I've been thinking about this subject the past few days. Then I read about the new redesigned Liberty at the dealership today and it sounds like it's got the same interior. I guess let the one's complain, to each their own. I like the interior, don't find it cheap. I'm comfortable with my purchase, the interior isn't want sold me on it. It was the body style, gas, and price. If people are going to base their purchase on interior then let it be. Interior shouldn't matter in my mind. If it cleans up well good. I have two dogs, and a 5 year old niece and kids in my future, I'd rather not have spendy interior do to those factors. That's me...........

 

I don't think there's any merit to the complaints about the Patriot's interior.

:doh:

 

I have no qualms with my Pat's interior. As I have said in other threads, I find it *adequate*. nearly.normal.jimmy has expressed interior issues that cannot be denied (stress points and gaps as I recall). Please keep me honest here, nnj. My Pat is only 3 months old and I have no issues so far -- so far. The interior is *utility* for me.

 

It's probably not best to call opinions people have formed thru actual vehicle experience 'without merit' based on 5 minutes spent sitting in a trade show demo model.

that's all Im sayin....

 

USE THE SEARCH!

 

As I've stated in other threads, I don't find the interior cheap at all or to be of such poor quality that it should get brought up as often as it does.

I'm sure if you asked Jeremy Clarkson he'd have something very different to say. I was watching one of his movies the other week and he was showing the interior of a new Cadillac and commenting on how cheap everything looked, felt and sounded. He was comparing them to European cars.
If Cadillac can't get it right why would Jeep be able to....at least for the interior.

Maybe there are some European's who would like to comment on the Patriots interior compared to what else is available for them.

But when I compare my Patriot to the Rav4 or CRV interiors I don't feel that I got the short end of the stick at all....especially since I spent less on my Pat then was spent on the Japaneese vehicles.

A lot of it's a matter of opinion tho. I am completely satisfied with mine and that makes it easy to sleep at night. For those that aren't happy...maybe phone Jeep and ask about their "return policy".

 

I'd be surprised if the interior of a rig ultimately designed for rugged use wasn't "cheap." It's the new Cherokee ~ isn't it supposed to be basic inside? (Ya know, for all of us thrill-seekers and our dirty dogs.)

Now, if the inside of a Grand Cherokee (that bloated soccer mom "SUV" with a price tag that would make a Marine swoon) wasn't detailed in diamonds and cross-stitched in gold, then I'd be pissed.

 

When you get in the Patriot at 7:30am to drive to University, and every single bump you hit along the way creates a god-awful plastic rattling noise coming from the rear seats area... Then I think you'll find that the poor interior "stories" are all true.

Yes, the interior could be worse (I guess they could have made it using paper?), but it's definitely not the nicest ever built. I'm not saying that all Japanese cars have the best quality interiors (because I don't believe that either), but I don't think this is an issue that can be shrugged off by saying "oh well, it's a Jeep... it's supposed to be crap!"

I don't mean to say that Jeeps are crap, I just get tired of hearing people talking about the poor build quality, chalking it up to the fact that it's a Jeep, so it shouldn't be the nicest since it's "rugged".

 

When you get in the Patriot at 7:30am to drive to University, and every single bump you hit along the way creates a god-awful plastic rattling noise coming from the rear seats area... Then I think you'll find that the poor interior "stories" are all true.

That is an excellent point... you may slap me now. :notworthy:

 

I guess I must be blessed. There is not one rattle, squeak or blemish in my interior.

 

That may be true, but there's plenty of junk in yo' trunk!

 

My 07 Pat does have a rattle or two and I hear things that go bump in the night too:icon_rolleyes: The Rav4 and CRV cost $9,000. more here. Squeek!:wow:

 

The Rav4 and CRV cost $9,000. more here. Squeek!:wow:

Good grief! :doh:

 

IMO the problem with the interior is:

1) The Amount of Plastic they used (it's everywhere)
2) The Quality of Plastic that they used (it feels cheap, hard & thin)
3) The Fit & Finish (Look where pieces fit together and then bend down and look under the dash)

The interior isn't horrible but it isn't as good as it should be either.

The interior on the Limited seems to look nicer than on the Sport.

JMHO.

