My 74yrs young Mom is toying with the idea of a new vehicle. Mom is the frugal budget type when it comes to things like vehicles, and is willing to spend as little as possible. Dad was a Buick guy later in life and they downsized to a Pontiac Vibe back in 2008. Dad never did care for the Vibe right from the get-go, other than it would be reliable as all get out. Dad passed from cancer back in late 2009 and my mom would like to trade in the Vibe for something new now that it's 7+ yrs old and has ~75K miles on it. The Vibe doesn't have ABS and is real dicey in the winter, so I set her up with a set of snow tires years ago, that we have mounted/dismounted every year.
I know the Patriot is no Buick and potentially won't have the Toyota reliability of the Vibe, but she's shown some interest in them. The interest is mainly because they've currently got a $3000 rebate and 0% financing. Given this, you can get a new 4x4 Patriot with basic power amenities for under $21K, or even less if you don't mind roll-up windows.
I had some running around to do yesterday, so I stopped into a local Jeep dealer and test-drove a new Patriot. I liked it. I found it very comfortable and was a definite ride/comfort enhancement over the 2008 Vibe. I had hoped to be able to drive it over to Mom's house but the doofuss sales guy insisted on coming along.. and I wasn't taking him with.
Anyhoo, I know the GEMA 2.4L has proven to be a darn good engine. Not sure on the newer 6spd auto and 4x4 system, but my personal belief on 4x4/AWD is, go with Subaru or Jeep. They've pretty much had'em longer than anyone.
Any Patriot owners with Pros and Cons to add?
Thanks.
I know the Patriot is no Buick and potentially won't have the Toyota reliability of the Vibe, but she's shown some interest in them. The interest is mainly because they've currently got a $3000 rebate and 0% financing. Given this, you can get a new 4x4 Patriot with basic power amenities for under $21K, or even less if you don't mind roll-up windows.
I had some running around to do yesterday, so I stopped into a local Jeep dealer and test-drove a new Patriot. I liked it. I found it very comfortable and was a definite ride/comfort enhancement over the 2008 Vibe. I had hoped to be able to drive it over to Mom's house but the doofuss sales guy insisted on coming along.. and I wasn't taking him with.
Anyhoo, I know the GEMA 2.4L has proven to be a darn good engine. Not sure on the newer 6spd auto and 4x4 system, but my personal belief on 4x4/AWD is, go with Subaru or Jeep. They've pretty much had'em longer than anyone.
Any Patriot owners with Pros and Cons to add?
Thanks.