2021 Jeep Compass Long Term Reports

I’m very much a creature of habit – so, when it’s time for a long-term car to go back to the mothership, I find it to be a rather stressful experience. And even though I have been going through such experiences for many years now, I still haven’t gotten used to it – in fact, the stress has only increased. And something similar happened when it was time for the Jeep Compass to go back.

Now, while the Compass has been around since 2017 – a facelift came in last year – and was a winner of our ‘Best of 2017’ award, scoring the highest number of points that year, I, surprisingly, never really spent any considerable time with it. In its latest avatar, the Compass features major improvements, such as a much larger multimedia screen and a digital instrument cluster.

So, how was my time with the Compass? Well, I must say that I really enjoyed most aspects of the SUV. The surety of its high-speed manners and the ability to smother bumps and deliver an excellent ride left me thoroughly impressed. The Alpine sound system, with a subwoofer, is great at belting out quality audio. I also like the ventilated seats, not just for the cooling function, but also because they are big, snug, and comfortable even on long journeys.

Since most of my time with the Compass was in the winter, I also got to enjoy its panoramic sunroof. Visually, our long-term car – the Model S (O) variant – had pretty distinct details. The big grille up front, 18-inch wheels, and big air dams gave it a premium appearance. If there is a niggle, it’s the automatic gearbox – despite being a 9-speed unit, the gearbox shifts slowly, which can be frustrating, especially in traffic. This made me sorely miss paddle shifters, which would’ve made kicking down gears much easier, adding significantly to the driving experience.

Overall, though, the Compass is a massively capable SUV. It can go off-road, handle long distances, and feels sturdy and plush. The only fly in the ointment, though, is that the upper variants of the Compass are now quite expensive.

It was an eventful month for the Compass; not only because I used it extensively but also because due to a sequence of events, it needed to be in the workshop for a few days and get some much-needed maintenance. It all started when a truck’s tyres flung a rock, owing to Delhi’s currently crumbling roads, onto the Compass’ windshield, causing it to crack, which quickly expanded. Around the same time, the warning to replace engine oil also popped up on the digital instrument cluster, which meant it was time to send the Compass to a workshop.

The overall process of service was quite easy. The car was picked up from our office, and the insurance paperwork for the windshield was done with minimal input from our end. Eventually, the windshield was replaced, and the car returned after the oil change and general check-up. Unfortunately, just a day after the Compass arrived, the low DEF fluid level light also popped up, but thankfully, the DEF top-up was done at our office itself, which was a big convenience. Another interesting thing I noticed was the flexible hose for filling DEF that came with the fluid – I’d struggled with filling DEF in the Tucson because I didn’t have a flexible hose, making the task rather awkward – it was a three-people job. But with the new hose, filling the fluid into the Compass was super easy.

Driving around in summer in Delhi – with a heatwave, I might add – you can’t help but notice two things about the Compass. One, as much as I love the black interior, I must add that when parked in the sun, the seats can get hot enough to literally burn your backside. But, at the same time, the air-conditioning in the car is very effective, and despite temperatures touching upwards of 40 degrees already, I’ve never had to set the air conditioning below the 23-degree mark. Our time with the Compass is soon coming to an end, but before it goes, I’m going to try and take it on a long road trip on some tough terrain – just to see the effectiveness of its all-wheel drive hardware. That should be the true test of this Jeep. 

It feels strange to say that I’ve never really had any solid seat-time in the Compass, in spite of the fact that it has been on the market for five years, won our ‘Best of 2017’ Award, and has twice been in our long-term test fleet. Sure, Kapil has raved about how solid the Compass feels and how well it drives, but this is the first time I’m spending some extended time in Jeep’s India mainstay. Recently, Jeep India officials talked to us about their extensive plans for India – you can read more about that elsewhere in this issue – and how India will soon have the largest Jeep product line up in the world, after the US, of course. So, this would be a good time for me to get used to how Jeeps drive.

My first impressions of the Compass are pretty positive – there is a sense of solidity and stability to the way it drives, something that many of its competitors lack. Even at slow speeds, there’s a certain surety to its drive.

