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.

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    EVIC White Telltale Lights
    This area will show reconfigurable white caution telltales. These telltales include: • Shift Lever Status The shift lever status “P,R,N,D,L,5,4,3,2,1” are displayed indicating the shift lev ...

    Cargo Load Floor
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    Replacement Keys
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