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Introduction
The 2007 Jeep Compass is all new, a term usually meaning that a vehicle has
been completely redesigned. But in the case of the Compass, it's a completely
new vehicle: first generation.
One way to measure the value of the Compass might be to compare it to the
trusty Jeep Cherokee that was enormously popular for 18 years and finally ended
its run in 2001. The Compass is slightly bigger and light years better than the
Cherokee was 10 years ago. The new Compass costs about $1000 less, in today's
dollars. When you consider inflation (28 percent by the Consumer Price Index),
that number blows up to more than $6000 cheaper.
The Compass is built on a front-wheel-drive, car-based platform (called the GS,
a modified version of a platform that supports the Mitsubishi Lancer). The
Compass comes with a choice of front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.
The Jeep Compass uses DaimlerChrysler's 2.4-liter, four-cylinder World Engine,
developed jointly for 21st century efficiency with Mitsubishi and Hyundai. It's
a solid, sophisticated, 16-valve engine, quieter and stronger than a
four-banger was believed capable of being, 10 years ago. It features electronic
variable valve timing that continually changes the torque curve, bringing more
versatility to the 165 peak pound-feet of torque, and more capability to the
172 peak horsepower. Emphasis during development of this engine was on fuel
mileage; even carrying 3326 pounds, the Compass 4WD with a five-speed manual
transmission delivers 25 city and 29 highway miles per gallon, estimated by
Jeep.
The Jeep Compass offers a Continuously Variable Transaxle, which performs like
an automatic transmission, and it's a doozy. The CVT is optional with the
Compass Sport model, and standard on the Limited, where Autostick can be added
to the CVT. Autostick enables the driver to shift up and down over six steps,
making it feel like a six-speed gearbox without a clutch pedal. The combination
of CVT with six-speed Autostick is the best of both worlds, and works more
precisely than the manual/automatic transmissions in many expensive sports
sedans.
The safety, ride and handling of the Compass are all excellent, with a strong
steel structure and well-planned subframe. Side-curtain airbags and electronic
stability control with anti-rollover sensors are standard. Although, in order
to keep the advertised MSRP down, air conditioning and power windows and locks
are optional.
The styling is similar but sleeker than Jeep's other small SUV, the Liberty,
which uses a six-cylinder engine. There's good interior space all around, with
rear seats that fold flat to make about 54 cubic feet of cargo space. Options
for added versatility include reclining rear seats and a passenger front seat
that also folds flat, creating either a table or eight-foot-long space for
storage.
Model Lineup
The Jeep Compass lineup comes as two models, Sport ($15,425) and Limited
($19,580). Each comes standard with two-wheel drive or with optional four-wheel
drive ($1600). One engine is used, a 2.4-liter four-cylinder that makes 172
horsepower and 165 pound-feet of torque. It comes standard with a five speed
manual or a CVT automatic ($1000).
The Sport model comes standard with an AM/FM/CD player with auxiliary audio
input jack. However, air conditioning ($850) is optional, and you'll need to
order the Power Equipment Group ($995) to get power windows and locks and
keyless remote entry.
Options include a six-disc CD player with MP3 ($320); Sirius satellite radio
($195); sunroof ($800); dark tinted glass ($350); heated front seats ($250);
Security and Cargo Convenience Group including alarm, tonneau cover and daytime
running lamps ($265); Trailer Tow Prep Package with engine oil cooler and
wiring harness; Driver Convenience Group with tire pressure monitor,
self-dimming rearview mirror, compass, temperature gauge, garage door opener
and vehicle info center ($425), and a nine-speaker Boston Acoustics sound
system ($595) featuring speakers in the liftgate that can blast the crowd at
tailgate parties. If you want reclining rear seats and a fold-flat front
passenger seat, you have to get the Value Package ($2600), which includes many
of the options listed above.
The Limited model comes with a leather interior, heated seats with driver
lumbar support, cruise control, dark tinted glass, speed-sensitive power
steering, flat-folding front passenger seat, reclining rear seats, and 18-inch
aluminum wheels with all-season tires. The front and rear fascia and side
moldings have shiny aluminum accents.
Options for the Limited include the Sport options, plus a six-speed Autostick
mode with the Continuously Variable Transaxle ($1150), a navigation system,
hands-free Bluetooth communication, chrome-plated 18-inch aluminum wheels
($825) and the Boston Acoustics sound system ($460).
