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Last year I took a big leap, moved to the opposite side of the country and with that came a lot of opportunities to refocus and refine.
Some of that refinement was in travel plans and a need became apparent for a simple all-road runabout that could cross the continent on minimal fuel but retain some competence in bad weather or rough roads. There's more to that decision but we'll stay on track for now.
Despite previous negative experiences with Jeep I'm pragmatic before I'm spiteful so early in 2020 I stuffed my driveway with a 2015 Patriot.
These vehicles are equipped with an automatic 4wd system that can be manually engaged via electromagnetic wet clutch, and a traction control system that deliberately biases left/right torque at all speeds to simulate the behavior of locking differentials at the cost of final drive ratio.
What it wasn't equipped with from the factory are proper skidplates, recovery points, receiver hitch, snow rated tires or adequate transmission thermal/filtering capacity for hard use so I addressed each of those shortcomings right away along with the usual battery of catch-up maintenance.
What I did not want to do is impact its fuel efficiency, safety, comfort, handling or other attributes so while suspension lifts are available and larger tires can be fitted, and other more extreme modifications are within my budget and capability they were also not pursued.
I did supplement the rear springs with elastomer inserts, these provide a fraction of an inch lift in the rear but marginally increase the net spring rate so the vehicle doesn't suffer as much sag when loaded.
That brings us to now. This vehicle has proven suitable to its purpose of eating highway miles and returning 25+ mpg without any special effort, and has brought us and our bicycles to several trailheads that wouldn't have been accessible - or as safely accessible - in a more comfort or street performance focused CUV.
The means of transportation is less important than the adventure so I don't anticipate a lot of focus on this machine in the future but as long as it remains viable I expect it will be our camp weekender and distance traveler. We still have a GT car and a much heavier 4wd GT car for other types of adventures.
This is great! Most people just consider those a pt cruiser with a bigger body but they are wrong! These little SUV are surprisingly capable.
I agree with Matt. This is great. I am a proponent of the idea that "the right tool for the job". That decision is personal. I get a bit irritated (but never show it) when people comment on the YouTube channel that I wasted my money buying this or that. As if their beliefs, wants and needs should be embraced by everyone. I think the Patriot is suitable for many purposes. The Rubicon gets poor gas mileage, especially with aftermarket parts. Thanks for sharing this detail. This community is about exploration and spending time in nature and what you drive to get there is a tool for the job.
Something that wasn't absolutely clear to me when I was shopping for this little Jeep is whether the non-Trail-Rated versions still got the more aggressive traction control system Jeep and Ram calls "BLD" - or Brake Lock Differential . Jeep explains the logic on this traction control mode that it doesn't try to limit throttle and it doesn't care how fast any of your wheels are spinning, only that the left and right wheels on the same axle are going the same speed as each other. When one wheel is going faster than its neighbor and the speed difference is above a threshold programmed in to account for going around corners or differences in air pressure in the tires, the four channel ABS will start gripping on the over-achiever and that will force engine torque over to the other wheel through the open differential. This is all done automatically and without driver input, and it operates with or without the driver selectable Traction Control switch or manual 4wd actuator engaged.
Happy to report that BLD is present on the regular non-Trail-Rated versions of this platform. So why would a person who spends time off pavement want the regular version? For some people it might just be what they already have, 'nuff said. In my case I'm just not sold on friction based continuously variable transmissions and all of the Trail Rated Patriots use a CVT so I picked this unit for its generally robust conventional transmission & then added what I felt the machine was lacking to suit my needs.
I took a few minutes after work earlier this week to record a little demonstrative video on the system's operation, below:
This was a really nice demonstration of how the BLD works. I think anyone with a traction control system on here that wonders how their systems "figure themselves out". I liked that terminology. 🙂 And, I didn't realize the Patrot had that kind of system.