[motorworks]

Originally Posted by damager21

Nowadays whenever I see the latest Skoda TV campaign, I can't control my laughter. Their theme is that Skoda Octavia offers so much more than a SUV that the owners friend who bought a SUV recently, came and punched the Skoda sales person.



PS: To be taken on a lighter note. Not a dig at owners of Octavia or any community

It's actually the other way around even now! Have you seen the actual prices and features of Octavia and the Compass? I guess not!

With no offence to the Compass and while I think it's well priced, the prices seem higher than most D segment sedans. For example the base 1.4 TSi Octavia offers 4 airbags and many more features than the base Compass sport although they are similarly priced ( around 18 L ). The sport variant in the Compass is pretty basic with just 2 airbags and ABS as standard.

So I think the AD that you mentioned still makes a lot of sense even in the post Compass price announcement scenario!

[prakash_ajp]

Originally Posted by Vulken Auto

Price list for hyderabad. What is logistics? Road tax @14% has to be 176000 for sport diesel. Insurance is inflated. I have booked a red sport variant in manual diesel.

With some hard bargaining (and pretence of being ready to walk away from the deal), you might be able to save some there. Just tell them you don't want the accessories (if you don't want, i.e.) and logistics is way too high. And of course, just get the insurance done yourself, which will save you some more.

These unscrupulous dealers just want to make money one way or other. They don't care how many customers walk away due to this and they don't share Fiat's desperation for selling cars. Most of them own dealerships from several brands too.

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by motorworks

The sport variant in the Compass is pretty basic with just 2 airbags and ABS as standard.

The Base Variant also gets

1. TCS
2. ESC
3. Hill start assist
4. Electronic Roll mitigation


All the safety features are standard except Side and Curtain airbags which are exclusive to 4WD variants.

[sridhar-v]

Originally Posted by GTO

============
When compiling, our focus is on precision & comprehensiveness. We don't care about being "the first one out" with a review of a hot new car. What we do care about is a potential customer getting the entire, true picture.

Nothing makes my day more than an owner replying on an official review thread saying "I agree with the review".

Do arrange to take the Compass offroad in the course of the review.

And if you want a reference for the same I am more than willing to drive down in my Grand Vitara to join the offroad excursion.

[volkman10]

FIAT with COMPASS now moves up the July sales chart ( Auto punditz), moves up four slots from June. Likely to better its position in the coming months,

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by budgam.boonyi

North America FCA vehicles are almost always rated the lowest in term of reliability, specially by Consumer Reports. Many Mechanics I have talked to over here in Canada call Jeeps rust buckets, and many exclaim "Why do poeple buy them!!". I would be nervous about putting 20 Big ones on a Jeep and only after a year maybe even 2 years of launch. The Grand Cherokee has a much better reputation.

This is what I am worried about as well, as for me, reliability = Japanese. I too would wait before plonking $$ on the Jeep. Had it been a Nissan/Isuzu/Mitsubishi, I wouldn't have given it a second thought.

I am unsure of its 4x4 hardware and will wait for Team-BHP's Official Review to actually see as to how it performs in real world. I just so wish it came with better [AT] tires in 235 section.

[Boomerang]

Originally Posted by DuHasstMich

Exactly! The Creta SX+ petrol 'on road' price is less than the base Compass ex-showroom, and everyone is calling out Hyundai? What gives?
Tucson? yes that will face some heat, but that is not a big number mover for Hyundai anyway..

I reckon this is more from the size/SUVish look point of you. I, for one, compare similar sized vehicles first, then move onto detailed comparison to eliminate initial ones.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Sheel

This is what I am worried about as well, as for me, reliability = Japanese. I too would wait before plonking $$ on the Jeep. Had it been a Nissan/Isuzu/Mitsubishi, I wouldn't have given it a second thought.

This is no pure Jeep, but a Jeep engineered FIAT. Now that can be good or bad the way you look at it.

The good? They have a long history with the engines in India. The 1.4 Multiair is a more advanced version of the 1.4 TJet which adds variable valve timing as well. And FIAT has had a long history with Multijet engines in India, without any major issues reported. We have seen the 1.3, 1.3 VGT and 1.6 in the market and now the 2.0. No reliability concerns raised with the TJet engine either.

The only critical part that is going to be new are the automatic transmissions. Both the DDCT and the 9 speed ZF AT are going to be new to Indian conditions and that probably explains why the launch is being planned in phases, with test mules still being spotted on the road.

Wouldn't be worried about the other smaller parts as the warranty covers 3 years and 1L kms. Probably the extended warranty (when announced) will take it to 5 years and 1.5L kms. I can say for sure that FCA has been pretty good with warranty claims, although the extended warranty had issues recently (from the external vendor who denies claims) and I hear they are changing the vendor now.

The bad? Hardcore offroaders won't be pleased, but I know of only a handful of them who would venture out off-road with expensive machines.

PS - If Nissan / Mitsubishi / Isuzu had managed to compete with a similar product and price, things would have been different. Both none of them are all too serious about the market.

[VW2010]

The first impression was "what great pricing". Slowly you understand and get a sense of actual on road pricing and realise the base version is unimpressive yet almost costs as much as a proper D segment sedan and the top variant price figures can actually get you a pre owned bimmer or a merc.

I wish they just added little more bells and few whistles to the base version. Like a touch screen infotainment and alloy wheels to seal the deal.

