Roughly once a decade since 2006, a new Jeep has been unveiled sporting the Compass nameplate. It seemed like a puzzling one to stick with, but stick with it Jeep did, and soon we’ll see a third-generation Jeep Compass debut. Jeep really needs it to be a success now, because even though the current Compass isn’t exactly class-leading, it’s a bright spot in a dismal time for Stellantis. Let’s have a closer look.
The first Jeep to bear the Compass name debuted at the 2006 Detroit auto show, and this rebodied Dodge Caliber wasn’t exactly great. Alright, it was reasonably priced, but it looked a bit dorky, suffered from the typical Chrysler cost-cutting of the time, and soon had a deadly rival in the Jeep lineup, the mechanically identical yet much boxier Patriot that debuted at the 2006 New York auto show. God, these really were different times, huh?
Anyway, the original Compass would float around Jeep showrooms for a decade, eventually becoming more and more Jeep as time went on. In 2011, it gained a Grand Cherokee-inspired facelift and an off-road package that would make it Trail Rated, and then it basically stayed the same before getting replaced by an all-new, Fiat-based model.
Riding on a stretched version of the platform underneath the Renegade, the second-generation Jeep Compass set its bearings firmly for Subaru Forester territory. Not content with a slightly quirky yet cheap-to-a-fault crossover for urban dwellers, Jeep was seeking wider appeal, and that shows with the more grown-up appearance and powertrain lineup of the second-generation Compass.
See, instead of a continuously variable transmission, the second-generation Compass launched with a range of conventional automatic transmissions as two-pedal options. The base two-liter World four-cylinder engine was gone, with a 180-horsepower Tigershark 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine being standard across the board. The interior gained an optional 8.4-inch touchscreen infotainment system, and an available 506-watt audio system, and you could even get an off-roady Trailhawk trim. It really made you wonder how much this second-generation Compass would eat into Cherokee sales.
Well, that’s a good question, because the Compass had its best-ever sales year in 2018, shifting 171,167 units. That sounds pretty good, until you realize it was outsold by the Cherokee and Wrangler, not to mention several competitors. The Ford Escape shifted 272,228 units that year, more than 100,000 more than the Compass. The Chevrolet Equinox sold 332,618 units that year. The Honda CR-V did 377,895, the Nissan Rogue sold 412,110 units, and Toyota managed to find homes for 427,170 RAV4s. Ah.
Cue the facelift. For 2022, the Compass received updated styling and a brand-new interior with an optional 10.1-inch touchscreen, much nicer materials, and a completely redesigned dashboard. One year later, the naturally aspirated 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine was ditched in favor of a turbocharged two-liter four-banger with 200 horsepower and 221 lb.-ft. of torque. Promising moves, but product decisions that were initially undermined by a global pandemic and an overall product that just doesn’t drive with quite the refinement of its competition. As Car And Driver noted:
On the open road, however, the Compass requires undue attention, owing to the steering’s spongey on-center feel. When it’s time to slow things down, the firm but overly sensitive brake pedal is difficult to smoothly modulate, and stops from 70 mph require a lengthy 195 feet.
That’s not great, but there is an upside — the Compass is relatively inexpensive for the segment. Pricing for the 2024 model starts at $27,495 including freight and that includes all-wheel-drive, alloy wheels, a 10.1-inch touchscreen, and a six-speaker sound system. On paper, it sounds pretty good, and while sales still aren’t otherworldly with 34,632 sold last quarter, it’s one of the few models to buck Stellantis’ sales declines in the past quarter, and the only one to do it with real consequence since a multinational corporation can’t eat on 236 electric Fiat 500e hatchbacks. In fact, third-quarter sales are up 71 percent year-over-year, which means that Stellantis desperately needs the next Compass to be a hit.
Ah yes, the next Compass. While few details and only one teaser image have been released so far, here’s what we know. Going off this sketch published by Jeep, it seems to be taking on a boxier silhouette, which ought to appeal to crossover buyers looking for a more assertive look. It’s also expected to debut in Europe next year, and gasoline, plug-in hybrid, and fully electric variants will be on offer. No word yet on which of those would make it to America, but don’t be surprised if there’s at least one electrified option. After all, North American models will be built in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, and that’s down the highway from electric Dodge Charger production in Windsor.
Jeep needs the next Compass to succeed because at the moment, the current compass is the only Jeep model with rising sales figures. It’s an entry into the hottest segment in North America, the compact crossover market, so although the task at hand is difficult, a slice of an enormous pie should still be enough to feast on.
(Photo credits: Jeep)
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I really liked the first gen Compass, mainly because for whatever reason I fit perfectly in it, 6′ tall, mid 200s and it just fit me perfectly. Also we were in New England and the awd was nice.
Super cheap interior but I came from Neons and PT Cruiser and Rangers and what not so not like I was used to burled wood dashes.
I couldn’t fit well in a Caliber which also kind of irked me as a replacement for the economical Neon, and also due to the Patriot’s boxiness couldn’t fit in that as well either, but the Compass I fit in better than a Liberty.
