2012 Jeep Patriot Overview Change Vehicle

This 2012 Jeep Patriot review explains changes for the model year, provides a summary of the 2012 Patriot, and includes Jeep Patriot safety, reliability, and fuel economy information.

The Jeep Patriot is a crossover SUV, but because it’s a Jeep it is capable of traveling farther afield from pavement than most competing models, when properly equipped.

Jeep refines the Patriot’s optional continuously variable transmission (CVT) for 2012, improving accelerator pedal response, reducing engine noise, and smoothing out acceleration and deceleration feel. After a one-year hiatus, the Limited trim level returns, replacing last year’s Latitude X model (the mid-grade Latitude remains in the lineup). Finally, four new colors debut: Rescue Green, True Blue, Blue Streak, and Copperhead.

Jeep adjusts the Patriot lineup for 2012, re-introducing the Limited as the top trim level. It serves as an upgrade from the base Sport and mid-level Latitude. The Patriot comes standard with front-wheel drive, and two different four-wheel drive systems are optional.

If you choose the least expensive model, the Patriot Sport, prepare to receive little in the way of standard equipment. For example, air conditioning is an option on this model, and a manual transmission is standard. Curiously, Jeep does supply items like fog lights, illuminated cupholders, a rechargeable and removable flashlight, an outside temperature indicator, and roof rack rails. Other standard items include cruise control, a tilt steering wheel, dark tinted privacy glass, floor mats, and a stereo with a CD player and an auxiliary audio input jack. The Patriot Sport rides on 16-inch steel wheels, and is equipped with hill-start assist technology.

Patriot Sport models can be upgraded in several ways. The first thing you’ll want, aside from air conditioning or the continuously variable transmission (CVT), is the Power Value Group, which contains power windows, power heated mirrors, and power door locks with remote keyless entry. Uconnect Phone provides hands-free calling through Bluetooth technology, and the Patriot Sport is available with a six-disc CD changer, front-seat side-impact airbags, and 17-inch alloy wheels. The Patriot Sport is also offered with Uconnect Web technology, which turns the SUV into a mobile wi-fi hotspot.

A Freedom Drive II Off-Road Group provides a larger and more powerful engine for the Patriot Sport, along with a four-wheel-drive system designed for “Trail Rated” off-road excursions. Additionally, this option includes a driver’s seat height adjuster, tow hooks, a full-size spare tire, a CVT with an Off-Road Mode, hill descent control, brake traction control, and the ability to ford water up to 19 inches deep. If you take a pass on all of this “Trail Rated” hardware, an All-Weather Capability Group adds alloy wheels, floor mats, and tow hooks to any Patriot Sport with the basic Freedom Drive I 4WD system.

Most people are likely to want the Patriot Latitude, because it comes with what modern car buyers consider to be the basics: power windows, power mirrors, power door locks with remote keyless entry, and air conditioning. Additional upgrades include heated side mirrors, heated front seats, a driver’s seat height adjuster, a fold-flat front passenger’s seat, reclining rear seatbacks, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, remote engine starting, and a 115-volt power outlet. The Patriot Latitude also gets a set of 17-inch alloy wheels.

In addition to the options that are offered on the Patriot Sport, the Patriot Latitude can be upgraded with a hard-disc entertainment system capable of storing up to 6,700 music files or play a DVD movie on the in-dash touchscreen when the transmission is in Park. A 368-watt Boston Acoustics premium sound system complete with flip-down tailgate speakers designed to broadcast music for outdoor activities is also available on the Latitude, and it’s included in a Sun and Sound Group that pairs the upgraded audio system with satellite radio and a power sunroof.

Additional Latitude upgrades are offered in the Security and Cargo Convenience Group: roof rack cross rails, a cargo cover, a security alarm, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, a HomeLink universal remote, side-impact front seat airbags, a vehicle information center, and an individual tire pressure monitor display. A Trailer Tow Prep Group is available in conjunction with the 2.4-liter engine upgrade, and includes a full-size spare tire, an engine oil cooler, and a wiring harness to prepare the Patriot to tow up to 2,000 pounds.

