I know they are "different" vehicles, but each seems to fill our needs better than anything else, those being:
4WD,
Low Mileage (under 35k miles for the Toyota),
2007 or newer,
No hail or collision damage,
No tobacco smoke smell interior,
Tow prep. package
I'll use it mostly for a 95 mile/day commute, some hilly 2-lane highway, some Interstate.
It looks like a new Pat. will be about the same as a used RAV4, but with about more warranty (7 yr/100k for Toyota Certified vehicles). Then again there's a local 2007 Pat. that the salesman has already come down $1k without my even asking... yet.
Here's the engineer in me... I admit to really liking the appearance and 'style' of the Jeep Patriot, but the RAV4 seems like 'more' vehicle. The RAV4 is so-Jetson-ish, but that "form follows function" echoes in my mind (20 years of engineering and too many years of engr. college). I'll admit one big attraction of the RAV4 is the 3500 pound towing capacity (V-6, 4WD and tow-prep package needed, enough to make care salesmen roll up their eyes, but hey its my money.......). Our bass boat would be at the edge of a Patriot's towing capacity.
Issues/problems I've read about:
On the Patriot side, I read about issues with front suspension, some CVT issues, some with leak issues.
On the RAV4 side I read about some trans. issues, and the very public Toyota recalls, which seem to be worked out by now.
Questions:
1) What makes the Patriot 4WD better? It seems they work similarly. The tales I read of folks having problems with poor 4WD performance w/ their RAV4's are usually those who don't know how to lock in the 4WD feature and override the computer.
2) Why do folks go "on" here about the Patriot's safety? Both vehicles have about the same crash ratings.
3) Can the trailer-prep. package be added by a dealer?
Y'all tell me if I'm off base here.
Sincerely,
Tommy
4WD,
Low Mileage (under 35k miles for the Toyota),
2007 or newer,
No hail or collision damage,
No tobacco smoke smell interior,
Tow prep. package
I'll use it mostly for a 95 mile/day commute, some hilly 2-lane highway, some Interstate.
It looks like a new Pat. will be about the same as a used RAV4, but with about more warranty (7 yr/100k for Toyota Certified vehicles). Then again there's a local 2007 Pat. that the salesman has already come down $1k without my even asking... yet.
Here's the engineer in me... I admit to really liking the appearance and 'style' of the Jeep Patriot, but the RAV4 seems like 'more' vehicle. The RAV4 is so-Jetson-ish, but that "form follows function" echoes in my mind (20 years of engineering and too many years of engr. college). I'll admit one big attraction of the RAV4 is the 3500 pound towing capacity (V-6, 4WD and tow-prep package needed, enough to make care salesmen roll up their eyes, but hey its my money.......). Our bass boat would be at the edge of a Patriot's towing capacity.
Issues/problems I've read about:
On the Patriot side, I read about issues with front suspension, some CVT issues, some with leak issues.
On the RAV4 side I read about some trans. issues, and the very public Toyota recalls, which seem to be worked out by now.
Questions:
1) What makes the Patriot 4WD better? It seems they work similarly. The tales I read of folks having problems with poor 4WD performance w/ their RAV4's are usually those who don't know how to lock in the 4WD feature and override the computer.
2) Why do folks go "on" here about the Patriot's safety? Both vehicles have about the same crash ratings.
3) Can the trailer-prep. package be added by a dealer?
Y'all tell me if I'm off base here.
Sincerely,
Tommy
It's all good though because when you trade in the minivan (megafun) for the 2012 Patriot FDII, we'll all be here to say welcome back! We're a cool forgiving lot that way!
