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:
Installing Child Restraints Using The Vehicle Seat Belt
The seat belts in the passenger seating positions are equipped with an Automatic
Locking Retractor to secure a Child Restraint System (CRS). These types of seat
belts are designed to keep the lap ...
Cooling System Pressure Cap
The cap must be fully tightened to prevent loss of engine coolant (antifreeze),
and to ensure that engine coolant (antifreeze) will return to the radiator from
the coolant reserve tank.
The cap s ...
Trailer Sway Control (TSC)
TSC uses sensors in the vehicle to recognize an excessively swaying trailer and
will take the appropriate actions to attempt to stop the sway. The system may reduce
engine power and apply the brak ...


