Recently around town with the A/C blasting I've been in the high 18s or low 19s. Still 22+(even as high as 28 for a few miles) on the highway. Usually overall I average about 21mpg.

 

It has been like 22mpg for us!

 

22-23 MPG mixed in-town and city driving.

 

That's right... Most deceptive advertising I have seen in a long time. The dealer I bought my Patriot Sport /FDII from KNEW I was expecting a car with 28 - 30 MPG. I had passed on a 6 cylinder Liberty with 22MPG and a $3500 rebate back in November. Why? He told me I could wait and get a OFF ROAD RATED car that got 30MPG. So I waited. And recieved emails from Jeep telling me I would get 30MPG. And I saw commercials ADVERTISING 30MPG and OFFROAD. So the day the dealer finally got a Patriot I went in for a test drive. This car had a CVT but NO FDII. 26MPG on the sticker. Dealer said, "That's because it's an automatic. You're going to have to be content with that because the Freedom Drive II (offroad) REQUIRES the automatic / CVT." So I mulled it over and figured I could live with 26MPG. I ordered a unit with FDII. The day I went in to test drive (and buy), it has no sticker. He tells me, "It's the same as the one you already tested, but this one has FDII. So I bought. And now I find out that the advertised MPG is 23 !!@!@!#

Not only am I going to be using 1000-2000 more gallons of gas during the life of this car, but the range with a puny 10 gallon tank is pathetic. I think Jeep should compensate buyers of the FDII for the amount of extra gas they are going to use.

Why does having a low gear that you can switch into, affect the gas mileage when you're not using it? I think all they did was gear down the entire range of the transmission.

One more thing. Why is a doggy 4 cylinder, off road vehicle that gets 23MPG preferable to a powerful 6 cylinder off road vehicle that gets 22 MPG? What is that high tech engine I paid a premium for for doing for me?

 

Why does having a low gear that you can switch into, affect the gas mileage when you're not using it? I think all they did was gear down the entire range of the transmission.QUOTE]

Front wheel drive transaxles are a little harder to think of or get at the final drive ratio. Like a rear end has 4:11's or say 3:55's. The trail rated still has only a single speed transfer case, no Hi & Lo range. They got the lower ratio by giving it a lower final drive ratio, therefore your hi gear is lower than the other auto.
I got the CVT, if I had it to do again I'd get the CVTL. Mostly because of the extra cooling, skid plates, 1" more lift (springs are 1" longer). Use the extra wheel well clearance to put on taller tires. Taller tires will help do the same as a little taller gear, and the CVTL will have more torque at the ground to handle them.

 

Wife homehealth lvn she gets 28/26 mpg hwy/city. she drives 100/140 miles a day. Just had 1st oil change. We are very happy with milage.

 

Mileage..

Engtech,

If it makes you feel better, my 6 Cylinder (4.0) 2000 Wrangler sticker said 19/15 for mileage (in the old standards!), and I'm lucky to average about 16-17mpg in actual mileage, and thats a 5 speed manual!

The people I know with automatics get real world mileage of 14-15mpg.

So 21mpg is still 5-6 more miles per gallon than a Manual transmission Wrangler.

But I agree that a 13 gallon tank is kinda small. The wranglers at least have a 19 gallon tank

Also, the Patriot 4 cylinder has pretty much the same horsepower as my 6 cyclinder wrangler - 176hp vs. 181, so we're not talking about a dinky little engine here. But I wish they would have allowed the Manual transmission on the FDII package

-hunter

 

That's a bummer that the dealer was less than forthcoming about the FDII MPG. I suppose one could argue that the dealer just didn't know.... when I bought mine I knew far more about the Pat than my dealer did.

Jeep advertising does tout the "30 MPG" capability of the Patriot. I just looked at the brochure I got from the dealer and it does not provide the MPG specifics of the different Pat versions.

I knew what to expect because the MPG details are provided in the Patriot section of the jeep.com website. But I'm sure many buyers are not exploring the website.

A bigger gas tank would definitely be nice. So far it hasn't been annoying to me.

 

FDII Mileage, Lugnuts

I hope the rest of you guys and gals didn't get the wrong idea. I love my Patriot. Smooth running, sharp looking. Awesome brakes.

I get so sick of vehicles that all look the same - the tear drop or finger nail shaped headlights, the "swoopy" (ugly) styling that everyone seems to be copying. Sometimes I think the auto industry believes everyone wants the same thing. My Jeep looks great with the squared off look and round headlights. And for the first time in my life I'm not driving a punky little sports coupe or econobox that will get stuck in the mud or bottom out on a bumpy dirt road. It is a feeling of empowerment. This is the vehicle that will take me to the hiking trails and gun ranges.

I just wish it had a bigger tank, and that it got a lot closer to the MPG I was promised. I think I was most upset because the salesman knew MPG was a big issue with me, and didn't say anything or show me the sticker. I probably would've forgone the FDII and bought the manual transmission. Not likely I will use the "Lo" gear that often.

I noticed recently that Jeep is now advertising the Liberty specifically as having "good range". So apparently they are aware of the complaints about Patriot's range. I think I am going to buy a 5 gallon gas can to set in the back when I take longer trips.

I'd like to get some solid lug nuts for it, and some security lugnuts. (Think the wheels are really sharp.) I have heard the two piece lugnuts can sieze on the studs and become extremely hard to remove. Anyone buy any yet?

 

Buyer Beware.

 

Well, ya might only very rarely call upon the capability that FDII provides (thats the case for me). But - and I think I speak for a number of folks out there - the "coolness" factor of the FDII outweighs the MPG decrease.

Oh - last tank 21.5 MPG. Mostly around town.

