Score: 6.8
I feel like a fish out of water in writing this, because I have driven so few trucks or truck-based vehicles in my day. Like, two. Total. Ever. So test-driving this four-wheel drive, nearly-midsized, body-on-frame vehicle was actually kind of daunting. To the Patriot's credit, I settled in easily after about two minutes. In fact, on the whole the vehicle surprised me with its civility and basic abilities, though it couldn't really help this SUV past the problems that seem to be afflicting all Chrysler products: interior everything, and some driving dynamics.
For a lot of people, those two things aren't all that important though. Buyer's looking at this segment probably want some size, inside (for headroom, legroom and storage) and out (for safety in collisions), and they will find it aplenty in the Patriot. Though my 5'10" frame had to literally get up out of the seat in order to adjust the rear-view mirror and sun-visor, my 6'1" co-test-driver had no such problems, and for most people such a cavernous size is not a detriment in any way. For me, it was nearly the entire problem. I'll get to that later however. First let me finish my rant about the interior: aside from some swatches of some sort of fake aluminum throughout the console, the rest is composed of the same rough, flimsy and cheap-looking plastic that resides in my Saturn Ion, which, let me remind you, had one of the worst interiors ever. Fit and finish seemed fine, though I did not have time to inspect seams and finishes as I would have liked. The seats were composed of simple if usable cloth material, though the shape of the seats themselves left much to be desired - they left me sunken too far away from the wheel, too close to the pedals, and with little lateral or back support to speak of. Granted, something more than a fifteen to twenty minute drive is needed to speak fairly of seats, but the first impression was not flattering. Similar indifference applies to the rest of the interior: ergonomics were not horrible, but also not terribly efficient either, given the amount of space available in a box of the Patriot's size. Surprisingly, the seats fold flat with a fair amount of ease, and, given that amount of space, should easily provide enough storage for big-screen purchases or home-improvement projects. In other words, everything buyer's are looking for.
Similarly, the mass-market appeal was engineered effectively throughout the rest of the car, from the bulky, hyper-masculine styling (and name), to the everyday driving experience which is overwhelmed at every turn (pun intended) by the ponderous mass of this thing. Equipped with a CVT and 2.4 litre four-cylinder as my test SUV was, the vehicle will do nothing unexpected at any turn. Unfortunately, if you ask any more of it you are likely to be disappointed. Though corners are remarkably flat, and body-roll is negligible, the tough springs which provide such motion-control relate to a bumpy, if still acceptable ride. Even in these flat turns though, the artificially heavy, lifeless steering is painful to experience to anyone who enjoys driving. Similarly, the bulk of the vehicle does its best to uninspire at every chance. Acceleration, especially from a standstill, is somewhat atrocious, and the throttle is insanely indecisive, jumpy at points, slow to react at others (though the vehicle I drove had so few kilometres, the throttle might have been computer-controlled and still trying to adapt to driver inputs). Passing power seemed decent, though the truck is simply too heavy to really expect much from a four-cylinder. Worst of all, in terms of acceleration, is the Continuously Variable Transmission, which is the likeliest candidate for the weak off-the-line acceleration and strange rev-matching pattern which left me without much power again and again. Whether this would get better through time as well, is uncertain, but from what I've read, it doesn't. So that definitely gets a thumbs down. The chassis itself felt quite solid, completely devoid of shudders or shakes through some rather rough, badly-cared-for road, though again, those firm shocks meant everything was getting through, as did the buzzy engine and transmission noise, along with a fair degree of wind howl. The brakes were again quite adequate, and in order to brake for one red-light I had to apply a fair degree of pressure - the pedal and mechanics responded with a linear, clear progression, and stopped easily, though again the mass of the vehicle could be felt: fucking inertia.
So I suppose the overall theme of this review could be adequacy and appeal. These two, the Patriot has in spades. For everything else: meh, it won't matter, they'll sell well enough, if the parent company can keep in the black for a little while. In terms of my own slant, I sat in a Honda CR-V two years ago, for a total of five minutes, and that one sitting left a more pleasant impression in my mind than did this entire test drive. That's all I really have to say. For about 5000 dollars more, there is a substantially more efficient, playful, and refined vehicle - now that Honda has made that 5000 dollar gap exist though, who knows if anyone will actually compare those two vehicles. And even if they did, would anyone think the difference is worth 5000 dollars? Chrysler's obviously willing to bet that the masses won't think so. And they produced an adequate vehicle to test their hypothesis.
No comments:
Post a Comment