the wife had an 08, it was a decent ride. plenty of power for what it was (something like 180 HP 4 cyl.) the CVT tranny (auto) takes some getting used to. you never feel it shift, and if you floor it, it gets to it's peak power point and stays there and slides through the gears without you feeling it until you let outta it. they have the freedom drive which has a 4wd "lock". the patriot is all wheel drive-ish, it is essentially front wheel drive,when it senses slip, it applies torque to the rear wheels also. the 4wd lock locks (not like a locker we use) it inso 4wd so it pulls with front and rear.
the freedom drive "2" is more offroad friendly. it has a little higher stance, 4-lo, and front and rear tow hooks. as well as a tranny cooler i think.
rocky road outfitters has a 2 1/4" lift for the patriot that fits like 29's yo! haha definitely makes a difference tho. here are a couple pics:
lifted next to stock:
only issue we had was the ESP (electronic stability crap) wasn't working right, but we got it fixed.