Jeep Patriot

[Scott Brady]

The Jeep Patriot will be the new off-road benchmark in the cross-over segment. High 20's in MPG and true 2.5 rated trail capability. And an absolute kick to drive.

More info soon.

[Brian McVickers]

How's the interior space (functional sitting and cargo areas) compared to, say a:
DII
Wrangler 4door
Land Cruiser 80
? :box:

[gary in ohio]

How looks or the lack of. Its just another 4 door box that will seldom see a trail.

[Scott Brady]

Here are some pictures and a write-up on my experience with the Patriot.

Patriot Review (http://www.expeditionswest.com/equipment/reviews/patriot/index.htm)

http://www.expeditionswest.com/equipment/reviews/patriot/images/Jeep_Patriot_01.JPG

[Scott Brady]

How's the interior space (functional sitting and cargo areas) compared to, say a:
DII
Wrangler 4door
Land Cruiser 80
? :box:

Much smaller than those, more on the CRV scale. But it is comfortable and makes for a good size box to put gear.

[Scott Brady]

Some pictures taken during the DCX photo shoot. I am the driver in both of these, which will be used by the media (they are already on Edmonds, etc.).

http://www.expeditionswest.com/equipment/reviews/patriot/images/07_jeep_patriot_act_3_500.jpg

http://www.expeditionswest.com/equipment/reviews/patriot/images/07_jeep_patriot_act_501.jpg

[Rockcrawler]

Nice write up Scott... I never would have thought the Patriot was that capable on the trail. Definitely something to consider as a daily driver and light trail rig.

Kyle

[calamaridog]

I saw a Taurus on a 2.5 rated trail once:D

But seriously, anyone who wanted to do frequent trail use would be better served with a Liberty.

With that being said, as much as our Liberty sees dirt, my wife would have been better served with the Patriot instead. If it was on the market, we would have given it a good look.

The pictues are cool, and I'm excited for you having the opportunety to play in the sand box with this new vehicle. Good stuff.

[jeffryscott]

Scott, interesting report.

How is it in size to say my old Suzuki?

And what makes this more appealing to you than the Liberty?

It's fun to see that area with snow too. That would have made for a fun hill climb, in the dark, looking for a camp site ... I say, reminiscing fondly of last years event. aaah.

[Scott Brady]

How is it in size to say my old Suzuki?

A little bigger, all the way around, but mostly in the rear seat area and rear storage area.


And what makes this more appealing to you than the Liberty?

They are in two different categories IMHO. The Liberty is a V6 SUV with a rear solid axle and a transfer case. The interior size is very similar. The Patriot has killer suspension tuning and rally"esq" performance :rally_guys: . Oh, and I like the classic look of the Patriot.


It's fun to see that area with snow too. That would have made for a fun hill climb, in the dark, looking for a camp site ... I say, reminiscing fondly of last years event. aaah.

It was wild driving that trail in the snow. The Rubicon Unlimited was a tractor. I lust after that machine!

[durango_60]

The Rubicon Unlimited was a tractor. I lust after that machine!


Is there an upcoming review on the Ruby? I just ordered my Rubicon Unlimited last week and love reading comments like the one above.

[Scott Brady]

Oh man... The Rubicon is incredible. I am working on a review (it will be a little while).

I am leaning 90% as that will be my next vehicle (to replace my Wrangler and Trooper).

[mountainpete]

Scott,

Great review on the Patriot. Much more capable then I expected.

Pete

[FortyMileDesert]

Scott,

Great review on the Patriot. Much more capable then I expected.

Pete

Impressive little rig!

[calamaridog]

Scott,

I just read your article on the Patriot and I loved it:clapsmile

I wish they had the Patriot when we bought our Liberty. For what we use it for, it would have been perfect. I can see that even more clearly after reading your write up.

I agree the styling is very classic.

[MountainBiker]

Thanks for the review Scott!

The Patriot sounds like it does everything I would like my modified Subaru Forester to do, even though the Jeep has just a touch less ground clearance. It was really encouraging to hear that the Jeep could go up a ledge even with two wheels off the ground! This is the real weak point of the Forester with it's open front diff, and essentially open rear diff (nearly useless rear Viscous LSD).

I will definitely have to take a look at the Patriot when we are ready to retire the Forester!

[Scott Brady]

Here is the Patriot from SEMA:

http://static.flickr.com/104/283951584_6bda13aa07.jpg

I think this vehicle would make for a great concept.

[calamaridog]

That picture is awesome. Kind of a sheep in wolfs clothing.

We may have to trade the Liberty in for a Patriot! Can't let the wife see that pic:D

How is the driver position leg room and seating position? The Liberty is a bit snug for larger drivers (but fits me great).

[Scott Brady]

I never felt cramped, even in the back seat. Some do not like the interior, but I prefer the simple layout. The seats (on the Trail Rated) also move UP with a handle to provide better trail vision. The rear storage area is very utility oriented with no carpet.

