Jeep Patriot

[Hermann]

Johnny,

I had a current version Liberty as a rental for a few days. It was a V-6 auto. Liked it better than my GF's Mercury Mariner. It had good power and good steering charateristics. But it loved the fuel. I burned 3/4 of a tank twice and it only got 15 on one tank and 16 MPG on the other. My GF's Mariner AWD V-6 auto get 18 or 19 depending on the season. These cute-utes just weight to much IMO, thus the mediocre fuel mileage.

 

[MarkC]

I found the Liberty--both old a new versions--to be piglike in appetite for fuel, as well as handling...which makes my 12 year old Cherokee seem like a sports car in comparison.

 

[firemachine69]

Originally Posted By: Johnny
I still have the Wrangler and am not about to get rid of it. It's a real Jeep.

Drove the Patriot and was not impressed. Did not like the I-4 and the CVT transmission. Going to drive a Liberty over the weekend with the V-6.



The Patriot is nothing more than a jacked-up Caliber.

Liberty... Pretty abysmal gas mileage for the weight-to-power ratio (heck, even a CVPI is better!)

 

[LoneRanger]

If you want MPG in a Compact SUV that has AWD, unfortunately the imports seem to have better offerings.

I do not know your feelings on import brands and therefore don't flame me I'm only trying to broaden the field of choices, but the new 2009 Subaru Forester appears to offer a lot for the money, and the new styling looks much better than the previous model. Most 09 forester owners seem to be reporting around 21 - 25 mpg city and 25 - 30 mpg highway with the 170hp naturally aspirated engine. The new Forester is also surprisingly capable off-road.

 

[zoomzoomlx]

Saw a local dealer advertising an 08 Patriot for around $14.5k..

 

[MarkC]

You can get them cheap as long as you know what you're up to.
The 5-speed is much more tolerable than the CVT.