The 2015 Jeep Renegade is a capable mini ‘ute that faces worthy competition from automakers all over the world. The 2015 Kia Soul, 2015 Nissan Juke and 2015 Buick Encore are also five-passenger, economical, young-urban-lifestyle mini ‘utes, but each one offers a very different set of priorities.
Watch this epic TFLcar mashup where we pit the 2015 Jeep Renegade against the Soul, Juke and Encore in the rugged hills outside of Hollister, CA:
Outside of their general size and layout, these four crossovers are actually quite different. While all of their engines are direct-injected four cylinders, only three models offer turbocharging. The Buick Encore and Nissan Juke base models only offer automatic transmissions (6AT and CVT, respectively), while the Kia Soul and 2015 Jeep Renegade offer a six-speed manual with their base engines.
Difference is, the Soul is front-wheel-drive only in all models, and the Renegade can pair its row-your-own box with an available all-wheel-drive system. Pretty wild, considering the Subaru XV Crosstrek is really the only other off-road-ready, all-wheel-drive compact CUV to still offer a manual transmission option.
Whether your priority is rugged off-road capability, spirited on-road handling, cocooning luxury, or a long warranty, the 2015 Jeep Wrangler, 2015 Nissan Juke, 2015 Buick Encore and 2015 Kia Soul offer very different and very capable takes on economical versatility.
Watch our full review of the 2015 Nissan Juke here:
Watch our full review of the latest Buick Encore here:
Watch our full review of the latest Kia Soul here:
Watch our full review of the 2015 Jeep Renegade here:
