2015 Jeep Renegade vs Chevrolet Trax Watertown WI

Features & Specs

Fuel Type

Premium unleaded

Regular unleaded

Torque

184 ft-lbs. @ 2500 rpm

148 ft-lbs. @ 1850 rpm

Transmission

6-speed manual

6-speed automatic

Horsepower

160 hp @ 5500 rpm

138 hp @ 4900 rpm

2015 Jeep Renegade vs 2015 Chevrolet Trax near Madison, WI

The 2015 Renegade isn't the first Jeep that is like a car, but it's the first one to show that Jeep's playfulness can bring success to a subcompact crossover. It is rewarding yet still practical. The 2015 Chevrolet Trax is worth considering if you're searching for an affordable suburban runabout that is simple to drive.

2015 Jeep Renegade Power & Handling

Total power output of the two engines for the 2015 Jeep Renegade is basically a wash, so your choice hinges more on what kind of character you want. The 1.4 delivers its power in a smoother manner and generally feels sportier. It's also the only engine that you can pair with the easy-to-shift manual transmission. In comparison, the 2.4-liter engine feels and sounds coarser during hard acceleration, but its stronger low-rpm torque means it's more powerful and responsive from a stop or at low speeds.

2015 Chevrolet Trax Power & Handling

Every 2015 Chevrolet Trax comes with a turbocharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. The engine produces 138 horsepower and 148 pound-feet of torque. In Edmunds testing, a Trax LTZ with all-wheel drive accelerated from zero to 60 mph in 10 seconds flat. This is about a second slower than similarly sized and purposed small crossovers.

2015 Jeep Renegade Features & Design

The Uconnect system is also better than most infotainment systems. The upgraded 6.5-inch touchscreen is responsive and has virtual buttons that are easy to press with a finger. It also offers access to the Yelp local search and Uconnect Access apps on owners' smartphones. Uconnect Access offers text-to-speech and speech-to-text capability, both of which work quite well, plus remote locking and starting and, for an additional fee, WiFi hotspot capability. The Limited model also comes with a fancy display in the instrument cluster that shows enhanced trip computer information.

2015 Chevrolet Trax Features & Design

In spite of its tiny size, the 2015 Chevy Trax has plenty of useful interior space. Although the buckets themselves are narrow, front-seat headroom and legroom are plentiful, and the rear seat has enough space for a pair of adults provided nobody is over 6 feet tall. The bigger issue inside the Trax is the substandard quality of the interior materials. Hard plastic covers just about every surface, and the handful of soft-touch surfaces aren't very substantial or impressive to behold. Chevy also hasn't included a center console, which hurts interior storage, and the motorcycle-inspired instrument cluster from the Sonic looks cheap here.

Conclusions

Passengers in the back seat may find themselves a little more cramped in the Chevrolet Trax than the Jeep Renegade. The Jeep Renegade will be a hit with tall drivers and their front seat passengers, since it has greater front head and legroom than the Chevrolet Trax. The clear winner here is the Jeep Renegade!

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