Jeep Compass goals too excessive

Has Jeep turned itself right into a premium way of life model? It might appear that method with luxurious SUVs such because the Grand Cherokee and Grand Wagoneer. 

The luxurious attain on the prime of the lineup hasn’t translated to the thinned-out backside of the model, nonetheless. With the Renegade and Cherokee discontinued for 2024, the Compass compact crossover stands alone because the entry level into no matter Jeep is turning into. The Compass tries to chop above the competitors with soft-touch supplies, a robust powertrain, and an enormous touchscreen. However that is removed from a Grand Cherokee with quilted leather-based and massaging seats. 

The Jeep Compass earns a middling TCC Ranking of 5.8 out of 10 as a result of its comparatively excessive worth, its inefficient powertrain, and for cheaping out in a spot you possibly can’t see or really feel however you possibly can hear.

I spent every week weighing the professionals and cons of a refreshed 2023 Jeep Compass that principally carries over for 2024, save for a styling tweak on the entrance grille. 

Professional: Jeep Compass sits a reduce above competitors

It’s been a minute since I’ve been in a Compass and it’s time to confess, the inside upgrades are a full step above what’s present in a Ford Bronco Sport, Kia Seltos, and even the Chevrolet TrailBlazer. The dashboard is soft-touch, the door panels are soft-touch, the armrests on the doorways are thick and squishy, and my Latitude trim featured grey fabric trim on the dashboard and doorways with blue stitching that broke up the black inside. No direct competitor appears to be like, or feels, this good inside.

Con: Jeep Compass prices an excessive amount of

The Jeep Compass prices at the very least $27,495, which sits at about the identical entry level for the Subaru Crosstrek and a Chevrolet TrailBlazer with all-wheel drive. However then Compass pricing swings out large as a result of possibility packages that add options like dual-zone automated local weather management, heated entrance seats and a heated steering wheel, and adaptive cruise management. The $2,375 Driver Help Group and $2,575 Comfort Group packages turned my Compass tester right into a $39,535 affair. An optioned Crosstrek restricted tops out at $35,290 whereas a loaded Chevrolet TrailBlazer prices $34,670. As examined, the Compass prices practically the identical as a base Volvo XC40, which is far nicer. How a lot are a soft-touch dashboard and door panels actually value with the Jeep badge in a compact bundle?

Professional: Jeep Compass options punchy powertrain

The Jeep Compass ditched its anemic inline-4 just a few years in the past and is now powered by a 2.0-liter turbo-4. Rated at 200 hp and 221 lb-ft of torque, the Compass now has loads of punch off the road. Some rivals supply this a lot energy as an improve, however most have smaller, much less highly effective engines. Jeep’s paired the turbo-4 with a smooth-shifting 8-speed automated, fortunately, and never the Cherokee’s 9-speed automated that hangs and hesitates. Each Compass options all-wheel drive and the flexibility to lock the facility cut up between the entrance and rear wheels with a button. Not all rivals supply this locking function and it’s useful in slippery conditions.

Con: Jeep Compass isn’t terribly environment friendly

The Jeep Compass has EPA gas financial system rankings of 24 mpg metropolis, 32 freeway, 27 mixed. In 250 miles of blended suburban driving I noticed a median of twenty-two.4 mpg. That’s not nice. Whereas it’s not heat in Minnesota proper now, it ought to have drunk rather less fuel. A Subaru Crosstrek has higher EPA rankings of 26/33/29 mpg with the bigger 2.5-liter engine, and we’ve seen near these rankings in the actual world.

Professional: Jeep Compass options all of the tech

Each Compass options a big 10.1-inch touchscreen with wi-fi Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The touchscreen options Jeep’s easy-to-use Uconnect 5 interface, which makes Chevrolet’s insistence on utilizing Google’s Android software program appear to be a nasty selection with a restricted and rudimentary interface that appears as if a first-year design pupil was in cost. Energetic security options together with however not restricted to a surround-view digital camera system, adaptive cruise management, and even heated windshield wiper de-icers are one thing one not often sees exterior of a Subaru or Land Rover. 

Con: Jeep Compass goes low cost the place you possibly can’t see, however can hear

I made it two blocks away from the home earlier than my spouse requested what that clicking noise was. Instantly I knew what she was referring to. The Compass has what may be the world’s most cost-effective flip sign relay, which interprets to what may be the loudest, most annoying, flip sign in manufacturing. Ever seen the film “Dumb and Dumber”? Bear in mind Lloyd’s most annoying sound on the planet? I am fairly certain the Compass’s flip sign indicator sound ranks in that capability for my spouse. 

Jeep’s reaching with the Compass by giving it a nicer inside and punchy powertrain. However will shoppers overlook the rental-car picture and overlook the worth baked right into a Chevrolet TrailBlazer or Subaru Crosstreks to stroll right into a Jeep dealership and pay a premium? Perhaps, and for those who do they’ll discover a hospitable inside, although that flip sign indicator goes to put on on you. 

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2024 Jeep Compass Latitude

Base worth: $27,495, together with $1,595 vacation spot

Worth as examined: $39,535

Powertrain: 200-hp turbo-4, 8-speed automated transmission, AWD

EPA gas financial system: 24/32/27 mpg

The professionals: good inside, punchy powertrain, nice tech

The cons: prices an excessive amount of, inefficient, annoying flip sign indicator