One Last Ride with the Renegade

Introduction

Well, this is weird, because in my opinion goodbyes almost always feel weird. I always knew the Renegade was not a forever vehicle for a multitude of reasons, but mostly because of its small size, limited build capacity, and dubious long-term dependability.

That all being said, I LOVE my Renegade and don’t regret my decision to purchase it or my time spent with it at all. I just always have my eyes on the used car market in case something pops up that feels right. I had started to narrow down my next vehicle choices to a few specific options: 4th Gen 4Runner (V8), Jeep JK Rubicon, Lexus LX470, Lexus GX470. I wanted something that had solid aftermarket support to build out, was going to be bigger than the Renegade but not truly full-size, and was going to be easily off-road capable.

Long story short, a 2004 Lexus GX470 with 130k miles came on the market. One owner. Lightly modified by the dealership that bought it. In need of some love but overall a good base to build on with a V8 motor known as the ‘million-mile motor’ if you treat her right.

These last photos are from a final run with the Renegade, chasing mountain sunsets with my mom as she visited me for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Be sure to follow the new build on Instagram @littleariana