[GTO]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

I had a fairly decent TD of the trailhawk when it came to office. No off roading but around Electronics city on poor roads as well as normal roads that I drive daily on my Ecosport.

Agreed with your post. I drove the Compass Trailhawk over the weekend.

It is a nice engine-gearbox combination; if it was introduced along with the Compass' original launch, the car would easily be doing ~2000 units / month consistently. But Jeep killed its potential by bringing it too late & that too on the Trailhawk variant only. I hope that the rumoured lower variants that this gearbox is coming in will be priced well.

The drive is smooth and it'll suit the relaxed driver. The brilliant engine also has enough torque on tap. But Fiat doesn't have that brilliance in tuning AT gearboxes (I say this after driving the Compass Petrol AT too). At times, I found it hard to believe that it's a ZF. Many times, it would upshift when I didn't want it to, and downshift at others. Sometimes, it stayed in 2nd gear for longer than expected. Found the gearbox "hunting" in tricky traffic conditions too.

Still, overall this is a capable AT SUV, with the price & size being the main points against it. As things stand today, my favourite Compass remains the Diesel MT which is quite a rockstar.

Just wanted to add that the dead pedal is horrible. It's way too narrow. The dead pedal didn't bother me as much in the MT as it's not used as much there. But in the AT, my left foot started aching after resting the left leg on the dead pedal for 45 - 60 minutes.

[Arjun Reddy]

Update on my most recent drive. This time I played around with the cruise option all the way.

The Trailhawk has explosive performance in the cruise resume mode. The higher the cruise was set at the faster the acceleration. I just felt that FCA are running different maps for the cruise control.

Every time you brake ,the cruise dis -engages , you then hit the resume button and then the Trailhawk is a different beast. It will still take that one second to choose the right gear and kick down, and then the full torque surge and the 170 horses seem to be all available.

The acceleration and up shifts happen really quick. The first few times I was actually struggling to hold the suv( torque steer I guess or just surprised?)

In the cruise resume mode this SUV transforms itself into another beast. I am now enjoying my highway drives a lot better and the smile has been plastered across my face ever since. No points for guessing which steering buttons will be the most worn out on my Compass.

Hope I was able to time it but maybe another day when I have a buddy around and not my wife.

Just completed 4500 kms. A long drive (1400 kms round trip)down south helped. Enjoying the tank.

[soumobakshi]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Ground Clearance:

I am assuming this can be achieved in a Limited 4x4.

Originally Posted by Samura

Superior Approach / Breakover / Departure angle:

This continues to be an Achilles heel, whats the possibility of retrofitting Trailhawk Bumper on Limited 4x4?

Originally Posted by Samurai

Skid Plates:

Again I believe this would be an easy add-on for the with Limited 4x4.

Originally Posted by Samurai

Improved water wading depth:

How exactly is this achieved ? Did they change anything in the engine Bay and exhaust plumbing?

It would be really great if you can respond to this

[McLaren Rulez]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Another weakness of vehicles with a low crawl ratio is downhill driving. Even at maximum crawl ratio, the downhill speed would be too much.

Naive question but it seems like the issue is when all four wheels lock up and the car still slides down - shouldn't the Hill Descent Control pump the brakes here to let the wheels rotate and give you steering control again?

Also, in such instances, I assume the fundamental problem is that the tyres don't have the grip to hold the vehicle on the slope so wouldn't the same thing happen with a proper crawling gear?

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by soumobakshi

It would be really great if you can respond to this

I don't know the answers to these. One of the owners has to try it.

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

Naive question but it seems like the issue is when all four wheels lock up and the car still slides down - shouldn't the Hill Descent Control pump the brakes here to let the wheels rotate and give you steering control again?

HDC behaves exactly like ABS. And ABS is not a good thing in offroad driving. Ask any offroader who has taken ABS equipped SUV into slippery trail.

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

Also, in such instances, I assume the fundamental problem is that the tyres don't have the grip to hold the vehicle on the slope so wouldn't the same thing happen with a proper crawling gear?

When the tyres keep rotating, it doesn't easily slip. Let's say the braking tyre slips when coefficient of traction is at 5, but the rotating tyre slips when coefficient of traction at 2, giving you lot more room to work with it.

[McLaren Rulez]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Let's say the braking tyre slips when coefficient of traction is at 5, but the rotating tyre slips when coefficient of traction at 2, giving you lot more room to work with it.

Interesting! It seems in principle possible for an ABS mode that accomplishes precisely this by allowing some rotation to "mimic" a crawl gear - but I suppose it hasn't quite been figured out yet.

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Originally Posted by soumobakshi

[/i][/u]

It would be really great if you can respond to this

Regarding the water wading, I'm assuming they have relocated the air intake level as well as moved essential electronics higher?

Originally Posted by Samurai

HDC behaves exactly like ABS. And ABS is not a good thing in offroad driving. Ask any offroader who has taken ABS equipped SUV into slippery trail.

I wouldn't say exactly like ABS where it pumps the brakes at approx 15 times a second. HDC uses ABS sensors but the braking forces are different. If it behaved just like ABS, then the point of HDC would be moot and it'll be HCD - Hill Crash Down!

