New Jeep Renegade is small yet tough

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Jeep grill is familiar, and so is the font of the logo, but there is a new Jeep around that's small and chunky: the Renegade.

The name was brought back from earlier in Jeep's history, but the car itself is all new. It's in a smaller size that's growing in popularity, and four wheel drive is still an option.

While this is a Jeep, it has pieces from its parent company Fiat, including the efficient four cylinder engines. There's actually a Fiat cousin that is about to be launched, which was developed alongside the Renegade. Both cars are made in Italy.

But Jeep's Detroit engineers were part of the development of the Renegade from the start to make sure it looked and performed like a Jeep.

The Renegade may be a Jeep for the future, but there's no way the company is giving up on its past. In fact, the purpose-built Wrangler is still so popular, the factory can't keep up with demand.

The Jeep's beginnings in World War II are even being honored with this year's "Willys Wheeler" edition. It comes with extra equipment for serious off-road driving and bold exterior graphics that pay tribute to Jeep's beginnings.

A new Wrangler is coming in a couple of years, but there's no way Jeep is going to mess with it too much because of its iconic position in the SUV world.

Until then, the Renegade has the chops to go off-road and even has an option for low-range gearing for serious climbing and crawling.

This car has style and a bit of whimsy, which is what a new kind of Jeep needs to win hearts. Like any Jeep, it can handle the tough stuff and feel right at home on the pavement, too.