Thankfully I got out of it before having any issues.
Once a decade since 2006? You mean twice?
I’m not sure why it’s so hard to make a modern day XJ. That’s it; just make an XJ that meets today’s crash and emissions standards. Boom. Would it overlap with the JLU a bit? Yes, somewhat. But it can be a bit tamed down in comparison in regards to off-road capability.
That’s just it: the 4-door Wrangler IS the modern day XJ. Where they named the pickup Gladiator, they should have just named the 4-door “Cherokee.” It’s got the same front and rear solid axels, similar cargo capacity, 4 doors, etc. etc. It just needs the amazing straight-6.
There’s a Hurricane a-blowin’.
This may be a wierd take, and because I am just a hillbilly from the middle of nowhere, could be entirely wrong.
BUT
I make a living selling cars, and because of this, I pay attention to what people want, and why. People buy Hondas and Toyotas because they are Hondas and Toyotas. You arent going to steal those customers. Forget it. Even if you build a car that equals them in reliability, it will be 5 years before anyone realizes it, and another 5 before you start to get a reputation for reliability and win sales that way. Hyundai and Kia realized this about a decade ago, and they were probably facing the same uphill battle Jeep has now.
You have a decent line, a decent nameplate, but you need something to win these customers and still make money. Hyundai and Kia discovered the magic bullet, and now they are kicking wholesale ass, despite all their other faults. The secret?
They let their designers run wild, and designed some kick-ass looking vehicles.
The Soul. The Telluride. The Palisade. The Sportage. The Ioniq 5. The Carnival.
People used to groan if I suggested a Kia or Hyundai product. Now I’m getting customers who come in, test drive a $60,000 Grand Cherokee and then cross shop it with a Palisade and a Telluride.
Design has everything to do with that, and Stellantis needs to understand that.
Well…. these days I would certainly NOT recommend any Kia or Hyundai products at this point. I know two people with Santa Fe’s that burns quarts of oil between fillups and Hyundai is giving them the cold shoulder- refusing to fix the issue even though its their faults for the bad engine design.
Doesn’t matter how crappy that GDI engine is. Doesn’t matter that they’re easy to steal, or that insurance companies charge a premium, or that the dealer experience is garbage, or that their resale as a brand is as bad as Nissan. People will buy them.
Because they’re pretty.
My upscale neighbors traded in a fancy Range Rover for a Telluride, so they have definitely moved the needle with their designs. Will be interesting to see what the Audi S5 gets replaced with. My money is on an IONIQ 5N if the Telluride experience isn’t horrible.
Yup, upscale branding is powerful, but nothing can overcome a “trendy” vehicle.
For one reason or another, the Telluride became the hot thing for the middle class mom to get. (Was it the green/tan color combo? I like to think so.)
Once you have the heart of the American mom, you have sales.
In my neighbourhood it is the EV9 which is hot now
Right, the next wave. Rural Ohio is still in the stone age as far as EV’s go (and will be for a while-It’s 2024 and the only public chargers within an hour of my house are at dealerships)
But the new Santa Fe has already started popping up everywhere.
This was Chrysler’s secret sauce back in the late 80’s and early 90’s. They need to find it again.
The Compass is more orange tag Levi’s than red tag. (Do they even do that anymore?) All mine now are 40 year-old 501s, but further back I had some bell bottoms and boot cut jeans with orange tags that were decent, but not as rugged as my red tag jeans. More concession to style and convenience (zippers vs. buttons) than hard wearing and they didn’t last as long. That’s what the Compass represents to me.
So was the Renegade more silver tab then perhaps?
Agree with the metaphor though. Compasses are Jeep-lites, and that’s cool. They’re not for crawling around boulders or something, they’re for scooting around doing errands. Like Porsche, Jeep’s a niche brand finding a broader market to stay in the game.
I think of them more as Dockers.
To me, that’s the Grand Cherokee. You’ll commonly see them pulling up to a chill restaurant for a casual night out, not hitting the trail.
Good point.
My mom just bought one of the current models, and I think the draw is it’s appropriately “Jeep-y” but in an everyday way.
It has the various quirky stuff we associate with Jeeps, like a regular torque converter automatic, now-iconic styling, and (my favorite) actual analog gauges, but it’s basically a reasonable vehicle to drive around town that has a nice dash of style. For that kind of work, it does have a decent amount of actual utility.
If crossovers are our new standard vehicle, Compasses are the compact hatchbacks of this world…and that’s not a bad thing.
With their reputation for “quality”, I just cannot see a reason to buy one of these new. There are just too many options that are better.
And, if they follow their recent pricing trend…the Compass will point to almost any other crossover.
I imagine the more rugged looking Renegade not coming back will help a bit, but hard to say. Big question is will these be made in Europe or the US? it will be hard to sell to Americans if they are not making them.
