Two models was not what Jeep had planned originally. But when the marketing types presented the Compass and Patriot to focus groups, rather than one of the two designs being favored as expected, both earned a preference by gender and by continent (the two Jeeps will be sold on both sides of the Atlantic).

When all the focus groups votes were tallied, the Compass was favored by females in the U.S. and nearly everyone in Europe, while the Patriot was the solid choice of American males.

These results would appear to be a dilemma not to be solved with the mere flip of a coin. Then a funny thing happened on the way to the bean counters... "When the numbers were added up, the bottom line was that both models could be produced within the parameters of the program's budget," said Larry Lyons, vice president of the front-wheel-drive product team at Jeep. "That was a pleasant surprise."

The Patriot surprised me again and again as we crawled over boulders, climbed loose grades, inched down the other side, chewed up and spit out a mile-long stretch of a sandy creek bed at 40-some mph. Locked into "L," the electronic throttle control worked with the four-wheel ABS traction control to smoothly maneuver over large boulders, sometimes with a front or rear wheel hanging in the air.

Granted, hardcore enthusiasts would consider our Patriot's workout little more than a walk in the park, however, if they put it through its paces they'll be floored by the Freedom Drive II off-road system.