Thanks, that was an interesting article.

 

I agree that the '09 interior is vastly improved over the previous models. The reviewer said a lot of whet I've noticed driving mine. Currently I only have about 2500 miles on it but have yet to get time to go off road or drive in snow or ice.

Stay tuned. :0)

 

Their best fuel economy was 22.6??? I'm pleased to say I've never gotten a figure that low, in fact, with 10,000 miles behings me I check every tankful and nothing at all under 26MPG, ever. Typically my MPG is almost double their worst. Admittedly I have 2WD, and I drive gently, but still . . . Were they off-road the whole time? That might explain it. My wife's Wrangler averages almost as good as their best with the 4.0 and the 5 speed (typically 22MPG with mostly highway driving). If they start having mechanical failures, I'm guessing its because they're beating on it. In my experience you'd have to work pretty hard to get mileage figures that low.

 

Oh yeah, that 26MPG figure was with the boat on the roof (see my avatar).

 

They are testing an FD-II. Their findings are fairly consistent with FD-II owners on this site. And it is a bit better than what I'm getting with my FD-II

Their test results:
Average mpg (this report): 18.32
Test best tank (mpg): 22.67
Test worst tank (mpg): 14.88

 

That's significantly worse than I'm getting. But I don't drive it hard around town like they probably are. And they are probably offroading every weekend with it.

My stats would read:
Average (mpg): 22.0
Test best tank (mpg): 25.5
Test worst tank (mpg): 19.0

 

They are probably driving the crap out of that Patriot... and depending on what metro area they are driving in, city numbers will be low. Remember, they are basically trying to see how well the vehicle does when in the hands of someone who is going to drive it to hell and back. Us? We take care of our lil babies...

 

My stats would read:
Average (mpg): 21.7
Test best tank (mpg): 30.1
Test worst tank (mpg): 18.9

 

I must be living a charmed life.

 

an electronic "lock" function that splits torque delivery evenly, front to rear, at speeds below 10 mph

Soooo... It's true ? We may finally have a confirmation?

 

Finally? This is in the manual, on the website, and ever article on an FDII I have read. When in off-road mode and wheels are locked you have up to 10 mph. In normal mode when the wheels are locked you have a higher speed threshold to work with. You can go to jeep.com to see a visual representation in animation on how it works complete with audio.

 

Well, my wife and I both had our Pats for a little over a year, both have been great on gas, great in the winter, great for hauling lots of gear....and both have had to go in for warranty work. Hers was worse then mine, as hers left her stranded. The ignition chip that reads the key fried itself and the Jeep would not start. Mine was ESP/BAS light stayed on, and it was some wires in the front kick panel that wore through from rubbing.
Both FD1, mine is 5 speed, hers is CVT.

 

I"m sure it stays in lock mode above 10mph, because if your stuck deep in something (mud snow ect) like i've been many times the wheels spin and i mean all of them at speeds higher than 10mph in the lock mode.

 

Copy from my another post on this site:

My 2009 with FDII, 4x4 off: first three tanks up to date (~1100 mi): 25.0 (dealer gas, HWY 40%), 25.1 (HWY40%), 25.3 (HWY 80%). I followed the break-in procedure in the manual. I'm happy with the figures. BTW, I live in Pittsburgh PA, driving up and down hills on HWY and city roads.

 

An update to the 22mpg I mentioned....it crawled up to 24mpg over the last 2 tanks. Just broke 1,000 miles. Bad fuel economy must have been during the break-in period. Sticker says 24mpg so I guess anything over that is going to be bonus.

 

Any one notice that in the article they say the would upgrade the shocks? Has anyone done this?

 

To achieve such high gasoline consumption, your gasoline must have some additives in it to reduce pollution that lowers the heat content of the fuel.
My 09 Pat has never dipped below 28MPG & has not attained more than 32.5MPG.
This is all street/highway driving to speeds just above 80MPH during my daily 55 mile commute with a front wheel drive/five speed manual.
Either the fuel has less power or the 4WD/Auto imposes more of a load to use more fuel.
Perhaps a little of both, but sub 15MPG?