2017 Jeep Compass: Pointing in the Right Direction

Our esteemed Managing Editor doesn’t exactly hand out Lifetime Achievement Awards like Tic-Tacs, so when he does, we know he’s serious. The previous generation Compass was widely (and rightfully) derided for its faux-off-road pretensions and Playskool interior. It wasn’t just TTAC who knocked the thing in recent years; buff books piled on, too.

For FCA, the Jeep brand is essentially a license to print money. All of its models are doing well, even the Compass which, in the U.S., is on its way to having its best sales year since it was introduced a decade ago. Yes, you read that correctly. Armed with that knowledge, and the current hot-as-fire compact crossover segment, one can scarcely imagine the sales gains they will make with this, the handsome new Compass.

The new Compass will replace both the old model and its Patriot sibling. Slicing its segments razor-thin, the new Compass will slot in between the subcompact Renegade and the compact Cherokee. Looking several orders of magnitude better than the old Compass, this new model features design cues and an overall styling language closer to that of the Grand Cherokee. Its wheelbase, at 103.8 inches, is only two-and-a-half inches shorter than that of the Cherokee, and interior volume is said to be a scant two cubic feet smaller.

At launch, the new Compass will be offered with but a sole engine option: the Tigershark 2.4-liter inline-four, churning out 180 horsepower and 175 lb-ft of torque. Buyers selecting a front-wheel drive Compass can choose a six-speed automatic or six-speed stick. Move to a 4×4 drivetrain, as you should, and that six-speed auto is replaced with FCA’s nine-speed unit. The manual is said to be offered on the models equipped with the ActiveDrive 4×4 system.

FCA’s UConnect will be offered in the typical three different touchscreen sizes — 5.0, 7.0 or 8.4 inches. In the latter two systems, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will be present and accounted for. Driving nannies such as forward collision warning and lane keeping will be available on upper trims, with rear-cross traffic alert and backup camera system making appearances.

There will be four trims available at launch, starting with the base model Sport. From there, familiar Jeep trim levels appear — Latitude, Trailhawk, and Limited. The Trail-Rated Trailhawk will be the Jeepiest of all, equipped with a raised suspension, off-road tires, a yaffle of underbody skid plates. Pricing? Not announced, but logic dictates it will start somewhere between the base prices of the Cherokee and Renegade.

This begs a question: what other models are its direct competitors? In theory, Jeep’s Renegade does battle with Honda’s HR-V, for example, while the Cherokee takes on the CR-V. Same thing with crossover offerings from other brands like Mazda, Chevy, or Nissan. In essence, it doesn’t really matter. Many shoppers will sign the note simply based on the mini-Grand Cherokee styling, good feature content, and the Jeep badge, direct comparisons be damned.

Given that its predecessor was a tragic and cheap-feeling thing yet still sold like hotcakes in the twilight of its production cycle, we can only imagine that Sergio has ordered and installed bank vaults with seven-slat grilles at FCA headquarters in which to store all their money. Our prediction? Barring some sort of cataclysmic event, they won’t be able to make enough of them. Models sold in our region will be built at FCA’s facility in Toluca, Mexico, with other markets being supplied by factories in Brazil, China, and India.

[Images: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles]