No pictures here either, but I test drove a 4x4 Limited CVT today. There are at least 4 Patriots in the area right now, and this is the nicest one. Didn't have many of the extra options, like sunroof, blue tooth, boston sound system, nav system, though. Green ext, gray int colors.
I had a really negative experience with the dealership. The salesperson who helped me knew absolutely nothing about the vehicle, didn't have a card, didn't offer any advice on where I should take it on the test drive, etc. The last thing really affected my test drive, because the dealership is on a very busy strip of gridlocked highway, and I didn't really get to test out the actual driving of it all that much. What I did feel was very good, though, especially for an SUV. It's no Beamer, obviously, but it felt a million times better than my 94 Grand Cherokee. I liked the CVT a lot.
The interior wasn't really what I was expecting. To be honest, it felt cheap. I'm really going to have to go again for a second look, but basically I'm just not so sure anymore that this is going to be my next vehicle. The leather was very nice, and the heated seats worked great. I didn't make much notice of the instrument panel or the console, so they must have been more or less what I expected from pictures. There were just a couple of things that deflated my enthusiasm. From inside, the back window and back corners are very weird. The window is tiny and hard to see out of, in my opinion, compared to my Grand Cherokee. Luckily the side mirrors are great and looking out the back to change lanes was more trouble than it was worth in the end.
Another thing was the part of the center console that flips out to hold an iPod. The actual slot the iPod goes into is lined with rubber, so that it can hold it in place, instead of having the iPod go flying off into the windshield. That's all good and well, but my iPod barely fit, and it's one of the older ones, that are fatter and less wide than the new ones, which are flat and farther across in comparison. I just don't think that some iPods would fit in the space. It's not a huge deal, since there are a lot of other little slots and cubbies to let an MP3 player sit in while driving. Anyway, the point was that the rubber that lines the slot was separating from the plastic, and I had to move it back into place. It just struck me as very weird. The third thing that kind of put me off was the mirror under the driver's side visor (and I assume the passenger side). You may be wondering what could possibly be wrong with a mirror, and the answer is nothing. But it was just a piece of glass, whereas even my 13 year old Grand Cherokee had a dimming/brightening slide light, and felt much sturdier.
Now, I'm not trying to be a downer. I realize that the things I pointed out are VERY small, but when it comes to buying a new ($25,000) car, you have to be completely satisfied. These are just things that stood out to me, and I know that maybe when I go back and get in a second time, take it to a road where I can actually drive, and inspect it a little bit more closely, I'll come away a lot more enthusiastic about it than I am now. I was just expecting caviar on a tuna fish budget, and now that I've gathered my thoughts like this, I'm already feeling better about the Patriot than after I drove it this morning.
