I drive a FWD on some pretty gnarly roads.
So I see no reason that FDI wouldn't fit your bill.

Its all about choice...I chose FWD for specific reasons, some chose FDII and all the bells and whistles when really a Wrangler might make more sense?

But the Wrangler doesn't make sense...for them so the FDII at that point in time fits their needs.

What I did was make up an Excel sheet with all my needs, wants and would be nice things on it. Then I arbitrarily weighted each feature, but all the same weight across brands.

Then I started plugging in each vehicle as they occurred to me.

I needed, NEEDED, a certain amount of cargo space, fuel economy and a low price as my work just kills vehicles and this one won't be worth a dime once its repair bills start climbing in about five years. No vehicle would make it.

I wanted air and an auto.

I wished for ....you get the point.

Over some weeks and many brands and vehicles the two that settled at the top were the Journey and the Patriot.

Journey was too van like.

Just do the same for all three levels of the Patriot.
Needs, Wants, Nice to Have.
Plug all three in and be fair with weighting each segment, see what happens.

 

1.) I've heard that FDII platforms have slightly worse fuel economy than FDI...if it's just daily driven in D and 2WD, with this still be a problem? I'd never use the L and/or 4WD unless I'm offroading or in a very snowy/slick situation.

The FDII does get slightly worse mpg. I get ~22 city/26 highway(65mph)

2.) The extent of my offroading will be very light/easy trails with minimal obstacles. Being that I live in Texas, and FDII models are insanely difficult to come by, would I be kicking myself out on the trails for not searching for a FDII? Those of you who actually "trail run" with FDI Pat's please comment on this answer please.

I have used the FDII on some pretty gnarly trails with no problems. If you are doing light offroad with no obstacles the FDI should be fine

3.) Another question about FDI compared to FDII that I haven't seen an answer to on the Forum...is there an enormous difference in offroad performance as far as suspension goes or is it just the better crawl ratio that is so appealing on the FDII package?

I think the FDII performs better offroad. There are other things you get with the FDII. front/rear tow hooks, skid plates, body sealing(ford 19" water), oil cooler, larger wheels, full size spare, hill descent control, BLD, and I THINK transmission cooler.

Good Luck!

 

I think the FDII performs better offroad. There are other things you get with the FDII. front/rear tow hooks, skid plates, body sealing(ford 19" water), oil cooler, larger wheels, full size spare, hill descent control, BLD, and I THINK transmission cooler.

Good Luck!

Frack...everything I emphasized would be really nice to have :/ The trans cooler too but I really don't think the FDII package has that anyway. Maybe I'm wrong. The full size spare isn't that big of a deal because I'll probably be buying my own for it anyway when new wheels and tires come down the line...same with the bigger wheels, I'm fine with 16's.

Damn though, I didn't even think about the body sealing and skid plates. The tow hooks I'm not too worried about cause I could always A) buy my own or B) buy bumpers which is where I'm already leaning but that's down the road some.

Hill decent and BLD would be super fricken nice though
Anyone with the FDI ever really come across the need for these out on a light/easy going trail with minor obstacles? Like desert, wooded, or mountain trails. Probably as difficult as I go is this...

 

I have the FDI and I'm not going to say I regret not getting the FDII, but I should have gotten it. I'm looking at installing tow hooks and skids plates, and they're pretty damn pricey. $130-150 for one tow hook. Maybe I'm just the typical American man, but i think it's better to get more. You might need it. And, for what it's worth, I'm only getting 22mpg combined.


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If you have junk yards around, Check for and FDII. Pull the hooks off and their yours. Anyways, I wish you the best in your search!

Sent from my Galaxy S III using Autoguide. Please excuse my spelling.

 

You would have to decide what is more important to you: MPG or off-road capabilities. If you can find FDII in your area for what you're willing to pay for it, I'd say go for it. The only things you can't add to FDI would be lower gearing, more aggressive BLD and hill decent. Everything else such as tow hooks, skid plates, oil cooler can be added to any FDI.

 

I'm more for MPG but don't wanna get screwed on the trails. I plan on off-roading frequently so that's a major factor as well. I know the skids can be bought or pulled off a wreck and I'm not so concerned with the tow hooks since eventually it'll have aftermarket bumpers anyway and the trails I attempt aren't bad enough for me to need them (or so I think lol).

