I haven't read every word of every post thus far, but...I'm a convert from an FCA vehicle with "all the bells and whistles" in the dash. My Renegade had the Uconnect® 8.4 NAV/RA4 (larger, nicer version of the Uconnects.) It had software issues from day one. First, it controls too much, like dashboard units on digital dashes, including tire pressure and miles per hour. This would change frequently without intervention. It also controlled the electric parking brake switch. I went through at least (3) updates to the software, and the final one caused the emergency 9-1-1- lights to come on "red" and the only way to fix was to hit the button, instituting a 9-1-1- call. When I traded in my Renegade with only 9 months and 9k miles on it, Jeep's open case with me had NO KNOWN RESOLUTION.
So, in choosing my high-altitude Patriot, I retained in the Uconnect's 230/REQ the features of bluetooth to phone including calls, text, and streaming. I retained one USB connection for playback of music which reads in a very basic manner on my Green LED Uconnect in the Patriot, and while I lost navigation and a backup camera, my phone works fine for navigation via bluetooth/Google nav, and I don't need the camera. I've also noticed better voice recognition in the Uconnect basic model. It will connect to more than one phone, and even has handy basic memo recording which I enjoy. The more BASIC dashboard is fine with me, and the comfort and drive is GREAT.
Just wanted folks shopping Uconnect to know that the Uconnect® 8.4 NAV/RA4 had SERIOUS issues when installed in the Renegade. It may or may not have issues in the Patriot, but...the ticket remained open when I traded mine in, and I never knew WHEN certain functions would work, and some wouldn't. My local dealership even had an FCA engineer come in specially to install one update as I was "betatesting" the version for them. The engineer was very helpful, but the combination of Renegade and Uconnect was half-baked at best.
Oh, and the bottom line for me was, I wanted a RADIO that worked well. The digital radio in the 8.4 had acceptable FM, okay satellite, and AWFUL AM SOUND!! If you like AM at all for talk or local stations, that radio is an insult to AM broadcasters. The current one in my Patriot, on the other hand is incredibly sensitive, pulling stations from clear across the state, and rendering my station in fairly wide AM bandwidth, probably a good 8khz or more.
So, be aware if you love radio and don't want issues....the 8.4 unit has it's issues.
I'm incredibly happy with the features of the "High Altitude" version I bought, and couldn't be happier with the Patriot overall. Reminds me more of my 1999 Cherokee Sport than any other vehicle I can find, and suits my needs quite nicely.