[toyrunner95]

WHY? WHY?WHY?WHY? Why do they keep making things with independant suspension, now if it had 4.10s and dana 44s with factory lockers, now thats a vehicle. put that body on the ruby frame and ill buy one.

[Scott Brady]

.. now if it had 4.10s and dana 44s with factory lockers, now thats a vehicle.

That is available :)

http://jeeproofrack.com/orl-jk-side-view-roof-off-4.jpg

The point of the Patriot is economy (purchase price and MPG) and high speed road and rally"esq" performance. Yet, you can still take them on a trail if required.

[flyingwil]

The point of the Patriot is economy (purchase price and MPG) and high speed road and rally"esq" performance. Yet, you can still take them on a trail if required.

Do you have one hiding in your garage?

[jeffryscott]

That is available :)

http://jeeproofrack.com/orl-jk-side-view-roof-off-4.jpg



Of more interest, when is one of these going to be parked in the garage? That is too sexy ...

[toyrunner95]

i still think they should come out with a rubicon package for all ther jeeps. espically the grand cherokee. my parents just bought one and its fun.

[Scott Brady]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTYMFvcZQbw :ylsmoke:

[calamaridog]

WHY? WHY?WHY?WHY? Why do they keep making things with independant suspension, now if it had 4.10s and dana 44s with factory lockers, now thats a vehicle. put that body on the ruby frame and ill buy one.

Ultimately, they are in the business of trying to make a profit and sell many units in order to do so. They make one model to keep people like you happy and other models for the other 95% of the buyers.

[ZooJunkie]

That's a great vehicle. Scott, do you know which platform the Patriot is based on?

[Scott Brady]

MK, unit. body: Compass, Caliber, Patriot

[pskhaat]

Hmmm, wonder where that was filmed? That driver was absolutely amazing too!

[Ryanmb21]

those things are killer! :Wow1:

do they really get 30 mpg??

[Scott Brady]

Jeep liked my review :sombrero: Not every day Jeep.com links to your website...

http://www.jeep.com/en/patriot/reviews.html

[mountainpete]

Damn fine job Scott! That's awesome!

:bowdown:

[upcruiser]

That's indeed pretty cool!

[Willman]

:clapsmile

Great job!!!

:safari-rig:

[LaOutbackTrail]

I think you have inspired me.

My wife currently drives an 01 Nissan Sentra with 93K on the clock. Its a great little car, fun to drive, and gets 25-34mpg(best and worst we've seen). We have taken a couple of trips in the car due to the MPG which, of course greatly limited our horizons.

In stock form, the Patriot would work great for my wife, and my intentions on our little trips.

I drive the Xterra and it gets 17 on a good day (21 was my best doing 45 or less for about 150miles on gravel roads. 13-21 best and worst)
I am contemplating an 80 series Land Cruiser, which has higher load capacity, seat more passengers, known reliability and longevity, and similar or only slightly worse gas mileage than the Xterra.

And from the look of it. The patriot is probably more capable (traction wise) offroad than the stock Xterra..... :Wow1:

hmmmmmmm
My hamster is running....

[Willman]

Another Congrads Scott!!!

I was looking in the new Petersen's 4Wheel (Aug 07, pg. 100) and saw this photo and writeup on the Patriot! Nice driving!!!!



http://www.expeditionswest.com/equipment/reviews/patriot/images/07_jeep_patriot_act_3_500.jpg

:26_7_2:

[dieselcruiserhead]

I spent a couple hours in one yesterday.. Good little truck, a whole lot of room inside and good little truck.. Ground clearance is sort of low, I don't know how they would hold up to real abuse, but good little truck.. I am 6'5 and couldn't believe how well I fit. The only thing that was odd was the shifting, got as high was 5500-6000 rpms on a brand new truck. Maybe something is off with the shifting. But good little unit...

[Scott Brady]

Thanks Wil,

I will be out on the Rubicon for most of August "playing" with Jeeps :wings:

[DaveInDenver]

I will be out on the Rubicon for most of August "playing" with Jeeps :wings:
Yeah, it's official. I want your job.

[Willman]

Thanks Wil,

I will be out on the Rubicon for most of August "playing" with Jeeps :wings:

Let us know if you are going to need helper:hehe:

As awalys......You have the best job out their!!:)

[love2fear]

so given the option between a 12 liberty and a 12 Patriot, which is the better option... we're looking to trade in my wives 06 libby and she wants a similar vehicle.

[swift777]

I would choose the new Patriot all day long. Oh course I'm a bit bias as I have a 2010 Patriot but I have driven Libby's & JK's and for me the Patriot as a daily driver wins everytime. Better leg/head room, tons of cargo space, cheaper, way better MPG, nicer ride..... the list goes on. I take mine on overland trips all the time and with the fold flat front seat I can easily sleep in her and have many times.

[Flounder]

so given the option between a 12 liberty and a 12 Patriot, which is the better option... we're looking to trade in my wives 06 libby and she wants a similar vehicle.
We've only put 4400 miles on our brand new Patriot, but I'm really impressed with it. We did drive the Liberty for two days on a demo and while I might like some points to the Liberty a touch better, the Patriot is just perfect for our needs. Our Patriot is the Latitude X version, fully loaded and has the Freedom Drive II system. It's only limited by clearance. We recently did a small section of off road with a stock 2005 Jeep Wrangler behind us. Our little Patriot did slightly better than the Wrangler...not sure why.

