Jeep Patriot (2007)

July 9, 2007 - When the DCX rep first told us that the company would be hooking us up with a Jeep Patriot to review, we practically had the whole article already written in our heads. We imagined a car review chock-full of references to bobble head dolls, "bounce, steady bounce" and KRS-One. Of course, once we actually saw the Patriot, we had to change our game plan completely. In one of our usual Red Bull-induced highs, we inadvertently confused the Patriot with the New York street-ready Compass. Oops. It's easy to understand why we made the mistake: both baby Jeeps were designed with the world market in mind and are built atop the Dodge Caliber platform. Both Jeeps are front wheel drive, come powered by the four cylinder 2.4 liter World engine and both look like a Cherokee that shrunk in the wash. The only real difference is that the Patriot is available with all-wheel drive - which helps it to earn the coveted "Trail Rated" badge - while the Compass is low, front-drive only and has a difficult time conquering obstacles like parking lot curbs. We didn't get the Trail Rated Patriot - we got the front-driver, and we passed on the CVT transmission in favor of a five-speed manual.

But like the xB, the Patriot has a fair amount of room inside. The front seats are supportive and are mounted somewhat low (but not too low), giving occupants a generous amount of headroom. Back seats are okay - they have the ability to recline and all - but we didn't care much for them. But then, we pretty much hate every back seat we sit in. All seating surfaces are covered in a hard and slippery vinyl; every single thing we ever placed on the Patriot's seats slid forward in the most violent of fashions the moment we so much as tapped the brakes. A minor thing, we know - but a major annoyance nonetheless. There is plenty of glass in the Patriot's greenhouse, and it's positioned in such a way that the outward visibility is actually somewhat decent.