The Jeep Patriot compact SUV is available in base Sport and upmarket Limited trims. The Sport is pretty basic with 16-inch steel wheels, air-conditioning, cruise control and a CD/MP3 player with an auxiliary audio jack. Moving up to the more luxurious Limited gets you 17-inch aluminum wheels, foglights, privacy glass, chrome exterior accents, leather trim, heated front seats, a fold-flat front passenger seat, reclining 60/40-split rear seats, an auto-dimming rearview mirror and a leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls. A 115-volt outlet, full power accessories, cruise control and remote keyless entry also come standard. Many of the Limited's features are available on the Sport as individual or packaged options.

Jeep Patriots are powered by a 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder engine with 172 horsepower and 165 pound-feet of torque. A five-speed manual transmission is standard, and a CVT is optional. Buyers can choose either front- or all-wheel-drive configurations. Front-wheel-drive Sport models with the optional CVT can also be equipped with a smaller and less expensive 158-hp 2.0-liter four-cylinder.When equipped with the CVT, the Patriot accelerates sluggishly compared with other compact SUVs, and the lack of fixed ratios keeps the revs on a noisy boil. The power delivery feels more energetic and linear with the manual gearbox, which would be our choice. Fuel economy for an AWD model with the CVT checks in for 2008 at 21 mpg city/24 mpg highway.