6 Coolest Easter Eggs On The Jeep Renegade

Car manufacturing is serious business. Everything needs to be built perfectly to code in the interest of driver and passenger safety. That said, once the car is assembled, and everything’s sufficiently roadworthy, then there’s some room for automotive designers to have a little fun. Some automotive brands like to sneak little easter eggs into their designs, not affecting the car in any tangible way, but merely providing fun little moments for any lucky owner who happens to stumble upon them.

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When it comes to hidden gems, Jeep is basically the Easter Bunny. Its designers love to pepper its vehicles with all kinds of subtle touches for drivers to uncover over the course of their ownership. The Jeep Renegade line, for instance, is home to around 30 different subtle Easter eggs hidden within its various nooks and crannies. While Jeep has unfortunately discontinued the Renegade line, if you still have one, you might be able to spot one of these little gags if you look closely.

Here’s a terrifying scenario: you bring your car to the gas station to fill up, but when you pop open the fuel compartment, you’re greeted by a huge black spider crawling around. Putting aside the looming concern of critters shacking up in your fuel tank, it’s just generally unpleasant to find a creepy crawly where you previously didn’t expect one. If you happen to find a spider in the fuel compartment of your Jeep Renegade, though, don’t worry — he’s supposed to be there.

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In the corner of the Jeep Renegade fuel compartment, there’s a small, yet distinctive embossed rubber spider hanging out. He’s actually a rather pleasant chap, as he’ll greet you with an enthusiastic “Ciao, baby!” Apparently, this little bit of Italian is a reference to the Italian engineering crew that created the Renegade. Interestingly, this engineering crew is the same one that put together another Italian vehicle, the Fiat 500X.

Consider, if you will, the mythical Sasquatch, sometimes also known as Bigfoot. This hairy hominid has allegedly been spotted around the mountainous regions of the United States, striding across the plains and hiding behind trees. You never quite know where a sasquatch is going to show up next; it could be up in the hills, in your backyard, or indeed, on the back of your Jeep Renegade.

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Take a close look at the inside of the Jeep Renegade’s rear windshield, and you’ll see the distinctive silhouette of a Sasquatch striding over the black UV protection as though it were the hills of Utah. As far as Jeep owners have been able to discern, there’s no deeper meaning to this sasquatch’s presence on their Renegades, beyond the fact that Jeep vehicles are good at traversing wild, hilly terrain, which is where Sasquatch supposedly likes to hang out.

As Jeeps are designed to be rugged off-roading vehicles, it could be said that every purchase of a Jeep vehicle is an invitation to go on a grand adventure. Perhaps that’s a bit dramatic, but it’s a nice thought, and it’s one that the designers of the Jeep Renegade wanted to convey to you every time you start up the vehicle they worked so hard to make for you.

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The Jeep Renegade utilizes either a traditional ignition barrel or button, depending on the precise model. In either case, though, if you take a look underneath the ignition, you’ll see an embossed message printed in a half-circle around it. The message reads, “To New Adventures!” If you’re going to drive a Jeep Renegade, don’t just take it from point A to point B — make it an adventure! Have some fun with it, put on some music, stop at a Buc-ee’s or something. Whatever you do, just do it with an adventurous spirit.

Let no one say automotive engineering isn’t hard work. It requires education, concentration, dedication, and probably some other words that end in “-ion.” The designers of the Jeep Renegade understood the importance of work-life balance, which is why they snuck a reference to one of their favorite pastimes into the vehicle.

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Take a look at the Jeep Renegade’s rev counter, and you’ll see a distinctive orange section in the redline zone. On some models of Renegade, it’s a fairly uniform box, while on other models, it’s a messy splotch. While it’s easy to write this off as merely a fanciful indicator of when the vehicle is hitting the redline, there’s actually a meaning to it: paintball. Apparently, when the Jeep engineers responsible for the Renegade were off the clock, one of their preferred leisure activities was paintball. They loved playing paintball so much, they decided to stick an orange paint splotch on the rev counter just to show it. That’s dedication to a sport.

Perhaps the most distinctive visual element of any Jeep vehicle, especially the classic off-roaders, is the front grille. With its wide-eyed headlights and toothy front vents, the grille of a Jeep vehicle is an easily-recognizable trademark of the whole brand, almost as much as its actual logo. Jeep apparently understands this perfectly well, which is why it has incorporated an abstraction of that classic grille into numerous spots around the Renegade.

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The Jeep Renegade is absolutely lousy with front grille symbols, depicted as seven slots between two round headlights. You can find these symbols in spots including, but not limited to, the backs and bottoms of the seats, on either side of the rearview mirror, the inner hatch panel, and the door-side speakers. You can even find the front grille symbol within the Renegade’s headlights. Headlights within headlights — what will those engineers think of next?

Have you ever looked at the wings of an airplane and seen a stamped sign reading “NO STEP?” This is because, obviously, you’re not supposed to step on the wing of an airplane, as you might accidentally step on a sensitive component and throw the whole thing out of whack. It’s a short, yet curt message for safety purposes, and really, any kind of vehicle could use more safety, from airplanes to a Jeep Renegade.

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Take a look at the black plastic side rails underneath the doors of your Jeep Renegade, and you’ll see a similar “NO STEP” message embossed there with an exclamation point for good measure. This is a cute reference to those warning messages on aircraft, but it’s also meant to serve as an actual warning. Those plastic rails aren’t strong enough to support an adult’s weight, and aren’t meant to be stepped on when someone is exiting the car. If you don’t heed that warning, you might end up breaking them, not to mention take a tumble onto your face.