Compass shows the way
rain). Compass can therefore conserve ground clearance better than any other crossover. It’s a masterstroke if you’re considering going bush at any point.
Meanwhile, I prefer the extra bling of the Limited over gaudy red highlights and bragging ‘trail-rated’ badging of the Trailhawk. The Limited’s increased use of chrome and 18” wheels also give it a touch of round-town class denied to the shadier Trailhawk.
Both Compass 4x4s are comfy and easy places to spend a day driving over varying terrain. There’s an easyto-use rotary dial on the centre console to tailor vehicle settings to the driving scenario, offering the instant choice of auto, snow, sand, and mud. (Trailhawk gets an extra ‘rocks’ selection.)
The seats aren’t the soft n’ squishy, super-sized pews expected of an American automotive brand, either. Instead, they’re supportive and generously-bolstered, and hug bodies tightly to better resist lateral forces.
Meanwhile, Jeep’s fourthgeneration of UConnect, makes its debut on the Compass via a generously-sized 8.4-inch touchscreen, and it’s a beaut. A nice touch is the way it continues to display a tool-bar of vehicle controls when connected to either Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.
A slight wheelbase stretch over the previous Compass gives rear passengers more space, and there’s also aircon vents, USB ports, and a 12v socket to serve those seated in the second row.
Boot space is possibly where the off-road aspirations of the Compass come home to roost. There’s a full size spare fitted beneath the luggage bay floor, raising the latter a bit further above most segment rivals, and an abbreviated rear overhang maintains departure angle clearance at the expense of stowage space.
Jeep makes no mention of the potential luggage space available in the Compass, which is possibly a sign that there’s less there than most rivals. Fortunately the rear bench is easily folded way if you need sacrifice the rear seats for more stash room.
All three new Compass models will come powered by a 2.4 litre fourcylinder petrol engine, including the six-speed automatic $36,990 frontdrive Longitude that ignores off-road performance in favour of more accessible price point. The latter is the fuel miser of the range, the lab test showing it drinking at a rate of 7.9litres per 100km instead of the 9.7litres of the two 4x4s.
Helping the 4wd Compass models achieve better fuel use is clever use of a power-take-off clutch in the part-time 4wd system. This completely disconnects the rear driveshaft and differential when not required, and the reduction in driveline inertia enables a claimed fuel use saving of four per cent when driven on open roads. Every bit helps, given that the 2.0 litre diesel engine that enlivens the Aussie-spec Compass Trailhawk isn’t yet confirmed for New Zealand. This would offer a further 125Nm of driving force and fuel use lab results starting with a five if sold here.
So it’s the 129kW/229Nm petrol 2.4 that will have to suffice on this side of the Tasman. It was an Engine of the Year award winner back in 2010, and the new nine-speed fitted to the 4x4s disguises any dips in its torque delivery by bringing the ratios closer together. But it does lack the spark of some turbocharged rivals of the new Compass, is a bit rough at idle, and sounds as flat as my shower-time singing voice.
So, it’s up to the chassis of the Compass to engage the driver, a job it does reasonably well via it’s wealth of grip, agile steering, and ride quality that only improves as on-road speeds rise. The firmer tyre sidewalls of the Limited make it a slightly better corner-carver than the Trailhawk, but both are surprisingly biddable machines.
So move over Tiguan, Tucson, X-Trail, and sibling-rival, Renegade; Compass is now a much more worthy competitor with a unique selling point for the crossover class: genuine off-road ability in its two 4x4 forms.