Anyway so the general consensus seems to agree that for my needs, the FDII would be the better buy even with the slightly worse mpg's. If only there would be more dealerships in Texas with them used :|

 

How far away is WhitePatriot21? It almost seems worth it to take the drive/flight down to him and drive it back.


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Thanks Kelsey. I don't think a wrangler is in question because finding a 2002< for under $16k with low mileage is close to impossible.



It would be worth it but A) he's 6 to 7 hours away from me and B) I have to have someone with me to drive my 02 Frontier back to San Angelo for me since the Pat's can't tow much. Finding someone to do that for me would be really hard to find since I dont have family or friends there (yet...I'll just be moving there on the 3rd) and my gf is 3.5 hours away lol.

I was trying to think of ways to meet him in Austin but I literally can't think of a way to do it in the month of August when I would prefer to have a new (to me) Pat. I could wait another month but thats kind of ridiculous to wait a whole month just for one vehicle when there are other deals to be found ... I just need to find them

 

I have both a 2012 FDII patriot and a 2012 JKU Sahara. IF you can swing a wrangler and the offroad capability is that important to you I wouldn't quite rule it out. When my JKU was stock I got average 18-19 MPG with auto trans and 3.73 gears. Now with the 2.5" Lift, wheels, and 33" tires I still get 17-18 MPG. The FDII patriot we have averages right around 20.5 city/highway mixed.

Now I have ZERO regrets about getting the FDII patriot. We bought it as a practical vehicle that can stay fairly stock that we can have as a backup if the wrangler ever had any issues since I do all my own mods. We did the same FDI and FDII debate, but we felt the FDII drove better on road as well as all the bonus features over the FDI.

 

Sell your frontier, use it to buy a plane ticket. A 6 hour drive is nothing. If I had the 13k and lived in Texas, id be all over it.


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I originally owned a '08 2WD Patriot in a 5speed Manual. I purchased this Pat new and after my rebates and money down, I drove this car off the lot with 7 miles on it for $178 a month.
For two years I drove this Patriot in Michigan having gotten stuck well over half a dozen times attempting to make it out to my families hunting camp.
After I had enough of that, I decided to go after the FDII.
Took quite some time just to locate one in my area. No way I could make the payments happen. Twice what I was paying for the 2WD.

Money is tight for me so I went the route of a '09 FDI that I was able to find a year and a half ago with 20K miles on it.
Whats cool is I was able to get it in Manual transmission and my monthly payment went up to $206. Had to drive a ways to get this deal but I'm happy I did.

Sometimes I still wish I waited and got the FDII. But what I'm going through is nothing that is too much for a FDI and I love having a manual.

 

Check out this thread... not 16K but close!

http://www.jeeppatriot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=97772

 

@ Doc, yea it's a hell of a deal. If it's still fs at the end of Aug/beginning of Sept and I haven't bought anything yet then I may re-inquire about it cause I'm sure by then SOMEONE would be willing to go with me to buy it and drive my truck back (or go in their vehicle...whatever the scenario may be). It pretty much has everything I'd ever want to do to a Patriot. If I buy a stock one...it'll look like that one eventually, so I'd actually be saving myself a ton of money.

*edit: @ Kelsey, yea but I'm telling you...$16k IS MY LIMIT lol I've already raised it from $13k since I couldn't find anything good bellow that. My goal is to have everything (TTL and Shipping fee that they charge) included and cost less than $16k if that makes sense. But I'd probably be willing to spill over to $16.5k with all that included.

 

Don't forget about towing capacity and 1" more ground clearance with the fdii. I did not even consider a patriot until I couldn't get the deal i wanted on a liberty arctic addition. But after some research I am glad I bought the patriot. I got 26 mpg when I drove it home from the dealer and everyday driving if you are easy on the gas you can still get 23mpg's. The fdii was hard for me to find were I live also but I was able to find one about an hour away. Good luck

 

I actually liked those too but can't make myself like the idea of a V6 just for its added hp/torque numbers. I want something with 20+ mpg's City. Though I'm totally comfortable enough with my masculinity to ride around in one of them light blue ones or a Pat in this color

Too bad that isn't a FDII cause it'd be damn near everything that I want

 

well I can I say is good luck in the search. I know there's a ton of GREAT deals out there on used FDIIs due to the "lack" of mileage. :smiley_thumbs_up:

 

Damn that's ugly. That color belongs on a vw beetle.


