Recommend some alternative for Jeep Patriot.

[TXHokie]

So I've been shopping for a manual 5-speed Jeep Patriot with 40k mi give or take for about $11-12k-ish. Anyone have an alternative suggestion for hatchback car/miniSUV I should look at with similar specs/prices.

Only requirement is it has to be 5-speed manual and 4 doors with some storage capacity and not a 2 door speedster. Need some room to haul light stuffs as well so no sedans. I plan to drive it for 2 yrs (about 5k mi/yr) and then give it to my son who should be able to drive by then in high school. He's excited about learning to drive stick shift. Don't want a full size gas guzzler SUV as I've had one and done with that, need to downsize. I'm not loyal to brands as I've had two Hondas that broke down on me and Ford/Chevys that had no issues. I do take good care of cars and maintenance so that tend to keep them running well.

 

[heymrdj]

So I've been shopping for a manual 5-speed Jeep Patriot with 40k mi give or take for about $11-12k-ish. Anyone have an alternative suggestion for hatchback car/miniSUV I should look at with similar specs/prices.

Only requirement is it has to be 5-speed manual and 4 doors with some storage capacity and not a 2 door speedster. Need some room to haul light stuffs as well so no sedans. I plan to drive it for 2 yrs (about 5k mi/yr) and then give it to my son who should be able to drive by then in high school. He's excited about learning to drive stick shift. Don't want a full size gas guzzler SUV as I've had one and done with that, need to downsize. I'm not loyal to brands as I've had two Hondas that broke down on me and Ford/Chevys that had no issues. I do take good care of cars and maintenance so that tend to keep them running well.

You’re down to a more base model Subaru Crosstrek really. Unless you go a ways back, not too many manual SUVs exist outside of Wranglers.

For hatchback, the Cruze and Sonic have manual hatchback options from Chevy. The Fiesta and the Focus at least had 6spd in all the years past, I’m not sure if they have them this year since they are in the chopping block.

I had a 2016 Patriot 2.4L 4x4. Really enjoyed that little SUV.

 

[TXHokie]

Thanks! I'll add the Cruze and Focus to my shopping list as they look like good options to keep an eye out for. The other two looks a bit too small on the back end. Also poked around with Subaru and saw a Forester than can be potential as well. All the Crosstrek I pulled up have auto trans so no go.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Toyota Matrix will be below your price point if you can find a clean one with a 5 speed manual
About as much cargo room as my old 2008 Forester, in a 4 door small wagon.

But, might be older than you would like ....

 

[snoopy7548]

2016-2018 Honda HR-V, though the manuals are rare. They have a ton of storage capacity for the size. I look every day and there are only ~40 used manuals in the whole country. There are a few good ones in Texas.

 

[TXHokie]

Thanks for all the great recommendations. Adding HR-V to the list as well. The Matrix looks hard to come by since they've stop making it and the ones I see are auto-trans. Don't mind going back as far as 2013 models if it's clean.

 

[desy]

kia soul

 

[TXHokie]

Updating my own post. I ended up recently getting a 2017 Jeep Renegade 6 speed. It's turbo and way fun to drive. It was hard to find a Patriot with upgraded options since the wife insisted that it needs power windows and a backup camera for son's "safety" features. Almost impossible to find a Patriot with that kind of spec and price point and I didn't feel like driving hundred of miles out of town to look at one. Everything else I looked at were either way over priced and this one 2017 Renegade showed up locally after months of searching. It had only 30k miles listed for 13.2k and we talked them down to 11.8k after 3 hrs of dancing back and forth. Still has a year of warranty left so it was a good score.

 

[olds]

Updating my own post. I ended up recently getting a 2017 Jeep Renegade 6 speed. It's turbo and way fun to drive. It was hard to find a Patriot with upgraded options since the wife insisted that it needs power windows and a backup camera for son's "safety" features. Almost impossible to find a Patriot with that kind of spec and price point and I didn't feel like driving hundred of miles out of town to look at one. Everything else I looked at were either way over priced and this one 2017 Renegade showed up locally after months of searching. It had only 30k miles listed for 13.2k and we talked them down to 11.8k after 3 hrs of dancing back and forth. Still has a year of warranty left so it was a good score.

Please keep us updated on how many times it breaks down or needs service outside normal maintenance.
Thanks.

 

[NutBucket]

Honda Fit is the obvious choice. Lots of space and should be a decent number of 5-speeds out there.

 

[TXHokie]

Please keep us updated on how many times it breaks down or needs service outside normal maintenance.
Thanks.

I had 2 Honda’s previously and after the warranty runs out started having all kinds of issues, stranded me on the road twice, and those cars wants OEM pricey parts. Maybe just my bad luck with them. My last Ford F-150 gave me the least issues during 5 yrs of ownership. I don’t really care for brand or makes, just practical fun and utility factor. I put less than 7k miles a year driving now so 5 yrs of ownership is all I need.