The Patriot is unmistakably a Jeep. It looks like a Jeep all the way: more so than the stylish Cherokee or big boxy Commander. The windshield and backlight are relatively vertical, and the bumpers are defined and not molded into the fascia. They're silver on the Limited and body-colored on the Sport; we think the Sport is cleaner looking.

The Jeep Patriot is considered a compact, built on the platform of the Dodge Caliber, but you'd never know it, because it doesn't look that small. It's almost exactly the same size as the new Jeep Compass but it looks more rugged, lacking the rounded edges of the gentrified Compass. It looks more like a Liberty, or maybe like a baby Commander. It's classic, the way it should be.