Opinions needed! My wife and i want to upgrade from our 07 vehicles. She wants us to get two Jeep Patriots between the years 2017-18 for around $10K each. Because of fuel cost etc. I like my 07 Liberty and the power it has for the Little bugga it is. But it is old and has a lot of issues. Im not really into the 4 cylinder of the Patriot. I could get an 2012 Liberty 4x4 with the 3.7 engine. In my mind the 12 Libby would be more fun on light trails and camping. Plus i can upgrade the Libby with a 2.5 JBA lift (or taller) , control arms,tires, etc. What do you guys think about the 2012 Libby vs. a 17-18 Patriot ? Or should i look at another Jeep model for around $10K ?

Thank you in advance for any advice and opinions

The libby and the patriot drive very different, going to be a bit of a hard comparison but I have some feedback to help.

Jeep Patriot Feedback:

The last Patriot I drove was 2013 that had around 20,000 while my 2006 TJ was getting the transmission case fixed and this was my experience:

Good:
--Peppy engine. I felt the 2.4 performed pretty well, it was significantly faster than my wrangler/TJ eventhough the wrangler had the 4.0/6spd engine and 235s on it with no lift at the time.
--Decent cargo capacity. Loaded this up with friends, firewood and beer without an issue.
--Nimble handling. One of the nimblest jeeps that I drove and driving was easy in this.
--Good ride quality. I felt this rode more car-like than Jeep-like. Hardly a difference between a Chrysler Sebring I drove and the patriot in ride quality.
--Comfortable for long drives. Drove this from Philly to Altoona (Penn State), only stopped once for gas and had no complaints.
--Good visibility.

Bad:
--Seating position is not good in my opinion. Felt like I was sitting in a hole and I'm 6'5". Door comes up very high in this vehicle.
--Gas Mileage not great for a 4 cylinder. Overall average was 20mpg, 22 if you babied it. This was in September during 70 degree weather in mixed driving. Highway was slightly better, maybe 24mpg.
--Road Noise. I felt the road noise was still high in this vehicle and I drove a Wrangler at the time as well. Expected it to be quieter.
--Headlights not so great. This was a rental and I was spoiled by Hella H4's and Fog Lights on my TJ.
--Small and low. I missed the ride-height of my wrangler, eventhough it was on stock suspension/tires. The Patriot feels so low to the ground in comparison to my Jeep Wrangler.

In comparison to my 2009 Jeep Liberty Sport with 87,000 miles on it:

Pros:
--Tons of room. I have done home-depot runs in the same day of doing groceries and still had space to spare and could do everything in the same trip.
--Very, very comfortable and quiet. The liberty rides really good stock even at highway speeds on smooth roads for a Jeep and is very comfortable and quiet too.
--Great visibility with large windows, easy to see in all directions generally.
--It's a big, solid, heavy SUV. It just feels big and solid, which is nice and makes it feel more stable/comfortable overall. Great if you drive in an area where you have alot of big trucks/SUV's to compete with space with on the road.
--The scotch-guard seats are great and comfortable. I've taken very long trips with mine and never had an issue.
--Easy to drive. My wife that never drives SUV's could drive this easily.
--Good sound system stock. I replaced the stock radio with a cheap touchscreen and it still sounds great!
--Good 4wd system stock. In my opinion, my TJ/Wrangler was better/more predictable but it's Solid Axle vs. IFS and the Liberty does very well even in mixed conditions and Ice.
--Engine is torquey and has decent off-the-line performance with the 3.73 gears stock front/rear.
--Smooth acceleration and transmission.
--Good heat, the heat will fry you in my liberty.
--Accepts LEDs well. I have LED bulbs in the headlights, taillights/brakelights/high mount stop, interior bulbs, works great!
--Like the trunk tray, great for grocery shopping.
--Seats, including the front passenger seat folder flat which is awesome for moving large items. Had an entire living room set minus couches with room to spare before in mine!
--Good Towing Capacity stock.
--Like how the stock exhaust sounds with the K&N intake. Good deep tone.

Cons:
--Stock headlights are terrible. I have LED's in now.
--Ride is a bit bumpy on rough roads. The patriot would probably be smoother but it's not nearly as rough as a Wrangler by any means.
--Gas Mileage. Generally poor. I'm pretty sure I'm averaging 13-15mpg in the winter, it's better in warmer weather. Slightly better on the highway, closer to 20-21mpg.
--It is a bit technology-dated. My 2009 is old now and my father owns a 2012 Liberty but the difference in technology isn't much, options and infotainment is sparse. If you want technology, even the limited isn't optioned that well compared to a new vehicle.
--Looks are a bit dated since they haven't been made in so many years. My 2009 looks old to me, even with exterior upgrades. I am a bit jaded though because my other vehicles are newer with less mileage, I only bought this for winter/bad weather and hauling family/stuff around.
--3.7 is miserable to change the oil with 4wd. Its a ritual to check the filter 3-4 times, including after driving it for a bit (it won't leak sitting still running unless you left it completely loose, trust me) before concluding it's tight on there.
--The A-pillar is very thick. This sometimes makes it hard when pulling out of spaces and tight left turns to see clearly.
--Isolated. This while great from a comfort perspective, is not the best sometimes from a bad weather perspective. In my Wrangler, I could hit the limits quickly and it was agile with a short-wheelbase, road feedback was great. The liberty road feedback is good but it took me a bit of time to get used to this in snow compared to my wrangler, but then again, I drove the Wrangler for 8 years and only had the Libby for 1 so far.
--Performance is just ok. 0-50 is good due to the gearing/torque, passing power is just ok at highway speeds. The 3.7 is a bit underpowered by today's standards and it shows. Quick highway merging is not something this vehicle is capable of, more planning is needed. However, I have no problem keeping up with highway traffic and regular traffic most of the time, even at speeds above 70mph, which is much better than my Wrangler (could barely do 65). The vehicle also when driving tends to get a bit sluggish if you drive too easy all the time, you need to alternate how you drive it to keep performance optimal.
--Stock intake is restrictive. I know many will disagree but upgrading to the K&N FIPK made a huge difference in my 3.7, power delivery is much better and consistent.
--Heavy means heavy handling. Body roll is considerable in turns and this vehicle does not like sweeping turns at speed where a crossover may sail right through.

Overall, I like my liberty and it's a comfortable, good 4WD Jeep with an outstanding cargo capacity and capable of surviving bad conditions with ease.

The best thing you can do is drive both and decide. While the liberty has considerable cons, the positives it has will make you overlook them like I did. In an ideal world, I would have both as I liked the Patriot too, both are very good vehicles in my opinion.