2007 Jeep Compass
By Larry Edsall
On Sale: Fall 2006
Expected Pricing: $16,000-$19,000
Don't expect to see the Jeep Compass on the Rubicon Trail or on the slickrock near Moab, Utah, but Jeep says the brand's first front-wheel-drive based vehicle will conquer new territory. Jeep calls this territory "modern urban." And most of it is paved.
Say what? Oh, the Compass will be available in a four-wheel-drive version, but this Jeep is designed primarily for the urban jungle and for returning decent fuel economy as it negotiates not muddy or rocky trails but tangled traffic on freeways.
Like the Dodge Caliber, the Compass will be built at the Chrysler Group's assembly plant in Belvedere, Illinois, formerly home of the Neon sedan.
Jeep says the Compass combines the packaging and functionality of a compact crossover sport utility vehicle with the performance, handling, fuel economy and price of a compact car or small pickup truck.
Target customers for the Compass are single or recently married professionals in their 20s, 30s or 40s who are "independent and family-oriented," if you accept those terms as something other than contradicting each other. Most buyers, Jeep says, will be female.
The Compass will show Jeep's seven-slot grille, round headlamps and trapezoidal wheel openings, though without the sort of flares needed to cover wide off-road tires. To these traditional Jeep designs, the Compass adds such contemporary cues as a steeply raked windshield, "expressive" hood and deep fascia, and body sides as smooth as any sedan's.
Standard equipment includes 17-inch wheels (with 18s on the options list), front and side-curtain airbags, a center armrest that slides forward three inches to better accommodate shorter drivers and incorporates an MP3 or cell phone holder, a vinyl-covered rear cargo area floor for easier cleanup. The options list includes Boston Acoustics sound system with articulating speakers in the lift gate (just like the Caliber), self-charging and removable cargo lamps (again, see Caliber), a 110-volt outlet and rear seats that recline 12 degrees so those riding in back are more comfortable.
Propulsion for the Compass comes from a 172-hp 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine. That motor can be linked to a five-speed manual or a continuously variable (automatic) transaxle.
A 2.0-liter turbo diesel will be available but not in North America.
For Jeep traditionalists, Compass with four-wheel drive will have a Lock mode for enhanced traction. It also will have eight inches of ground clearance, a 21.1-degree approach angle, 32-degree departure angle and 21-degree breakover angle.
There will be Compass and Compass Limited trim levels.
The options list will include seat-mounted side airbags, heated cloth or leather seats, a six-CD changer, Sirius Satellite Radio, air conditioning, power mirrors, all-terrain tires, an engine block heater, fold-flat front passenger's seat and more.
1-800-925-5337
www.jeep.com
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