Jeep Patriot vs Volkswagen CC: which is more reliable?
The Jeep Patriot and the Volkswagen CC are level on the federal record — 78/100 against 76/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Jeep Patriot
- 6 model years scored
- 1,852 owner complaints on record
- about 27 complaints per year on the road
- 9 recall campaigns, 7 safety-critical
- best year 2017 (94/100) · worst 2014 (61/100)
Volkswagen CC
- 7 model years scored
- 604 owner complaints on record
- about 5 complaints per year on the road
- 33 recall campaigns, 23 safety-critical
- best year 2017 (89/100) · worst 2012 (36/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Patriot against CC
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
What owners actually complain about
Jeep Patriot
- Engine — 631 complaints
- Electrical System — 313 complaints
- Power Train — 291 complaints
Volkswagen CC
- Air Bags — 279 complaints
- Fuel/Propulsion System — 119 complaints
- Engine — 119 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Patriot's complaints concentrate in Engine, the CC's in Air Bags. That difference matters more to a buyer than the score gap, because it says which repair bill you are taking on.
Years to avoid on each
Jeep Patriot: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017.
Volkswagen CC — avoid: 2012.
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Jeep Patriot prices at about $21,800 and a Volkswagen CC at about $21,800 — they price within $1 of each other, which at this level is the same money, and they return 21.0 against 25.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Jeep Patriot or the Volkswagen CC more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Jeep Patriot scores 78/100 against the Volkswagen CC's 76/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Jeep Patriot and Volkswagen CC years should I avoid?
Jeep Patriot: no year scores below 45. Volkswagen CC: 2012. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Jeep Patriot and the Volkswagen CC?
The largest complaint group on the Jeep Patriot is Engine (631 complaints); on the Volkswagen CC it is Air Bags (279).
Is the Jeep Patriot or the Volkswagen CC cheaper to own?
A recent used Jeep Patriot prices at about $21,800 and a Volkswagen CC at about $21,800, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.