Rends, Is the rear tire / bumper location different on European GVs and RAV4s? In the U.S. they cut the bumper to make room for the spare tires meaning a small tap would cause major damage to the rear gate. Every time I see a RAV4 am amazed at this design feature.

 

If I didn't have a Patriot yet, I'd probably wait and look at a VW Tiguan, because I really like the looks of that. I also like the BMX X3, but it's not exactly in the same price range.

 

silvermike,
well if i´m right than the EU RAV4 is somewhat smaller than the US (5seats only here).
The GV has the cutted bumper:

The RAV4 looks this way:

Both opens to the wrong side.


Wheezy,
yes the Tiguan seems to be nice but it´s not a family car.
The cargo room is small because there is a big edge at the rear so you can´t slide cargo in. there is an option for a2nd floor which makes a flat cargo room but then the cargo room is way too small.
And the tiguan isn´t good when it comes to offroading:
I just read a test about driving in snowy hill capabilities and the Tiguan was behind most others.
Here are the results of snowy hill climping capabillities:
1. Suzuki Jimny: 65 m
2. Subaru Forester: 53,8 m
3. Opel Antara: 57,2 m
4. Jeep Commander: 53,8 m
5. BMW X5: 51,3 m
6. VW Tiguan: 45,7 m
7. Mercedes ML: 44,7 m
8. Fiat Panda / Range Rover: 43,9 m

It seems to be a good onroader if you don´t have kids and dogs.
And almost all 2008 produced Tiguans are sold yet. It will replace the RAV4 as No.1 Topseller in about one or two months.
If you ask me the Tiguan will have the same eyecatching impact as the VW Golf in a very short time. Way too many that it will get noticed anymore.

 

Rendsburg Rends-
If I was on that side of the pond I'd be looking at the CRD which is
unavailable here in the states.
My number 1 reason that I got the Pat was
the lifetime powertrain warranty offered here in the states.
Not sure if you can get it there.
Keep us posted...

 

Yes i will go for a CRD one but we don´t have the lifetime powertrain warranty here.

 

the cars that are closest to the patriot here in australia are

japanese

Toyota Rav 4
Nissan Xtrail
Subaru forester
Mitsubishi outlander
All 2.4 petrol engines Xtrail won car the year in the class - all good
the 2.5l turbo forestor is my pick here - the toyota and nissan are the best sellers

GMH/FORD

Captiva - same as GM car above and is affordable in a CRD but 6K higher than patriot
Ford Territory - large awd locally made - v6 very thirsty very good seller here

korean

Hyundai
Kia sportage
Both offer a 2.0l CRD the vw motor is better

the suzuki is also avail but not a market leader
the bmw x3, landy freelander and vw are too expensive

the only one in the the under $35000 AUD range in a CRD is Jeep Patriot
compass is about $36000

3 year warranty only

we chose the patriot due to CRD

 

I looked at the Forester really closely. If I weren't in the US, the 2009 Forester with the turbodiesel might be a player. But I am and it isn't.

 

I read an enthusiastic review of the Tiguan's offroad capabilities. Of course, the offroading was veeeeeerrrrrrryyyyyyy limited and the oil pan was torn open. But the reviewer didn't seem to mind. Ummm....to me that would be a deal breaker.

Quote:

"With 7.3 inches of ground clearance and no low range, the Tiguan is not exactly intended for Rubicon-style fare; rather, its appetite is for soft-roading, as in snow, sand, and dirt. Nevertheless, we proved that if incurring light damage (dents, scratches, and even a punctured oil pan on a "Sport & Style" example sans skid plates)"

you can read the review here. I'd call it a little clueless.

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/suvs/112_0708_2009_volkswagen_tiguan

 

why don't you get a Jeep Wrangler if you wish to have a great off roading experience?

 

drenglish,
the review in you link is from last year.
It was more a promotion. VW invited some pressguys for a offraodtour planned by VW.
So you can bet pretty sure there wasn´t any a track the Tiguan couldn´t handle.
The snowtest i described earlier was from a german car magazine. And while they are normaly VW friendly they didn´t rate the Tiguan high. They were somewhat dissapointed.
Sure the interior looks nice but it´s the same as you find in the Golf plus.
The initial price is low but increase fast if you add options. It´s more like between the Pat and the X3.
I would rate the tiguan high for a small family onroad vehicle only.