 

Didn't someone on here (or someone's wife) cut his/her leg on a piece of plastic from the interior?

Methinks I remember that post from a while back...

 

I scraped my leg on the metal sliders for the passenger seat of my patriot. I was WISHING for plastic to cover those rails. the liberty has the same rails. I had the same problem when I was looking for a diesel liberty. I have no complaints with the rest of the interior. it fits together no rattles hums or vibrations. doesn't seem flimsy... I have no beef with it. it comes clean easy. that's a good thing. I have 5k on my patriot with no problems so far. nothing coming loose nothing scratching (other than when my boyfriend banged the door into the door of another car at the ocean the first week I had the patriot)

no complaints with the car itself though. none at all. so far it's been reliable and trouble free.

 

Jeep met a price-point with the Patriot. It is the least expensive, most versatile, efficient and solid performing package I've come across in a long time. The interior does not bother me one bit. I'm sorry if it doesn't come up to the standards some people want in their interiors, but you know what?

Awwwww, fugedaboudit. I'll just keep drivin' and smilin'.

 

I own a 1997 Dodge Avenger ES, a Chrysler family vehicle same as the Jeep. The Avenger is loaded by 1997 standards with everything but leather seats and navigation and was priced at $21,100. I believe the base model started below $16,000, in the $15,00 range, so I think it is very comparable to the Patriot's pricing. Compared to the Patriot, the Avenger's interior is near-luxurious with respect to the mixture of hard plastic (mostly only around the door inserts where the door handles are and around the a/c & radio areas) and soft I-don't-know-what-it's-called that comprises the dash board and armrest/console. The soft stuff is also located where most folks would rest their arm/elbow near the window sill and part of the door insert is material/fabric. So, the fact that the Patriot not only has hard plastic everywhere, but that the plastic isn't even disguised by a decent texture, deflated my enthusiasm for the Patriot even as I was impressed by its handling and other aspects during my test drive. I've since decided that it's something I can live with but, all the same, it's another knock against the Patriot on the 'con' list.

I should mention that I test drove a Ford Edge last weekend and the Edge is also replete with hard plastic. Based upon other comments I've read on this forum, apparently this - hard plastics - is the norm, or is becoming the norm on many vehicles regardless of price point. However, Ford had the sense to come up with a decent texture so that the dashboard at least looks like what I have in my current car. In addition, although I've only sat in 2 Patriots (including the one I test drove for 3 hours) and acknowledge that 2 apples are not representative of the entire bunch, I definitely noticed aspects of the poor fit and finish rap in both Pats that some owners have talked about here which only added to the 'cheap' feel. For example, I strongly suspect that the seam/sharp edge that is the connection point between the hard plastic dashboard and gray metal console would have cut me had I swiped my finger along its length. Reports on this forum that the plastic Jeep used on the Patriot scratches and/or marks easily just add to my hesitancy.

Sorry for the long post, but I think it's more than a little unfair to label those of us who find fault with the Patriot's interior as expecting too much for the price or as being used to foreign/upper-priced cars.

 

BRAVO!

 

Howdy folks greetings from melbourne australia. It's always an interesting point talking about build quality between manufacturers. The patriot has only been on our shores for about 6 months or so and I've only had mine for 3 weeks now. This is my first suv/4x4 so I looked into all the brands before buying.
Honda, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Kia, Hyundai, Jeep, there are so many brands, where do you start??? ALL car manufacturers use "cheap and nasty" materials in their cars. We live in a disposable age and those who build cars are only reflecting this. Having test driven a lot of compact suvs, all the interiors I found disappointing. The materials are what they are, it's just the way they're put together.
A friend of mine is a mechanic who works on european cars and even the likes of BMW and mercedes nowadays have problems with them. I guess if car companies made truly reliable cars, then they wouldn't have repeat business. People would keep their cars for decades and not have a problem.
I bought my patriot because I liked it and if I have any issues with it then I'll just have to deal with it, good, bad or indifferent.

See Ya guys, love the site.
Jon

 

I'm shopping for my next vehicle and have test-driven the Patriot, which is definitely on my target list.

Acknowledging that some of these things are subjective, and indeed that as an SUV and certainly as a Jeep you kinda want to just hose the thing down...

