Jeep Compass 4wd manual? Thoughts?

Yep I'm kind of shopping. Might even be gearing up for a good old fashioned "What Car" thread. In the meantime...

There's (supposedly) one of these for sale near me. All I know is these are based on the same bones as the Dodge Caliber and somehow more awkward looking than the Dodge. But... ad claims 4x4 (though that would be front biased awd, right?) with a 5 speed manual trans. A combo that I didn't know existed in this platform, and I'd think that can't be too common.

Worth looking at as a cheap car to drive through winter and beat on for a few years?  Anyone know of any big potential mechanical issues on these? Exploding differentials or anything like that?

A quick search of specs says wider than it is tall, so maybe rallycross legal? 

Back in 2011 I leased a Patriot 2.0L manual.  Mustang2 performance, bad gas mileage, and transmission gear ratios that seemed to be selected with a dartboard. Reasonably comfortable though.

Look for rust.  Subframes tend to last as long as beef jerky on a road trip.

logdog (Forum Supporter) said:

...Mustang2 performance...

Whoa, slow down there. That's a pretty high benchmark.

It's kind of a younger, uglier brother to the Patriot. Same drivetrain. If it has the 2.4, pretty bulletproof. We put 180,000 on one and it still had the original clutch when we sold it. Things that broke:  window switch cluster, radio, cam sensor (I think) that is located on the back of the engine and is a real bastard to replace, multiple bulbs in one of the tail lamps, sway bar end links.  I was VERY skeptical when we bought it that I wouldn't have endless problems with a Daimer/Chrysler product but it turned out to be surprisingly reliable. We only sold it because we kind of got tired of it and it started rusting over the rear wheels, which wasn't worth the cost to fix on something with that many miles. Changing the cheap-feeling OEM shift knob to a MOMO made driving it way more pleasant.

Power is 'adequate'. I think our mpgs were in the mid-20s. The AWD system is, frankly, pretty useless. I had some 2WD versions for company vehicles and they were just as good in the snow as the AWD one we had. 

If sunroof equipped you have to be vigilant about keeping the drains open as they clog easily, and then it will rain inside the car.

Overall, we were really happy with it.

I want a patriot for dumb reasons

So looks like it would have the 16v 2.4. Rated from the factory at 170ish and in a 3300lb vehicle would probably feel downright snappy compared to our Mazda 5, lol.

And since we have late 2000s Mazdas, I also know allllll about subframe rust.

Quoted from wiki about that 4x4 system
 

Freedom Drive I is a light duty full-time electronically controlled all wheel drive system with a locking mode to set the front/rear torque split for especially slippery conditions in the Jeeps derived from the Chrysler/Mitsubishi GS Platform.

In reply to ddavidv :

That's disappointing to hear your take on the awd effectiveness in the snow, especially since it's got a Jeep 4x4 badge on its lumpy butt.

But at least the base model got crank windows... in 2009!

Like Logdog already wrote, the biggest issue is the subframe rust and the fact that these seem to be bought by people that completely neglect them.

Apparently the 2009+ are very much improved both in reliability and comfort. I don't know for the Compast, but the AWD on the Patriot is lockable to a 50/50 power distribution when you're stuck in snow. The rest of the time, it's a generic FWD based system.

And getting a manual takes care of its biggest flaw, a crappy and unreliable CVT.

I've wondered how many Lancer Evo parts would be a direct bolt on.