The Jeep Renegade has been facelifted internationally and will be making its way to South Africa in early 2019. Here's what's changed.

The Jeep Renegade was first launched back in 2014 and made its debut in South Africa a year later in 2015. It was a big step forward for Jeep as the Renegade was the brand's first foray into the B-segment and it was the first Jeep to be assembled in Italy. The Fiat 500X also shared a platform with the Renegade, although has not been as successful locally. A facelifted version has been announced and, on the back of record sales for the Jeep brand in Europe, the new-look Renegade will subsequently be rolled out to the rest of the world.

Visually, it has not changed dramatically and still retains those rugged Jeep looks.The key changes include all-new engines, more safety features and updates to the infotainment system. Starting with the engines, there is a new 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol motor pushing out 90 kW and 190 Nm. Next up is a 1.3-litre turbo four-cylinder petrol with 110 kW and 270 Nm. There are revisions to the 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre turbodiesel engines too. All Jeep Renegades can be mated to a six-speed manual gearbox, 6-speed dual-clutch transmission or nine-speed automatic.

The facelifted Jeep Renegade features faster infotainment systems and more safety

Inside, the new 2019 Jeep Renegade is available with one of three infotainment systems depending on trim. There's aUconnectTM 5-inch, UconnectTM 7-inch or UconnectTM 8.4-inch with navigation. All feature touchscreens and uprated processors for faster responsiveness. The climate control and audio controls have been merged into this system, reducing the number of buttons in the cabin. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality are also available. It'll be one of the safest vehicles in its class and has six airbags and ESC as standard. Also in the mix is ERM (Electronic Rollover Mitigation) which attempts to reduce the chance of the vehicle overturning. The Jeep Renegade now has Lane Sense Departure Warning Plus and Intelligent Speed Assist with Traffic Sign Recognition. It can also park itself automatically. As an option, you can specify some semi-autonomous safety features in the form of Forward Collision Warning with Active Emergency Braking and Adaptive Cruise Control.

The 2019 Jeep Renegade is available in four flavours:Sport, Longitude, Limited and Trailhawk. The Trailhawk is the most off-road-focused Renegade available and it boasts ground clearance of up to 210 mm as well as dedicated off-road modes.We'll confirm local specifications and details closer to the launch in early 2019.

Despite it being the baby Jeep in the family, it's still exceptionally capable when the going gets tough

Further Reading

Jeep Renegade (2015) First Drive

Jeepgoing big in 2018

Jeep Renegade 1.4L T Limited Launch Edition (2015) Review

Top 10 things to know about the New Jeep Renegade

Jeep Shows Customisation with Mopar

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