The 2012 Jeep Patriot is much of a bargain at its price which starts at $15,995. It comes with a 2.0L four-cylinder engine that produces 158 hp and 141 pound-feet of torque.
The 2012 Jeep Patriot is much of a bargain at its price which starts at $15,995. It comes with a 2.0L four-cylinder engine that produces 158 hp and 141 pound-feet of torque. Apart from this, you get two transmission options as well as a more powerful engine. The 2012 model sees its previously sluggish CVT transmission calibrated for performance.
The 2012 Jeep Patriot is available in a choice of three trim levels - Sport, Latitude, and Limited. The base trim comes with 16-inch steel wheels, roof rails, fog lights, cruise control, cloth upholstery, a four-speaker sound system with a CD player, and so on. The Jeep Patriot gets optional packages such as the Power Value Group, Security and Cargo Convenience Group, Sun and Sound group, and Freedom Drive I &II Off-Road Group.
Model |
Sport |
Latitude |
Limited |
---|---|---|---|
Price |
$15,995 |
$19,745 |
$23,560 |
Key Features |
CD player with auxiliary audio jack |
Adds to Sport Trim |
Adds to Latitude trim |
16-inch steel wheels |
Full power accessories |
Leather upholstery |
|
Roof rails |
Heated mirrors |
Six-way power driver’s seat |
|
Four-speaker sound system |
Keyless entry |
Sunroof |
|
|
Fog lights |
Body-color exterior pieces |
Automatic climate control |
|
Cruise control |
17-inch alloy wheels |
Rear disc brakes |
|
Cloth upholstery |
Leather-wrapped steering wheel |
Upgraded exterior trim |
|
Tilt only steering wheel |
Height adjustable driver’s seat |
Six CD changer |
|
60/40 split-folding rear |
Heated front seat |
Trip computer |
|
|
Steering wheel audio control |
|
We Recommend
We recommend you to go for the Latitude trim as it has a strong feature list as well as being eligible for a lot of optional packages. The price difference of about $4500 for the trim is quite justified when you consider the package it offers. It comes with 17-inch alloy wheels, remote ignition, heated front seats, height-adjustable driver seat, leather-wrapped steering wheel, and so on.
The Jeep Patriot offers a choice in terms of powertrains - a 2 L four-cylinder engine that produces 158 hp and 141 pound-feet of torque is standard on Sport and Latitude trim levels. A five-speed manual transmission is standard while a CVT transmission is optional.
One also gets a 2.4 L four-cylinder engine that produces 172 hp and 165 pound-feet of torque optional on the Sport and Latitude. This engine comes standard on all cars equipped with the Freedom Drive I off-road package as well as on the Limited models. Apart from this one also gets a four-wheel-drive system with the CVT transmission and if you equip the Freedom Drive II off-road package.
Models |
Jeep Patriot |
Honda CR-V |
Subaru Forester |
---|---|---|---|
MSRP |
$15,995 |
$23,445 |
$22,195 |
Engine |
2.0L Naturally Aspirated Inline-4 |
Regular Unleaded I-4 2.4 L |
Regular Unleaded H-4 2.5 L |
Drivetrain |
FWD |
FWD |
AWD |
Transmission |
5-speed manual |
Automatic |
6-speed Manual |
Horsepower |
158 hp @ 6400 rpm |
185hp@6,400rpm |
175hp@5,800rpm |
Torque |
141 lb-ft. @ 5000 rpm |
181lb-ft@3,900rpm |
174lb-ft@4,100rpm |
0-60 MPH (sec) |
10 |
8.8 |
7.5 |
Quarter mile (sec) |
17.7 |
N/A |
N/A |
Top Speed (mph) |
127 |
112 |
122 |
One can see from the comparison that the base engine in the Jeep is not as powerful as its competitors are. Both rivals, the Honda CR-V and the Subaru Forester offer engines that are better in power than the less in terms of 0-60 mph timings. Even when equipped with the 2.4 L optional engine, the Jeep does not match the 0-60 mph timings of its rivals.
The fuel efficiency ratings of the Jeep Patriot will vary according to the engine and transmission choice you have opted for. EPA estimates for the 2 L engine are 25 MPG combined, 23 MPG city, and 30 mpg highway with front-wheel-drive and five-speed manual transmission. The CVT performed slightly worse with 24 MPG combined, 22 MPG city, and 27 MPG highway. On the other hand, the 2.4 L engine returns 23 MPG in the city, 28 MPG on the Highway, and 25 MPG combined.
