Exterior & Styling

The Patriot's styling breaks no ground. Its triumph is that it looks like a Jeep. That might seem minor, but even today this vehicle class carries a cute-ute stigma, and one of the Compass' problems is that it doesn't look like a Jeep — at least not in any of the ways one might want it to. As the photos show, there's a passing resemblance between the two because they and the Dodge Caliber share the same platform, and all are assembled at the same Illinois plant.

One could argue that the squared-off Patriot most resembles Jeep's flagship, the Commander, but it more strongly honors old-school Cherokees and Grand Cherokees.

The two trim levels are Sport and Limited, with few visible differences. The Limited adds a metal-look cover to the front and rear bumpers, and upgrades the Sport's respectable 16-inch steel wheels to 17-inch alloys. The Patriot Sport has standard black roof rails, but the cross-members are optional. The Limited has aluminum rails and cross-bars as standard equipment.

    See also:

    Security
    It is advised to erase all channels before you sell or turn in your vehicle. To do this, press and hold the two outside buttons for 20 seconds until the red indicator flashes. Note that all cha ...

    Interior Care
    Instrument Panel Cover The instrument panel cover has a low glare surface, which minimizes reflections in the windshield. Do not use protectants or other products, which may cause undesirable r ...

    Seat Belt Lock Out
    The center rear seat belt system has a lock out feature that will not allow you to extract the center webbing unless the rear seat upper latch is engaged. ...