Renegade’s Appeal not Limited to Off-Roading, Says Interior Designer
With the rollout of the 2015 Jeep Renegade, there’s been a lot of discussion about the SUV’s off-roading capabilities, especially when it comes to living up to the expectations of the brand. Make no mistake about it, that’s something no one at team Jeep is taking lightly in the push to broaden the scope of the brand’s appeal with the new Renegade.
In fact, set to officially launch in the U.S. later this year, Jeep officials are quick to note that the new subcompact SUV will be one of the most capable off-road vehicles in the segment, which we got a pretty good indication of in the report here that features a video of the new Jeep in action.
However, during a one-on-one interview with the Renegade’s chief interior designer, Robert Walker, we also learned more about the development strategy for the Renegade’s interior that Jeep is counting on to lure consumers to the vehicle as well.
JK Forum: What was the biggest challenge when designing the inside of the Renegade?
Walker: Really, for this car, it was the clean slate. When we found out that we were going to do a B-segment SUV, which is a space we haven’t been in before, we knew that the interior clearly had to speak Jeep. So we looked at the portfolio of Wrangler, Grand Cherokee and Cherokee, and we took elements from those, but we also threw away the rule book a little bit.
JK Forum: What specific elements inside speak to features that are clearly Jeep in nature?
Walker: Throughout the interior you’ll see things such as the passenger grab bar from Wrangler, or the trapezoid shapes from our other vehicles, but this one really sets out a new aesthetic for Jeep. You also have details front and center like 1941, which also speaks to Jeep’s history of over 70 years, but then we also played with colors as well.
The vehicle we are sitting in has the ruby-red anodized, which really brings out some of the unique shapes. You’re reminded all around not in an overt way, but in subtle way that you’re in a Jeep. We call the design elements tektonic, which are these dynamic forms with these technical and functional details. That’s our Jeep interior design philosophy that was really played up in this car.
JK Forum: What are some of the features that speak to the uniqueness of the Renegade?
Walker: The air vents, for example … it’s not just integrated in. It’s actually celebrated — it’s up top and you’ll actually find that throughout the vehicle. The cluster — for example — the slash graphics. A weekend of paintballing inspired that, and it goes with the whole theme of the car, inspired by the lifestyle of extreme sports.
You also see that around the tabs like the radio tabs where it’s clamped on. We got a lot of the influence in the X shape, which is also the My Sky roof panel. On the top of the car it actually has a roof shape and it’s continued on the inside. Even the bottom of the cup holder has that same shape.
JK Forum: What were some of the specific challenges you had to face with this being such an important vehicle on a global level?
Walker: In working with the Fiat team in the development process and going after new markets, there were certain things that we had to do. It was a learning process for our global team to make sure that we kept the essence of Jeep throughout the process. That was critical.
It had to stay true to Jeep and we approached it from what we call intelligent design-share, so we were able to do things that worked for Fiat and Jeep. But the key, more than anything, was that it had to be a Jeep through and through. I think you’ll see this with the Cherokee and the Grand Cherokee that this really fits the family pretty seamlessly while also pushing to a new global customer.