The suspension is very well set up and deals effectively with bad roads. My driving style has always been the polar opposite of what one would call careful, and thanks to the suspension of the Compass, I simply don’t have to care about potholes, even at high speeds. The steering, too, has a nice, heavy feel to it. All in all, the Compass shows a lot of promise, and I hope to discover more of its capabilities in the next couple of months.

As the third wave of the pandemic recedes, my life is beginning to switch back to normal. The office now opens on all days, which means that I am back on my daily commute, and as a result, the question of fuel prices has once again become pertinent. Sure, fuel is cheaper now than it used to be, but it still can make a big hole in your pocket. Thank heavens that I don’t have to worry about it much, for I’m driving a diesel Compass. I’m not a particularly aggressive driver, unlike my bald, lunatic colleague, and despite the traffic, I’m currently getting about 12km/l, which is quite good for a decent-size SUV with four-wheel-drive hardware.

When I first received the Compass, I was dreaming of going on some epic trips with my family, but the third wave obliterated that dream. But, now, I’m hoping to squeeze in a quick trip before the summer sets Delhi ablaze. On my daily commute, though, I’ve become a fan of the 9-speed automatic of the Compass. Sure, it’s not the fastest box out there, but it suits my relaxed driving style quite well. And here I disagree with most reviewers – not all slow gearboxes are bad. The engine, however, is the real star of the Compass – torquey, refined, and efficient, it massively improves my everyday driving experience.

In my inaugural report of the Compass last month, I remarked that given the onset of winter vacations and the continued closure of schools, it would be a perfect opportunity for me to go for some long road trips with my family. Unfortunately, due to some personal issue, that couldn’t be the case, and for the past month, I’ve remained firmly stuck in the Delhi-NCR region. But then again, this year, once again, the NCR region has seen its fair share of the cold weather, which does help in not making me miss my annual winter road trips so much.

When it comes to the Compass, its performance has more or less been flawless. Sure, its 170bhp engine can be a bit on the lazier side, but the 350Nm of torque means that progress is flawless, no matter what speed you are at. And the suspension setup of the Compass…, well, it’s spot on. And despite the large 18-inch wheels, ride comfort is absolutely brilliant. While I did not go on long trips, the occasional high-speed highway runs made me appreciate the high-speed stability of the Compass, which is simply exemplary. And as my colleague Ishan claims, 6 – 8 hours of driving on the highway in the Compass is an absolute breeze. While the COVID situation is looking rather grim right now, I’m hoping we’ll get over this wave soon and will come out on the other side in much better shape than before. Mostly because it would be nice to resume my normal life and enjoy some memorable road trips before it’s time for me to return the Compass.

There was a time when I was a proud caretaker of the Jeep Compass in its earlier avatar for quite a few months. And I have very fond memories of the Compass from that period. It was comfortable, fast, quite fuel-efficient, and handled really well. In fact, we – me and my family – used the Compass on more than one occasion for road trips, at times, even to snowy areas. With its four-wheel-drive hardware, the Compass simply sailed past everything that was thrown at it.

It’s no surprise, then, that when the new Compass joined our long-term fleet, I jumped at the opportunity to be its caretaker. A look at the new version was enough for me to really appreciate all the changes and updates it has received. Take the new 10.1-inch multimedia touchscreen, for example. It looks great and is excellent to operate – a big upgrade over the small multimedia system of earlier variants. Similarly, the 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster is also well integrated and offers a lot of information.

The biggest change, however, is the addition of the automatic gearbox paired with a diesel engine. This means that you get the convenience of driving an automatic, along with lower running costs of a diesel engine. Not to mention, the 380Nm of torque certainly adds a lot of driving appeal to the Compass.

Externally too, the Compass has received many updates. I quite like the new 18-inch wheels. One thing that I don’t like, though, is the blacked-out front grille, which looks too plasticky for my taste. Also, the Techno Metallic Green of the car looks fantastic, but maintaining it is going to be a challenge that I’ll have to deal with.

Overall, I really like the new package that the Compass offers. The updates have addressed the biggest shortcomings of the previous Compass – the small multimedia screen and the lack of a diesel automatic – and I think the next few months with the Compass are going to be very exciting. The winter is here and schools are about to be closed again – a perfect time for some more road trips.  

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