And on another note, I got to say this is by far one of the best forums I've been on. I stopped going on forums years ago because all the dirtbike and GM truck ones were mostly loaded with douchebags. This site is so much more welcoming! Thank you.

 

I quit another forum for the same reason. Those people all hated each other based on the brand of motor oil they used. Cheese Louise!

And thanks! We all make this forum what it is.

 

I bought my Patriot almost on the spur of the moment, but I'm glad I did. I wasn't actually looking for a vehicle. My brother had just purchased a Ram truck and asked me if I'd give him a lift to the dealer. While he was in signing paperwork and making sure his new truck had had the accessories installed that he asked for, I was out wandering around the lot, and thinking about how an SUV would be easier for me to get in and out of than my trusty ol' Jetta. I'm 6' tall with back issues, so the Jetta was getting to be a challenge. A salesman started chatting me up. I told him that I wasn't actually looking. He mentioned the sale they were having (Memorial Day), and asked what it would take to sell me something. I threw out a number off the top of my head that sounded ridiculously low to me, and to my surprise he said he could actually beat that. I actually laughed. He was right. I drove away in a low mileage, off-lease 2014 Patriot Sport FD2 with a lot of, but not all, the bells and whistles, and $50 a month under what I had thought was a crazy low price.

Before I signed anything I pulled out my phone and did some research on the Patriot. At first I was a little turned off by the CVT, but there was almost 20k miles left on the warranty. First CVT I've ever driven and I've grown to really like it. Sometimes I complain that it only gets ~20-22mpg, but my 4 cylinder Jetta only got 24, so it really isn't that bad.

And I agree with you, this forum is pretty awesome. I'm also on a Toyota forum and those people are very douchie indeed.

 

Nice to meet ya! LOL, the same thing happened to me when I bought my '05 GMC 1500. I wasn't looking for "new", my friend was, but they had the Employee discount pricing sale going on in '05 and the price was as much as a used truck at the time. The FDII sounds sweet!

 

Why I bought a Patriot. We bought our '08 when Chrysler was struggling to stay in business and was giving them away. I first looked at an Avenger and didn't like it. While was waiting to give the keys back to the sales rep I saw my Patriot on the showroom floor. It was FWD and people around here all think they need AWD -- I knew better. I asked how bad he wanted to sell it and he said, "Bad." It wasn't hard to make a deal and it turned out to be the best automotive purchase I ever made.

 

Same here on the 4WD! All our trucks and vans are 2WD, only the ZR2 Blazer and the Patriot are 4WD. 99% of the time, 2WD is fine. We've gotten through some nasty crap with our 2wd/posi Express van. The only reason we got the last two vehicles as 4WD is because of visiting my Dad's place in West Virginia (driveway is an pea gravel ski slope, LOL) & just a few of the events we go to are held rain or shine and offer less then ideal parking area's (flooded farm fields).

 

In short, we needed something less than a mini-van, but more utility than a sedan.
We looked at several options, including a 2010 Ford Escape. We went for the FDII for the off-road capability.
Though it has it's limitations we've been overall very pleased with it's performance both on and off-road.

 

I pretty much bought mine because it was the only 4x4 I fit comfortably in within my price range. Originally wanted a wrangler but those things don’t have enough head or legroom for someone that’s 6’9 lol

 

We noticed that about the Patriot too! It has a bit more legroom then even the Blazer does and is on par with our full size trucks. They're able to achieve that roomy interior for a compact SUV because of its unibody construction.

 

It was my company car, then was sold to me at a very low cost. Also, as Sandstone said: less than a mini-van, but more utility than a sedan

 

I wanted a Jeep, so after testing a Wrangler and not liking the design of Compass as much as a Patriot, I went with a Patriot in 2013. Year and a half later I went from an FD 1 to an FD 2 Patriot. Was considering a Renegade at the time, but the layout and look of the Patriot kept me in it's grips.

 

Hi Treedodgingfool, it's always good to meet a fellow dirt rider. I ride an old XR400 in the mountains of Washington (and Oregon) sometime we go to the desert in eastern Washington. I bought my patriot because I love the exterior appearance and interior is roomy for a tall guy like me. I've found it to be a very versatile SUV and great in the snow.