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

I wouldn't say exactly like ABS where it pumps the brakes at approx 15 times a second. HDC uses ABS sensors but the braking forces are different. If it behaved just like ABS, then the point of HDC would be moot and it'll be HCD - Hill Crash Down!

Well, HDC uses ABS, just the frequency and modulation is different as the application is different.

[albeit21]

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

Thanks Samurai for the detailed review. Rated 5*.

Great review Samurai!
Technical explanations were very helpful.

How did you find the Trailhawk on the highway? @arjunreddy

I personally just clocked 6000 kms in my Jeep and it has been a great experience. Although there are a few knick and knacks which should be ignored to enjoy the experience, I could live with this car everyday. I always have two minds about the look of the car, it depends on mood, maybe.

The Pros-

• The monocoque chassis- provides great confidence in twisty roads.
• The suspension- glides over broken roads.
• The fit and finish is posh and doesn't feel like a let down.
• Off-roading capabilities.

The cons-

• Less Boot space- not practical to fit big suitcases.
• The gearbox- the gearbox has very smooth upshifts and downshifts but it is not very intuitive and struggles to select a gear. It is also a very dull car for hard acceleration from rest. Because of the gearbox the car doesn't feel like a 170 horsepower.
• Mileage- gets around 7-8 in the city and around 12 in highway conditions.
• Pricing- If this car had been priced at under 30 lakh.
• AdBlue- if you're going on a highway trip, you should not forget to check the gauge as there were 20 litre cans available but the tank is only 13 litres, so had to just leave the can at the dealer.

Also, as the government advises that the AdBlue cans are available in petrol bunks I could not find one. Found one in a store where they sell engine oil.

My final Verdict of the car is its an all rounder which scores highly well in every area and if you do not want a Volkswagen Tiguan or Skoda Kodiaq or a slight off-roader who prefers to go to off beat locations.

[nikhilthegunner]

I came across something on Rushlane. https://www.rushlane.com/jeep-compas...-12339534.html
There is a video for it also by a person named Anshuman Bishnoi. There are some off-road enthusiasts negotiating some muddy terrain. While the Endeavours, Safari's, lone Gypsy, Pajero and Isuzu are able to manage, the Jeep Compass Trailhawk is simply unable to handle the same terrain, no matter how much they fiddle with the system. Would invite your opinion as to what you think.

Of course, the focus seems to be only on the Trailhawk while you just get glimpses of the other cars' off-road prowess. The video does not shed positive light on the Trailhawk.

Am also attaching link to youtube video of the same that Rushlane has posted.

https://youtu.be/z2BfKgvMnJ0

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by nikhilthegunner

I came across something on Rushlane. https://www.rushlane.com/jeep-compas...-12339534.html
There is a video for it also by a person named Anshuman Bishnoi.

Just to let you know, Anshuman is a former Team-BHP moderator. He has his own youtube channel (very successful one at that).

The lower ground clearance of the Trailhawk vs the big boys as well as articulation as well as highway tyres was always going to be a challenge in extreme terrain like this.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by nikhilthegunner

Would invite your opinion as to what you think.

As any offroader will tell you, one can't comment about a terrain unless the he/she is present at the venue and witnessed the action first hand. Photos and videos don't provide enough information to pass any kind of judgment on why some vehicle failed.

Better let Anshuman comment on it since he was there.

[Guna]

Originally Posted by nikhilthegunner

While the Endeavours, Safari's, lone Gypsy, Pajero and Isuzu are able to manage, the Jeep Compass Trailhawk is simply unable to handle the same terrain, no matter how much they fiddle with the system. Would invite your opinion as to what you think.

One thing I notice is, all other cars gained certain momentum before they reached the point of steep incline while the Compass seem to approach it gently. It can't build the momentum while it is already beginning to loose some traction.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by Guna

One thing I notice is, all other cars gained certain momentum before they reached the point of steep incline while the Compass seem to approach it gently. It can't build the momentum while it is already beginning to loose some traction.

It was not building momentum because of its lower ground clearance.

From what little I have seen of this vehicle, it is a brilliant ride / handling / driving package, but it won't off-road as good as a Fortuner, but then, these two vehicles belong to different class.

As far as overlanding goes, the Fortuners/Endeavors will have an advantage because of space and the scope of modifications.

Touring I think, Compass Trailhawk should have an edge because of superior ride / handling / FE [tank-range], size.

[padmrajravi]

Originally Posted by Sheel

It was not building momentum because of its lower ground clearance.

I may be reading too much into the specs here. But the review says Trailhawk has a suspension lift of 30 mm over normal compass. Normal compass has an unladen GC of 178 mm. So Trailhawk has an unladen GC of at least 208 mm. Safari Dicor which is in the video also has an advertised GC of 205 mm and is a lot longer than Compass. So they are not that different in terms of GC. Or is there some other difference between the advertised GC of a monocoque and a BOF vehicle? Does BOF have an advantage because of the wheel articulation even with a small GC value?