Jeeps have tended to be a bit rough edged. For the wild ones, the rock ape Wranglers and badass V8 SUVs, that’s probably been OK. But not for the smaller ones that you rent on holiday in California and then contemplate for your next car when you get home and go to the showroom and conclude, well, naah. The Avenger isn’t like that. It’s a well-rounded product. But it retains enough Jeepness to stave off boredom.
Designed with the requisite chunkiness, it’s neatly finessed but without any hint of aggression. Which is good because an aggressive SUV this small would be even sillier than an aggressive big SUV. Overcompensation and all that. It’s smaller than the related Stellantis crossovers, with curtailed overhangs for off-road smarts, but also for city manoeuvrability. Bijou on the outside, but deceptively spacious inside – and that isn’t an estate agent misdescription. It’s also furnished with cheeriness but quality.