Performance
Comfort
Fuel Economy
Fun To Drive
Interior Design
Exterior Design
Build Quality
Reliability
Review
I was attracted to the 2011 Patriot because it looked like my old 1998 XJ model. Some people online have said the Patriot is too car-like but so was my 1998 XJ. My XJ was a rear wheel drive 2WD model and I powered through winters in upstate New York no problem. Once I heard the new Patriot had front wheel drive I knew it would be more than I needed. My 2011 Patriot is more comfortable than my 1998 XJ, and IMHO it handles better. I used to get a lot of shimmy when going over railroad tracks and stuff in my XJ, but this newer model Patriot handles like a dream. It is so smooth, and takes rough roads very well giving a smooth ride. I got a 5 speed to avoid all the problems with CVT / auto trans. My 5 speed gets pretty good gas mileage, much better than my 98 model XJ that had a 4.0L. I miss having the 4.0L but I like the better gas mileage of the 2.4L and just drive easy, nothing aggressive. The 2.4L uses a timing chain too so I am really happy about that. I think Jeep hit a home run with the Patriot because many of us old school Jeep guys were quite confused when they got rid of the XJ model, one of the better selling Jeeps. The Patriot is nothing like the XJ in regards to powertrain or anything, but it sure does have a nice retro updated look and handles awesome. I have 76,000 miles on mine and hope to get 200k out of mine. I am seeing used Patriots online for sale with 180,000+ on the clock so I'm feeling pretty confident mine will last a long time. The only complaint I have is I wish I had the tan interior and not the black. The black is just too dark. Other than that, Jeep did a good job with this Patriot and I've owned many Jeeps so I knew ahead of time to just keep it simple with a 5 speed, and not get any upgrades, no power windows, etc. Just a basic Jeep to last me 10+ years. So far I have only needed to do oil changes and recently put on new tires. I love it.