Oh, except the Renegade is coming back. As a pure EV. Supposedly for $25,000:
https://www.motortrend.com/news/stellantis-new-jeep-product-plan-2027-renegade-ev/
according to the 2nd to last paragraph, production will move to Brampton Assembly in Ontario
Yeah, it’s taking the LX 300/Charger/Challenger’s place with the new Charger moving over to Windsor where the Pacifica/Voyager/Grand Caravan is built, Chargers are already starting to roll off the line there.
I find it funny how Thomas inferred Brampton and Windsor assembly are down the highway, while in practice they’re about 200 miles apart.
You’ll actually get quicker from Windsor to any of Stellantis’ plants in Michigan than you’d drive from Windsor to Brampton
200 miles is still close-ish I suppose, but Windsor is a fast hop over the river from Jefferson North
If the new Compass sucks, then surely someone will get their Comeuppance
I’ve not heard of the Jeep Comeuppance, but it sounds like something Stellantis deserves.
Will it be Just-Deserts Rated?
I’ll definitely keep my eye on it! I caught a bit of Compass-itus after owning one for so long, and I’m definitely a fan of the newer ones, so I can’t wait to see where it goes!
Also, no, I don’t think there’s a cure for Compass-itus. It’s definitely not Stellantis, that prescription sucks…. and sadly, it’s also where it’ll come from.
Oh god the first-gen Compass, my nephew’s wife had one. Massive pile of trash.
Unexpected flaw: Incredibly bad heater.
It’s been so long since I’ve seen a first-gen Compass that I forgot how bad they looked. The picture above felt like a 3:00am taxi ride after a night of tequilla.
I saw one this weekend, and ungainly is the term that came to mind, again. The mix of angles and forms is just so awkward. The rectilinear Patriot of the time looked 100x better, like the Cherokee most of us wanted to see.
I mean even at the time you didn’t see the front end that often, since it was usually blocked by the tow truck.
The big problem was they didn’t keep the front end proportions of the concept. The front end of the concept had bigger headlights placed closer together. That prevented it from looking like what a caricature artist might draw when asked to imagine a man named Hans who likes chocolate cake too much and is holding his breath.
And while I appreciate the bumper treatment with the little cheeks, it just doesn’t work because it makes it even more apparent how wide set the headlights are and how small they are.
Most people I know think the Compass competes more with the Crosstrek/HR-V/Corolla Cross segment. It’s sort of a weird tweener, at least from perception, as the Compass name was associated with the subcompact crossover segment for a long time. I’ve never known anyone to cross-shop the Compass with something like a RAV4. Probably because the RAV4 is something like 8″ longer.
Right now the local dealer has a single Compass listed for 30k, the rest are 35k and above. The Subaru dealer down the road has 8-10 Foresters available for around 33k. I know what I would choose.
Edit: Looking up the sizes, the Compass is way shorter than any compact crossover. In fact, it’s 3″ shorter than the Crosstrek. Even if you’re willing to accept the Jeepness of it for better or worse, it’s still a bad value.
At $30-$35k I’m going to need a substantial amount of cash on the hood to consider a Fiat pretending to be a Jeep while having the same off-road credentials of any other crossover.
For sure. But I don’t think much of the market knows or understands that cash on the hood is available (if it is). After years of a hot car market and many buyers being used to paying MSRP or sometimes even worse, you can’t assume buyers are going to show up willing to negotiate. They’re going to go look at online inventory, see a bunch of Compasses listed at 35k and look elsewhere.
it’s a compact crossover because it rides on a C-segment platform. The WB is what usually defines what platform it is. Pretty much like the CX-30 or HR-V that use a C-segment platform despite not being cross-shopped with a CR-V nor Rav4. Crosstrek is the same.
The Jeep might be small-ish but it’s got above average power for the segment, which is not a bad thing. IMO the Crosstrek has always been underpowered
The Compass is also a porker compared to the Crosstrek, at 300 pounds heavier. And the Crosstrek upper trims with the 2.5 has the same power as the Compass. It’s certainly not quick, but neither of them are.
I’ll give you that. But these are definitely some odd numbers in more than one way. The Compass manages to be porkier, shorter, yet somehow offers better rear legroom, better cargo behind the 2nd row and with the rear seats folded down. The shorter hood meant for a transverse engine is where the 3″ delta came from.
Good packaging indeed (and unusual for an “American” brand)
This 5 time jeep owner is skeptical. Jeep has a reputation for quality that will make it hard to sell loads of these. They need to drop that price by $10K if they hope to sell a lot of them. I worry that once they start jacking up the price with option packages and models the will price them out of consideration for many people. If they are too expensive people may just buy a lower spec Wrangler if they just do not go buy any number of Japaneese or Korean crossovers.
A “5 time Jeep owner” jumping right to their quality reputation (or lack of) just makes me laugh a little inside.
I thought about that a lot. My current jeep a 2012 JKU I bought new has been fantastic. one coolant leak and some small stuff but it has been great. It is still under lifetime bumper to bumper warranty.