 

What coolness factor would that be?

 

This thread got me curious so I reset my evic mpg for a highway trip too my brothers place. I averaged 28.5mpg overall. This was 95% highway at a near steady 60mph so the numbers are alittle "idealized" but none the less, pretty impressive IMO.

 

Don't buy the FDII if you are wanting great gas mileage. I just gave up a 400 hp vehicle that got better mileage on the highway. I opted for mine for its capabilities not mpg which was a fair trade off for me.

 

I average 23-24 in town and have been able to get 27-28 on the highway with the cruise set at 65. It drops to 24-25 with the cruise set at 70. It loves the high altitude air here.

 

All of the ratios are lower on the CVTL, so the engine turns at higher RPMs for any speed you are traveling at compared to the CVT.

 

Just got my patriot 10 days ago, drove 516kms on 43 liters of fuel, (321 miles on 11.3 gallons of gas) that's about 28 mpg i'm happy. Don't have air or auto with the 2.4 engine.....JUST GOT THE KICK ASS STEREO!!!!!!!

 

I just bought a jeep patriot 5 days ago. here in canada our gov't has offered a go green rebate on some vehicles that have far below average for their class gas mileage. jeep compass/patriot qualify.
in litres per 100kms patriot was advertised with 9L/100kms in the city and 7.2L/100kms HWY. so far i am getting 12L/100kms mixed city/HWY.
that is more than 25% off advertised rates.
i have a 5speed manual, 2x4 and i am just one person in the car.
i have to say that although i really like the vehicle itself, i am freaked out about the mileage issue.

 

i am freaked out about the mileage issue.

Several threads are devoted to the mileage issue. Your engine is nowhere near broken in. Mileage should continue to improve for approximately 2000 km but I don't think it will get 25% better. It is best to compute mileage on a monthly basis rather than each fill up. Monthly computing averages out the inevitable variances such as when the pump shut off, quality of the fuel, weather, traffic, etc.

 

Mpg

over 1000 miles now and 21.5 mpg average combined (but mostly highway), not thrilled about the milage, but less thrilled about the gas tank size!

 

Chris - the FDII is rated for 23 hwy / 19 City so 21.5 is not that far off from the ratings.

Do you drive over 65MPH when you are on the hwy?

I think they could have put a bigger tank in if the Spare tire was not inside.

I wonder if someone will come out with an after-market tank that is bigger?

 

i have a CVT2L and i broke 5k miles this past weekend and i generally get around 21mpg in city and 25mpg on the highway. i agree that the Pat could use a bigger gas tank but i am happy that i get better than the advertised 23mpg on the highway.

 

Milage

Hunter, Thanks for the reply. My main concern is that i have not broken over 22 on a tank even on a highway trip. NC is 70 MPH, and speed of traffic is 70-75...of course the aerodynamics of a brick don't help combined with that speed! Just a bit of aero drag, especially with kayaks. So it is realistic, but not so great for a light and small vehicle.

I am going to also hope the 2000 mile break in point helps to smooth the curve, and am going to drop in the mopar or k&n filter soon (appear to be identical except the dyes). I know i have to watch to speed if i hope to get better MPG! :smiley_thumbs_up: And this is the first CVT for us, and takes a different technique to keep it from winding up.

The dealers make it seem like all Pats are 30 MPG, so I was maybe a lil optimistic!

 

The dealers make it seem like all Pats are 30 MPG, so I was maybe a lil optimistic!

Agreed, the dealer I bought my Patriot from told me flat out that the FDII Pat would still get 30mpg on the highway. Of course I knew that was BS, but it just shows what the dealers will say.

 

Hey! I was able to get almost 31 MPG on the highway with my FDII over about 200 miles.

Of course, I had about 40 pounds of air in the tires, was driving over some of flattest interstate highway terrain in Illinois, kept the speed and tach as steady as I could around 50-55 mph except for hills where I slipped it into neutral and let it coast on the way down.

It was kind of a Zen excercise not letting the mind wander. One lapse of technique and careless press of the gas pedal, and you've blown miles of carefully built up MPG.

I guess I could have used cruise control but it loses too much on the hills.

See? Your dealer was not misleading you, the FDII CAN get 30 mpg on the highway.

 

If you guys want to see how driving affects MPG, get a Scangauge II. (you can search it on google).

It connects to your OBD2 port and displays real time MPG, MPG for the current DAY, or the current TANK, or Overall since you bought it.

I did not even need to put in a correction factor for the Patriot, it matches up to actual gas usage from manual calculations.

 

I'm getting about 22 overall in mixed highway and city driving. Keeping the tires properly inflated seems to be worth about 1.5 MPG--even 3 PSI makes a real difference. I also notice that the pressure goes up about 3 PSI during my normal driving, so it's important to inflate to 35 cold, or to 38 if you've been driving a while.

I expect MPG to increase a bit as the engine is broken in (only 800 miles on the car now).

 

"Trail-rated" Pat mileage

Just passed 10,000 miles on my 07. I do a lot of freeway miles in California, and I noticed a significant increase if I keep my cruising speeds at or below 70. I'm generally seeing 21 to 24 mpg (but I'm pretty easy on the pedal and even drop the trans into neutral on longer descents.) Worst tank has been about 18- and that was after a fair amount of actual off-roading on desert mine roads using the low gear range. That impressed me (my previous two Jeeps, a Liberty- and a Cherokee before that -would really gulp the gas in off-road conditions. My best tank was during a trip around Bryce Canyon Utah, when the speed limits on the area roads dictated that we stay at or below 50-55- we actually got 29mpg that time!

 

Dropp that to 60 -65 and you'll ger another couple mpg.