Jeep Patriot?

[Jennifer L.]

My old truck is reaching the end of its road ---just had the transmission rebuilt for $2000 and when the garage was bringing it back from its drive to check the transmission, the drive shaft snapped. Everything underneath is so rusty that it's just not possible to keep telling myself "I've still got a few more years with it". Even though I hope I still have some time left on the truck (it's 19 years old, a Ford F150). Had always thought I'd get something smaller to go along with it and keep it as the farm truck but finances kept me from doing anything else in the last few years, and the available used trucks dried up with the Cash for Clunkers program, so I kept driving the truck and not doing anything more about it. It's been a good truck, it doesn't owe me anything even with this transmission job and a new driveshaft, but it's time to look for something else.

So I'm starting to look around for something newer. I've always had Fords, and have half had it in mind to find a used Ford Escape, but I was looking at local car lot websites and saw a Jeep Patriot that looked interesting. When I looked into it more, I see they are kind of "bare bones" which I like, plus it gets pretty good gas mileage, better than the Ford Escape that I had been also looking at in the past year, and it's a heck of a lot cheaper than the Ford is.

Does anyone have a Jeep Patriot and do you like it? Is it big enough to haul something like, oh, I don't know, a washer or dryer? Bags of feed? Bulky stuff at all? Or is it more or less a boxy looking car?

I don't know if I really need an official truck anymore or not, but I hate the thought of being limited. I may still need to go start looking at pick ups.

A review online said it was underpowered, but I assume that's also why the good gas mileage (28 miles highway), and I can live with that.

Jennifer

[jwal10]

http://www.allpar.com/model/jeep/patriot.html

[tyusclan]

My mom has one. I don't particularly like it. I drive it quite a bit taking her to her doctors' appointments, and I would not buy one for myself. The main drawback I see with it is that the gas tank is WAY too small. It's only 10 or 11 gallons, and while the gas mileage isn't bad, you're still constantly refueling because of the small tank.

I don't think there'd be enough room to haul a washer or dryer, but you could put several bags of feed or other foldable, stackable cargo in there.

They're also front wheel drive, which is going to limit your towing capability. Don't know if that's an issue for you or not.

[Micheal]

We own one (2010) and traded in a (2001) Escape when we bought it.
Can haul a washer in it, of course the washer was layed down on it's side, but none the less it did fit in the back - back seats folded down.
It is as someone noted a "stiff" ride.
I don't like the fact that the rear window does not open, only because my 10 foot kayak doesn't quite fit inside the Jeep. It's about 6 inches to long or else the Jeep is 6 inches to short.......... Yes it does fit on top but I'm getting old and putting things up high is getting sorta diffcult.
Other than that - it's an O.K. means of transportation.

[HermitJohn]

Maybe you can get one of those Scion square boxes with wheels. Only Toyota could manage to sell something designed like that, though shape is absolutely practical, no pretense at "sportiness". Sort of a mini hearse. Even more refrigerator like than old Volvos and I didnt think that was possible. Dont know anything about them other than seeing some of them driving around. But if I lived where there was smooth roads, I'd be interested.

And I once fit both a full size washer and full size drier in my one of my old Volvo 245 wagons. Tight fit but it did fit. I was impressed. Loved those old wagons. Though any little pickup could do same even easier.

Down here those old 80s and 90s F150s sell remarkably cheap. And very little rust. But I remember living up north where the 70s era Chev pickups were see through in areas of body that werent intended to be see through.

Thing also to look out for is that in rust belt areas, unit body vehicles have relatively short lifespan if used in winter. There is no patching them. A full frame vehicle you can patch frame with welder and more metal if you dont have the safety inspections that prohibit welded/patched frames. I think the Patriot and older small Cherokee are unit body???

[Jennifer L.]

Thanks, everyone. Good points all around. Tyusclan, the gas tank is a consideration. I've got two tanks on the truck I have now and I like the belt and suspenders approach of not having to worry about running out of gas. Small gas tank is not good.

WIHH, yeah, I'm 5'7" with bad knees and more of a "wide load". That's one reason I'm looking at something like an SUV or another pickup. Trying to slide in sideways in something low to the ground is not easy! I don't mind a stiff suspension---you drive a tractor all day and you get in any over the road vehicle and you think it's a pretty nice ride.

Michael, thanks for your information, too, and jwal10, I'm heading over to that link of yours and looking it over next. Thanks!

I'm cautious (ok, chicken) making big decisions on things like trucks and cars. You guys are a big help!

Jennifer

[Common Tator]

In August, a bear mauled and ate Hubby's Subaru Outback. He did so much damage, the insurance company declared the car a total loss.

So I started looking at different cars. The Subaru was sweet and got 30 mpg, but never really met our needs. It sat too low to the ground.

We have a two and a half mile dirt road that runs between the highway and the house. We need four wheel drive and traction control.

I started looking at Jeep Patriots. I was really unimpressed with the interior, the size. Everything about it screamed "ECONOMY"! As I wandered around the Jeep lot I saw a Liberty that was much more like what I was looking for. They were more expensive, but they were more car too.

