The Jeep Patriot has received a good review from Edmunds. They compare the Patriot and the Jeep Compass to the Pontiac Aztec and Buick Rendezvous. In that Pontiac Aztec (or Jeep Compass), is horrendously ugly and the Buick (or Patriot) is good looking, even though they are really the same.
Hopefully the Patriot sells for Jeep.
Perhaps it’s the Rendezvous syndrome at work here, but we like the Patriot’s look. You’ll recall that the Buick Rendezvous was the sibling of the Pontiac Aztec. So profound was the hideousness of the Aztec that the less ugly Rendezvous seemed almost acceptable.
It is also possible that our gender has predetermined our relative affection for the Patriot. Jeep says that the Patriot is the small crossover for men and the Compass is the one for the ladies. In truth, the Patriot is the Jeep crossover for people with functioning eyeballs and the Compass is only for those bent on making an ironic statement.
If the Patriot looks vaguely familiar, it’s because this little ute is a sort of digitally remastered version of Jeep’s old little ute, the Cherokee. The Patriot’s flat body panels, relatively upright windshield and near-vertical rear glass make it a dead ringer for the 1984-2001 Cherokee.
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