My lease was up on the Cobalt in January so I bought a Jeep Patriot about a month ago. I had been looking forward to the release of this car since they first announced it. I always wanted a Jeep Cherokee when I was a kid, and the Patriot is the next best thing. The Commander is too massive and even with the '08 re-design the Liberty doesn't quite pull off the replacement if you're looking for a Cherokee look alike.
It's a 4 cylinder engine, but with the updated CVT I swear you can't tell. It isn't "trail rated" but after looking at what that actually meant...I don't need it. I'll let you know next time I'm trying to crawl over a 12-in diameter fallen tree and kicking myself for not going trail rated. The ground clearance is a little low for a Jeep, but the only true off-roading I'll do is when the plow forgets about our street.
I insisted on dark interior since mountain biking can leave some suspicious looking stains on your seats if you go with light interior. Becky can tell you all about the mud and other obstacles on the "Trail of Death", as she calls it. I have a roof rack so I can carry the bikes and kayak, when I buy the attachments. I also had to get the upgraded speakers. Oscar would refuse to listen to "sell-out Green Day" on anything less when he comes to visit his BFF. (For the record, I don't think Green Day sold out...even though they played on American Idol.)
Ben took these pictures when we went snowboarding recently. I limped away with an injury but not from the hill...from the parking lot. I wasn't hit by a car or any other potentially cool story you can dream up either. I fell on some ice, HARD. I'm pretty sure it looked like I was doing a jig while I was limping around trying to "walk it off". I ended up with a really deep bruise and small cut on my knee, but we still hit the hill until dark and I left the actual hill injury free.