I'm currently driving a 2002 Hyundai Elantra, which I bought new, and have been very happy with the past 99,500 miles. I bought it for just over $12,000 and one of the big selling points for me was the high quality of the interior for its price point. The interior has held up very well. Much of the plastic seems decadently luxurious compared to what I found inside the 2007 Patriot Sport I test-drove. The latter's gear shift knob must have been designed by Fisher-Price and those armrest areas scream "what did you expect for $17,000." But it drove great, the FD1 AWD is a nearly perfect fit my my light off-road/highway heavy-weather needs, and its styling just blows me away as a Jeep icon.

I think I could live with some of the cheap-look interior issues if I believed the vehicle would hold up well for at least six or seven years. The powertrain warranty is a big plus there of course.

Some funny rattles turned up around 60,000 miles in my Hyundai, but that didn't shock me. Other than that, no major problems.

I haven't driven much else recently so don't have a comprehensive opinion about car-industry quality. The two exceptions are a 2008 Hyundai Sonata (loaner when the Elantra was serviced) and a 2007 Charger. FWIW the Sonata interior seemed to have a decent quality level, but it's a boring vehicle and not the direction I want to go in. I was appalled by the mass of K-Mart plastic in the Charger, for what it is.

 

Clarkson

I'm sure if you asked Jeremy Clarkson he'd have something very different to say. I was watching one of his movies the other week and he was showing the interior of a new Cadillac and commenting on how cheap everything looked, felt and sounded. He was comparing them to European cars.


:blah:Clarkson on Jeep Patriot "It's rubbish, but I just love it!"
"Rough & ready but impressive"

 

The quality of the interior is on par with cars in the Patriot's price class. I think it is unfair to compare a car that in 2008 sells for 16k-25k USD with one in that price range 10 years ago or one in the 21k-30k USD range today. I am willing to bet that in 2009 there will be a "Special Edition" Patriot with an upgraded interior and price and perhaps a performance edition as well.

 

With cost cutting at a premium in the auto business these days...almost any car/truck/suv at certain price points is going to have to use "more economic" materials. Fit and Finish is another matter...that should be right "before" you start production and assembly.

That being said a $20,000 vs $30,000 vs $40,000 vehicle are going to show noticeable differences in material, fit and finish. I don't even like to excuse the downfalls by saying, "It's a Jeep afterall"...that is not an excuse for poor workmanship.

 

you know Jeep never intended to make their cars appealing by high end interiour materials,don't forget that Jeep started out with a metal interiour and a machine gun mount

if someone wishes to have special dashboard and seats and door handles and carpeting than get a Buick Park Avenue or Bently

 

I think the interior is all on what you are used to. If you are used to hard plastic interiors then I would guess the Pat's should not bother you. But if you used to non hard plastic interiors they I would think the Pat's bothers you. Some people like the interior of the pat ( it does not bother me), and others don't. Is it cheap well yeah, its a cheap car, should we be comparing it to a BMW's interior no.

 

The interior of the Patriot if totally fine for the price point, yes the interior does have hard plastics adn the fit and finish is on the rough and ready side of things but so is the car. I could have brought a Honda CRV for similar dollars but not with the same safety standards of the Patriot. What sold me on the Patriot aside from the classic Jeep looks was the side air-bags, roll mitigation and the like. Am I going to be concerned about the hardness of the plastics in an accident? No I think the 4 air-bags doing their bit to help keep me safe would be more of a concern. Yes the interior could be alot better than it is but who would be willing to pay the extra that would be asked for it? I am too busy considering the safety and extra goodies that the Patriot has over the competitors to worry too much about the shortfalls of the interior.

Cheers,

Tim.

 

BRAVO!

 

I just wonder how well that dash will hold up. I bought a 2001 ram in 2005 seemed to me within 3 months of owning it the dash cracked, now there are a few holes on the dash. this is a hard plastic dash. my thought is the dealer replaced it before I bought it. I have read lots of reports about dashes cracking in those rams, even to the point that the electrial wiring falls and shorts out and causes a fire. I have some friends with the same issue about the dash......still a great truck tho. yes, as some of you pointed out they are all going to that hard plastic crap, they really shouldnt especially in a Limited. my 1997 intrepid interior is still better than new cars.