2017 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk

The 2017 Renegade is Jeep's smallest SUV, a boxy, cheerful runabout that blends the brand's rugged looks with a city-friendly footprint. It squares off against the Honda HR-V, Mazda CX-3, and Chevrolet Trax, but none of them offer a Trailhawk with real off-road hardware. The Renegade feels eager in town, though the nine-speed automatic can hunt for gears and the base engine needs revs to get moving. Inside, the cabin is a mix of playful design and hard plastics, with comfortable front seats but tight rear legroom and a small cargo area. Available features include a crisp backup camera with guidelines, heated seats and steering wheel, and proximity keyless entry. The Trailhawk is the Renegade you buy for real off-road ability, with skid plates, tow hooks, and a Rock mode that no other trim gets. Its 2.4L I4 makes 180 horsepower and routes it through a nine-speed automatic to four-wheel drive, which is enough for trail duty but gets 24 mpg combined. The Selec-Terrain system with Rock mode lets you crawl over obstacles that would stop a standard crossover cold.