Jeep meets Harley and both are on innovative paths.
Both manufacturers have brought a lot of new things to the road, whether it's the modern communication radio BOOM! BOX sound system with 2x 300 watts of pure power, including USB connection and voice-controlled navigation, or the new highlights in the Jeep Renegade , which are called Uconnect, with internet radio or active lane control.
Both have recognized the signs of the times, holding on to the old times is pointless, you shouldn't forget them, but anyone who wants to sell vehicles and survive on the market in the long term has to move with the times.
This means that the new Harley-Davidson Street Glide can also be transformed into a moving office, make phone calls with a headset, or use voice control to tell the navigation where to go, import planned routes into the navigation using a USB stick, there are so many new ones Opportunities for tourers.
Jeep has launched Uconnect, the total combination with the smartphone has entered the Jeep world. I drove the Jeep Renegade 4×4 Limited for a few weeks, as I always do, I travel a lot and tested the Jeep for everyday use for a few thousand kilometers.
By suitability for everyday use I mean driving on motorways, federal and secondary roads and being on country roads or forest paths. And letting the woman drive was a stupid idea, by the way.
The Jeep Renegade manages to attract the attention of the weaker sex without any effort, I only got it out of the jeep under protest, if I didn't pay attention in time, it was gone, now I also have a daughter, what for me This meant that if I wanted to go with them, I had to sit in the back, which works very well, the Jeep is very spacious.
The Jeep Renegade is immediately appealing, it stands out, whether it's the color or the design, you don't see that many on the road yet.
The registration numbers in the last few months have been very good, you can get it from 20,000 euros. I had the 1.4 liter petrol version with 170 hp, 9-speed automatic and all-wheel drive with top equipment available for 35,000 euros.
Equipped with 225/55 18 inch SUV winter tires, the car consumed around 9 liters, on the highway you can sometimes manage 11 liters when driving quickly, but I was also driving towards Munich with winter tires at over 15 degrees and that's what I did Tried it all out on an 1800km long motorway tour.
With summer tires it will consume less, but I think the consumption is okay for the performance, but 8 liters should be feasible despite all-wheel drive.
The Renegade can easily reach 200 km/h, the optimal cruising speed is between 130 km/h and 160 km/h, but it prefers to travel on our federal and country roads.
But here it comes, notorious non-signallers on the motorway, or cell phone players have found a new watchdog. As soon as you change lanes without signaling, or lose your lane on the main highway, the lane assistant comes into play.
No shaking of the steering wheel or beeping, the Renegade pulls itself back on track.
And it does it perfectly, on the motorway you obviously signal to overtake, if you don't do it, you go back into lane, countersteering is of course possible.
I'm sure this technique will get some WhatsApp writers back on the safe path and avoid worse things, I'm surprised at how well it worked.
And the Jeep also wants to be discovered, under the tank cap you can find a small spider as a logo, on the rear window you can see a mountain climber from the inside and the rubber shelves show a map, I couldn't discover anything else.
Autumn has had its grip on us for a long time and the Harley-Davidson is in the garage more and more often, now the stormy autumn season has come when we are traveling more by car.
In the past it was often the case that a cheap box was simply bought for little money for the winter, and in the spring it was then dumped directly on the scrapyard, but those days are finally over.
Today we ride very modern bikes that are technically at the highest level and at Harley the latest Daymakers ensure good light, the Jeep shines with bi-xenon and cornering lights, which is what you want in the dark season.
The all-wheel drive of the Renegade is something special, it disengages itself when it is not needed and automatically switches itself back on as soon as there is slippage, that worked great, I never had a traction problem, neither in the mud nor on forest paths can also be switched individually to mud and snow.
The car has a very high level of driving comfort, it handles bumps in the road confidently and is very quiet, the wide winter tires can be heard at higher temperatures, otherwise the Jeep is excellently dampened.
It is the ideal car for the city or on slightly longer journeys, very good seating comfort, the steering wheel is adjustable and heated, a reversing camera is helpful when parking and the integrated Tom Tom navigation device can be easily operated via touchscreen.
The new Jeep Renegade was a very pleasant companion for almost 4000 kilometers, which I was reluctant to give back and I have to say, I'm surprised.
Jeep's new concept seems to be a success, so many great futures and simply a good driving experience with all-wheel drive, for a reasonable price, so the winter can last a little longer.
They are both companies with American tradition and a very long company history.
Anyone who goes to the European Harley-Davidson events will have noticed that Harley-Davidson and Jeep have an intensive cooperation. Jeep presents itself at a variety of events with a huge amount of effort, but not in such a way that they set up a vehicle from the fleet somewhere and place a display next to it, that would be too easy.
They are on an excitingly cool off-road course that cannot be overlooked, and they have caused a stir, especially at Lake Faaker See.
Just test what it's like to drive in a Jeep. Very few people will ever exploit the limits of what's possible on the roads, but if they have to, they can.
Jeep and Harley-Davidson are connected by adventure and great customer loyalty. What Harley-Davidson does with its logo, Jeep creates with its name.
A Jeep doesn't just have to be bought, you also have to discover it and its capabilities!
If you're at next year's Harley-Davidson events, take the opportunity to get into a Jeep and you'll be surprised. Jeep Renegade meets Harley – THE AMERICAN WAY OF DRIVE
More information at Jeep
Jeep Renegade photo gallery (click to enlarge)
