2019 Jeep Renegade: Refreshed Mini-ute Debuts - Where Else? - in Turin

The smallest American Jeep model underwent a nip and tuck for the 2019 model year, and its parent company decided to take the bandages off at the Wednesday’s Turin Motor Show. Only natural, given its Italian architecture.

While Jeep’s Renegade currently serves as the first rung in a tall (and soon to be taller) ladder, there’s a smaller sibling planned for overseas markets. Here, we can expect its entry-level status to remain intact. So, what does 2019 hold for the little ute? A greater attempt at visual brawn, for one, plus three new engines.

These diminutive three-and four-cylinders could be for European customers only. There’s a turbo 1.0-liter three-cylinder making 120 horsepower, a 150-horse 1.3-liter four-cylinder, and a 180 hp version of that same engine.

Jeep hasn’t said if either the turbo 1.4-liter MultiAir four-cylinder or naturally aspirated 2.4-liter Tigershark engine found in North American models will stand aside for the coming model year, but apparently there’ll be word on that later this month. The two American mills offer fairly similar torque outputs (184 lb-ft for the turbo, 175 for the Tigershark), but go about delivering it in different ways. A six-speed manual or nine-speed automatic are the transmission choices for the existing model.

The most noticeable changes to the 2019 model involve the front bumper, now completely reformed and boasting a larger lower air intake, side vents, and foglights moved further inboard. Renegade’s characteristic grille gains wider slats, flanked by headlamps that mimic its brawnier Wrangler sibling. An LED ring circling the headlamp provides daytime illumination.

Out back, the only noticeable changes are a pair of revised taillights (where “X” still marks the spot), and a visible handle for liftgate operation.

Renegade sales slipped slightly in the U.S. in 2017 after hitting a high water mark the year before — it’s first full year on the market. Over the first five months of 2018, sales fell 4 percent compared to the same period in 2017. With the exception of the Grand Cherokee, which posted a year-to-date volume loss of 5 percent, all other Jeep vehicles saw generous sales increases this year.

[Images: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles]