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How Capable is the Patriot Off-Road?

59K views 41 replies 13 participants last post by  RossoRacer  
#1 ·
I have only had my Patriot two months or so, and have just taken it down one semi off-road track. It was a very muddy track which was slightly rutted, and the patriot did manage fine in 2-wheel drive, but I wanna know if it can handle heavier stuff. Off-roading that a wrangler and a Land Rover Defender (the latter what most farmers drive in the UK) can handle with ease.

I'm from England and taking a week off work and driving up to Scotland and touring. I just wanna know if the patriot can handle bumpy/muddy forest tracks (nothing crazy) with normal tyres on.

My Patriot is a 2010, 2.2L with the Mercedes Engine and I bought it with 60,000 mileage. Done 62K in it now.

Thanks
 
#2 ·
It should do just fine. Airing down the tires to 12-15 psi(pounds-square inch...I'm afraid I don't know the Euro conversion on this) helps, and so does making sure you have decent tires, but if the mud isn't bad, a relatively beefy set of road tires should be fine. Photobucket[user]=134175219&filters[recent]=1&filters[publicOnly]=1&sort=1&o=120&ref=1
 
#4 ·
Lol, I wouldn't dream of saying it can do quite everything a Wrangler can do, but it can do ALOT more than most folks give it credit for.
 
#6 · (Edited)
A Patriot is a crossover, a CUV. It will do a lot but its not a Wrangler.

That said, a lot has to do with your experience and driving ability. We've all seen 4wds in various predicaments that were avoidable. If you're just looking to handle forest roads and muddy trails, OEM tires and 4wd should be sufficient. Of course better tires will give you better performance. If you're looking to really challenge it, the Patriot has limits that are well shy of a Wrangler.

I posted my FWD experience in the FWD forum a few years ago, and the Patriot really impressed me. No doubt whatsoever it would do better with 4wd, but if I was taking a real risk, I'd take our Wrangler.
 
#10 ·
https://youtu.be/ow6-g5KrCTY

Looks like a pretty simple hill really....

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk
But I'm sure you have also seen the memes..."how it looks in real life" with a rock crawler in action compared to "how the picture turned out" showing a stock JK on a grassy hill.
 
#12 ·
I'm in Canada and have taken mine down some pretty crazy gravel or dirt roads. It's done fine. As long as you stay on the road, and it's not a deep wet mud. I've taken it across fields it's fine. Haven't done rock or ravine climbing, if you want that then get a Wrangler. We get lots of ice and snow, the 4x4 pays off then. Of course, if there's 4-5 feet of snow, every vehicle has it's limits.
 
#23 · (Edited)
Wet snow is the worst because it plugs the treads. That's why the Patriot in the video is going sideways. I spent a miserable afternoon in a bilzzard in our old FWD Saturn with all-season radials. I was longing for my Patriot (which is also FWD) but more than that I was longing for its tires. The situation was an interstate where traffic had slowed to a crawl. There were various 4wd vehicles going sideways (as was I) because we were on a graded curve designed for 60mph -- essentially we were all trying to creep across a hill sideways! In that situation 4wd may have been marginally worse than FWD because because with 4wd there was another axle capable of breaking loose. That's what was happening in the video above: the rear tires were breaking loose and gravity was doing the rest. Oh what a difference snow tires make!

Seems the driver in the video was doing all he could, but he just had the wrong rubber under him. 4wd might have pulled him straight up the hill, even with those tires, but on that angle he's doomed.

Also note, the cars passing in the video were going down the hill.
 
#27 ·
For kicks i paused that snow video where it clearly showed the front pass. tire. thread, took a snap shot and then enhanced with photo shop.
Unfortunately i can't post the picture here because i'm currently without a picture hosting site due to Photobucket now demanding a ransom for keeping my photos embedded in old forum threads.:mad:

As we all surmised, yep those were street tires and sure looked like they needed to be retired.
In addition i'd like to know if the driver left ESC alone, partially on or full off not that any of those ESC settings would of helped with those tires.
 
#35 ·
Hi all, thanks for your responses! I got back from Scotland several days ago and I have to say, it was a pleasure driving the Patriot for my holiday there! In nine days, I clocked up around 2,200 miles, driving all over the country which I thoroughly recommend visiting to any American/Non-UK citizen here. I had top of the range Michelin tyres the last owner put on the car (albeit with a tread around 3-4mm which is getting low, but still above the UK legal limit of 1.6mm.) Either way, the jeep handled roads pretty well, and turns corners great (despite my tracking being WAY out as I found out earlier, but more about this on a new thread I will post after), the MPG increased to a fantastic 52.6 MAX when doing around 50-55MPH on-road for long stretches, and I even took the patriot off-road (just a tad.) I took it down two tracks which were grass with muddy, rutted sections, and the jeep waded through this with no trouble. I used to own a VW polo and that got stuck once or twice in the tiniest bit of mud. The Jeep didn't skid or nothing, I left it in 2WD and it did great. I went down one particular road which was hammered with potholes, and that was fine too. It was comfortable to drive, and it was easy going. I got around 420 miles driving after I topped up fully with diesel.

Happy I bought a patriot, it drives well, looks solid, is not the gas guzzler people I know thought it would be and it has the ability to get me through a bit of mud here and there. Now to post a new thread on my tracking issue!!!!
 
#38 ·
Wifey & I visited Scotland a few years ago. We took 2 weeks. The first week we traveled around staying in B&Bs each night and liked Skye so much we stayed an extra day there. The second week we stayed in a cottage near Keith and day-tripped that area.

I noticed the sticker on your tailgate: "Live Free or Die." That is the state motto of my state of New Hampshire. :) Those words are on all our license plates (except hearses).
 
#37 ·
Wifey & I visited Scotland a few years ago. We took 2 weeks. The first week we traveled around staying in B&Bs each night and liked Skye so much we stayed an extra day there. The second week we stayed in a cottage near Keith and day-tripped that area.

I noticed the sticker on your tailgate: "Live Free or Die." That is the state motto of my state of New Hampshire. :) Those words are on all our license plates (except hearses).
 
#39 ·
I suppose like a lot of English people, I also have some Scottish and Irish ancestry. But Scotland is a truly magical place which I fell in love with as a kid when as a family, we used to holiday up there. The forests cover the hillsides which tower over tranquil lochs, it is a beautiful country and a world away from the overcrowded region of England which I live in.

I was up there for 9 days, and could certainly have done two weeks there; there are so many walks one can do, castles, other historical sites and different distilleries and restaurants to go to. B&B's is exactly what I did too. Met some fascinating people, in particular an old man with some wise words who moved to a remote part of Western Scotland on the coast, from Yorkshire, decades ago. Most of the B&Bs I stayed at were actually run by English people who'd moved up there, which I don't blame them!

As for Skye....that place is amazing. I climbed the Old Man of Storr and saw the Fairy Pools on Skye; both well worth it.

I know about "Live Free or Die" being NH's state motto. I first saw it in Breaking Bad, the TV series. And it's a motto I try to live my life by, if I'm honest! A shame that the UK is going down the drain as our freedoms are constantly being watered down. 1984 has become reality!
 
#40 ·
Well, if it comes down to it, I'm sure Michigan would welcome you, for a vacation or if need be, as an alternative home. The United States Bill of Rights is coming in handy now more than ever.
 
#41 ·
Ha, thanks man! I love the US and have travelled all over the east and west coasts, plus Florida, but there is much more to see. I'd like to do the south and great lakes, some time. I will probably stay living in Europe though. (But am contemplating moving out of the UK). There are things that America beats Europe on, and things that Europe beats America on. I like America's first and second amendments big time. Freedom of speech in the UK *sucks* these days. Our government are fake "conservatives," they're frauds. People thrown in jail here for politically incorrect comments on twitter....it's ridiculous, and it's tyranny. The UK has been a police state for some time, and it's getting worse. But America has great freedom of speech and I support your right to bear arms. People in Europe are clueless about the history of firearms in the USA, and gun violence statistics etc. I'm afraid a lot of this stuff is very politically incorrect, and the mainstream media wouldn't dare tell the public the statistics I've read online!

Where I prefer Europe is working conditions. I have friends in America who are patriotic and love the US, but are exhausted from long hours, no holiday and poor treatment at the workplace. There are better employment protections in Europe, and it's law that you get minimum 4 weeks holiday here, with the public sector particularly often getting 5 or even 6 weeks break per year. This is across much of Europe. To me, life is about living. Sure, everyone needs to work hard, and I hate welfare spongers and laziness, but I think people are entitled to several weeks holiday every year. How else can you relax and/or discover the world we live in?!

My two cents
 
#42 ·
Yeah, there's people who are overworked because not enough people are also in their line of work, for one reason or another. In some cases, it's because government and taxes. In others, because not enough people know about that line of work. Many companies I've worked for give more paid vacation/holiday time after an employee has worked there a certain amount of time. Maybe one year paid vacation after each year of work, so after 4 years working there, you have 4 weeks vacation(even if you used all the other vacation time). Definitely things that each side of the pond could learn from the other. Maybe Switzerland would take you if you wanna stay in Europe? Seems they've got an alright deal, though you'd have to learn one of four languages....Italian, German, French, or Romansh. Four national languages must be confusing, but they've lasted a good while.

All the same, if you come to Michigan, let me know and I can show you some of the sights, if my circumstances permit.