Blind to the Value
As equipped, our test Patriot Limited 4x4's price was $29,700, and people found that hard to stomach. Dig deeper, and you find the base price for this trim is $24,550, which is a bit lower than that of the CR-V's and Tucson's higher trim levels (see them compared). The roughly $5,000 difference amounted to our Patriot's long list of options, including the automatic transmission, a moonroof and a premium stereo with unique flip-down rear speakers in the liftgate. There's also remote start, Bluetooth phone connectivity, HomeLink, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, a cargo cover, roof-rack crossbars, a readout for the tire pressure monitoring system and more. The in-dash multimedia system included a well-executed navigation system with a free year of Sirius Traffic Service. It also featured both analog and digital jacks for playing and controlling audio sources and for loading songs and photos onto the onboard hard disk drive.
It's actually a lot of features for the money, but there's such a disconnect between the price and the perception of quality that people seemed blind to the value of the added options. If this doesn't illustrate the importance of aesthetic quality, nothing will.
See also:
Heated Mirrors — If Equipped
These mirrors are heated to melt frost or ice. This feature is activated whenever
you turn on the rear window defroster. Refer to “Rear Window Features” in “Understanding
The Features Of You ...
Power-Up
After switching the ignition key from OFF to either the
ON or ACC position, or after a language change, you
must wait at least fifteen seconds prior to using the
system.
...
Automatic Unlock Doors On Exit
The doors will unlock automatically on vehicles with
power door locks if:
1. The Automatic Unlock Doors On Exit feature is enabled.
2. The transmission is in gear and the vehicle speed
returned ...


