5 Reasons To Be Excited About The Jeep Compass

Jeep India will launch its most affordable vehicle, the Compass, in the country soon. But that’s not the only reason to be excited about the Compass.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ Jeep brand will launch its brand new global premium compact SUV, the Compass, in India, soon. Though it made its global debut last year, the India-spec SUV will be revealed on April 12. There’s a lot riding on the Compass to keep the brand floating in the country as its other two siblings are exorbitantly priced! Let us see why the Jeep Compass is a very important car for the Indian market and for the brand as well! 

First Made-In-India Jeep

You must be aware of this perspective, but it is one of the most important highlights of the upcoming Compass. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ Ranjangaon plant will be one of the four units around the world, manufacturing the Compass. And this Indian facility will be a key exporter for the right-hand-drive markets. With heavy localisation and economies of scale, the Compass is likely to be aggressively priced compared to its rivals – the Hyundai Tucson, Honda CR-V, VW Tiguan and others – with a base price of around Rs 20 lakh.

• Production Of Volkswagen Tiguan Starts In India

Caters To Off-Road Enthusiasts

Jeep is synonymous with off-roading, and the Compass will be no different. In India, it will fall in a segment that sits below the hardcore body-on-frame SUVs and its peers focus primarily on luxury attributes. The Compass, on the other hand, caters to off-road enthusiasts and can tackle off-roading relatively better than its rivals with its segment-first terrain selection modes – Auto, Snow, Sand/Mud (Jeep Active Ride with Selec-Terrain system). These modes adjust various settings to provide the best possible traction in the selected terrain type. 

Despite its off-roading characteristics, the Compass doesn’t fall short in pampering its occupants either. The Indian-spec Compass is likely to come with a panoramic sunroof, 8.4-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, bi-xenon headlamps with LED daytime running lights, leather upholstery, multiple airbags, Beats audio system, and others. 

Promises To Be A Good Daily Drive 

With its relatively compact footprints, high ride height, rugged feel and AWD powertrains, the Compass could prove to be a good daily drive, even when we take Indian roads into consideration. Based on the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ monocoque Small Wide 4x4 platform, the SUV is expected to drive like a car similar to its popular siblings, the Jeep Renegade and the Fiat 500X (not available in India), which share the same platform. Further, compared to big brawny SUVs such as the Ford Endeavour and the Toyota Fortuner, the compact dimensions of the Compass will allow it to squeeze into tight parking spots, which will come in handy for our crowded cities. 

Multiple Powertrain Options

Internationally, the Jeep Compass comes with 17 powertrain options which include three petrol-powered engines (1.4-litre Turbo, 2.0-litre, 2.4-litre) and two diesel motors (1.6-litre and 2.0-litre). Jeep is likely to offer the 1.4-litre turbocharged MultiAirII petrol and the 2.0-litre MultiJet diesel engines in India, both of which are borrowed from Fiat. 

A six-speed manual is likely to be standard with both the engine options in the Compass. Speaking of the automatic option, the 1.4-litre petrol is expected to be mated to a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission for the front-wheel-drive models, while the all-wheel-drive (4x4) version is expected to be mated to a nine-speed automatic unit. The diesel, on the other hand, might be mated to a nine-speed automatic. With its nine-speed automatic gearbox, the Compass can go on to become the most economical vehicle in the country to offer a nine-speed unit.

Check out the upcoming Honda CR-V Diesel with a nine-speed automatic here: Meet The New Honda CR-V With Seven Seats And A Diesel Mill! 

Will Be A Future Launch Tester          

Jeep is going bold with the made-in-India Compass with higher levels of localisation as compared to its competitors such as the Hyundai Tucson, Honda CR-V and the VW Tiguan. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles had announced in 2015 that it will manufacture ‘a new Jeep SUV’, a.k.a the Compass, from its Ranjangaon facility in 2017 with an investment of $280 million (around Rs 1800 crore). FCA has been true to its promise and now we have to wait and see how the market perceives the Compass and whether FCA’s investment will bear fruits here. If it does, prepare to see more Jeep SUVs in the country in near future. The automaker might as well locally assemble the upcoming all-new Wrangler!   

Jeep Compass Trailhawk 

This comes as a bonus! Like rest of the Jeep Trailhawk models, the Compass Trailhawk is also the most extreme off-road version of the SUV. It is available in almost all the markets where the 2017 Compass went on sale, and is likely to enter the Indian market as well; at a later stage, if not with launch of the stock variants. 

The Trailhawk comes with redesigned bumpers, not only to make it stand out in front of the stock variants, but also to improve the approach and departure angles. It gets an extra ‘Rock’ mode (along with Auto, Snow, Sand/Mud) in Jeep’s Selec-Terrain system along with Jeep Active Ride 4x4 Low. The Selec-Terrain in the Trailhawk version also includes Selec-Speed Control with Hill-descent Control. It also rides higher off the ground compared to the stock Compass. 

Also read:  Jeep Compass: First Drive Review