The chromed-up Limited is about as luxurious as a Patriot gets. A more powerful 2.4-liter engine is standard, as well as better brakes, leather, a power driver’s seat, automatic climate control, a vehicle information center, and an upgraded hard-disc audio system with a CD/DVD changer and satellite radio. The Limited model’s options list basically mirrors the Latitude, but the Limited is exclusively available with a Garmin navigation system complete with Sirius Travel Link service.

Buy a Patriot Sport or Latitude with front-wheel drive, and you’ll get an underpowered 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine bolted to a standard five-speed manual gearbox or optional CVT. With just 158 horsepower and an even less impressive 141 pound-feet of torque, this buzzy little four-banger is rated to get 23 mpg in the city regardless of transmission type, based on 2011 estimates. Highway mileage ratings from last year were 29 mpg with the manual and 27 mpg with the CVT. If you’ve ever rented a Patriot and disliked it, this engine is one of the main reasons why.

Therefore, it is best to upgrade to the 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, which is standard on the Limited and required if you get four-wheel drive. With 172 horsepower and 165 lb-ft of torque, the difference in power is subtle but more satisfying, and fuel economy suffers little for it. A five-speed manual transmission is standard with a CVT optional. The EPA has not released 2012 fuel economy ratings as this review is written, but in 2011 this engine provided between 21 and 28 mpg regardless of transmission or drive type. The exception is the Patriot equipped with the Freedom Drive II Off-Road Group: in the city, expect 20 mpg and on the highway, this model is rated for 23 mpg.

The Freedom Drive II Off-Road Group turns the Patriot into a full-fledged, “Trail Rated” Jeep. With this package, you’ll get all-terrain tires, tow hooks, skid plates, hill descent control, brake traction control, an antilock braking system tuned for off-roading, and a CVT with a low-range “crawl” ratio. Additionally, the Patriot’s ground clearance is raised an inch to 9.1 inches, fording capability is bumped to 19 inches of standing water, and the angles of approach, departure, and breakover are increased to ensure that this Jeep can go places other crossovers can’t.

If you just want something that can get you to work and back home again when the snow flies, the Patriot’s available Freedom Drive I full-time, active 4WD system is probably the way to go. It even includes a locking center coupling designed to handle deeper snow and sand.

Four airbags, traction and stability control, and front-disc, rear-drum antilock brakes with brake assist are standard on the 2012 Patriot. The Limited model and all Patriots equipped with 4WD get rear disc brakes. Side-impact airbags for front seat occupants, hill-descent control, and a tire pressure monitoring system that takes individual readings at each tire are option.

As long as you buy the extra-cost side-impact airbags, the Jeep Patriot gets a Top Safety Pick rating, according to tests for the 2011 model conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Unfortunately, as this review is written, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has not rated the 2012 Patriot’s crashworthiness.

Reliability predictions are not quite as impressive as the Patriot’s crash-test scores. J.D. Power expects the Patriot to provide slightly below average levels of dependability over time, while Consumer Reports is slightly more optimistic with an average predicted reliability rating.

The 2012 Jeep Patriot is built in Belvidere, Illinois. Cargo space measures 23 cubic-feet behind the rear seat, and 53.5 cu-ft with the rear seat folded. If you also fold the front passenger’s seat in half, the Patriot can handle 63.4 cu-ft of cargo. These figures are not particularly competitive with other small crossover SUVs.

At some point during the DaimlerChrysler years, an executive perusing a chart full of sales figures must have noticed how well Honda and Toyota were doing with the CR-V and the RAV4, picked up the phone, and dictated that Jeep develop a crossover SUV. Not Dodge. Jeep. Talk about an utter disregard for brand value. Anyway, the result was the Compass and the Patriot, and of the two, the Patriot is our favorite. But we just can’t endorse it. Reliability predictions are unimpressive, and though the Patriot gets a Top Safety Pick rating and is expected to get fuel economy in the 20s while delivering the “Trail Rated” capability for which Jeeps are renowned around the world, the little SUV is a case study in compromise.

By Christian Wardlaw