[jojoinassi]

Anyone here who has driven a 4x4? How is the drive? How different from the 4x2?

[mango_pal]

Am I the only one wondering if and when there's going to be an official T-BHP review?

[jojoinassi]

Originally Posted by mango_pal

Am I the only one wondering if and when there's going to be an official T-BHP review?

Of course you aren't the only one

We all are waiting impatiently for the same. And I guess once the review is out it'll be easy for many to make an "informed" decision than an impulsive one

Test drove the 4x2 longitude today. As everyone has put it here the ride is quite good. The space in the back row is not for three adults. I'm worried about the GC since that flap below the front bumper is quite low.

Anyway waiting for 4x4 test drive and the team bhp review

[sups]

Originally Posted by GTO

Downsides = Small, narrow cabin and hatchback-like rear seat in terms of size & space (strict 4 seater). Rear legroom is just adequate, although not excessive by any measure. Ride quality is liveable, but nowhere as plush as the Duster & Hexa. In the Compass, you will feel the bad roads, and potholes at low - mid speeds too. Cabin goes through noticeable side-to-side movement when going over a broken road in the city (try the same in a Duster - big difference). Lastly, its smaller in size than you'd expect after looking at the pictures.

Thanks GTO for the crisp summary. Agree with all the positives, so concentrating on the "small" negatives mentioned by GTO.

Went to test drive Compass today with my family. At 11.30 AM, the showroom was already moderately crowded. Just two impressions about the looks and the build:
1. My wife does not like SUV looks, but Compass was love at first sight .
2. My 10 year old son had to use both his hands to open the front door.

The salesman is allowing hardly around 1.5 km test drive in a scheduled route. Very insufficient to say the least, but that is how it is now, take it or leave it.

It was a latitude 4x2 diesel. First I sat on the back seat and asked my driver to drive. There is sufficient legroom in the back seat, not like Octavia though, but sufficient. Seats are not too hard or nor too soft, loved the comfort. Yes, I agree with some of the people that little more inclination of the back seat would have helped. I wanted to feel the back seat ride over concrete roads which gives most vehicles up-and-down motion at the back. But test drive route was tar road with occasional relatively large potholes. The vehicle was perfectly planted even over those potholes with high level of comfort inside.

When I took the driver seat, first thing that surprised me was the light clutch (slightly long travel though). Shifting gear in city traffic was effortless. My car would be driven a lot in the city, and hence I was very particular to check this. Breaks are nice, but I would have preferred some more sharpness. I tried to drive over the potholes as much as possible, but the car was planted. Few days back I drove Duster AWD over a certain patch of concrete roads and was surprised by the "carpet ride". Even the mighty Octavia TDI showed some bumpiness over the same stretch of road. I would have loved to test Compass in the same stretch, but that was a few km away from the showroom and I was not allowed to take Compass there. So, I could not replicate what GTO mentioned about the ride quality. I was very dissatisfied with the short test drive, the salesman said that I would have to wait for 20-25 days for an extended drive .

Overall we liked Compass a lot. I am in the search of a relatively compact, safe, nice to drive, good NVH and sturdy diesel car with good ride quality which will be driven both by my driver and me. I am not a fan of fancy features. The vehicle will be driven a lot in the city and it has to be a new car. Based on my test drive experience, I would have booked an Octavia Style TDI AT if I had the budget. But I can only afford a diesel Octavia Ambition manual which has a hard clutch and not convenient in city. And this is where Compass scores and comes within budget. Any recommendations which one to go for? GTOs comment about no-so-great ride quality of Compass has stopped me for the time being to write the cheque.

The car that I liked most from the C segment is Rapid TDI AT with a good diesel engine, excellent AT. Rapid rides well. If Compass ride quality does not satisfy me after my extended drive later, I am not sure if I should sacrifice other things and downgrade and go for Rapid just for sake the beautiful AT gearbox of Rapid and repent later.

[Vitalstatistiks]

Originally Posted by mango_pal

Am I the only one wondering if and when there's going to be an official T-BHP review?

Originally Posted by sups

The salesman is allowing hardly around 1.5 km test drive in a scheduled route. Very insufficient to say the least, but that is how it is now, take it or leave it.

Very, very common issue this. Just a suggestion for our review and mod teams- while the top quality team bhp review will come when it comes, because perfection can't be achieved by cutting corners. And the official reviews are for times to come and be referred to for 2-3 years ( if not more), could the review team pls, pls post their views/thoughts/comments on ride and handling of a newly launched vehicle more quickly. While a bhpian can check and see everything else for himself at the showroom or in the brochure, a newly launched vehicle typically does not provide a decent test drive. So while they may be able to make up their mind about everything else (without a team bhp review), for ride and handling a bhpian NEEDS team bhp support. While there already will be auto cars of the world with their dime a dozen reviews, nothing beats team bhp's feedback.

So, a sincere and genuine request, please take all the time you need to give us the official review. But let that not hold you back on giving some quick, practical feedback on ride and handling pls.

[SunnyBoi]

Had been to a FASS who service Compass and the parts have started to pour in.

