Some psychologists believe that too many options aren’t necessarily a good thing. Studies have shown that given lots of products to pick among, people have a hard time making a decision unless they already walked in knowing what they were looking for. With many choices, buyers sometimes opt not to buy anything or even switch to a brand that offers simpler choices. Could having a lot of trim levels have an effect on the 2021 Jeep Renegade? There isn’t a study to say if choice overload could happen here, but let us help simplify the many trims for the Jeep Renegade.

The 2021 Jeep Renegade

All the Jeep Renegade trims are for a two-row SUV that seats five people. It is a subcompact SUV and has 18.5 cubic feet of cargo room behind the rear seats and 50.8 cubic feet with them folded down. It’s able to tow up to 2,000 pounds when it has four-wheel drive and the Class III tow package.

U.S. News likes that the 2021 Jeep Renegade has “impressive off-road ability.” It also features good space in the cabin, plenty of standard features, and good handling. However, it has “weak acceleration” due to a “sluggish” transmission and limited engine power. Its predicted reliability is poor, and its fuel efficiency is below average. An oddity about the Jeep Renegade is that it offers eight trim levels, a huge number for buyers to choose from.

The eight trim levels of the 2021 Jeep Renegade

The 2021 Renegade’s trim levels are the Sport, Jeepster, Latitude, Upland, 80th Anniversary, Islander, Limited, and Trailhawk. The first four are all quite similar, with the Jeepster, Latitude, and Upland all based on the Sport trim. The 80th Anniversary and the Limited are based on the Latitude trim. The Trailhawk is based on the Limited, and the Islander is a special edition model for 2021.

The Upland and Trailhawk trims are designed for off-road use. The Upland has “remote start, 17-inch alloy wheels, a front skid plate, tow hooks, and a restyled front bumper to improve off-road ground clearance,” and the Trailhawk has a “higher-riding suspension, skid plates, tow hooks, a lower gear ratio, and all-terrain tires,” says U.S. News.

The base 180-hp 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine is standard on all trims except the Limited and Trailhawk. Those two trims come with the 177-hp 1.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. The turbocharged engine is also a no-cost option for the 80th Anniversary and available as part of the Luxury package for the Latitude and Upland. Both engines are paired with a nine-speed automatic transmission.

New for 2021, all trims of the Renegade comes standard with a 7-inch touchscreen as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. The top four trims upgrade to an 8.4-inch touchscreen, which is also available for the Latitude and Upland as part of the Luxury package.

All Jeep Renegades have lots of standard advanced safety features. Forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane departure warning, and lane-keep assist have been added for 2021 as standard advanced safety features.

A few additional features are available in the Luxury package, including adaptive cruise control, automatic high-beam headlights, front and rear parking sensors, and hands-free parallel park assist. The Luxury package also upgrades the engine and the touchscreen and provides navigation.

Standard with front-wheel drive, the Sport starts at $22,850, Jeepster starts at $24,745, Latitude starts at $24,835, 80th Anniversary starts at $26,115, and Islander starts at $27,430. Adding four-wheel drive adds $1,500 to the price of any of these trims. Three trims are available only with four-wheel drive. The Upland starts at $25,747, the Limited starts at $28,700, and the Trailhawk starts at $28,700.

The Luxury package costs $2,495. There is also a Convenience package for $1,195, which provides comfort features like “heated front seats, a power-adjustable driver’s seat, a heated steering wheel, a 120-volt household-style power outlet, and rain-sensing windshield wipers. Individual options include a panoramic sunroof, a nine-speaker stereo, proximity keyless entry, and remote start,” says U.S. News.

Trim levels of competing subcompact SUVs

The 2021 Jeep Renegade is ranked just 12th on U.S. News‘ list of subcompact SUVs. The top three ranked are the 2021 Hyundai Kona, the 2021 Mazda CX-30, and the 2021 Kia Soul. According to U.S. News, the Kona has six trims as does the Soul. The CX-30 has just four trim levels.

The slightly larger Jeep Compass has four trim levels plus two special versions of one of the trims, according to U.S. News. The Jeep Cherokee is also a subcompact SUV. It has five trims plus three sub-configurations.

The 2021 Jeep Renegade has a lot of trims and has more than most of its competitors. Buyers may need to do a little studying to be sure they’re picking the best one for their needs.