After years of flagging sales, the Jeep Renegade and Fiat 500X are officially canceled for 2024. Don’t worry, though, if you still want to saddle up with one of these crossovers, there are lots of them still sitting on dealer lots. Although they were already the smallest and cheapest vehicles in Stellantis’ U.S. lineup and the subject of frequent discounts, they’re likely to get even cheaper now.
Both of these pint-size SUVs, closely related and built on the same production line in Melfi, Italy, have been living on borrowed time for a while. In 2021 the Melfi factory’s union, UILM (Unione Italiana Lavoratori Metalmeccanici), announced that Stellantis would retool the factory for EV production beginning in 2024. Now that production line needs to be freed up for those EVs, but even if that hadn’t happened, these aging designs have become increasingly hard to sell at their MSRPs.
Surprisingly, neither will be replaced, at least not here. In Europe, the Jeep Avenger and Fiat 600 will pick up their mantle. Both of these new models are offered as gas-powered or fully-electric (Avenger EV and 600e) models, but they’re not destined for U.S. sale, at least not for the time being. Instead, Fiat’s U.S. arm will adopt a one-model strategy around the electric 500e and the recently-improved Jeep Compass will become that brand’s entry-level model (starting at $29,995 for 2024, including destination).
It’s a rather quiet end for both vehicles, though they had wildly different track records with consumers. The Renegade debuted to much fanfare and big crowds at the 2014 New York International Auto Show, while the 500X followed at the same show in 2015, to a cooler reception.
Peas in a pod under the skin, the Fiat always played on style and sportiness while the Jeep’s Tonka-toy exterior and top Trailhawk model emphasized ruggedness. Both seemed perfectly timed to consumers’ shift to small crossovers, and the 500X seemed like it might help Fiat gain some traction with U.S. consumers. That’s not exactly how it worked out.
As the crowds at the auto shows indicated, the Renegade was a big hit at first, and Jeep sold more than 368,000 of them in its first four model years (2015 to 2018). In its best year, 2016, Fiat only moved 12,599 500Xs in America, though it notched six-figure sales in Europe that same year.
Part of the reason? Fiat’s small dealer network and iffy quality rep dogged the 500X from the start, and Jeep fans, who seemed to love the Renegade’s looks, were more forgiving of some of the two vehicles’ foibles. Rear passenger and cargo space were always restricted in both, and they had rather plasticky-feeling cabins. The Fiat’s interior was nicer but had less room than the Jeep’s. Early on both got mediocre gas mileage from their optional 2.4-liter four-cylinder engines.
Both brands kept updating the crossovers into 2021, eventually adding modern infotainment systems, optional driver-assist gear, and a more efficient optional engine (a Fiat-sourced 1.3-liter turbo), but by then newer competitors like the Hyundai Kona and Mazda CX-30, both with more room and nicer interiors, were available for less money.
The 500X has been Fiat’s only U.S. model since 2020, but the Italian brand has been almost invisible since then, selling fewer than 500 cars nationwide in 2022. Renegade sales, meanwhile, plunged by more than 56% from 2020 to 2022 and are down 35% this year from that reduced total.
The dropoff was so significant that during the fall of 2022, there were deep discounts on purchases and leases of unwanted 2021 Renegades, which brings us to where we are today. Both the Renegade and the 500X are the oldest vehicles in their segment and definitely off the pace of newer competitors, but they still list for $29,495 and $31,840, respectively (including destination).
A quick search of new car listings, however, reveals thousands of Renegades for sale for much less, and in some cases, it’s possible to pick up a Renegade Latitude for under $20,000, if only just. This is less true of the 500X, but even so, there are hundreds of them left on dealer lots too.
Now that both vehicles are officially on their way out, expect even deeper discounts. While these only make sense to buy at these lower prices, if ever there was a moment to drive a seriously hard bargain on one, it’s now.