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Lol I honestly like it. But that's cause I can see it with black Cragar V5 wheels, a lift, TAG bumpers, a full length roof rack, some black Plasti-Diped items, cb goodies, etc it'd look girlie as fawk for a while but that could look bad ass in then end

 

There is 2010 FDII with 79K miles in El Paso for $13,995.

 

Also if you go through Carmax, they can ship it to your closest store for a fee. However, I haven't found a single FDII on their website, but there are plenty of FDI under 16k.

 

That's a lot of miles for a 2 year old Jeep but I'm looking into it. Thanks for the link TJN
*edit #2: ugh, that tan interior is killing that Pat for me. Plus the 6 hour drive to that dealership...I might as well go buy WhitePatriot21's rig if I think about going 6 hours away lol

*Edit: yea that's what I'm looking at too and I went through all 58 pats they have and none are FDII :|

 

Update on this; A.) I'm kicking around the idea of just buying a new FDII pat or ordering one that I want...we'll see. And B.) I'm in my last course for my Tech School that's required for my job and it's a major pita. Gotta study a lot so I'm not gonna be on here a lot. Hopefully this time next week I'll be posting in here that I am graduated and ready to leave Biloxi, MS Wish me luck, y'all!

*Edit: I laughed hard at the prices for a new FDII Pat and said to myself 'Who the hell am I kidding?' Yea that ain't gonna happen. If I absolutely do not find anything that I like by the end of August then I may reconsider but otherwise I'ma say hell no for now.

 

Well since I failed my S+ certification test last Thursday (by one damn question ), which was my ticket out of here, the internet search goes on for my FDII Patriot. I swear to God, finding a FDII Riot used in Texas is like finding a needle in a hay-stack I'm gonna be here til the 28th or so now (and that's the earliest) sooo yea might as well get my search on...

 

Good news. I start my class for S+ tomorrow and should graduate on the 28th I'm happy. Anyways as far as Patriot shopping goes, I'm worried that I will have to settle for a FDI Its just really hard to find a FDII in Texas and I'd rather not order a new one ... I found one at CarMax that I really like but it's in Vermont and the price is like 1500 over its KBB value so I may have to do some heavy negotiating on my part
Link to it though...let me know if it looks promising or not; http://www.carmax.com/enus/view-car/default.html?id=8725937&Rp=M&AVi=0&Ep=mykmx:save car:page

 

$14K for '07 with 82k miles is too expensive in my opinion. Yes, I know it's FDII but still. For $16K or so you get get a brand new FDI. It's your decision but you asked for an opinion.

 

My 2 cents - I wish I had the FDII. Heck, just for the tow hooks alone. I launch a boat on a stony beach and always fear, what if I get stuck, there's nothing to hook a tow strap to to pull me out! And don't let anyone fool you, the tow hooks are a b*tch to install. You can't just stick them on. Read the tow hook posts on here.

I bought my FDI because Cash for Clunkers time was running out and it was the last one on the lot, and the only Jeep product to qualify. IMHO, if you are driving a Jeep, it should be off-road capable (i.e., "Trail Rated"). If not, you might as well buy a car.

P.S. - Don't order the Dome Light Shower Group!

 

My 2 cents - I wish I had the FDII. Heck, just for the tow hooks alone. I launch a boat on a stony beach and always fear, what if I get stuck, there's nothing to hook a tow strap to to pull me out! And don't let anyone fool you, the tow hooks are a b*tch to install. You can't just stick them on. Read the tow hook posts on here.

I bought my FDI because Cash for Clunkers time was running out and it was the last one on the lot, and the only Jeep product to qualify. IMHO, if you are driving a Jeep, it should be off-road capable (i.e., "Trail Rated"). If not, you might as well buy a car.

P.S. - Don't order the Dome Light Shower Group!

Tow hooks were part of the All Weather Capability Group on my PAT.


All Weather Capability Group

All Season Front and Rear Floor Mats
Daytime Running Lamp System
Engine Block Heater
P215/65R17 OWL All Terrain Tires
Tow Hooks

 

Thanks y'all for your comments.

@ TJN; you're absolutely right...it's over priced by around $1500+ so if I go for that one I'd be hard core negotiating the price down to it's KBB value or lower if possible ... it does look to be in nice condition for it's mileage but as a buyer I don't know how it was maintained and stuff so that's going to be my leverage.

If it's still available in early September when I'll be able to shop then the game will be on! Hopefully I can win haha it's already been on the market for several weeks (I think 3) so honestly they'll probably lower the price sooner or later anyway