Re: Jeep Compass Facelift unveiled Per me- FIAT is one Car manufacturer with amazing design and engineering teams Only to be let down by a mediocre Management and Marketing team. Not sure if they have an analyst team to study market needs and feed back , in case they have ,those folks should be given a basic 101 training on how not to wreck a brand(Sorry ,FIAT brand is already wrecked, so how not to wreck a brand twice!)
I happen to be a hard core Fiat loyalist and have been waiting for a while to upgrade to Compass from our now 6 year old Punto 1.3 MJD Sportz. Was eagerly waiting for the facelift price reveal and have to say FCA India have their own unique way of deeply disappointing any one who trusts them to do any good.
in Early 2015 our Wagon R K10 was about to complete 5 years and already clocked 90k and we were in the market for second car for my office travel. Had already decided that we will not go with Maruthi and Hyundai was never on the list , test drove Polo. liked the driving dynamics but didn't quite like the cramped rear space, that's when we casually strolled into Ramkay FIAT Showroom Chennai to check the 2014 facelift version of Punto, liked the build and design; decided to take a test drive and we absolutely Loved it.
After about 5 test drives we purchased the Grey Punto Evo 1.3 MJD 90 HP Sportz Emotion with all black interiors and its been with us since then, so far no Maruthi,Hyundai,Toyota or Honda could match its driving dynamics or suspension or the high speed stability and braking that it offers , spare parts were available and not that costly to maintain. When Ramkay closed out Ignite Garrage was there to take care ; Hydraulic steering is a gem and could never make myself accept/like any other car's driving feel . Punto was nearing 1.25k and We were planning sell Waggie , this prompted us to look for an upgrade and and we decided it will be a Jeep Compass, never considered any other make , just decided it will be FCA and Compass. FCA stopping the FIAT brand was never a dampener , we still love what Fiat makes.
Took the Jeep Compass test drive(MT and AT) in mid Sep 2020 and decided it will be the Diesel AT , then came the Head vs Heart tussle , Limited Plus at 30.6 L was too pricey for us from VFM perspective ,Compass was really small for that price tag, so decided to go for lower trims . Longitude was looking good with discounts but it was tad bit under loaded for a 25L car , Longitude Plus didn't justify the 2.5L premium it had over Longitude and to sum it up ,'Head' won and we held the purchase waiting for Diwali discounts, Diwali came and went and there were no significant offers , then the wait started for year end , we got to Jan 2021 but there were absolutely no offers. Then the wait for facelift started.
All this while I was reading Team BHP updates and comments from fellow BHPian's on a daily basis , The Jeep Compass event on Jan 7th was subtly irritating as the CEO went on glorifying the premium offering Jeep Compass offers It was ironic as I was of the impression that Jeep Compass sells least in India for any passenger car Manufacturer. Only solace used to be that Nissan sells every lesser but with Magnite they jumped up the slots.
Event ended rather disappointingly as there were no details of the Price revealed , left me wondering what FCA was doing , Only logical reasoning was that they were pre-empting competition with the reveal of facelift ' But' was being cautious about upcoming budget, the 'but' and that logic flew out of the window yesterday when FCA India revealed that the face-lifted version of Diesel At is available at 32.7 L OTR On-road to start with.
For a hard core Fiat loyalist who couldn't find VFM in buying their existing product but was still hoping against hopes that good sense will prevail and they will really do something good - All hopes were dashed. We have a budget of 25 L and can stretch to 30L , provided it is 'VFM'.
I like many others didn't find pre-facelift Jeep Compass Diesel AT VFM at 30L nor its starting version at 25L OTR (with Discounts) , So FCA just decided to surprise us by making the Facelift's new entry point for Diesel AT at 32+ L OTR.
From VFM perspective Compass was already overpriced and now the accessibility to Diesel AT is bumped up by 7 L (considering preface lift Longitude Diesel AT was being offered at 25 L)
Unless the car is made of Gold or some rare alloy it doesn't make sense, In contrast is TATA Motors who is manufacturing their cars from the same facility of FCA and using Jeep's engine have done a stupendous job in offering a more practical package in terms of Harrier and Safari , let it be the cubby holes or the mobile holders or charging points 'OR' the real estate it offers for that price.
For me, in no terms is Jeep Compass Diesel AT VFM now , other option is to go up and meet Endy or Fortuner , not viable ; Looking at the space below , can't quite go with Maruthi,Hyundai,Kia or Honda . For the time being I am going to make myself r consider TATA Harrier, Harrier will never be a match for Compass, a Jeep is a Jeep ! (or rather a FIAT is a FIAT!) but then again money is money! its finite and you cannot just throw it away on a an over priced but undersized car.
Will try to convince wifey to get a Harrier now and if that happens we might later replace Punto with a Nexon. Dealing with TATA could be a pain but at least there is someone at TATA Motors with a better understanding of the market. That could possibly be the end of my loyalty to Fiat,if that's the case of a loyalist then nothing much left to say about others in the market who are not emotionally attached to FIAT.
P.S : This happens to be my first post, Big thanks to all you here for your valuable insights and contributions. This platform is real treasure trove when it comes to any thing about Cars. |