Newbie looking for advice on which '13 Riot I should get!

[Brohio]

Hey gang, first post on the site! I'm in the market for a new Pat and since I live in the winter wonderland of CLE, Ohio I definitely could use the 4WD.

Love the altitude edition in white...and advice on what are some worth while packages to get or things to avoid being overcharged on?


This forum rocks btw...I've learned a million things already creepin on here the past few weeks. You guys convinced me that a new Pat is just what I need! Thanks everyone!

[SteveReject]

I have a bare basic Limited with no other options other than blue tooth and it's great. If you find a basic Limited with 4x4 that should be good. I only have FWD though, very satisfied so far on road only so far.

[jack.allwardt]

Get all the "bells & whistles" you can--and can afford--when you purchase. It's a bear to retro-fit some of these special features.

And, even if only a couple months out of the year that you <could> use 4x4, get it anyway. Wish I would have sprung that additional $1500.

[SteveReject]

The Limited comes with a lot, Latitude is great too, definitely get the stuff you might want later on, no regrets! You will enjoy it, get exactly what you want there are a lot of options and aftermarket goodies.

[Coppertrailer]

Originally Posted by jack.allwardt

Get all the "bells & whistles" you can--and can afford--when you purchase. It's a bear to retro-fit some of these special features.

And, even if only a couple months out of the year that you <could> use 4x4, get it anyway. Wish I would have sprung that additional $1500.

Correct. If you are down South the dealers have a ton of 2012s hanging around and that means big discounts for you. Up North there are no Patriots. Maybe 1 or 2 in each lot. And that means no discounts. You have a 1500.00 incentive going on. Maybe over be quick when incentives are out there. But either way go to a dealer with the most Patriots and get a 4wd with power group for sure.

[Brohio]

Thanks for the heads up guys! I've found about 50 or so Latitude 4wds around me so I'm gonna look at those this week. I was in ATL over the holidays and their selection is mostly 2wd. I found a couple lats with the altitude package marked down to 20k with the BA system and uconnect. That's prob the model I will search for first and see what they have.

[aroundincircles]

Also, what are you going to do with it? I got the FDII package, because if I got 2wd, I would want 4wd, and if I had a FDI, i would want the FDII package... I want to keep this car for a while, so I figured I would want the package I know I would be happiest with. (I don't care about leather and other interior packages, I wanted capability) so figure out what you want to do with it, and what packages you might want, or regret not getting... because you'll be trading out cars sooner rather than later.

[dixiedawg]

I agree with aroundincircles, we would need to know a bit more about how you'll use the vehicle to help.

The off-road package is a great deal for what you get IMHO, but it will reduce your MPGs some.

[Dangerous]

I have a 2012 2.4 liter 4x4 5 spd manual sport with the power group package and wheel package.

Couple things to note about my setup,

The sport doesn't include the fold flat passenger seat, I know I'll wish I had this one day.

Since there is no low range the clutch will get a workout if I take it off road. The CVT FDI, I think would be a better option for off road but the manual gets better mileage. I'm getting about 26 MPG on my daily commute of mixed highway, city traffic type driving and I don't do anything special to achieve that mileage just drive it normal and if anything a little fast on the highway.


The 4x4 option is well worth it, here is what will come with it;
lifted suspension
2.4 liter engine
rear disc brakes
Mine came with up-sized tires, 215, 65 17 compared to standard 215, 60 17
ESP can use rear disc brakes to control the vehicle(Does anyone know if it will use the drum brakes if you don't have disc?)

I have the 130 basic stereo and it is pretty good. It can be easily upgraded, the factory din hole support double din and all four doors have 6x9s that you can swap out. So not sure if the the navigation system is worth it but would be nice to get the extra steering wheel controls.

[Coppertrailer]

I drive a truck 7 days on 4 off and when I get out of the truck I want to drive a smooth Automatic. FD1 is more citified but ready to rock on tough terrain, just not the Rubicon.

[2012 Cherry Patriot]

I would suggest the Latitude FD1, with Safety and convenience package. And for me I would add the Sun/sound package, Uconnect, and the screen radio with the HDD to it.

[Brohio]

Thanks guys, a lot of great responses. I'll try and answer a couple of the questions:

I live almost downtown and commute to school/work during the week. As much as I would love to have the FD2 package I am not willing to trade the mileage and give up autostick. As for the audio stuff, I would much rather put my own system in rather than pay for BA, but I really want the sunroof so I guess I can deal.

I am not planning on doing any serious off roading, but I want to be able to make it through some camping and hunting trails, and the 20 ft of snow that CLE gets every year haha.

Does anyone know if the uconnect feature allows Bluetooth audio streaming? That is my main reason for wanting Bluetooth as at is what my current setup I have in my toyota allows me to do. (Full disclosure: I'm a pandora junkie)

Thanks guys!

[jeeper14]

Hello! I'm here in CLE too.

I had an '08 and just traded it in for a 2013. You'll love it! Good luck with your search.

[Brohio]

Jeeper what dealer up here did you use? Wally Armour has some insane prices posted, but i live near the N. Olmsted dealer. Any advice?

[jeeper14]

I saw the ones on Wally Armour and thought it was too good to be true. Got mine at North Olmsted.