Model |
Jeep Patriot |
Honda CR-V |
Subaru Forester |
---|---|---|---|
MPG (City) |
23 |
27 |
22 |
MPG (Highway) |
30 |
34 |
29 |
MPG (Combined) |
25 |
30 |
25 |
Fuel Capacity |
13.5 |
15.3 |
15.9 |
Range (City/Highway/Combined) |
270/338/304 |
413/520/459 |
350/461/397 |
One can see that the Honda CR-V performs very well in terms of fuel efficiency figures in the category. Even with the all-wheel-drive capability, the Subaru performs comparably to the front-wheel-drive and less powerful Jeep. Equipped with four-wheel drive and CVT, the figures stay at 20 MPG in the city, 23 MPG on the Highway, 21 MPG combined, and hence represents a better compromise since the car is suited for off-road anyway.
The Jeep’s interior does not look very appealing unless you’re into stuff that is ready utilitarian. The plastic quality is very disappointing and the overall build is bad in order to facilitate cleaning easily.
The base trim also represents a lack of any sort of power accessories. The one thing it has going for it is that the seats are very supportive and comfortable.
Model |
Jeep Patriot |
Honda CR-V |
Subaru Forester |
---|---|---|---|
Passenger Capacity |
5 |
5 |
5 |
Front Row (Head/Shoulder/Leg) (In.) |
41.0/54.5/40.6 |
39.9/58.6/41/3 |
38.3/54.8/42.3 |
Second Row (Head/Shoulder/Leg) (In.) |
39.9/54.0/39.4 |
37.1/55.0/37.4 |
37.6/54.4/35.8 |
Cargo Volume to rear seat up (cu-ft.) |
23.0 |
35.2 |
34.4 |
Cargo Volume to rear seat folded (cu-ft.) |
63.4 |
70.9 |
68.2 |
The Jeep offers plenty of space when you compare it to its rivals, which suffer a bit in terms of rear-seat legroom. However, the rivals offer interiors that are much more well-equipped and built better. The Jeep has very good cargo capacity, with the seats up, it can fit 63.4 ft.³ but the category leader is the Honda CR-V with 70.9 ft.³ storage. Also to note is that many features that are standard on its rivals right from the base trim onwards are optional even on higher trims of the Jeep. Some of the interior features of the Jeep Patriot are:-
One department where Jeep has not performed very well yet is infotainment. The base trim comes with a system that is pretty barebones with a 4-speaker audio system and minimal connectivity options, but as you climb up the trims, things do change for good but do not improve by a lot. One of the only things it has done well is the 10-speaker optional Boston Acoustics speakers. Some features include:
The exterior design of the Jeep Patriot has all the traits that make it remain true to its DNA. It now looks decent for most people, excellent for some, and appalling for many.
One of the biggest selling points of the Jeep Patriot is also this very fact. In terms of dimensions, however, it is not the largest vehicle in its class despite looking so.
Model |
Jeep Patriot |
Honda CR-V |
Subaru Forester |
---|---|---|---|
Curb Weight (lbs.) |
3136 |
3358 |
3296 |
Length(in) |
173.8 |
179.4 |
180.9 |
Width(in) |
68.2 |
71.6 |
70.7 |
Height(in) |
65.5 |
64.7 |
66.4 |
Ground Clearance (in) |
8.1 |
8 |
8.7 |
Wheelbase (in) |
103.7 |
103.1 |
103.9 |
The Jeep is the lightest vehicle in the class which is rather surprising. The Subaru and Honda are evenly matched against each other in terms of wheelbase and weight. The Subaru Forester offers the most amount of ground clearance as well making it a very capable off-roader right off the bat. Some exterior features include:
The Jeep Patriot receives four out of five stars in NHTSA crash testing. It also scores a rating of ‘Good’ in moderate offset frontal overlap, side-impact test, and roof-strength tests. These are above average scores however, safety features are not plenty with the only standard features being antilock disc brakes, stability and traction control, front seats side airbags, and front-seat curtain airbags - with the passenger side airbag being standard only from this year. Some safety features include:-
The Jeep Patriot is a car that has very suburban utility along with off-road style. Its features are very bare-bones, performance is subpar, drinks more fuel than its rivals, and offers fewer safety features as well. This should make it a bad car but it surprisingly does not as the Jeep has a very specific set of strengths. We would definitely say that if you’re planning to buy a Jeep, you can’t go wrong.