 

Rends,
Is the"extended warranty" an option you can purchase directly from Jeep? The 7yr/100,000 mile goes for about $1300 and the "Lfetime Full Vehicle" goes for about $2500.
hvac59

 

Rends,
Is the"extended warranty" an option you can purchase directly from Jeep?
hvac59

Jeep offers the standart 2 years warranty for the Patriot here.
You can get an extendet warranty for the 3rd year if you pay for it. Guess it will be about 150-200 euros.
If you want you can get another year(s) .You need to purchase the extendet warranty every year again and with the years it becomes more expensive)


Well Jeep includes a 5star premium warranty (incl.inspection costs) for 4 years but the this is for every other Jeep model except the Patriot. Even the Compass comes with the 5star premium warranty.

 

Rends,

The other thing I would look at is how strong the dealer and support organizations are. I struck the GV from my list due to Suzuki's weak dealer network (plus design features). Most Jeep parts are also easily available here. The EU RAV4 looks like it is the prior platform version or pre-2007 US market. If that is the case it really is a much smaller vehicle in the same class as the VW. The US RAV4 is nice except for the aformentioned design issues and subjective appearance issues.

My sister dumped her less than one year old BMW X3 for a Honda CRV due to reliability issues. She had owned over a half dozen BMWs since the early 90s but gave up due to maintenance and reliability issues.

 

Well i don´t have an idea about the support organization.
I searched Jeep germany website and found 10 Jeep dealer in a 60mls Radius.
Remember that we don´t have such open country areas here in Germany like the US. From one town to the next you almost don´t need to drive more than 30kms.
The next one is about 2km away from my home. Most Jeep dealers are parts of Mercedes Dealer so i guess that most towns will have a Jeep dealer too.
Reading in german jeep forum too i havn´t seen someone complaining not to get repair material other needed stuff or slow support reaction but i may ask this question there soon.

I don´t know much about the Suzuki dealer numbers too. Often those dealers sell Suzuki and other Japan brands like Mitsubishi in the same place. The next one is about 5 km away.

About the RAV4. So far i know the current one here is the 2006 4.3 Version but i´m close to throw it from my list too.

 

Guten Tag,
It looks as if you have ruled out most of the competition, oder?

 

brndnlee2074,
yes but i realy need to get a chance to testdrive all the SUVs.
Once i could test the Patriot i will do the same with the others within one week to compare and check the Pro and cons of every SUV.

 

Thank you Rends, I know even in the relatively thickly settled area I am in there is just one Suzuki dealer in 30 km but 3 jeep dealers within 15km. Another difference is that most manufacturers require the dealership display their products in a separate show room building with no other manufacturer's product on the lot or the building. They may be in adjacent lots but with clear boundaries. For example my Chrysler/Jeep dealer also sells Buick/GMC trucks next door but there is a road between the buildings and the back lots are segregated.

Will the breakup of Chrysler and Daimler impact the retail distribution of Jeep products? That is something you need to verify. Will your dealer continue to support Jeep during the time you own it and long enough after to not impact the resale value?

As a satisfied Patriot owner who went through a similar list of competitor's products I am of course shaded towards the Patriot. I may, however, be driving a GV if the local dealer did not offer me a poor deal , the nearest other Suzuki dealership was not part of the same dealer organization, the GV had a better rear tire design, and the Patriot was delayed a little longer. It was close.

 

I read in a Daimler press news a while ago that they still will sell the Jeeps here at the local Mercedes/Jeep dealers in the future too.
So even with the Daimler Chrysler breakup there won´t be any changes for Jeep owners.

And yes they seperate the different brands here too.
A few years ago a dealer was only allowed to sell from one brand because of some contracts between car manufactures and Dealers but with new EU laws they can sell more than one brand and most do now but they still seperate them in different showrooms.

