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By
EWAN KENNEDY
7 May 2007
We have a friend who drives our test cars. Jim is our ‘everyday’
guy, while he has a fair interest in cars he's far from being a revhead
and brings us back to earth from time to time when it comes to the ‘real’
things in cars.
So perhaps it shouldn’t have come as a surprise when Jim
announced the Compass was, "the best Jeep I have ever
driven".
Yet it did surprise me, because I feel Compass is the worst
Jeep I've ever driven. And I've taken the wheel of many of these
iconic 4WDs before. In drives that included two invitations to the
famous Rubicon Trail in the USA. A trail famed as one of the
toughest of all 4WD tracks. Where you travel for mile after mile
in low range, first gear with the engine idling as its torque
slowly takes the vehicle up, over and around harsh, seemingly
endless, car-breaking terrain.
The totally different opinions on the Compass between Jim the
everyday driver and me the revhead indicate the harsh decisions
that have had to be taken by Jeep. The guys there won’t admit
it, but I’m sure they would like to have stuck with the
traditional rough ‘n’ rugged Jeep image forever more. But have
been forced by economic reality into producing a comfortable ‘toy’
4WD to meet buyer demand. Hence the introduction of the Compass to
Australia a couple of months back.
Jeep's American Compass is an entrant in the soft-roader SUV
market, up against the likes of Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V and Nissan
X-Trail, all from Japan.
Which may make traditional Jeep buyers angry, but will make the
company more money and that’s what counts in any business.
The styling of Compass is clearly a Jeep with the big
seven-slot grille and round headlights.
Jeep's new Compass can carry four adults in reasonable comfort,
with good legroom in the rear for a vehicle of this size. The
seats are supportive and work well over long distances. There’s
also good rear legroom, three kids in the back will have decent
space and there's headroom for taller than average travellers.
The rear seats can be folded flat to provide 738 litres of
storage space. The front passenger seat can also be folded flat to
provide lots of length to carry things like ladders and old-style
surfboards, this is a most handy feature. The cargo area also has
a self-recharging removable interior light which can be used as a
torch. The vinyl cargo floor can also be removed for easy
cleaning.
On the road Compass handles well for a vehicle of its type with
below average body roll. The ride is on the firm side to achieve
this decent handling. Noise suppression is pretty good and almost
to car standards. The steering is on the light side and there's
not a lot of feel through the rim.
As in the Dodge Caliber on which it is based, the Jeep Compass
has twin speakers that are located in the inside of the tailgate.
These can swing down to face outward for outdoor entertaining.
Power for Compass comes from a choice of 2.4-litre petrol and
2.0-litre diesel engines. The petrol Compass is mated with either
five-speed manual or continuously variable (CVT) automatic, the
diesel model is only available with a six-speed manual gearbox.
Our test car had the petrol engine and CVT automatic, a
combination that’s likely to prove the most popular with buyers
as it has more refinement than the turbo-diesel model.
Some experienced drivers may find the CVT somewhat irritating
on hilly terrain as the engine revs pretty hard at times to keep
things happening. And the lack of gearchanges can be off putting.
Actually there are dozens of gearchanges taking place as the
engine and transmission work together to have exactly the right
torque for rapidly changing situations.
If you’ve never driven a car with a CVT before, may we
recommend you ask the dealer to allow you a longer than average
test drive. That way you should soon be able to ignore the
differences in engine sound.
If you still don’t like the CVT, the Jeep Compass’
designers have added tiptronic-style manual overrides to let you
choose the gear you reckon is best. Just bear in mind that the
computer is almost certainly better than you are at selecting the
right ratio.
Using the CVT in its Drive mode virtually all of the time will
see the Compass having fuel usage of about nine to ten litres per
hundred kilometres in country driving and on motorways. This will
climb to 11 to 13 litres per hundred in constant city and suburban
conditions.
These figures are about right for a relatively heavy 4WD with
big tyres and somewhat suspect aerodynamics.
Compass uses an active 4WD system that Jeep calls Freedom
Drive. Like other vehicles in this class it operates the drives
only through the front wheels most of the time and automatically
activates all four wheels when extra traction is needed. The
system allows the driver to lock-in 4WD mode if desired so there's
some off-road ability. Though it’s likely most buyers will use
it only in all-road situations.
It’s a shame that Jeep has been forced into building a
vehicle like this, but we fell that the marque’s reputation as
already so strong that it can roll along without any real loss in
its iconic image.
AT A GLANCE
MODEL RANGE
Sport 2.4-litre petrol five-door wagon - $32,490
Sport CRD 2.0-litre diesel five-door wagon - $36,490
Limited 2.4-litre petrol five-door wagon - $36,490
Limited CRD 2.0-litre diesel five-door wagon - $40,490
FEATURES
ABS Brakes: Standard in all models
Air Conditioning: Standard in all models
Automatic Transmission: $2000 option with petrol, not offered with
diesel
CD Player: Standard in all models
Central Locking: Standard in all models
Cruise Control: Standard in all models
Driver Airbag: Standard in all models
Passenger Airbag: Standard in all models
Front Side Airbags: Standard in all models
SPECIFICATIONS (Jeep Compass Sport CRD 2.0-litre diesel
five-door wagon)
ENGINE:
Capacity: 1.968 litres
Configuration: Transverse four cylinders in line
Head Design: DOHC four valves per cylinder
Compression Ratio: 18:1
Bore/Stroke: 81.0 x 95.5mm
Maximum Power: 103 kW @ 4000 rpm
Maximum Torque: 310 Nm @ 1750-2000 rpm
DRIVELINE:
Driven Wheels: All-wheel drive
Manual Transmission: Six-speed
Automatic Transmission: Not offered
Final Drive Ratio: 3.45:1
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 4405mm
Wheelbase: 2635mm
Width: 1810mm
Height: 1630mm
Turning Circle: 10.8 metres
Kerb Mass: 1540kg
Fuel Tank Capacity: 51 litres
Towing Ability: 1500kg with braked trailer
SUSPENSION AND BRAKES:
Front Suspension: Independent, MacPherson struts, coils springs,
gas-charged shock absorbers, anti-roll bar
Rear Suspension: Independent, multi-link, coil springs,
gas-charged shock absorbers
Front brakes: Ventilated disc
Rear Brakes: Disc
PERFORMANCE:
0-100 km/h Acceleration: 11.0 secs
Standing 400 Metres: 17.2 secs
FUEL CONSUMPTION:
Fuel Type: Diesel
Fuel Consumption - Combined Cycle (ADR 81/01): 6.5 L/100km
STANDARD WARRANTY:
Three years/100,000km
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Marque Publishing Company
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