2017 Jeep Compass coming soon

[Jimmyb]

Debuting this spring in the US, the all-new 2017 Jeep Compass brings a new level of on- and off-road excitement to the fast-growing C-SUV segment, perched between the compact B segment Renegade and full-size Jeep GrandCherokee.

Take a look at the all-new Compass in action on the trail in San Antonio, Texas. For some, saying goodbye is easier said than done. Just ask Jeep. Despite the arrival of this all-new, second-generation 2017 Jeep Compass crossover SUV, the brand will keep selling the first-generation Compass also as a 2017 model before sending that decade-old ute to the great scrap heap in the sky. Consumers may be confused.

We, however, are happy to bid adieu to the lackluster first-generation Compass, as well as its boxier twin, the Jeep Patriot.

Like its predecessor and short-term stablemate, the new Compass fits into the 15.4-inch overall-length gap between Jeep’s wee Renegade and its midrange Cherokee crossovers. (If this hair-splitting strategy seems a bit odd, know that the Compass also is intended to serve as a volume seller in many global markets for which the Cherokee is simply too large.) Unlike the sad-sack first-generation Compass, though, the redesigned crossover looks and feels like it belongs on the same showroom floor with those rigs. Built on the “small-wide 4x4 architecture” that underpins the bug-eyed Renegade, the new Compass doubles down on the mini–Grand Cherokee looks that the original Compass tried to adopt in its 2011-model-year refresh.



The new one is more handsome and better proportioned, with its slab sides complemented by an attractive shoulder-line kick and a pseudo floating roof. The latter is painted a contrasting black on the $29,690 Trailhawk; the black-roof treatment also is available on the $25,390 Latitude and $30,090 Limited trim levels but not on the base $22,090 Compass Sport. As with most modern Jeeps, the Compass is liberally endowed with Easter eggs, including a molded-plastic gecko at the base of the windshield and an imprint of the Loch Ness Monster at the bottom of the rear window.

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Jeep is so popular right now that it can literally invent a vehicle segment. That’s just what the brand has done with the all-new 2017 Compass, which in size and price slips in between the subcompact Renegade and the compact Cherokee in the brand’s lineup. It’s a thinly sliced no man’s land without a direct competitor; the Renegade squares up directly against Honda’s HR-V, while the Cherokee is sized to do battle against the CR-V. Similarly, the new Compass lands in between Mazda’s CX-3 and CX-5, Nissan’s Juke and Rogue, Chevrolet’s Trax and Equinox, and so on.

This happened primarily because of global markets where the Cherokee is simply too large for local roads—Brazil, for example—or where it commands higher taxes, but the Compass doesn’t really need a direct competitor to also be successful in America. Anything wearing the Jeep logo glitters like gold in today’s crossover- and 4x4-obsessed market, a phenomenon proved by the Compass’s rather tragic, cheap-feeling predecessor, which sold in huge numbers despite its mediocre powertrains, lackluster dynamics, and unattractive styling. (The Patriot that this new Compass also replaces was better-looking but was otherwise similarly unsatisfying.) Excited readers who assuredly will crowd Jeep’s website after browsing this report might notice something strange: that the old Compass is listed as a 2017 model. That’s because both Compasses will be built concurrently through next year; they’ll be built in separate plants through the 2017 model year, according to Fiat Chrysler. The juxtaposition between the two speaks as much as this article does to the new model’s betterness.
Indeed, Jeep is building this crossover in four countries and selling it in more than 100 markets. When the Compass goes on sale here in the United States, it will come with a single engine option: a 2.4-liter four-cylinder. This so-called Tigershark engine also powers versions of the Renegade and the Cherokee as well as a host of other Fiat Chrysler products and makes 180 horsepower and 175 lb-ft of torque. Front-wheel drive will be standard, a configuration that will offer buyers the choice of a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission.

Intriguingly, Jeep will allow buyers the choice to pair the stick shift with the lighter-duty of the Compass’s two available all-wheel-drive systems (in addition to the automatic), dubbed Jeep Active Drive. This system behaves like most all-wheel-drive setups on the market, sending torque through the front wheels until traction needs dictate that some grunt be sent to the rear axle. Jeep’s system adds a rear-axle-disconnect feature, which reduces mechanical drag by disconnecting the rear driveshaft when not needed. Opting for the automatic with Active Drive steps you up to a nine-speed transmission.

A different 4x4 system is exclusive to the off-road-oriented Compass Trailhawk model. Dubbed Active Drive Low, it’s a full-time system with a shorter final drive (4.33:1 rather than the standard 3.73:1), enabling a 20.4:1 crawl ratio when first gear is engaged. As with Active Drive, it comes paired with a nine-speed automatic transmission. Every all-wheel-drive Compass comes with Jeep’s Selec-Terrain drive-mode selector with optimized traction control and drivetrain algorithms for tackling snow, sand, and mud as well as an “automatic” setting. The Trailhawk model adds hill-descent-control functionality, as well as the coveted Trail Rated certification.