Jeep Renegade

At a glance

A chi è adatta questa auto?

Small groups heading to Durmitor, Biogradska Gora, or the back roads of Lovćen where 4x4 matters.

• Hikers
• Couples exploring inland
• National-park trips

The Jeep Renegade on Montenegro roads

Behind the wheel

The Renegade 1.6 MultiJet with the optional 4x4 system is the most characterful small SUV in the fleet. The 130 hp diesel is noisier and more agricultural than a VW Group equivalent, but it has real torque low down and a six-speed manual that shifts with a pleasing mechanical weight. The cabin is high, square and visible in all directions, the seats sit you up rather than in, and there are chunky grab handles on the A-pillars that feel half-joke, half-promise. On tarmac it rolls more than the X3 and steers more slowly than the Octavia; off tarmac, on gravel or wet grass, that same chassis suddenly makes sense.

On Montenegro roads

This is where the Renegade earns its place in a Montenegro fleet. The 4x4 and raised ground clearance mean you can drive to the Ostrog Monastery upper car park in wet weather without the nose scraping, tackle the unsealed final kilometres to the Black Lake at Durmitor in shoulder season when the gate is still open to cars, and descend the rough Lovćen back roads toward Krstac without stopping. It is less happy as a pure tarmac tourer: the 1.6 diesel is working audibly at 130 km/h on the Bar motorway, and the tall body leans on the fast coastal curves past Petrovac. Snow roads above Kolašin — the road up to Bjelasica ski area in January — are where it quietly beats every other car on this list.

Space and load

The boot reads 351 litres seats-up and 1,297 with them folded, which in practical terms is two full-size suitcases behind the rear seats or a mountain bike with its front wheel off behind a folded seat. Hiking kit for two heading to the Prutaš peak above Durmitor fits easily — boots, poles, crampons, rope, 50-litre packs. Ski gear for two including boots and helmets needs one rear seat folded. It is not an eight-piece-luggage car; if your group is four with a pram, look at the X3 or Octavia. For adventure-weighted kit — kayak paddles, climbing rope, wetsuits — the load floor is the right shape.

Best journeys for this car

The Renegade suits travellers whose Montenegro is the interior rather than the coast. The hiker basing in Žabljak for a week, the family driving the full Durmitor-Piva-Tara loop, the photographer heading to Kapetanovo Lake or the high pastures above Plužine. It also works well for shoulder-season trips in March and November where roads are damp, mountain weather is unpredictable, and a raised driving position and 4x4 earn their keep daily. It is the wrong choice for a couple doing a pure Kotor-Perast-Budva coastal week; you pay in fuel and refinement for capability you never use.

Practical notes

Diesel economy is honest: around 6.5 L/100 km on mixed roads, closer to 7.5 in the mountains. Parking is easier than the numbers suggest because the square shape makes judging corners simple, but the 4,236 mm length still makes Kotor’s old-town perimeter bays workable rather than generous. Fuel stops are worth planning on interior routes — the OMV at Mateševo and the stations at Nikšić are the reliable ones; between Plužine and Žabljak you plan ahead. Summer AC on a fully loaded Renegade climbing to Durmitor in August works hard; the temperature gauge stays put but fuel consumption notices. Winter chains are genuinely unnecessary on most Montenegro roads with the 4x4 engaged, but still required by law on some mountain passes between November and March.

The verdict

Choose the Renegade if mountains, gravel and national parks are your Montenegro. Skip it if your week lives between Porto Montenegro and Sveti Stefan — the coast deserves a more comfortable tourer.

Specifiche complete

Inside the car

• 4x4 Drive
• Hill Descent Control
• Roof Rails
• Off-Road Mode