Compass points to a road well travelled

JEEP is a solid name and this new Compass is a very solid feeling car – the first Compass we’ve seen since the model was discontinued in 2015.

This new one is Jeep’s rather belated answer to the Nissan Qashqai and the hordes of other SUVS and crossovers which have taken over as the family car type of choice across Europe.

There’s a wide choice here: four or two-wheel drive, two petrol engines and two diesels, four trim levels and manual or automatic transmission. From this menu, our test car has the lower powered version of the 2.0-litre diesel which knocks out 138bhp.

Four-wheel drive is standard on all the diesel models and ours has the six-speed manual gearbox.

It’s in Limited spec which, until recently, was the highest level Compass but it’s just been trumped by the Trailhawk which is essentially a more off-road focused version with a high and low-ratio gearbox.

You get the impression the Compass has been hewn from rock, but that’s partly psychological. The manual gearbox plays a role there but more so the Jeep’s

steering which is surprisingly heavy for a family car. The wheel itself feels chunky which adds to the impression.

It’s not really a criticism and you certainly won’t have to go on a

course of steroids before you take delivery of your Compass.

The more powerful 168bhp diesel is probably a better bet because the Jeep is no lightweight, and if you took advantage of our

BMW has announced it is increasing the warranty period on all new bikes to three years with unlimited mileage. This trumps Triumph which offers a 24-month warranty on its new bikes, also with unlimited mileage. Same goes for Honda and Ducati. I wonder if BMW’S move to 36 months will encourage other manufacturers to upgrade their standard warranty packages.