Jeep has a long history of churning out amazing vehicles, and some like the Wrangler will most likely be around as long as the American automaker exists. Other vehicles aren’t so lucky. The Jeep Patriot, while beloved of some of its owners, was one such vehicle. There were many reasons why Jeep decided to stop producing the Patriot, and here they are.

The Patriot’s history

According to NADA Guides, the Jeep Patriot originally debuted in 2007 alongside the Jeep Compass. There were a few things consumers didn’t like right away like the fact that A/C didn’t come standard. Since the Patriot was designed to go off-road, it made little sense not to offer it. 

In 2008, Jeep made A/C standard, along with a continuously variable transmission (CVT), and an auto stick manual transmission. There were also several trim levels added so that consumers had more choices. As the years went by, Jeep continued to make minor changes, but the body shape remained the same. 

The Patriot had a loyal following, and some owners referred to it as their ‘Pattie.’ Critics weren’t so impressed, however. Most of its scores were notoriously low. In 2017, Jeep phased the Patriot out in favor of the second-generation Jeep Compass. 

What made the Patriot so popular?

All you had to do was take one look at the Jeep Patriot driving down the street, and you knew immediately that it was a Jeep. It had that classic boxy Cherokee look that current iterations of the legendary Jeep have moved away from. With a cheap price point, it was also a way for Jeep fans who couldn’t afford one of the more popular models to still own a Jeep of their own. An even better feature was that it was an SUV that didn’t cost a fortune when it came time to get insurance on it.

There was plenty of room for cargo space. For consumers looking for a small family vehicle, this made it perfect. You could load up the kids, pack all your suitcases in the back, and head out to the lake for the weekend.

Another great feature that owners really loved was the Patriot’s ability to go off-road. Some models offered 4WD. It couldn’t keep up with other Jeeps, like the Grand Cherokee or the Wrangler, obviously. Still, for someone who wanted to hit some of the lighter trails, they could do so safely.

Where did Jeep go wrong?

One of the biggest reasons the Jeep Patriot didn’t sell was the lack of technology. Why Jeep decided not to add any modern tech is bizarre. It might have had to do with keeping the price point down, but with other crossovers in the same price point that did offer tech, it may have spelled the end for the Patriot.

MotorTrend reports that the other point drivers hated—and most likely helped steer them toward the competition—was the Patriot’s poor acceleration. Press on the gas as hard as you want, but it’ll be a few seconds before the Patriot begins to move forward. It was a very frustrating factor that is common to many of Jeep’s vehicles.

The interior also left much to be desired. It was simple, plain, and as already mentioned, severely lacking in tech. The upper trim levels offered some more features, but with the increase in price, some potential buyers chose to go with another vehicle.  They could get a higher quality vehicle with more tech for the same price.

The final nail in the Patriot’s coffin was probably the fact that it never did well in safety tests. Add all these factors up, and the Patriot was due for either a major rehaul or a replacement. Unfortunately, Jeep chose to retire the Patriot.