It is always fun to get Motorhead submissions from readers who received their dream car (or truck) as a birthday or Christmas present. That is the case with this week’s ride, a 2007 Jeep Patriot owned by Thomas King, who is from Madison, N.J., but is back in the area this week to begin his final semester of college.
King got his Patriot as a birthday present late last year from his parents, and he said that he was “totally shocked.”
“I knew I wanted a Patriot, but never expected to get one. It was a combination birthday/early college graduation present.”
With its looks and styling, the Patriot is probably the best successor to the Jeep Cherokee that Daimler Chrysler has come up with (the Cherokee was produced from 1984 through 2001).
Daimler Chrysler debuted the Patriot in April of last year in hopes of improving Jeep sales and marketing share. It was built on the same frame as the Jeep Compass, which is a car designed to look like a Jeep (or a Jeep designed to look like a car, depending on what the salesperson thinks you’re looking for).
The Compass has not exactly been a success for Jeep, so it was hoped that the Patriot, which is sized between the Liberty and the Grand Cherokee, would be a hit. So far, it has been praised by critics and seems to be finding a group of happy owners.
The Patriot features a four cylinder, 2.4-liter DOHC 16-valve engine that has a horsepower of 172. It also is capable of a torque of 165 lb./ft. King’s is the four-wheel drive version (a front wheel drive version is also available).
The Patriot has the familiar Jeep seven-slot grille and rectangular body that gives it a rough-and-ready look.
King’s features what Jeep calls the Freedom Drive I version; a more expensive Freedom Drive II off-road package is also available. His also has an automatic transmission and features a wheelbase of 103.7 inches and a length of 173.6 inches, a width of 69.1 inches and a height of 65.6 inches. King says he can go from 0-60 mph in about 10 seconds in his Patriot and that it gets about 20 miles to the gallon.
“The miles per gallon and the four wheel drive were what was important to me,” King says. “I don’t know where I’ll be ending up once I graduate in May and won’t know how much of a commute I will have to work or what the weather conditions will be like. I wanted something that was flexible enough to give me both good gas mileage and safety if I have to drive in the snow.”
King says he has plans for his Patriot, to take it from stock form and make it more personalized.
“I want to get new wheels and new tires and some exterior things: a bug shield, an air deflector for the front of the hood and some fog lights.
“I want to take care of this car, because I plan on keeping it a long time. It is a dream come true.”
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