JEEP COMPASS 1.4 ltr

What is it

The Jeep Compass has been with us for quite a while now, and whilst it’s focussed on the family car buyer, it’s still a Jeep at heart.

On the road

To be fair, our week with the Compass involved mainly motorway work, from Lancashire down to Bedford, down to Wokingham, and so on - well over 600 miles in total.

Jumping in and driving the Compass for the first time reminded me of driving the Volvo XC range in that it’s firm to the point of being stiff, not uncomfortably stiff, just firm. This translated well on smooth country lanes, but along rough road surfaces it became a little noisy and unsettled. The firmness didn’t affect its cruising ability mind, and the turbo equipped 170bhp petrol engine had a nice amount of poke, and the 9-speed auto box proved a nice match.

After a week of long distance driving and the odd foray green laning, the 1.4ltr petrol achieved on average 28mpg, which isn’t that far from the official WLTP figure of 30.4mpg.

Off road

This particular Compass came fitted with Jeep’s Active Drive 4wd system, so it didn’t matter what obstacles I aimed it at. Granted, there wasn’t much flex, but the Compass made light work of pretty much everything, though on occasions it was the lack of aggressive tyres that let us down. As we all know, tyres make’th the off-roader, and a good set of all terrains is all you would need to make the Compass better.

The Active Drive system, by the way, is fully automatic and delivers seamless operation in and out of 4WD, and at any speed. The dial just in front of the gear-lever allows you to set it for snow, sand and mud. And if things get too gnarly, there’s a 4WD Lock button.

The only thing that did concern me slightly was the low approach angle, though it does include a rubber bib that bends and flexes quite a bit - which was handy!

Interior

Sat in the drivers seat, the large dials on the dash are easy to read and everything important is to hand.

I was slightly disappointed to only find one USB up front, but for longer journeys we normally carry a separate charger. Most things are controlled through the touchscreen infotainment system that’s nicely integrated into the dash, and there’s also lots of buttons to play with. Oh, and the UConnect system works well and is simple to navigate through the menus.

For a compact 4x4 there’s plenty of head and shoulder room, especially for two big ‘uns like us.Though, if I have one complaint it’s that the seats are a tad too firm. Don’t get me wrong, they aren’t uncomfortable, just firm. Muddy Madam did quite a lot of gripeing about the passenger seat headrest protruding too far forward, making her incredibly uncomfortable. She declared that it was so bad that it would actually stop her buying one!

Rear passenger legroom is adequate for tall people and there’s a large fold down armrest with two cupholders. In the boot you’ll find an adjustable floor that, at the deepest of its three settings, provides 438ltrs of space, although it does leave a large lip at the boot's entrance.

Engines ’n’ transmission

There’s good selection to choose from, five in total; three diesels and two petrols and two transmissions, including a segment-first ninespeed automatic for 4x4 models or a six-speed manual transmission for both 4x2 and 4x4 drive.

Conclusion

With its iconic seven-slot grille, commanding front end and stylish presence, the Compass is a nicely packaged and compact SUV. As I mentioned, as it was pretty much all motorway work, but on the short technical lanes that I did manage to drive the Compass proved itself more that capable.

Despite not doing much in the way of exploring and muddy adventures, it didn’t stop me from enjoying my week with it,