Test drove a KJ Renegade

xed · **Posted:** Mon Feb 27, 2006 12:15 am

I'm looking into a new vehicle and leaning towards a Jeep Liberty 2006 with the potential of getting into some 4x4 offroading someday in the future. Enjoyed the limited time I had to drive a Limited edition but I will rent one for 24-48hours just to play around cause I have specific cargo requirements.

Have a couple questions:

1) I've driven mostly standard vehicles, any preferences from other owners regarding standard vs automatic and 4x4?

2) Command-Trac vs Select-Trac, dealer told me that Select-Trac is mostly for people who don't know when not to use 4WD. I live in Montreal, Canada so a good portion of the year there will be snow on the ground. Is the Liberty back-wheel drive in 2High?

3) For extra $150CDN I can get "All-Terrain" tires (donno brand) instead of "All-Season", will these be fine for summer street riding and winter riding or will I need a set of tires just for winter? For reference, on my current vehicle, Mazda 5 Protege, I use my All-Season tires from spring to fall and Winter (soft) tires for the remainder of the year.

nickmv · **Posted:** Mon Feb 27, 2006 4:41 am

can't help you with 1, but i can for the other 2

2. OK, Selec-Trac is DEFINITELY NOT something for beginners only. selec-trac simply means that you can drive all the time with it on. It can definitely come in handy such as in the rain, or in my case recently, when we had an ice-storm and only certain patches of pavement were covered in ice. It was a pain to have to keep shifting out of 4HI into 2HI just cuz I'd suddenly be driving on dry pavement. You mentioned you live in a snowy area. Get selec-trac, it'll definitely be worth it.

3. This probably means that instead of giving you Wrangler ST's, that you'll get Wrangler SR-A's. These tires are just fine all-season. As a matter of fact, I'd classify them more as all-season than all-terrain, because the stock tires are nowhere near the performance of other all-terrain tires. But the SR-A "all-terrain" tires are definitely an improvement over the Wrangler ST's in comparison. If I were you, if possible, get the cheaper one's and if you can take them immediately to a tire place, trade them in and get Revo's.

PitViper · **Posted:** Mon Feb 27, 2006 6:17 am

3. I've had both the SR-A's and the ST's, and the the Wrangler SR-A's are better. the SR-A's are wider so that mean more rubber on the road.

Taz · **Posted:** Mon Feb 27, 2006 7:41 am

1. Its your preference.

2. Get the Selec-Trac, especially where you live. You will use the full time 4wd a lot.

3. Get the All Terains, even if it is not the SR-A's. The ST's are so bad that ANY AT should be better than them.

MattyMac1 · **Posted:** Mon Feb 27, 2006 9:43 am

I wish i had Selec-Trac on my Renny. All wheel drive with a full range of 4wh hi and low , how can you go wrong? As far as the tires go the SR-A's are awful in my opinion.i had them for 4 months and could not stand them. They are awful in the rain and snow IMHO. I swapped over to REVO's but tried the Good Year Fortera Silenet Armors first (30 day money back trial). I sort of wish I stuck with the Forteras, they were the most quiet tire I have ever owned, they have a layer of Kevlar in them and a rim protector as well. Owning the Revos now I don't see much of a diff between the 2 in the snow. the Forteras were great handling at speeds over 90mph as well and quiet.Off road traction w the Forteras not really sure cause I didn't really go.
Here's a pic of the forteras on my jeep.Hope that helps..

losttourist · **Posted:** Mon Feb 27, 2006 10:12 am

As already stated here go for the select trac! I have it and agree that it is really great. ( ive owned 6 4x4's in the past ) Liberty is the first Ive used select trac. As for the tires, again like they've mentioned the AT's would be an improvement over the regular stock.

have fun!

Se7enLC · **Posted:** Mon Feb 27, 2006 11:36 am

xed wrote:

1) I've driven mostly standard vehicles, any preferences from other owners regarding standard vs automatic and 4x4?

Standard Transmission is more fun, especially with the 6-speed. If you are considering the auto, make sure you test one out to see if you like how it shifts/accelerates. I didn't, so I made sure to get a manual.

Quote:

2) Command-Trac vs Select-Trac, dealer told me that Select-Trac is mostly for people who don't know when not to use 4WD. I live in Montreal, Canada so a good portion of the year there will be snow on the ground. Is the Liberty back-wheel drive in 2High?

Command-Trac: 2HI, 4HI, 4LO
Selec-Trac: 2HI, 4-Full, 4HI, 4LO

They both have the same (or very similar) choices for real-4wd (HI and LO gearing) and 2wd (rear wheel). The Selec-Trac also adds a fulltime-4wd that is similar to AWD. You can use this one on pavement and not experience the skipping and driveline binding. It's nice for rain and in-between conditions where you don't really want to be in 4WD but don't want to just have 2WD. Check out jeep.com for a nice video showing the differences between the two transmissions.

