It’s long been my ambition to find a Jeep Cherokee with the Renault 2.1 L Turbo Diesel. No such luck, but then I’m not surprised as they were only sold in very small numbers in the US, between 1985-1987. Not surprisingly, Roshake 77 had better luck in Budapest, where he found this one. The Cherokee was of course designed from the get-go to also be sold in Europe by Renault, and the little 85 hp turbo diesel four fit into that equation.
I’ve never seen one of the European Cherokees with the Distribué Par Renault badging on the right rear. Here’s how it looks in close-up:
The “2 . 1” lettering is oddly spaced, and doesn’t match the rest of the type face.
In Europe, the 2.1 TD was sold all the way through 1994, when it was replaced by the VM 2.5L turbo diesel, packing a much more substantial 114 hp and 221 lb.ft of torque compared to the 132 lb.ft. of the Douvrin 2.1.
My in-depth CC on the Cherokee and its French connection is here
I had one, a 1992 Limited, in Italy. All diesels came with manual transmission. They are good cars, but noisy and slow for US standards and anybody in Europe would rather have the 4.0 gas engine if they could afford the gas prices. The Renault engine is quite reliable and a lot of parts were interchangeable with Renault, so maintenance costs were reasonable. Engine overheating was always a concern, radiator size was barely sufficient. Later VM engines are more powerful but also not as reliable, often had leaks from the modular heads.
Most were 4.0″High Output” engines in the UK with a sprinkling of 2.0 Sports. No Diesels offered. Perhaps considered a high end vehicle competing againest the Range Rover so no one was bothered about gas mileage.
The Turbo Diesel font checks out, but not the Microgramma/Eurostyle for JEEP, hm.
I vaguely remember reading that early 1980s European Jeeps (such as CJs) had some sort of Renault badging too, though I’m far from certain about that.
On this example, I wonder if the “Distribué Par Renault” badge indicates that this was originally a French-market car that at some point migrated over to Hungary?
The taillamps aren’t correct for the export version. Perhaps the owner changed them to the American “LEGO Brick” design since they’re probably cheaper and more abundant than the export taillamps.
The export taillamps look like this one in the photo below.
And I have never seen the sticker proclaiming Distribué Par Renault on any Jeep vehicles in Europe. That area is where the “Cherokee” sticker is attached to the tailgate.
I saw one of these in L.A. years ago. Seem to remember it had some wacky Renault integrated power brake/ABS system.
A Jeep much more at home and probably easier to repair in Budapest.
Note for the author – are you in the US? I know where there is one for sale. It runs and drives but needs rust repair. Email me and I will pass you the info.
Yes I am. But I’m not in the market for one. One I say “it’s long been my ambition to find…” I mean to photograph, not buy.
Myself I have two identical 85 AMC classic jeep wagoneer Ltd both are timeless and classic jeep, new twenty years past these are going to be in demand for a time not so gone from America’s industry. Lead to keeping our products in the country and remember how they were a smaller version of a Grand wagoneer. Car’s, made from plastic and styrofoam. Nothing like the way it used to be to last a lifetime with care and maintenance.
In Senegal where I used to live I sometimes saw them. Always with those alloy turbine wheels and AMC Renault decals on the rear window, I almost forgot about that. It goes back much further than the 80’s though, even the Renault Rambler exists.
The diesel XJs are pretty much hated in Europe and their prices can often be around 2x lower than their gas (maybe not the iron duke but certainly the 4L) counterparts. The straight-six’s fuel consumption is not exactly what we’re used in Europe but they get converted to run on propane and that does help the budget in a long run. I am toying with the idea of acquiring (a pre-facelift) one myself. Either that or a 242.