Safety features that come standard on all models include anti-lock brakes with
brake assist (which applies more brake force than the driver is applying if
sensors determine it's needed in a panic stop), electronic stability control
(ESP) with Electronic Roll Mitigation (ERM), and side-curtain air bags for head
protection. Also standard are state-of-the-art seatbelts in all five positions,
so be sure to wear them. Seatbelts are your first line of defense in a crash.
Safety options include side airbags for the front seats ($250) for torso
protection in a side impact. A tire pressure monitoring system is available as
part of a package.
Walkaround
Many won't be able to tell the Compass from a Liberty because the styling is so
similar, especially in front with the classic Jeep grille having seven vertical
slots, but the differences are clear. The Compass looks more like a crossover
SUV, especially from the sculpted side, with smoothly angular flares over the
wheels, as opposed to the plastic cladding on most Liberty models. The rear
door handles are vertical, mounted on the C-pillars to preserve the character
line.
The liftgate on the Compass is sloped at nearly a 45-degree angle while the
Liberty's is vertical; and the third side window, into the cargo area, is a
stylized triangle (leaving more sheetmetal and reducing visibility) while the
Liberty's window is, again, squared.
That slope at the rear of the Compass is matched by the steeply raked
windshield, leading up to a roof that's six inches lower than the Liberty's.
Black plastic roofrails continue from the top corners of the windshield all the
way to the spoiler over the liftgate, channeling water over the roof.
The Compass is one inch closer to the ground than the Liberty. The more
car-like styling and relative sleekness make the Compass look longer than the
Liberty, but it's actually one inch shorter.
The Compass Limited has aluminum-looking trim on the sides and bumpers. The
less-costly Sport looks classier in its cleaner monotone. The optional 18-inch
chromed aluminum wheels on the Limited will appeal to those who want their Jeep
SUV to look more like a Cadillac Escalade.
Interior Features
The Jeep Compass cabin is roomy and comfortable. The front bucket seats are
very comfortable without being soft. The cloth seats that come in the Sport use
a rugged fabric that's smooth and stain repellant. The front seat jacks upward,
which is nice because the long dash makes it hard to see the ground in front of
the car, even though the hood is short. The long dash is a result of the sloped
windshield.
The cabin layout is functional and roomy. It isn't very exciting to look at,
trimmed in a lot of two-tone vinyl (boring in beige but better in gray), but
what mostly matters is room for your stuff, including your elbows and legs. The
front door pockets are short but deep enough to get your hand in, at least.
They're short to make room for big stereo speakers in the doors.
The gauges are clean and pleasant, white on black with a symmetrical layout
against a simple silver background. The four-spoke steering wheel is solid to
grip. The center stack is wide and intelligent: rectangular vents on top, over
the one-disc AM/FM/CD, over a slot that might hold a paperback book. Below that
are three climate control knobs, some buttons and then the shift lever at the
driver's right knee. Both the automatic and manual transaxle levers are mounted
in this practical high forward position, introduced by Honda after being copied
from rally racing cars, where ergonomics matter.
Moving rearward between the front seats, there are two fixed cupholders, the
emergency brake handle, and a flip-up center console containing a slot for a
cellphone or MP3 player. The console top is an armrest, and can be slid three
inches to accommodate drivers of different sizes.
Legroom is good, both front and rear: 39.4 inches in the rear. The Compass will
be a fine vehicle for a family trip, with reclining rear seats, optional on
Sport and standard on Limited. There are cupholders in the rear but no net
pockets on the front seatbacks, which would be nice. Grab handles make it easy
to climb out.
The rear 60/40 seats fold flat with the touch of a finger on each side, as easy
as it gets. The front seat on the Limited model folds flat, making a table. The
rear cargo area, a decent 53.6 cubic feeet with the rear seats folded, is
covered by a rugged vinyl mat that's removable for washing. The space-saver
spare tire is neatly stored under the mat. One innovative feature on the
Limited is the removable rechargable LED flashlight mounted in the headliner
above the cargo area.
The one-piece liftgate has panels for structural integrity, and the rear bumper
has a non-skid rubber surface for stepping onto.
Driving Impressions
The 2.4-liter World Engine is the right powerplant for the Jeep Compass. It's
an excellent engine, smoother and quieter than it was recently imagined a
four-cylinder could be. It uses the latest technology, including an aluminum
block and cylinder heads, and electronically controlled variable valve timing
that helps optimize torque. It makes a reasonable 172 horsepower and 165
pound-feet of torque at 4400 rpm, and delivers an estimated 25 city/29 highway
miles per gallon, with 4WD and the five-speed manual gearbox, or 23/26 mpg with
the CVT automatic.
