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2019 Jeep Renegade teased with taillight photo

We've seen a number of 2019 Jeep Renegade prototypes running around lately, and now we know when we'll finally see all the ways the little crossover SUV has been updated: June 6. It will make its debut at the Turin Motor Show. Before then, Jeep did reveal a couple of details, including the above shot of the new taillight design. Though the taillight is very similar to the current version, particularly in how it's still square with a distinct "X" motif in center, it has a few differences. The thick black surround of the current model is gone entirely. It makes way for dark-tinted red plastic to wrap all the way around, and it has indentations that echo the X in the center. That center X isn't all a reverse light anymore. It's now part of the taillight's internal design. Only a small white square in the middle is now for the reverse light. Aside from small styling changes on the lights, Jeep also announced powertrains for the European version of the Renegade. It will be available with at least three gasoline engine options. There will be a roughly 120-horsepower 1.0-liter three-cylinder, and two versions of a 1.3-liter four-cylinder making 150 horsepower or 180. Jeep didn't mention anything about a diesel or a hybrid, the latter of which we expect based on previous spy shots. In the U.S., the Renegade is available either with a 160-horsepower turbocharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder or a 184-horsepower 2.4-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder. We would assume at least the 1.3-liter engine will make it to the U.S., considering its similar power output to current numbers. Related Video:

2015 Jeep Cherokee finds a bit more fuel mileage thanks to stop/start and aero tweaks

Just a year after it burst onto the scene, Jeep has already made a pretty substantial addition to its V6-powered Cherokee, which has proven to be an extremely popular seller so far for the brand, adding a new stop-start system for the midsize, off-road-ready CUV.
The addition of stop-start included a few aerodynamic tweaks to the Cherokee's polarizing body, resulting in a wallet-pleasing increase in fuel economy. According to the EPA, the front-drive, V6-powered Jeep will now return 21 miles per gallon in the city and 29 mpg on the highway, up from 19 city and 28 highway. Four-wheel-drive, V6-powered Cherokees, meanwhile, will now return 20 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway, up from 19 mpg in the city and 27 mpg.
With 271 horsepower, 239 pound-feet of torque and these newly enhanced figures, it's refreshing to see a larger, naturally aspirated engine that is still able to take the fight to today's crop of small-displacement, turbocharged four-cylinders.

Ford will put solid axles under the Bronco as the off-roading gods intended

We've been wondering what sort of creature the Bronco would be since we first heard of the thing last October, when a union chairman spilled the beans on the SUV and the Ranger pickup. Ford confirmed a 2020 arrival date for the Bronco at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show, but at that point pretty much all we were sure of was that the Ranger and Bronco would be returning. The open question would be how hungry Ford was to spoil the Jeep Wrangler's solo party as a compact(ish) off-roader with dual solid axles, since the easiest thing would be to carry over the suspension design of the presumably related international Ford Ranger and its Everest SUV version: independent front suspension with either a leaf- (Ranger) or coil-suspended (Everest) solid rear axle. Enter Dana, the long-time supplier of Jeep stick axles, to confirm that the 2020 Bronco is getting a pair of them. That means solid axles front and rear, just like under a Wrangler. So reports Automotive News, citing an investor presentation from Dana. All signs so far, such as the report that the Bronco would be engineered by the same team in Australia that created the Ranger pickup, indicated that the Bronco would share a platform with the Ranger and thus be body-on-frame. The solid axle confirmation essentially confirms that theory. Some off-road-capable vehicles have paired solid axles with unibody frames, like the Jeep Cherokee (XJ generation) and Grand Cherokee (ZJ and WJ generations), but they are outliers. Generally, if you've got solid axles at both ends, they're going in a vehicle with a ladder frame. It also lends credence to the notion that our Bronco won't simply be an imported Everest, which might be too understated to stand out from lesser crossovers anyways. This is good news if you have Blue Oval in your blood and pine for a modern SUV that'll show up the Jeep guys on the trail. Less directly, it could mean a wholesale assault on the formula that makes Jeeps successful in the first place: the massive aftermarket of off-roading equipment and dress-up bits that appeal to Jeep buyers almost as much as a Trail Rated badge. At a minimum, Bronco enthusiasts can breathe easy that the reborn SUV won't merely be a light-duty crossover with styling "inspired" by true off-roaders. There's still a lot left to learn about the Bronco. Keep up to date with our running summary of everything we know about the returning off-roader.