 

Hi Treedodgingfool, it's always good to meet a fellow dirt rider. I ride an old XR400 in the mountains of Washington (and Oregon) sometime we go to the desert in eastern Washington. I bought my patriot because I love the exterior appearance and interior is roomy for a tall guy like me. I've found it to be a very versatile SUV and great in the snow.
View attachment 91135

Nice to meet you too! I used to compete on a XR250R back in the late '90s. Even though I love my open class 2str and modern 4str's, I always loved old school 4str thump! They just make traction. LOL, but I digress. My father in-law's '95 GMC Jimmy 4wd back in the day sold me on the little 4wd SUV's and heavy snow. Unlike butt light 4wd trucks, that need a little heft thrown in the bed to improve their sure footed-ness, the little 4wd SUV already was there. Winters in southern New Jersey are extremely hit or miss on snow (it's why we never really bought our own 4wd vehicles until more recent years, after a few times having issues finally convinced us to), but it's been nice to finally not have to worry about whether it rained (or snowed) when traveling outside of flat SJ.

 

My 2003 Saturn LW200 wagon died after 11 years and 175k miles on the clock. I ended up getting a 2015 Patriot (High Altitude) from dealer stock. Aside from the smallish gas tank, it's a decent station wagon replacement.

 

I have always liked the Patriot’s styling (and the last Liberty’s and the Renegade). I am also tall and not too many other small vehicles are comfortable and needing a gas saver for my long, rural commute to work, the Patriot works well at a very low cost for a used vehicle.

I bought a used 2009, FWD, 5 speed and with 114,000 miles, other than a clogged heater core, I have had no issues. The front subframe was replaced due to the rust issue several years but was under warranty.

I have a Chevy 1500 4x4 LTZ but it eats the gas.

 

I have always liked the Patriot’s styling (and the last Liberty’s and the Renegade). I am also tall and not too many other small vehicles are comfortable and needing a gas saver for my long, rural commute to work, the Patriot works well at a very low cost for a used vehicle.

I bought a used 2009, FWD, 5 speed and with 114,000 miles, other than a clogged heater core, I have had no issues. The front subframe was replaced due to the rust issue several years but was under warranty.

I have a Chevy 1500 4x4 LTZ but it eats the gas.

They are very reasonable used for what you get! Nothing else in our driveway gets over 20mpg either, the fuel economy was a pleasant surprise.

 

Easy to get in and out of. Easy to see out of (no blind spots). Most headroom of all compact SUV's. Good economy. Has the traditional "Jeep" style. Rear seats fold flat to enable carrying lots of "stuff". Easy to change plugs, filter, oil etc. I am on my second one and would buy a third if they were still made.

 

I was looking for a suv look, good fuel economy, boxy look, enough roo to haul stuff if needed , roomy, and the ability to go off the beaten track if necessary.

As you can see by my join date I started researching it in 2011, and bought one by 2015

 

The cheapest new grocery getter for the wife!

 

No, you did it to get EW to quit bugging you for being on this forum for years without ever owning a Patriot.
(just kidding)

 

 

I bought mine because I was recently promoted to manager and was losing my company van. My new salary package came with a vehicle allowance so I wanted something I could buy with that. I wanted a Jeep...could not afford a Wrangler and of course a Gladiator was right out. Came across this beautiful snow white 2011 Latitude 4x4 for a sweet price and grabbed it. Only complaint so far is the whiney gearbox after driving on the freeway and the fact that no cool Jeep parts were ever made for the Patriot...but I'll have the tranny cooler put in when they force the Smittybilt tubular bumper down its throat in a few weeks and life should be good! Put the Curt class III hitch on it so my daughter and I can haul our mountain bikes to the trails, she loves it...we call it the Jeepster lol

 

LOL, I call ours the Jeepster too! But I am a T-Rex fan too, so it's fitting. You have the CV trans?

 

Rook, you look a little young to be driving. Ah well, the older I get the younger other people look. Good luck managing the bicycle business.

All seriousness aside, it may be that you got your Patriot on the cheap because the last person was nervous about that whine -- and rightfully so. Tranny fluid in the CVT should be changed out every 50-60,000 miles. A whine from the (non)gearbox is a good indicator that the fluid needs to be changed out. Have them do the filters while you're at it.

Oh, I see you're new on here. Please drop by the newbie threads and introduce yourself to the others on this site. We've got a nice crowd on here.