I am sure there is a whole bunch of disappointed crowd who expected the base version to be slightly better or priced lower for what it offers.

[PM - B]

Originally Posted by VW2010

the top variant price figures can actually get you a pre owned bimmer or a merc.

The cost of maintaining and running a car is different from the cost of acquiring one.

The cost of maintaining and running a preowned BMW or Mercedes is no different from that of a new one. And without service and labour costs built in, This will always be the challenge.
IMO the Jeep in our Indian conditions - will be more abuse friendly relative to the above Germans.
I can confidently say that Jeep Compass would be way cheaper to service and run.

I wish they just added little more bells and few whistles to the base version. Like a touch screen infotainment and alloy wheels to seal the deal.

The Base Version comes with a 5" Touchscreen Infotainment and Stylized Steel Wheels.

I am sure there is a whole bunch of disappointed crowd

We always want more for less.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by VW2010

I am sure there is a whole bunch of disappointed crowd who expected the base version to be slightly better or priced lower for what it offers.

The issue is not "what is offers", but what it offers "visibly" as compared to higher versions. FCA should have known that Indian consumers like to "see" whats on offer.

Sure the base version offers ESC, TCS, HSA, FSD, EPB, DST etc, but the market wouldn't care much about all these. They are just a bunch of acronyms that doesn't make much sense.

Standard 7 inch touchscreen system and alloy wheels? Now that would have made the base version very much appealing. Hyundai, for example has mastered this art - Safety features are on offer only on the top most variant only (For both Creta and Tucson it's only on the top most Diesel only, not even the petrol top end) so that people read it on the home page and be happy, but can actually touch and feel the touchscreen system and alloy wheels etc even on the lower variants.

Personally speaking, I'm happy to get the alloys added. Easy 1 hour job.

[bhpfaninblr]

Given that this a Mutijet II, the low end driveability must be better and the usual turbo lag should be less pronounced. Will be interesting to read the official team bhp review on the low rpm driveability and city driveability of the Jeep Compass

[46TheDoctor]

Contrary to the popular opinion here, i still feel the ex showroom prices offered by the jeep at least for top end versions should have been OTR to make it more realistic and VFM and it seems achievable given the fact they manufacture Compass here. With current pricing, 4x4 diesel AT with sunroof will touch almost 28L OTR. I will simply skip them here with this pricing.

Yesterday, i went to check out Hexa and the sales person said (based on the info from Tata Motors insiders) that Tata will bring out hexa 4x4 AT with improved features like larger screen and sunroof for approximately 2L more within next six months. It will make it around 21-22L OTR which sounds like good value and i might settle for that.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by damager21

Nowadays whenever I see the latest Skoda TV campaign, I can't control my laughter. Their theme is that Skoda Octavia offers so much more than a SUV that the owners friend who bought a SUV recently, came and punched the Skoda sales person.

Jeep Compass - Offers much more than Skoda Octavia at a lesser price

Funnily, we own an Octavia 1.8 TSI (on lease) and my father was interested in switching to the Compass after the lease expires.

He always wanted a SUV, and the Compass would make a nice retirement car.

..and then I began comparing the specs.

The Compass Limited (O) 1.4 Multi Air (the one we would get, if we do eventually decide) is priced at almost 24 lakhs on the road in Bangalore.

At that price, it misses out on features like electric seats, sunroof, and a couple of other little features that my father has gotten used to. Oh, and the Compass doesn't come close to the Octavia in terms of interior and boot space. We even felt that the interior quality is not as good as the Octavia's. The Compass also misses out on crucial safety equipment too (2 airbags instead of 6).

And before I forget to mention, the Octavia 1.8 TSI is not only more powerful and meatier than the Compass petrol, it is lighter(?) too!

The only area where the Compass has the edge is the additional ground-clearance.

So, would it make sense to plonk the same amount of money on a car that trades equipment, space and even performance for additional ground clearance and of course, great styling? I'm not sure.

What are your thoughts? My father is still on the fence.

[VW2010]

I can confidently say that Jeep Compass would be way cheaper to service and run.

Jeep as a brand is not even in the top 10 of reliable brands in multiple yearly consumer review/forums/survey over the years. The other brands above Jeep were surprisingly BMW, MERC and Audi.

Hope your fortune forecasting for Jeep becomes true and over a period data proves you are right as well. We are way too early to get this judgmental on service, maintenance and cost of ownership.

IMO the Jeep in our Indian conditions - will be more abuse friendly relative to the above Germans.

Again, this is just assumptions. Many of us who own Germans here have actually found the cars to be way more abuse friendly than most other brands we have used. Call it better suspension or better build but my Jetta has gone through more abuse that it still hardly rattles compared to say a Swift i had earlier.

We always want more for less.

Who doesn't? In this case i am just saying we are getting way less for more money compared to other cars in this segment.

Personally speaking, I'm happy to get the alloys added. Easy 1 hour job.

I still think the base is loaded but lacks that final punch to make it stand out. The competition may hardly flinch now till they see actual sales, service and future of Jeep.

What are your thoughts? My father is still on the fence.

Brother, i just converted a guy at work from Jeep to Octavia. The sedan will last longer, safer and ride better for years IMHO. In fact the only other car i suggested was to look at the top end elantra 2L Petrol.