Does anyone have a general idea as to how many lbs. the Patriot will be able to tow? For the longest time, I had been planning on getting a new Xterra, but I'm pretty excited about the Patriot....

I haven't seen anything quoting a tow rating.

I don't know enough about the second-generation CVT2 to know how strong it is... I think that both Freedom Packages get the trailer tow prep package.

bryan901,

The Compass, which has the same engine and transmission, has a towing capacity of 1000lbs. I would expect the same for the Patriot.

THe Xterra has a capacity of 5000lbs by comparison. But comparing the Compass/Patriot to the Xterra isn't exactly fair with the V6 in the Xterra
--J

I agree...you aren't even in the same league. The Patriot isn't a powerful vehicle straight out of the factory. That is why I was curious about whether or not a turbo-charger would be compatible with the CVT2. Honestly, I think Jeep will drop the Liberty in a few years when they see that people are reacting well to the classic styling of the Patriot. If that happens, they'll upgrade the power and it can compete with Xterra.

Xterra loosely competes with FJ Cruiser, Wrangler, H3.

Patriot looks to compete with the Tuscon, Forester, CR-V and 4 cylinder model RAV4's.

I think for comparison sake, a vehicle inbetween the Patriot and Xterra would be a Suzuki Grand Vitara. Here you have some off-road capability, AWD and an 4WD system, a rigid ladder frame, and more HP/torque...thus more towing capacity (3000 lbs).

I agree...you aren't even in the same league. The Patriot isn't a powerful vehicle straight out of the factory. That is why I was curious about whether or not a turbo-charger would be compatible with the CVT2. Honestly, I think Jeep will drop the Liberty in a few years when they see that people are reacting well to the classic styling of the Patriot. If that happens, they'll upgrade the power and it can compete with Xterra.


I don't see them dropping the Liberty. It's currently the best selling small SUV and different enough then the Patriot to appeal to two (if not overlapping) markets.

Ford is making due now with both the Escape and the Edge. Two vehicles roughly around the same size, but appealing to two different markets.

Granted, the Liberty is scheduled to be "up-sized" with the next redesign. Check out the Dodge Nitro which is closer in size to what the next Liberty will be.

When is the next redesign? I wonder if they'll roughen up the exterior a bit.

I just noticed on Edmunds http://www.edmunds.com/new/2007/jeep/compass/100715165/specs.html that they are listing the 2007 Jeep COMPASS as having a 3500 lb Maximum Towing Capacity. If this figure is accurate and the same for the Jeep Patriot, I will be very happy.

Maybe 3500 is correct. When I went to "build and price" a 4x4 version of the Compass, it said that the maximum towing capacity was 1000lbs. So it's either we trust Jeep's website (this was a couple weeks ago, so who knows how accurate it is or if has changed recently) or Edmunds.

3,500 seems high to me. I think when you compare the Patriot/Compass engine to other engines that produce similar outputs, you'll see that there must be some mistake.

I tried emailing customer support at Jeep. Their response was that the information was not available at this time. Surely, this information is known, but I've been unable to get it from them. It's a crucial bit of information when it comes down to my decision as to whether or not I'll consider getting a Patriot. A 1000lb tow rating probably won't cut it for me.

Found a little more information from the Jeep site:

http://www-5.jeep.com/vehsuite/TowingGuide.jsp

If I recall correctly--which is getting harder and harder the older I get--the Liberty overtook the Escape to be #1 because the Escapes' sales declined--not because the Liberty's increased.

I hope they give the Liberty some "nads" for its redesign.

Will the Liberty get a "4.0 L", which is available on the Nitro, while the Wrangler is stuck with the 3.8 L?

Hmmm... that tow guide says the compass can tow 1,000-2,000 lbs. Except if you pick different drive and transmission configurations it always says 1,000 lbs.

But ya know, if you do light towing or don't drive on the freeway, etc, I would guess you could safely tow more. I had an old Mazda 626 that said "no towing!" in the owners manual. But I had a guy put a hitch on it and it towed our 17 foot sailboat to and from the lake without a hiccup.

I'm sorta thinking about buying a ~20ft power boat or a couple jet skis in the future. I don't even know what those things weigh! What does 1 jet ski with trailer weigh? If the Patriot could tow that, I think I'd be okay.

i don't really want to have to get the bigger size and worse MPG of the Liberty or Nitro, but they have significanly higher tow capability..... Plus a patriot makes much more sense for "everyday" use, but getting to and from the lake is a sometimes use that I might like to have.

The Patriot is probably just like the Compass - 1000 lbs standard, 2000 lbs with towing prep package. The tow package includes a transmission cooler, which accounts for the difference (and a wiring harness, which doesn't affect the rating).