MOOCH - On the Trail with the Trailhawk

The Renegade Trailhawk 4xe is no stranger to these pages, Jeep have been more than generous in the past when it comes to lending me one from their press fleet. With that in mind there’s no real point in me re-reviewing this PHEV Trailhawk, instead I decided to venture out and drive as many lanes as I could during the week I had it, and the first was Rudland Rigg.

It was a case of clobbering two birds with one stone, as I had also been invited up to Thirsk in North Yorkshire to visit Twisted Automotive’s showroom. They also had bacon and sausage barms on offer, so how could I refuse?

Leaving Thirsk I headed for the northern end of Rudland Rigg, only 30 minutes away on the outskirts of a small village called Ingleby Greenhow.

I wanted to start at the northern end because I figured the the steep incline and twisty section at the beginning of the road would be a challenge for the low-ish slung Renegade.

The first section is like a broken road until you come to the second gate, and that’s when you start to climb. I engaged ‘Rock’’ mode here, not because it was rocky, but there were places where the surface was a little loose with a few diagonal ruts, and there more than once occasion when I could hear the tyres scrambling a little. Overall though, it wasn’t a challenge, and the Renegade climbed it with ease.

As you turn the last corner before the plateau there are a few large rock slabs to negotiate, nothing gnarly, a 2WD would manage it, but I wonder if that was the part of the section that was heavily graded all those years ago?

As I reached the top the sun was trying to break through the clouds, it made for an awesome view, so out I jumped to take a few more photos.

For quite a few miles the road was quite solid with more than a few shallow holes that were filled with muddy water. I switched the Renegade to auto and ambled along at around 20mph. The road at this point is so flat and straight I could have pushed it to 30mph, but the views were so spectacular, why would you want to?

I’d say I was around halfway along Rudland Rigg when I arrived at my first ‘challenge’. Due to water erosion, there’s now a fairly deep rut on the right hand side, that, after a coupe of yards crosses the road to the left thus creating a bit of a challenge.

Straddling the rut the Renegade’s tyres found plenty of grip, then as I crossed the diagonal rut it lifted a rear wheel - photo op!

Another few yards later the rut became fairly wide with no chance of me being able to straddle it, so very slowly, and gently, I dropped the off-side wheel into the muddy hole and cringed as I tested the Renegade’s skid plates for what seemed an eternity!

At the crossroads I came across my first group of trail riders, they must’ve stopped for a breather or something as they were just putting their helmets back on as I approached.

Just as I passed them I had to stop for another photo as the view ahead was simply stunning, yet a bit moody. As the road vanished in the distance, on the right mist was still enveloping the tree line below, and the sun still hadn’t managed to pierce the thick clouds. At this point the trail riders started their engines, revved them high, and made off kicking mud into the air with aplomb.

From here on, the surface remained solid, with the odd evidence of repair. The views on either side were often marred by clouds, but overall it was a great trek out in the Trailhawk. Once again the Renegade proved it can handle pretty much everything I can throw at it.

Heading back towards Thirsk I made my back onto the M1, and at junction 46 the Renegade was telling me that I had 42 miles left in the tank, and I had another 60 or so miles left to drive, so I pulled over for a splash and dash. It swallowed up 25ltrs of petrol costing me £40.00. I haven’t worked out the economy, but when I left Muddy Towers the Jeep had a full tank of petrol, and up until that point I’d driven around 250 miles, not bad considering.