Yesterday, I blogged about how much I like driving a new Jeep Patriot. I thought I'd resurrect an old blog I wrote about Mopar Underground's Patriot Extreme we saw in Moab . . .
When Jeep introduced the Compass and the Patriot I was underwhelmed. They had cheap plastic interiors and no transfer cases. Jeeps without transfer cases? Please go away.
Fast forward to now. The Patriot has become interesting. Its interior has been upgraded and the second-generation Continuously Variable Transaxle (CVT2L) has an integral low range that provides the torque multiplication needed for off-roading. Add to this the Patriot's relatively good fuel economy and size (think XJ Cherokee) and we have a potential winner.
Mopar Underground thinks so too, and brought their Patriot Extreme to Moab. To turn a Patriot into the Patriot Extreme, they started with a Sunburst Orange Patriot equipped with the off-road package and added a 2-inch Rocky Road Outfitters suspension lift, TJ ‘Moab’ 16-inch wheels, and BF Goodrich KM2 tires. Additional protection was added to the front and rear fascias with custom rock rails. Mopar added heavy-duty slush mats, Kicker audio and a roof-mounted snowboard carrier.
Viewed as sort of a joke by most of the off-road press, the Patriot Extreme changed our minds by the end of the week. It kept coming, no matter what was thrown at it. Sand dunes, streams, rocks, and intermediate trails were all dispatched easily by the little Jeep. The 2.4-liter DOHC 16-valve VVT I-4 with CVT2L worked in the dirt. On-pavement manners were refined and the Patriot Extreme returned mid-20s mpg, which our pocketbooks liked.
My loaner Patriot isn't returning mileage like that. It's getting between 16-22 mpg. Other than that negative, there's not much bad to say about Jeep's Patriot.