 

No kidding, the lack of cool accessories is frustrating ?

 

Why did I chose the Jeep Patriot?? I didn't!! The wife did.But it was also our thrid Jeep.The first one was a 1999 Jeep Cherokee,which she drove for an even 100,000 miles,then a 2010 Jeep Liberty,which she drove for 80,000 miles,then this one,the 2015 Patriot.I didn't really have much of a say about any of em.She just likes Jeeps,plain and simple.Ya know,simple things amuse simple minds!! lol lol I'm just the guy who had to take care of em,not to mention,PAY FOR EM!!! Duh!!! Someone even once told me that " I'd make a good wife"!! lol lol

 

Needed a cheap vehicle for college, parents wanted me to have new so it'd be reliable and have parts available just in case, and my mom wanted me to have 4wd. And what better company to look at for 4x4, especially when the 3 new-auto dealers within a half hour drive are for the "big 3" and anything else is an hour away or more.

Admittedly I wanted most/all of the bells and whistles when picking it, but costs needed to be kept down so I wound up with manual EVERYTHING except the CVT(wanted the 5-speed because I'd never driven manual before, but my parents didn't wanna risk a situation where I was changing song on my MP3 player when it needed to shift). And I gotta say, it didn't take long for the simplicity to grow on me, or for me to realize that's what made it more of a Jeep.

And today, I'm more glad than ever to own the last new model of Jeep, and Lord willing will be buzzing it up to the Mackinac Bridge and Drummond Island in late April.

 

I was in need of a 4 door vehicle. I had a 2004 Dodge Dakota single cab 4X2 in Missouri, also have 2 kids and a wife, sooooooooooo there was that issue of a 1 passenger truck. Plus my Wife used to have a 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo and i loved it. Couldn't afford a Grand Cherokee of any age, and she really liked the looks of the Patriot. I did all the research I could on it, and we went to a dealership to test drive one and the one they had was the High Altitude edition ( assuming this is the Luxury version?), which i never heard of, but it had 4X4 and in Missouri, that's almost a standard vehicle to have. I instantly fell in love with it and bought it there on the spot. Price was good, my wife loved it (honestly thought we bought this for her). It became mine and I have had the luxury of putting it to the test, from offroading, to harsh winter weather, and i was fully impressed by how well it did. My Riot has the upgraded 2.4 litre VVT engine, The FDII was enticing, but i hate CVT engines, and from what I read, it sucked in the Patriot.

Is it a Wrangler, no, but in honesty I think it can do about half of what a Wrangler can do, and that's all i need it to do.

My kids love it, especially in the snow, they ask me to run through it as much as I can! I was surprised at how roomy it was back there, the only drawback is the amount of trunk space, If i have back seats up, I really have to measure what I can fit in there.

I wanted to join the "Jeep Life"

 

Hi from europe, owned a Grand Cherokee, Cherokee, RRover and merc G-wagen before.
Needed something for dirtroads and my big Dane.
The Patriot is a light car and mileage is good in compearence to the ones I had before.
In my country prices of petrol and road tax are killing.
The Patriot is a 2013 4wd 2,4 cvt and was an educated decision to make.
My son is a car mechanic and I restore cars so I can fix the Jeep myself

 

Welcome! Please visit the newbie threads and introduce yourself to the others. Great gang we've got here!

 

Just for future reference, Pirate, any 4x4 Patriot has the 2.4L, and I think both engine options had Variable Valve Timing. CVT takes getting used to, but works decent for something that nobody seems to wanna research properly, and should do fine if properly maintained. And yes, High Altitude makes it basically a Grand Cherokee. Mine is the exact opposite and I love it. I've noticed half decent room in the back seat, but don't think I would go so far as to call it good. Definitely not much room in the back though. There's enough space for two 5-gallon gas cans or maybe luggage for 2-3 people for a week back there, but if you take the whole family across the country for Christmas in it, be prepared to put some luggage on the roof, or in a trailer, or on one of those hitch racks.

 

I saw the patriot and really liked it. Simple, cheap and fairly reliable.... I needed a 4wd for the cold Virginia mountains for when I had to work there. I've had mine since 2017... It's been fun. Great in the snow and a good commuting vehicle. I've put over 140,000 on it and she's still running strong!