Alright. I have had this car for two weeks now. I have driven just a tad over 1500 miles as well. The verdict is good. It managed 34.7 mpg average on the Cape May NJ trip (~300 miles each way). It manages 23 mpg city easily and even on shorter highway trips (ie. work) it manages to average 27 mpg weekly. Not bad for a brand new motor that isn't completely broken in.

MY car is a 2008 Jeep Patriot:

-5 speed manual

and otherwise it's the base car with cruise control added. My bluetooth kit is ordered, and the factory 6 cd changing headunit will be going in soon, as well as the highline wheels.

Highway thoughts:

-Seats are incredibly comfortable even after 4:45 sitting in them.

-The gear whine can get annoying from 65-70 but it quiets down at 72 mph.

-It's really quiet for a budget vehicle, I can easily drown out road noise at volume 14.

City Driving:

-I love the power from the 2.4L I4. If I need to accelerate from a stop, It will take off faster than my standard neons, even though it is a heavier vehicle.

- Low windshield is annoying if your first at a stop light *in NY they are right above you*

- Drivers side blindspot is pretty big but there isn't really a passenger side blindspot.

- Handles potholes really well.

---The Audio Review---

It has 4 6x9 speakers and deck power (~17 watts per speaker). There is impressive bass response down to 50 ish hz, considering that there is no subwoofer. The soundstage isn't on the floor, but it is still a little lower than I would like.

I don't have the boston acoustic 458 watt 9 speaker system, It sounds better but it wasn't worth the money to me. The door speaker holes in this car are huge. When I upgrade the speakers to Morel Elate 9 3-way system, The door will fit the 8.75" speakers with minimal modification to the door metal and the plastic panel will fit it . The dash speaker locations are off axis, but because they fire into the windshield , they should still sound pretty on axis. The a-pillars will be home to many- a tweeter install and they are rather tiny *as in the depth* so they will most likely be the only area that isn't completely audio friendly.

Overall for the price, it is a lot of car for the money.

---The final verdict---

I really enjoy this Jeep. It's comfy and fun, it handles mild offroading pretty well. The gas-mileage is a plus. The comfortable yet definitely Jeep interior is nice. I opted for the vinyl seats (and the tan/beige interior). I had my reservations about the white headliner but after a little adjustment (my last headliner/pillars were all black) I realized it feel very spacious and open. There is an abundance of seat space. Enough headroom to easily fit someone 6'5". I love the fact that it is easy to get in and out of the back doors as well. It definitely fits adults in the back seat.

I will be glad to own this vehicle for another decade. It is fun and robust. Everyone loves it and it is probably the most comfortable jeep I have ever ridden in. Granted the Compass is idealy the same car, I love the retro old cherokee look and feel to the patriot. Overall if you are in the market for a relatively inexpensive new car that is cheap on gas money, can manage some off-roading, has ample room for 5, has great road manners and low road noise. Than the Jeep Patriot deserves a second look. It maybe on the cheaper side of small SUV's, and in my case it may be front wheel drive (4x4 optional) but it is hands down the most fun suv I have ever had the pleasure of driving in the sub 20k$ price range.

More Pictures:

how do you like the CVT???

how do you like the CVT???

I don't have the cvt. 5-speed manual

23 mpg wow thats good for a jeep

You dont have the flip down speaker box chit? I was pretty impressed with the space inside (I work at a dealership), doesnt look like much from the outside.

my g/f has an 08 with the cvt.. It's weird riding in a car that doesn't shift... especially when you go back to driving a stick afterwards..

she get's roughly 23mpg in town and about the same on the highway..

very weird

When I try to upload avatar in .JPG i see : Fatal error: Call to undefined function: imagecreatefromjpeg()

and avatar is not saved.

With avatars in .gif everythink is OK.