I am about to order a 2008 Patriot, manual transmission, off road package with 19:1 crawl to replace a fourteen year old Wrangler. Opinions? Anyone driven one of these puppies? The salesman tells me they don't order manual transmission with 25E and AWL for dealer stock, because the tightwads that tend to order manual tranny like to keep the price down. If I order it, at least I can get a red one with a sun roof. Or maybe black, damn! I love the Wrangler but it is not really a super commuting vehicle, although I still need some off-road capability. I don't really care that the Patriot has a wimpy four cylinder engine; it probably has a little more oomph than my present ride. Maybe if I order it I can get a decent axle ratio too.
Thanks.
Earle