I kept up w him, he traded me the lead for the last stretch and I definitely made him work for it. I'd really like to find a print of the both of us in frame.

The Jag is phenomenal on corner entry and mid-corner, so dialed in. If you had told me it was ~200 lbs lighter than mine instead of 1000 heavier, just based on the way it looked as it attacked turn-in and flowed through the transitions, I would have believed it. That engine is a monster though, he had no hope of putting his power down on the exits. I actually did most of my damage on the "straights" by simply being able to hook up earlier.

Best part is the dude had a road bike and far-tire mtn bike on a backrack and was hucking it harder than the guys in Vette's, Camaros, and 911s.

Fastest group of the day (other than a couple solo bikers) was a motorcycle and Civic Si that were almost above my limit. We had a seriously fast run. I'm continually impressed by how well the FWD hot hatches handle that road; they're sooooo confident in the turns. Still can't put the power down like the Miata though. 

luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuust       

[Tave]

That's some nice body roll. I guess I'll take that as proof of your speed.

Needs coilovers?

It comes with Bilstein coilovers in the Cup but evidently they have the same travel/roll issues. I think if you wanted to really flatten it out, you'd need to lower the ride height, put super stiffies on it, or add some form of chassis bracing. Supposedly they fiddled with the rates on the RF and 2017s. I'm kind of curious wether the 2017s sacrifice any ride comfort and if it'll only benefit the RF since it has the extra weight over the rear.