 

Rends, there is a Tiguan in your future.

 

In the future? hm maybe but not yet. so long the kids stay at home and we have a dog the Tiguan just don´t fit.
Here is an image of the tiguan cargo room with flat floor option:

It´s not only small in size there will be also no headroom for our dog.

You can get the Tiguan without the flat floor option but then you get a 30 cm deep floor or should i say hole.

 

"Patriot":smiley_thumbs_up:

 

I had a second view at the VW Tiguan today.
The interior looks nice but it´s still the cargo room that doesn´t work for us.
On tech spec the cargo room seems to be enough for us but the space between the liftgate and the rearseats is just too small because of the slopped liftgate.
You can see it clearly in the image in the last post.
If you have a midsize dog the Tiguan isn´t something for you.

But the Tiguan seem to be a hit here in Germany. VW has 75.000 preorders yet and you have to wait 9-10 month before you can get one. They just cancelled sommer holidays for the employees to build more of them.

 

Rends I think you should buy a Patriot, but wait until the redesign of the interiors is done. As you've seen in this forum, most of the complaints people have about the Patriot are related to the interior design: useless iPod holder, rock-hard armrests (this will piss you off on long trips), no interior light for the rear seats, tiny glove box... When all these quirks are fixed it's gonna be a really nice car. The engine and general handling are very good and you're gonna like the economy of the CRD engine. It's more like what you'd expect from a compact car and not from an SUV, and it delivers over 150hp. You'll like it, so if you're not in a hurry maybe you should wait a few more months. Remember also that along this year Renault and Ford are gonna put new compact SUVs in the European market. Perhaps it's something to be considered.

 

If you wait, there will always be something better. I don't believe the interior re-design should be a factor because this is probably 8-10 months away (if the do it on the 2009's).

Some of us like the simple interior and I personally can't think of one interior change that would make me wait a year on deciding to buy a vehicle I like overall.

 

Well i can wait.
At least i want to see how the new interior will looks like.
I think even with the redesign it can´t compete with the interior from the Tiguan but stylish interior isn´t on Top of my list but usability.
I also don´t see another SUV on the horizon i would add to the List. I don´t like the Ford Kuga design nor the upcoming Renault SUV.

 

One question for Rends: I wonder why the Nissan Qashqai/Rogue is not in your short list? It's in the same category as the Patriot. Personally, I like it very much, but I don't see an idoneous diesel engine for it. It's either the 105hp (too weak I think) or the 170hp (excellent according to reviews but higher fuel consumption than the 150hp-Patriot). I wonder why they didn't pick the 130hp Renault instead. It's also more expensive, but not too much, and the additional equipment and care taken in the interior design might be worth the price difference. The wait time for it used to be very long, but production rate has just been increased at the Sunderland, UK plant, and a new production line in Japan has been opened recently.

 

Well i havn´t checked the Qashqai at the dealer yet.
I´ve seen a couple of them on the streets but it´s not on the list for the same reason i dropped others: Cargo room or better lacks of.
What i need is a more boxy cargo room for our dog. Most SUV have enough cargo room on spec paper but when you check them in real they have small room above half the height because of slopped liftgate.

The more i check the other SUVs the more i like the Patriot.
I´m pretty sure that i won´t get one with sidewards open reargate. It need much more room when parking and it doesn´t cover you on rainy days.
So the Grand Vitara and RAV4 are close to be dropped from my list.
The Mitsubishi Outlander has a similar problem. The liftgate is split in a 2/3 upwards open and 1/3 downwards open liftgate. It doesn´t need much space to open it but it doesn´t cover you from rain too and forced you somewhat outwards and makes it difficult to reach the place near the rearsseats.

The more i think about the different SUVs the more i realized that the Patriot fit my needs even with or without upgraded interior.

 

Someone at a german board posted 2 Ford Kuga images he made today.
Hmm, maybe i should add it to my list too?

Havn´t seen a cargo room image yet

 

If you buy this thing does it come in its box? Like a life size Hot Wheels Toy!

It looks very similar to the Ford Edge. Do they sell the Edge in Germany?