Compass points way for Jeep
JUST over a decade ago the compact crossover wasn’t really an option for family-car buyers. However these days you can barely move for them with the Nissan Qashqai, Mazda CX5 and the Seat Ateca among the most well-known and highly rated of the myriad of choices available.
Rather oddly Jeep – which is a manufacturer famous for its SUVs – hasn’t managed to grab a hold of that market and has not even had a rival to the likes of the Qashqai since the last Compass left showrooms in 2015.
But for Jeep fans the wait is almost over as the new Compass finally arrives in the UK at the start of next year. Jeep hopes to continue and improve upon the success it has enjoyed with the smaller Renegade, 14,000 of which were sold in the UK in 2016.
Perhaps unsurprisingly Jeep says that the Compass’s unique selling point will be its off-road ability. The standard version, available in Longitude and Limited trims, comes with some of the old-school looks that hint at this, such as the trapezoidal wheel arches and the chunky seven-slot front grille that gives the Compass a robust appearance.
It stops short of being as daring as the smaller Renegade, though, and the rear and side profiles are conventional enough not to scare off more conservative buyers.
For those who want to do more than the occasional bit of offroading there is the range-topping Trailhawk version and this gets a notably different look front and rear. This serves a practical and a visual purpose, as the squared-off bumpers have been cut back and covered with protective cladding that gives a tougher look and means the Trailhawk is able to climb and descend steeper slopes than the standard version.
Jeep has confirmed there will be a choice of four engines, with one petrol and three turbo-diesels, although we won’t get official economy and performance stats for the UK until closer to launch date.
Of the diesels the 118bhp 1.6-litre version will be the most efficient, helped by the fact that it is only available as a two-wheel drive.
Expect average fuel economy to be around 64mpg and emissions to be under 120g/km, while the two larger 2.0-litre diesels boast 138bhp and 168bhp and will manage just under 50mpg and produce around 148g/km. For those after a petrol, there’s a 1.4-litre, 138bhp unit that is expected to manage around 45mpg and emit just over 140g/km.
None of them is fast mind you, with the petrol set to be the quickest, although even then the 0 to 60mph sprint will still take more than 9.5 seconds. The bigger diesels will all take around 10