A four-wheel-drive Sport weighs 3326 pounds, so the acceleration is hardly
neck-snapping, but the Compass is no dog. It just takes some forethought and
bit of patience to get it to do what you might demand.
Our test model was a Limited with the CVT automatic and Autostick, but we also
drove a Sport with the CVT without Autostick and another Sport model with a
five-speed manual transmission. The five-speed manual is good, and gets the
most out of the four-cylinder engine. But if you need an automatic transmission
and believe it's worth the extra cost, then you should go for the Autostick
option (available only with the Limited), because it totally changes the nature
of the CVT, giving the Compass two great transmissions in one vehicle. These
Continuously Variable Transaxles, or CVTs, operate like automatic
transmissions: Just put it in Drive and go.
However, the Autostick feature allows semi-manual shifting for those who are so
inclined. We like this feature. We were dazzled by the crisp and immediate
upshifts and downshifts using this six-speed Autostick. A Jeep engineer
explained that the nature of the continuously variable transaxle makes such
quick shifts possible. Jeep has made the two systems beautifully compatible.
The Compass Autostick is as sharp as any manual automatic we've felt, including
those on expensive sport sedans. With such accuracy, it always works: easily
downshifting to knock off a few miles per hour for bends, instead of using the
brakes; or downshifting to pass on a two-lane, instead of waiting for the
transmission to kick down on its own.
Along the winding wooded roads between Portland, Oregon, and the Pacific Ocean,
the Compass revealed itself to be steady and silent thanks to liberal use of
sound deadening material, sealants and structural adhesives. The suspension
does all the work as it should, isolating the cabin from the bumps and tosses.
We aimed for potholes and weren't jarred when we hit them. There was none of
the old Jeep head-toss, or side-to-side jouncing, and there was no trace of
wallow over ripples. Only the good feedback was transmitted through the
steering wheel to our hands. The turn-in for corners was secure, with no play
in the wheel or wandering.
Jeep has designed a new four-wheel-drive system for the Compass, which it calls
Freedom Drive I 4x4. On the surface it works much like all-wheel-drive systems
by other manufacturers: On a dry, flat road, virtually all of the power goes to
the front wheels, but as traction is needed elsewhere, as much as 60 percent
can shift to the rear wheels. The coupling is through a two-stage clutch system
that's magnetic and electronically controlled, rather than viscous, and Jeep
says this is markedly more efficient.
We drove the Compass over 30 miles of loose, wet gravel roads that climbed,
descended and twisted in every direction. We pushed it to find some limits, and
they were suprisingly high; the Compass didn't skate on the slick round stones
as we expected it to, even with standard touring tires, although the ESP
activated a couple of times to keep us out of the ditches. We slammed on the
brakes at about 40 mph, and the ABS with rough-road detection worked hard but
successfully.
When we reached the beach, we climbed into a Compass Sport with the
Continuously Variable Transaxle and no Autostick, and optional Goodyear
Wrangler all-terrain tires that aren't available with the Limited. The Jeep
people pointed toward the top of the nearest steep sand dune and told us to
floor it. Amazingly, the Compass climbed to the summit, where there were no
other vechicles except ATVs. The CVT is the ideal mechanical means for
transmitting engine power in deep sand, because its pulleys and steel belt
provide an infinite number of gear ratios, allowing the engine to stay in its
most efficient operating range.
It's difficult to imagine getting stuck in snow or mud in the Compass Sport
with these tires. The differential can be locked for the best traction from a
standing start, and the Brake Traction Control dabs the brakes (at lightning
speed) at individual wheels to keep them from spinning. The locked differential
keeps the torque evenly distributed at 50-50, up to 10 miles per hour, at which
point the torque begins transferring again, as calculated by the electronic
control module based on vehicle speed, turning radius and wheel slip.
We charged full blast back down the steep dune, and found a stretch of
whoop-de-doos near the waves at the bottom. It wasn't exactly our intention to
turn the Jeep into a motocross bike, but we gave it a go. We finally bottomed
out the front end, but it wasn't easy.
Summary
The all-new Jeep Compass brings great things to the compact SUV market. Safety,
style, comfortable ride, steady handling, high fuel mileage, advanced
engineering with the four-cylinder World Engine and Continuously Variable
Transaxle, and superb four-wheel-drive capability. Last but definitely not
least (except in a good way): affordability. It's an intelligent vehicle with
which Jeep should do well.
NewCarTestDrive.com correspondent Sam Moses filed this report from western
Oregon.
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