That said, this is a car where the Liberty feels more like an SUV. My only major complaint with the Liberty had to do with the fact it only gains a small amount of interior space, does have a tad more off road potential, but gets about 20% less fuel efficiency than the Patriot.

[Scott Brady]

Nice truck!

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=87091&d=1329616414

[swift777]

Cheers Scott,

she's currently having a 2.5 inch lift upgrade - other than that I plan to leave her alone, well maybe some skid plates too. Another great point about the Patriot is the cost of ownership, she's so cheap to buy and operate than I can actually afford to go places.

[Flounder]

We spend far more time on the tarmac than we do off road, so it made sense for us to go this route. I know it's a horrible, horrible pair of words to bring up on an overlanding site, but for the garden variety ROAD TRIP these rigs are awesome.
88643

[upcruiser]

Sharp rig Flounder. What kind of mileage are you getting with the rocket box and bike on the roof? A Liberty CRD has been super appealing to me lately but these Patriots seem like a great value with comparable mpg,s and what seems like respectable offroad ability. How does interior space compare to a Liberty? Patriots are definately growing on me.

[Flounder]

Sharp rig Flounder. What kind of mileage are you getting with the rocket box and bike on the roof? A Liberty CRD has been super appealing to me lately but these Patriots seem like a great value with comparable mpg,s and what seems like respectable offroad ability. How does interior space compare to a Liberty? Patriots are definately growing on me.
When we started our search for a new rig, the last thing on my list was a Patriot. I thought they were ugly and lame in all the ways a vehicle could be. Then...it grew on me. Now, I don't know what else we would get (in this class) if we didn't have a Patriot. I find the interior space to be pretty close to the Liberty. I think passenger space in the rear of the Liberty is more comfortable, but our only passenger is our black lab. As I've said before, the offroad proficiency of the Patriot will really surprise you, especially the FreedomDrive II system. It's really amazing. Without a doubt, it's far superior to the open diff Traction Control system on my '02 Discovery. How sad that is to admit.

Our day to day mileage is around 21 mpg. On the highway, we regularly get 24-26 mpg. With the cargo box and a bike on top it might dip to 23-24, but that number can drop to 21 again at speeds over 70mph.

A couple things to consider:

- Power, it has none. It's a gutless wonder, but after the first couple thousand miles of ownership and I had largely acclimated to slow accelerations. Not a big deal to me at this point.

- Appointments, it needs them. We got the maximum number of options possible and that's made the driving experience very enjoyable. I think these cars benefit from leather, nicer interior trim and other refinements. Otherwise, these entry level vehicles do feel cheap. The contrast between a base model and a fully appointed model is pretty profound.

Wrap all that up with a lifetime warranty and it's pretty sweet.

It's easy to think the Patriot is a tiny cupcake of a car. However, the other day I parked next to a mid 90s Cherokee and the two were pretty darn close in size. I never considered the Cherokee compact, but maybe it is.

[BIGdaddy]

When we started our search for a new rig, the last thing on my list was a Patriot. I thought they were ugly and lame in all the ways a vehicle could be. Then...it grew on me. Now, I don't know what else we would get (in this class) if we didn't have a Patriot. I find the interior space to be pretty close to the Liberty. I think passenger space in the rear of the Liberty is more comfortable, but our only passenger is our black lab. As I've said before, the offroad proficiency of the Patriot will really surprise you, especially the FreedomDrive II system. It's really amazing. Without a doubt, it's far superior to the open diff Traction Control system on my '02 Discovery. How sad that is to admit.

Our day to day mileage is around 21 mpg. On the highway, we regularly get 24-26 mpg. With the cargo box and a bike on top it might dip to 23-24, but that number can drop to 21 again at speeds over 70mph.

A couple things to consider:

- Power, it has none. It's a gutless wonder, but after the first couple thousand miles of ownership and I had largely acclimated to slow accelerations. Not a big deal to me at this point.

- Appointments, it needs them. We got the maximum number of options possible and that's made the driving experience very enjoyable. I think these cars benefit from leather, nicer interior trim and other refinements. Otherwise, these entry level vehicles do feel cheap. The contrast between a base model and a fully appointed model is pretty profound.

Wrap all that up with a lifetime warranty and it's pretty sweet.

It's easy to think the Patriot is a tiny cupcake of a car. However, the other day I parked next to a mid 90s Cherokee and the two were pretty darn close in size. I never considered the Cherokee compact, but maybe it is.

yup. they're very similar in size.

[iMTB]

I liked the Pat better than the KK, but I liked the KJ better than both.

[upcruiser]

http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk149/kristian_s/409e6a99.jpg

Snapped this pic the other day. If a gasser Patriot is getting high 20's for mpg's, makes you wonder what the CRD version like this one gets here in Italy.