Road Test: Jeep Compass 2.0 Limited 4×2

Ray Leathern gets behind the wheel of the new Jeep Compass to find out whether, post-bankruptcy, the all-American brand has gone soft or whether it’s just boxing-clever.

In the three years since Chrysler LLC emerged from chapter 11 bankruptcy, thanks to U.S. government bailouts, it would be officious to think anything tremendously dramatic has happened at the Michigan based company. I’d imagine when you have a $7 billion credit line, a lot of time and energy goes into rearranging the existing finances as it were, making sure money gets where it needs to be. Morgan Stanley and the Bank of America, among others, have been associated with Chrysler’s ‘rebooting’, along with the 30% share sold off to Fiat. Fiat won’t be able to arrest complete 51% control of Chrysler from the Americans until the government loan is paid back in full.

Looking back at some of the brands that have been tied up with Chrysler over its history, you’d be forgiven for thinking of Chrysler as the automotive equivalent of dry rot. Sunbeam, Hillman, DeSoto, Plymouth, AMC, Humber, Eagle, each passed through Chrysler’s system before finding themselves stoically stapled to the scrapheap. Jeep was one of the brands it acquired in the late 1980’s, in an attempt to recover – once again – from financial woe’s, but that time round, for once, its planning was spot on and it gave Chrysler a serious contender in the early 1990’s SUV boom.

Flaunting arguably the best off-roading name in the business, the 1992 Jeep Grand Cherokee, the square styled one; always driven by the street smart hero / detective through tough North American climbs in Hollywood films, became the iconic luxury Jeep for modern buyers. It was a runaway success for Chrysler and reports from the time say that despite the crude beam axles and coil springs, it was better built than even a Range Rover. After that everything got the square off-road styled look, including cars that were never going to go off-road.

What about the new one? The new financial crisis I mean. I’ve sampled the new, big daddy, Jeep Grand Cherokee and aside from it being quite mediocre off-road, I quite liked everything else it offered. So how about a comeback kid we all know Jeep desperately needs? Something cost effective, something environmentally considerate and something like the Jeep Compass then. Jeep’s first front-wheel drive only model sold in South Africa. It is a tall order considering said financial troubles and how advanced the modern, European equivalents are these days. I feel for Chrysler in that respect and if I’m honest, I can almost sense their idle indifference in having to cram their new car full of such pseudo-European quality technology to keep it on par with the rest. If it was just sold in the US they wouldn’t have to work half as hard at making it ‘European.’ It doesn’t promise the funky-ness of the current two-wheel drive crossovers in its class and yes, there are loads to compete with: Nissan Qashqai, Peugeot 3008, Kia Sportage, Hyundai ix35, BMW X1, MINI Countryman, the list is endless.

Styling wise, I’d say yes, it looks the part. They’ve taken from the Grand Cherokee and that’s page one of the Jeep styling handbook. The nose is perhaps a little too wide from ear to ear, making it look like an eel, the underwater creature who needs that mouth to scavenge food off the sea floor. I prefer that my test model doesn’t have quite so much gangster aluminium and chrome detailing on it that the Americans normally love. I’ll admit that while this isn’t a 4×4 car, it does feel kind of right to be sitting slightly higher in the cabin and, for the most part, other road users seem to think of it as an imposing car, they are only too happy to clear off when its wide grinning eel face appears.

Interior wise its got a bit more to shout about than older Jeeps. The plastic is not rough to the touch and it has cruise control, auto leveling headlamps, comfortable seats in typical American wide body style and Chrysler’s Uconnect system that records music tracks onto a hard drive and has voice activation. I would prefer a reach adjustable steering column though, just to fit a little better behind the wheel.

So far so good I’d say. It has a smooth 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine (115 kW and 190 Nm) and a five-speed manual gearbox that together will average 7.5 L/100km. Oh no, I didn’t mean smooth did I? I meant really noisy and unappealing. Unfortunately for Jeep, the four cylinder propulsion they use here is so far behind the refinement of its competitors it’s like stepping back a decade. The 190 Nm is too little to shrug this big car along and I think I maybe revved to the redline once – it was too slow and too noisy for a second attempt.

The ride quality and chassis, however, are really rather excellent. The Compass offers a compliant, comfortable ride befitting its setup of independent suspension front and rear. It even gets rather clever when you start to nail the throttle and throw it into a corner. The Americans are fastidious when it comes to being sued, so this tall, front wheel drive only, imitation SUV has a very clever and very eager ‘roll over mitigation’ system and traction control / vehicle dynamic control system to keep you from crashing. It will cut power at the slightest hint of danger and that’s a good thing.

Verdict then is that it’s actually not a bad car at all. It’s the type of 21st century car Jeep should be making these days. Giving the ‘4×4 only’ idea a rest and improving the tangible quality of their cars, I’m just a little put off by the powertrain, which is really asthmatic and unwilling. It’s a start in the right direction though and with some more research and development we could have Jeep back to full fitness.

What we like…

• Good ride quality from independent suspension.
• Comfy interior with improved plastics.

What we would like…

• Better four cylinder engine.
• Better manual gearbox.

Ray Leathern has been test driving and critiquing cars for four years now. He is South Africa’s 2010 Motoring Journalist of the Year in the magazine category, as well as a member of SA’s 2011 Car of the Year jury. What Ray writes, we read, and we suggest you do too.

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