My wife and I are looking forward to the new Patriot... but we have a concern about the cargo area behind the rear seats.

I read (correct me if I'm wrong) from the Jeep website that the patiot will have a 23 cubic foot capacity behind the rear seats. I've read that the Cherokee had a capacity of 32 cubic feet and the Dodge Nitro also has a similar cargo area.

We love everything about the new Patriot except the area behind the rear seats. I'm hoping that we can see one soon to see if it suits our needs. We love the idea of fuel economy, but if it doesn't deliver in volume... no sale.

If not, we'll probably be looking at a Grand Cherokee.

Does anyone have information about the rear cargo capacity? I noticed that on the size comparisons posts that the Cherokee and the Patriot are of a similar size -- but does that lend to cargo room too?

My wife and I are looking forward to the new Patriot... but we have a concern about the cargo area behind the rear seats.

I read (correct me if I'm wrong) from the Jeep website that the patiot will have a 23 cubic foot capacity behind the rear seats. I've read that the Cherokee had a capacity of 32 cubic feet and the Dodge Nitro also has a similar cargo area.

We love everything about the new Patriot except the area behind the rear seats. I'm hoping that we can see one soon to see if it suits our needs. We love the idea of fuel economy, but if it doesn't deliver in volume... no sale.

If not, we'll probably be looking at a Grand Cherokee.

Does anyone have information about the rear cargo capacity? I noticed that on the size comparisons posts that the Cherokee and the Patriot are of a similar size -- but does that lend to cargo room too?

Thing with the old Cherokee was, the back seat was next to useless when it came to legroom. My gues is that Pat makes up for legroom at the expense of cargo room. Best bet is to wait until you see one in person and determine it that way. Going by the "actual cubic ft "doesn't always tell you the "true" amount of stuff you can get back there.

Rear cargo capacity:

Patriot=23.0 cu ft......... w/ rear seats folded=54.2 cu ft ..... w/ front passenger and rear seats folded=62.7 cu ft
Liberty=31.0 cu ft.......... w/ rear seats folded=69.0 cu ft

Nitro= 32.1 cu ft........... w/ rear seats folded=65.2 cu ft
Grand Cherokee=35.0 cu ft....w/ rear seats folded=67.4 cu ft

The Patriot is the smallest of the bunch inside but also gets better gas mileage than any of the others....

(Note that only the Patriot Limited model has the 'flexible seating group' which includes the rear fold-flat forward seat, reclining 60/40 fold flat rear seat and front passenger foward fold flat seat)

It also depends on what you're hauling back there. Pets, luggage, soccer balls, camping equipment, or just random stuff? Do you have to take it with you all the time and all at once? It goes back to the whole need/want thing. Do you need the cargo room or do you want it? If you need alot of space, you need a larger vehicle. If you want better fuel economy you may have to give up some cargo area. The XJ may have had 32 cu ft but it also had a spare tire back their that i'm sure wasn't accounted for. Are you willing to give up 10mpg for less than 10 cu ft of cargo space? As with any decision there are trade offs. Definately wait and see how much space the Patriot actually has.

Yes, I agree with you about the cargo room -- 23 cubic feet without the dimensions is almost useless. We're going to be hauling pets in their crate, so we'll need a certain volume in order for it to fit.

Good point about the spare tire -- I forgot that it was stored in the rear cargo area of the Cherokee. I also remember the rear seats being a bit cramped and the back doors laughable in the four door.

I just can't wait to see one of these Patriots in person!

Rear cargo area....

While the Liberty has more cargo space, we decided not to purchase one because most of that space is "up". We couldn't get the dogs' kennel in the back storage area w/o putting the back seat down. We don't have that problem in our XJ. It looks like the Patriot will be similar to the XJ in that regards.

It is a fine balancing act to say the least.

Personally, I am looking into a decent roof rack system. Gotta keep the crab pots outside the passanger air compartment.