We stopped by one of the local Jeep dealerships last night. Hoping to see the 4door wrangler... "There's two on the truck right now.. but they won't be here for a couple more days... we could take your name and number..."

As we were walking back to the truck I spotted something I hadn't expected... a Compass tucked back around the corner of the building. We headed back around to get our first real life look.

Very nice. Larger than I thought it would be. Some how I thought it. For some reason I thought it would be little.. like the RAV4 or Sidekick. It was slightly larger.. though not too large. Looked about the right size (if there is such a size).

The fit and finish looked spot on. Nicely detailed with a level of constuction and materials a bit above what I'd expected in this price range.

They couldn't find the keyes in time for us to get to test drive it before we had to leave, so I didn't get to hear the engine nor see how it handled the hills.

The Compass is still a bit more round than my wife and I prefer so we will wait for the Patriot.

With the Patriot being based on the same frame, I am really looking forward to its arrival! Now more than ever.

I took a good look at one at a dealership as well. All in all not too bad. Very surprised at the cargo space in the rear... it would have been a lot more even had it not been for the sloped roof. Considering that, the Patriot will probably have a lot more space which is great. Sure was weird to see an engine mounted sideways under a Jeep hood though. The interior was good... average for a new car. The fold-flat passenger seat and the flip-up i-pod holder were nice, but the center console was very tiny. My biggest gripe was the rear cup-holders... they cannot be removed and they take up all the leg space from the middle seat in the back. This thing is basically a 4-seater because of it.

i totally agree about the rear cup-holders. they definitely make it a 4-seater. the reclining rear seats are nice though ... i took a good look inside & out at a steel blue limited with gray leather interior, and i was very impressed. i LOVED the interior design & color scheme. for some reason the khaki just isn't nearly as striking as the gray two-tone. i thought the center stack was way better fit than in the caliber ... it seems like it was designed for the compass/patriot and then kinda stuck in the caliber too. i didn't get to drive it. since i'm waiting for a patriot anyway, i figure i won't put extra miles on the first couple they get ...

The Patriot is slated to be a 5 passanger vehicle from all I've read... that means the no cup holders in the way in the rear seat!

That's one of the main reasons we quickly stopped looking at the Pacifica and the Element.

sorry dude ... check out the photo in the center of this page (http://www.familycar.com/RoadTests/JeepPatriot/Photos.htm) ...

sorry dude ... check out the photo in the center of this page (http://www.familycar.com/RoadTests/JeepPatriot/Photos.htm) ...

That's not bad... I thought you meant the cup holders were in the rear seats making it a 4 seater. That could easily be a 5 seater - especially with kids. Or with a little nip&tuck with the ol' dremel.

Here's the rear on the pacifica

http://us.autos1.yimg.com/img.autos.yahoo.com/ag/chrysler_pacifica_touringfwd_2006_interior_18_346x 270.jpg

and the element

http://carsmedia.ign.com/cars/image/article/613/613612/element-20050513050946414.jpg

a little harder to see in that shot. But there is no way someone is sitting in the middle in the rear seat w/o sitting directly on the cup holder.

oh, sorry, yeah you can definitely get 5 in there (unlike the others pictured) ... it just doesn't appear to be designed with 5 in mind.