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By
ALISTAIR KENNEDY in New Zealand
20 August 2007
After years of avoiding the booming soft-road SUV market like the
plague, iconic American 4WD maker Jeep has released its second such
vehicle in six months. Following on from the March 2007 launch of the
Jeep Compass comes the new Patriot.
Although the two vehicles are almost identical under the skin
there are important styling differences that will appeal to the
Jeep purists – that is if they are purists who don’t hate
soft-road vehicles. So there's a square look to the Patriot,
rather than the softer, rounded look of Compass. Both vehicles, of
course, feature the characteristic Jeep seven-slot grille and
round headlights.
Exterior dimensions are marginally different, the most
noticeable being around 30 mm of extra height in Patriot.
Price is the other difference, with the entry-level Patriot
model squeezing under the psychological $30,000-mark, $2500
cheaper than the lowest-priced Compass model. And cheaper than
most of the market-leaders in the highly-competitive compact SUV
market.
The square styling of Patriot contributes towards its practical
interior, with space for four adults, or two adults and three
children. There’s plenty of headroom for all passengers and
adequate rear legroom. The 60/40-split rear seats can be folded
flat for additional storage space and can also be reclined to
12-degrees. The front passenger seat also folds flat to
accommodate long items with the seat back forming a handy table
top.
Patriot comes with the same powertrain combinations as Compass:
2.4-litre petrol engine mated with either five-speed manual or
continuously variable automatic, and 2.0-litre turbo diesel engine
with a six-speed manual gearbox.
The 2.4-litre petrol engine generates maximum power 125
kilowatts at 6000 rpm with torque peaking at 220 Newton metres at
4500 rpm. The 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine is produced by
Volkswagen and apart from Compass and Patriot is also used in the
Dodge Caliber hatchback. Although maximum power is a modest 103
kW, the engine gets up to a handy 310 Nm of torque between 1750
and 2500 rpm.
Australian standard fuel consumption tests rate the diesel
Patriot at 6.7 litres per 100 kilometres, with the petrol model
using 8.9 litres in manual mode and 9.7 with the CVT.
Patriot comes in two variants, Sport and Limited, each with
either the petrol or diesel engine.
Equipment levels are good, including safety features such as
dual front and side curtain airbags, ABS brakes with emergency
brake assist, stability control, traction control and electronic
roll mitigation in all models. Additional front-seat head and
thorax airbags are available as a $600 option on the Patriot
Limited models.
Other standard features include air conditioning, 17-inch cast
aluminium wheels, roof rails, removable and washable vinyl cargo
area floor and a removable and re-chargeable cargo area
flashlight. The spare wheel is full-size but steel. Limited models
also get body-coloured side moulding, cruise control,
leather-trimmed seats and steering wheel, front fog lamps, heated
front seats and steering wheel mounted audio controls.
We were able to spend a day putting Patriot through its paces
over a mixture of bitumen and some fairly rugged conditions in the
hills around Queenstown in New Zealand’s South Island.
While the larger petrol engine pulled the Patriot smoothly on
the asphalt, the smaller diesel came into its own when the going
started to get tough. And the going did get quite tough as we
climbed high into the hills through badly rutted dirt tracks, mud
and eventually snow. Both Patriot variants coped impressively with
everything that was thrown at it throughout the trek but with the
extra torque from the diesel engine making it a clear winner in
that environment.
Patriot uses Jeep’s Freedom Drive 4WD system which drives the
front wheels most of the time and automatically activates all four
wheels when extra traction is needed. For semi-serious off-road
conditions there is a 4WD-lock mode.
With its combination of traditional Jeep styling, impressive
off-road capability and competitive pricing Patriot could well
become a serious contender in the compact SUV market. Add the
extra low-down torque and fuel economy provided by the turbo
diesel engine and it could entice many more rural buyers into a
market segment that has to date been dominated by urban dwellers.
The complete Jeep Patriot range, with prices (excluding on-road
costs) is:
Sport 2.4-litre petrol: $29,990 (manual), $31,990 (automatic)
Sport 2.0-litre diesel: $33,990 (manual)
Limited 2.4-litre petrol: $33,990 (manual), $35,990 (automatic)
Sport 2.0-litre diesel: $37,990 (manual)
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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