Patriot gains

IF LAND ROVER is the daddy of 4x4s, Jeep is the granddaddy.

Accounts vary, but it seems it was the performance of an ex-Second World War US military Jeep on his farm in Anglesey that inspired Rover Car Co. designer Maurice Wilks to come up with the first Landie.

So it was that an American legend gave birth to a British one and to a whole new market sector in motoring.

On compact 4x4s, however, it was rather a different matter.

Land Rover came late to the party. Various shenanigans with Honda combined with other factors held up the baby Landie project and the Freelander was not launcched until 1996. Jeep has arrived only recently and how do you break into a market that's chock-full of decent drives and under ever-closer scrutiny from the green lobby?

With a chunky, charismatic, practical, punchy, thrifty 4x4 that comes with a decent complement of kit and a sensible price tag, that's how.

Add in more off-road ability than pretty much anything else in the sector and you have the Jeep Patriot.

There is a softer-edged, mechanically similar Jeep called the Compass aimed to get younger drivers with a taste for urban chic into the brand.

But it's the Patriot that's got man appeal and is the entry level to the Jeep brand.

I am no great fan of the straight-line design of many modern 4x4s, but there is something attractive about this one.

It's got muscle, it's got attitude – like Rambo – and it's a whole lot shorter than you'd think. Like...only joking, Mr Stallone.

It's certainly a whole lot more imposing than anything that's around the size of a Ford Focus has a right to be.

Not long, not overly wide and it's not even particularly high – I could just about wash the roof without using shoe lifts. Wonder if Sly could?

Still, enough of that: time to get into Motor Mall's demonstrator, which is a Patriot 2.0CRD Limited.

But different, too.

That high waistline and low roofline make for a smallish windscreen that is sited a fair bit forward of the driver.

Although I never found visibility to be an issue, the impression is of peering through a gunslit or out of a Humvee.

It felt so American-military it was all I could not to phone David Miliband and dictate the latest British foreign policy.

But it is not a Humvee or even a Jeep Commander – it stands over no more road than many family hatchbacks, although it took me a while to realise just how little room you need to squeeze through.

So it's not antisocially big and its thirst is modest, too, with some UK testers pretty much matching Jeep's claimed 42mpg combined.

We won't get that many miles for our fiver's worth of diesel, but local owners should still do well.

The VW-sourced 2.0 litre turbodiesel – there is also a 2.4-litre petrol – is not the most subdued oil burner currently around, but it delivers loads of torque across a reasonable rev range, making the Patriot feel quite lively, even three or four up.

The six-speed gearbox falls readily to hand and is very slick for a 4x4.

In normal road use, the diesel's 138 horses are fed to the front wheels but whenever it senses the need, during cornering for instance, power is routed to the rears, too.

Even the Patriots that do occasionally venture off road will spend most of their lives on tarmac and it acquits itself well enough here. It understeers predictably and leans a little, but no more than you'd expect.

Off road, pulling up a small central lever locks the centre diff allowing up to 60% of the power to be routed to the back wheels.

The result is impressive.

Its ground clearance is less than that of heavy-duty off-roaders, but the grip, even with road tyres, is surprisingly good.

The ABS is clever enough to change mode when off-roading where it is actually better to let wheels lock as the wedge of mud/gravel they build up in front of them improves retardation.

So, great for horsebox or caravan towing on heavy going and a credible mud-plugger, imposing in the car park and a pleasingly infrequent visitor to the pumps.

Well, it doesn't.

That's not to say it's perfect.

The part-leather seats are good and the heated front ones warm up impressively quickly and there are bags of room for four tall occupants – five might be a bit of a squeeze but that's the flip side of the convenience of having a vehicle that's not too wide.

The sliding centre cubby box has an armrest/lid that has a recess for an MP3 player and above the full-sized spare wheel in the boot is a decent loadbay with a very grippy non-slip floor.

Some of the cabin plastics and the neoprene gearlever gaiter aren't that welcoming to the touch, but Chrysler Jeep interiors usually prove pretty durable.

And any shortcomings in the haptic department are more than made up for by the Action-Man looks and attitude, off-road ability, value and modest fuel consumption.

Road testers have generally failed to put their finger on it and so have I, but there is something about this baby Jeep that is greater than the not inconsiderable sum of its parts.

Jeep might have been late coming to the party, but an increasing number of Patriot owners are glad it made it.