Road test | Jeep Compass: getting lost in your arguments

In 2017, Morgan Stanley said the Jeep brand alone was worth more than Fiat Chrysler Automobiles as a whole. Admittedly, the context has changed greatly since then with the creation of Stellantis in January 2021, but this fact reflects the considerable importance of this brand, which still fascinates a clientele of highly loyal enthusiasts. In its portfolio, the Compass was born from the idea of ​​democratizing Jeep, without however having the execution to back it up. Revised this year, it now promises to do better.

Charles Rene
The Press

Design

You obviously have to recognize a Jeep at first glance. To preserve this unique character that takes root in the heart of the Second World War, the designers have grafted the essential seven-slot grille to the Compass, which has only an aesthetic function here. Like the Grand Cherokee, it’s positioned quite high, above the overlapping cooling vents in a somewhat visually complex arrangement. Laterally, the SUV sports trapezoidal wheel arches and an acceptable ground clearance of 20.6 cm, which remains less than that of a Subaru Crosstrek (22 cm). The lines are on the whole simple and rather harmonious in an approach seeking to imitate the big brother of the range. However, there are still fairly marked assembly problems, resulting in gaps that are too wide in various places at the level of the body joints.

On board

The interior gratifies us for 2022 with a complete overhaul of the layout. Emphasizing a cleaner look and more use of color contrast, the Compass makes a great first impression. The soft textures are more present than before and the integration of the nozzles and the various commands makes the rendering much more pleasing to the eye. That said, you still get that middling quality feeling when you analyze the surfaces below the middle of the beltline. Hard plastics are widespread there. Frequently touched parts don’t inspire much confidence either, such as the turn signal arms or the lower door handles. The good use of the space offered is nevertheless to be underlined, with rather spacious rear seats, which somewhat limit the legroom of the front seats.

Under the hood

Apart from the gradual integration of a plug-in hybrid group, Jeep remains particularly cautious about the selection of its mechanics. The Compass is no exception to this constant; it can only be driven by a single engine, a naturally aspirated 2.4 L four-cylinder Fiat engine with modest power (177 hp). It combines its efforts with a nine-speed automatic transmission that proved to be deft during the test drive, shifting gears well with discretion. The same cannot be said of the engine itself, lacking the repartee to adequately move the 1500 kg of the vehicle in all contexts. However, it does not manifest it by flooding the cabin with unsightly tone decibels and remains rather linear with its limited resources. Its fuel consumption, which is barely below 10 L/100 km, is still too high. Many larger SUVs do better without hybrid input.

Behind the wheel

Built on familiar foundations that are shared with the Fiat 500X among others, the 2022 Compass promises on paper to be more dynamically accomplished by way of revised damping and steering. We have to admit that these promises are not materializing very convincingly. The steering is not very precise and the suspensions negotiate rather badly with the changes of coatings, destabilizing the chassis at times, especially in curves. We do not feel the vehicle in full control of its means, giving an impression of floating without emphasizing good comfort. The direction, totally disconnected, supports a kind of sensory fog when the pace is slightly accelerated. The all-wheel drive does a very acceptable job, moreover. Not the liveliest to activate the intervention of the rear axle, it nevertheless allows to negotiate quite well with bad weather.

Embedded technologies

This is where this Compass shines the most, and by a wide margin. The model receives for 2022 the contribution of the new Uconnect 5 infotainment system from Stellantis. Replacing a system known for its intuitiveness and efficiency, it consolidates the automotive group’s position as a leader in the field. Now on an Android base and benefiting from cloud updates, it is undeniably easy to use and is based on a good quality and responsive touch screen. It employs two permanently present strips of icons, one at the bottom to access the various important menus and the other at the top to select the heating/cooling system menu. It is readable and very intuitive. The Limited livery tested doubles the whole thing with a digital instrumentation screen imitating that of the Grand Cherokee without having the same definition, however. Note the proposal of active safety features in an expensive group, despite an already expensive starting bill.

The verdict

This Jeep Compass teaches us a fundamental lesson: the importance of the value of each dollar spent on the purchase of a vehicle. Admittedly, there is a great deal of subjectivity associated with this variable. But at $48,975 for the version we tested, this model is a testament to excessive price bloat, but also the limits of a brand’s appeal to justify lame ducks in its lineup. Frankly, this model is not big enough and hardly inspires an impression of quality that justifies such a high bill. There’s no denying the gains on the interior layout and infotainment system, but those advancements hide an outdated platform. The only mechanism offered is neither frugal nor flexible enough for the purposes of the cause. In short, it would probably be appropriate to wait for what the future will hold for us thanks to the contribution of the expertise of PSA, the other side of Stellantis, in compact vehicles.