I went home and went to www.cars.com, to see if I could find a gently used Liberty for the price of a new Patriot. I found several, in really excellent condition. I test drove one, and said, "well, let me bring Hubby back to see it." Big mistake. It sold the same day. So I found another one. A 2010 that only had 28,000 miles on it, still under warranty. We bought it and love it! It was one year old, and had a few miles on it, but it cost about 25% less than buying one new! The tank holds 19 gallons of gas. The manufacturer says you can get 21 MPG on the highway, but my Spudmuffin drives like a little old lady and gets 25 MPG. It has more interior space, so you may have better luck getting a washer in there.

[Common Tator]

Hey Jennifer, I thought of another reason we ruled out the Patriot. It did come in 4X4, but didn't have the 1 & 2 low gears. You really need those low gears if you encounter really deep snow or mud. The Liberty has them.

[brody]

hubby has a patriot

we like it for what it is - our smaller second vehicle... we do move stuff in it and regularly travel with 2 large dogs, and stuff in the back ...

[Jennifer L.]

Common Tater, thanks for the advice on the Liberty. I think I'll have to put a little more thought into things. I like the value of the Patriot, but maybe I'm thinking too small too fast after having the truck all of these years.

Sure appreciate the answers from everyone!

Jennifer

[Common Tator]

Jennifer, if you can find a Jeep dealer, ask to test drive a Patriot, and a Liberty. Ask about the differences, then you can make a decision based on your own feelings, experience and observations. If you get a newer used car, bear in mind that there isn't much difference from model year to model year, unless they come out with a new "generation". The difference between out 2010 Liberty and the 2011, is the steering wheel. At least that is what Jeep boasts about in their literature. I personally don't care about a new and improved steering wheel, and nobody else knows the difference.

Good luck with your purchase!

[Fat Charlie]

First off, the Patriot/Compass aren't really Jeeps. They took the Dodge Caliber, banged out some new fenders, slapped a Jeep grille on it and voila: brand new models! The Liberty isn't all that great. It's a real platform (the Dodge Nitro is a rebodied Liberty) that replaced the Cherokee (the exported ones are actually called Cherokees), but it ain't no XJ. You could fit stuff in the back of an XJ.

Everyone needs something slightly different in a vehicle, but I can't recommend wasting your time looking at the fake Jeeps.

[Common Tator]

Charley, I didn't think Jennifer sounds like a Jeep snob. I had to look up what an XJ is. It looks like an old cherokee, and most of those with pictures on the web, have been refitted for rock crawling. She is getting rid of an old vehicle, her truck. She seems to want fuel economy, as well as a good price on the car.

[Fat Charlie]

Sorry, I wasn't looking at it from a Jeep snob perspective (I've probably spent less than 2 hours of my life driving Jeeps), but from a "Don't let the badge fool you into thinking a rebodied Caliber is an SUV" perspective.

I work at a dealer, and the fun part about Jeeps is that just a few names covers their whole history- you can park four completely unrelated vehicles in a row and they're all Grand Cherokees, and 1/4 of the owners will simply call them Cherokees. There are still lots of unmodified Cherokees out there.

[Jennifer L.]

You guys give good perspectives on things. Charlie, I'm mostly just looking to start the transition from going to driving a pick up all the time to driving something smaller,that can still haul some stuff. The Patriot attracted me because of the fuel ecomony, initially, plus the fact that right in my area there are a flush of low mileage ones around right now. In my heart of hearts I'd rather replace the old truck with a new (well, used) pick up, but I'd be spending another 10K for a used pick up with the same mileage as these smaller SUVs.

Some of the thoughts expressed on here have made me look at things some different, though, which is just what I wanted. Lots of things for me to think about yet!

Jennifer

[Common Tator]

Hey Charlie, I wanted to mention, that Jeep's affiliation with Dodge doesn't scare me. Our new(ish) liberty is hubby's car. Mine is a 98 Dodge Durango, with nearly 200,000 miles on it. It's still a beauty. Very reliable, and even factoring in occasional maintenance and the gas it guzzles, it is cheap transportation. I bought it 5 years old with 70,000 miles on it for cash, so I never had a payment. It had been a lease vehicle, and must have been a 5 year lease. It was just like climbing into a brand new car. It has always done everything I have asked of it, with one exception. It doesn't have traction control. In deep snow once, I had one wheel spinning, while the others wouldn't budge. I had to walk away from it for a couple of weeks until the snow melted. Newer Durangos have the option of traction control.

Our new Liberty has drive line traction control, and brake traction control. My one bad experience with the Durango, is why I brought up traction control in my first post, and the low gears in my second. If you live in an area with snow, I consider those features to be essential. Potentially life saving. It can mean the difference between getting home safely, and freezing to death in your car.

Our third vehicle is a 95 Dodge Ram pickup with a Cummons Diesel engine. We bought this brand new. It also has nearly 200,000 miles on it. Ugly, oxidized and runs like a champ! It chugs up and down our 2 and a half mile, unplowed dirt road with relative ease, although we sometimes have to stop and dig out some fool who over estimates their own vehicle's abilities and gets themselves hopelessly stuck. Not because we are nice, but because they are blocking the road.

For the Liberty, we will add things as we can afford it. One thing we plan to do in the future is have a 2" trailer hitch receiver installed on the front of the car, so we can add a heavy duty winch. If we do get snow so deep that we can't even get the Jeep unstuck, we can wrap the winch around a tree, and pull ourselves out.

Anyway, with Dodge's relationship with Jeep, I believe Dodge parts and influence find their way into just about every new Jeep there is, and that doesn't bother me a bit.