Quote:

3) For extra $150CDN I can get "All-Terrain" tires (donno brand) instead of "All-Season", will these be fine for summer street riding and winter riding or will I need a set of tires just for winter? For reference, on my current vehicle, Mazda 5 Protege, I use my All-Season tires from spring to fall and Winter (soft) tires for the remainder of the year.

If it's the Jeep option, the "All-Terrain Tires" gives you 235/70R16 SR-A instead of 225/75R16 or something similar. It's an extra 1/2 inch diameter and a little wider, if I'm not mistaken. Most people trade off their tires for better ones anyway, so if you're planning on doing that, don't opt for the new tires and put that $150 towards new tires instead (or tell the dealer that you want other tires and see if they will knock something off the price and mount the new ones for you) (and get the new tires right away so you can sell the old ones with < 100 miles on them)

sleeve84028 · **Posted:** Mon Feb 27, 2006 11:43 am

Didn't see anyone mention that the only way to get select trac is with the automatic transmission. At least I couldn't when they first came out.

I don't get as much snow as you, but when it does snow around here I just put it in Full time and drive like I noramlly would (just more carefull for turning and stopping.)

Personally, most OEM tires are junk so I wouldn't waste the money.

xed · **Posted:** Mon Feb 27, 2006 2:51 pm

Thanks for all the replies. I will be see if will be possible to toss the stock wheels and get the REVOs installed.

Any conclusion on whether Selec-Trac is available with Manual transmission?

dog_party · **Posted:** Mon Feb 27, 2006 4:14 pm

The 6-speed manual tranny is only listed as an option for the Renegade. Selec-Trac is only listed as being available on the Sport and Limited models. Looks like one or the other my friend. Combining them from the factory does not seem like a possibility, unless the options available in Canada are different from America.

Now, in answer to your questions:
1) I hadn't owned an automatic vehicle since I learned to drive. I love manual trannies and wish I had one in my KJ. While saying that, I will also say that the KJ footwell seems a bit snug to have 3 pedals moving at the same time. If I were heel-to-toe shifting with my Simpson racing shoes, there'd be enough room for three pedals and two feet (proximity would be nice). But with a pair of boots on, I find just enough room for one active foot down there. So auto is a good thing. The 5-speed auto tranny in my truck is strong, but the shifting patterns take some getting used to. That's probably simply due to the fact that it's not ME determining the pattern with my left foor and right hand.

2) Selec-Trac is AWESOME! Combine the ESP in the 06 model with Selec-Trac and you're going to be hard pressed to find any less than major situations where you actually need 4HI and 4LO. Get it if you can afford the upgrade price. You won't be sorry!

3) Unless they'll throw your $150 toward tires that you pick, don't waste it. Do as has already been suggested and take that $150 to a tire dealers (who is going to give you a better price on tires anyway) and replace the Goodyears there.

Good luck with your shopping and welcome to LOST!!

adamkrz · **Posted:** Mon Feb 27, 2006 4:37 pm

I love my 5 speed but the towing capacity drops to 3500 pounds-with the auto it is 5000,Regardless I believe I save fuel by driving the manual and coasting when I can..

sleeve84028 · **Posted:** Mon Feb 27, 2006 7:29 pm

I just checked on the Jeep website: The Select-Trac transfercase is only offered on the Sport and Limited models. I tried at www.jeep.ca but I didn't see the same information for some reason. Anyway, go here and hit expand all http://www-5.jeep.com/vehsuite/VehicleCompare.jsp

dog_party · **Posted:** Tue Feb 28, 2006 8:51 am

That's a good point adamkrz. All the manufacturers have done that: drop the listed towing capacities on manual trannies.

I looked through that .ca Jeep site and didn't even see Selec-Trac or CommandTrac listed. Maybe I just missed it (shrug).

blackjeep · **Posted:** Wed Mar 01, 2006 7:52 pm

selec-trac is only available with automatic and yes avail on the renegade. love my renegade but if i could do it all over again, i would got a few more options and a automatic sport diesel and renegaded it up myself.

KJ04 · **Posted:** Wed Mar 01, 2006 8:21 pm

You might want to check out the new FJ Cruiser by Toyota Also. Good reviews on it.

kickit_in4wheel · **Posted:** Thu Mar 02, 2006 12:21 am

BLASPHEMY! Actually, it does sound alright. I'm not too fond of the look, but I am jealous of some of the hardware it comes with. Like that crawl ratio and the E-lockers...
Rick

Test drove a KJ Renegade

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