The Jeep Patriot was introduced for model year 2007, was refined and given more standard features for 2008, and is even further embellished for 2009.
All along, this vehicle’s appeal is that it offers the benefits of a sport utility vehicle in a compact, more fuel-efficient and affordable package. And, if you love Jeeps like I do, you’ll agree that it’s also really good looking.
Patriot has seating for five passengers and a cargo area with 23 cubic feet of space behind the second-row seats when they’re up. Rear seats have a 60/40 split and can be folded flat. They will also recline, if you order that option, and if you’d like a front passenger seat that folds forward to create a table-like surface, that’s available, too.
Patriot comes in Sport and Limited versions, with two-wheel or four-wheel drive. A five-speed manual transmission is standard, and a continuously variable automatic (CVT) is optional.
Power is provided by a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine making 172 horsepower and 165 lb-ft of torque. There are two different 4×4 systems: Freedom Drive I and Freedom Drive II. The latter has Jeep’s trademarked Trail Rated designation, suitable for more challenging off-highway conditions.
All models come standard with traction control, driver-controlled three-mode electronic stability program, brake assist, electronic roll mitigation and anti-lock brakes with rough-road detection.
EPA fuel economy ratings vary considerably, depending on powertrain. With 2WD and a manual transmission, they’re 23 mpg city, 28 mpg highway. The mileage rating on my tester, a Sport 4×4 with CVT, is 20/22.
Base pricing ranges from about $17,500 to just under $24,000. There is such a slew of optional stand-alone features, packages and groups that if I tried to condense the information in a way that fits here, makes sense and is accurate, I’d start screaming and hallucinating.
I’ll just describe the tester instead. Its standard features include air conditioning, tilt steering wheel, outside temperature display, halogen headlamps, side roof rails, and a stereo system with in-dash single CD player and MP3 capability.
Optional equipment in addition to the automatic transmission includes a Customer Preferred Package, Tire and Wheel Group, and Freedom Drive II Off-Road Group. All told they make an exceptionally well-equipped Jeep with a sticker still below $24,000.
The engine gave itself away as a four-banger only during the most demanding situations, and only because I don’t typically take it easy on steep hills.
Just one word to describe the CVT: flawless.
Patriot is nimble and fun, handles well around tight corners, and has much less road noise than I expected. Knowing that it could also keep me on the road during a winter like last one’s really sweetened the deal.
The interior, which is redesigned for 2009, has lots of black with chrome accents and looks more upscale. The tester’s cloth upholstery was attractive, high-quality, and had baseball stitching.
The only blemish in an otherwise terrific test week was that a couple of my CDs “skipped” a few times on road bumps that haven’t caused those CDs to skip in other vehicles.
But this is a non-issue, because what sort of retrograde loser even plays CDs anymore?
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