HID Headlights are 40K a side



Base model tail lamps are 4K for the small part and 8K for the bigger part; refers to the tail lamp halves on hatch and body. Small light of high end with LEDs was 4999, picture came out too blurry though.





They supposedly haven't got stock of oil and air filters, it will be interesting to see the part prices.

[ecenandu]

Today, went to Fiat showroom to check out the new Jeep Compass. My uncle was interested in a compact SUV to replace his Linea. The dealership experience was really nice, Mr Lintto was very knowledgable about the specs and was very keen on explaining all the features.

The build quality is really good, much better than Innova Crysta I test drove earlier. Everything feels well built and looks like it will last for long time. Innova on the other hand, didn't give this impression. I am comparing with Innova because it is the last vehicle I test drove.

About the engine performance, I can't tell more as the test drive was really short, hardly 4 kilometer. All I can say is that engine pulls in a linear manner, there is no sudden turbo boost like in Verna or Swift.

Let the picture do the talking.

DRL in action, not overly bright

Tidy looking engine bay

Decent amount of boot space, you get a proper handle to pull the boot floor to access the stepney.

Instruction for the removal of rear parcel tray

Battery charger is plugged in on the display car as the DRL was turned ON

The door is heavy, even the inside door handle feels tough so does the lock

Electronic Parking Brake, there is an auto mode option where it automatically engage and disengage. In this mode, the parking brake disengage with half clutch and slight accelerator input. The only time I tried, it felt unintuitive but will become more natural with time.

European style rotary knob for the headlamps

Not much space between the dead pedal and the clutch

Scuff plate



Front bumper especially the aero flap is too low, will scrap on steep inclines. There are two cuts to take the abuse.


Dynamic functional test?

The seat belt buckle is chunky and quite heavy. "Double locking tongue" as per the spec sheet, not sure what it means

Instrument cluster is small, but large MID screen is handy. You can display the speed on it, quite a handy feature.


Gets a central speaker as well



Compass





Various colour options

Capless fuel filler

[ecenandu]

Defogger line follows a wave pattern near the wiper blade area

Nice wheel cladding, looks and feels tough

Front passenger as well as the driver gets reading lamps

7" infotainment system on the limited variant



Jeep branding on the boot lid

LED tail lamp, looks even better in person

ORVM is more convex after the dotted line, gives excellent field of view. Notice the "Jeep" branding

Snake? or is it a dragon?

A lizard lurking under the front windshield.

Rear AC vents, looks plain

No shark fin antenna here

Independent rear suspension

Tire pressure

Proper heavy duty guard for protection against under body hits



Plastic cladding in the wheel arch doesn't feel flimsy

Illuminated vanity mirror for both driver and front passenger

[ecenandu]

120 Kmph speed limit for stepney.

Size, width wise not same, 225/60R17 is the size on other wheels, there is a difference of 2.2%. Hence the speed limit of 120 Kmph, not alloy as well

Accessories, Jeep branded valve caps, 5990 for 'set of screws' ?





4990 for the license plate support, its American size, I believe, too small for our use

T-shirt, anyone?

Brochure.

Test drive vehicle.

[anil_neo]

Originally Posted by aviraj

I have sent Jeep regarding handling charges, RTO commission charges and other misc charges by dealers, but they dont seem to respond. They are either aware about it or simply do not care as FCA dealers have not been making money in a long time and this may just be an opportunity for them to make something extra

Yes, same experience here. Anyways my vehicle is scheduled to be delivered on Tuesday, hopefully.

[varadnerurkar]

Today I saw around 10-12 Compass lined up at the petrol pump near Pune Rto. All of them had come to fill their tanks. The person at the petrol pump said that the cars come once a week and fill their tanks with 97 octane fuel. Around 5-6 cars were camouflaged. Wonder what they were testing?!

[ecenandu]

Here is where the lizard is hiding.

The tyre on the display car was firestone make, all season tyre

[Pedaltothefloor]

Is there any automatic version available yet? The petrol auto would be fun to drive but could be a guzzler.

[ece2k2]

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor

Is there any automatic version available yet? The petrol auto would be fun to drive but could be a guzzler.

I think the petrol auto is supposed to come by the end of this year and the diesel one by early next year. Both DDCT and 9 speed zf AT gearboxes are new to the Indian conditions and I think it makes sense to wait for 6 months to 1 year before buying one. With poor track record in after sales support from FCA, living with drivetrain issues isn't going to be easy.

[Pedaltothefloor]

Originally Posted by ece2k2

I think the petrol auto is supposed to come by the end of this year and the diesel one by early next year.

Thanks. That means I don't have an auto option and need to look elsewhere,

Originally Posted by ece2k2

Both DDCT and 9 speed zf AT gearboxes are new to the Indian conditions and I think it makes sense to wait for 6 months to 1 year before buying one. With poor track record in after sales support from FCA, living with drivetrain issues isn't going to be easy.

That is a valid callout and I appreciate the caution. I wouldn't jump in for a good 1 year from now, as far as their auto trannies are concerned. However, I have never struggled with service/after sales support during 5 years of my ownership with the Punto. The support at Chennai and Bangalore service centers has been very good. It's their product that I suspect, not the service. But that's just me.