[ArjunKrish]

Hello everyone,
I have been a long-time reader of this wonderful and interesting forum but haven't posted till now. This is my first post here and I would like to share my experience of buying and owning the Jeep Compass Diesel MT 4x2 Longitude, which I bought in October of 2021.

I am a person who likes to keep my cars for a long time. The reasons being

• My usage is around 12000 to 15000 Kms per year which would only take the cars Odometer to just 150000Kms in 10 years, which is too less of a mileage for modern cars to have any trouble, if maintained (serviced regularly) well.

• Other reason is the obvious financial one. Although I love cars and would love to keep buying new ones every few years (Well, who wouldn't :-) ) the price we pay for cars and spares in India does not make a case for changing cars every few years unless the usage is quite high. The tax rates on cars (and probably most other things too) here in our country are too high as we all know. GST, Cess, Import Duties, TDS, Registration and Road Tax and Insurance. Add to this the Income tax we pay for the money earned with which we buy the car. The effective tax rates should be upwards of 70%. Sigh!! And what kind of roads do we get after paying so much in taxes Well, sorry about the rant.

My previous ride has been the Skoda Fabia 1.4 TDI PD which was bought in 2008 and nearing completion of its 15th year. This is a car that introduced me to what qualities a good car must have. The build quality- both inside and out. The reassuring thud of the door shut. Insulation from road and engine noise (The engine being a Pumpe Duse and not Common Rail, was quite noisy though. But never was a problem for me.) The way the steering lets you feel the road through your hands. The precision with which the driver input reaches the front wheels. The handling and ride quality which were outstanding. I could go on about the Fabia, but this is not the right thread for it. I know. Why I am mentioning this is that since it was my first ride and a long term one, I would be comparing my Jeep Compass' features and drive quality with my Fabia.

Coming to the other options before buying, I honestly did not have many cars in mind. I was waiting for the Skoda Kushaq and Volkswagen Taigun to launch and once they were out, I had a look, read and watched reviews and somehow, I did not feel like it was much of an upgrade from the Fabia. The Interior quality was a bit of a downer for me, not a deal breaker though. But the EPC issues were scary and I did not want to wait long till the issues were completely fixed. Plus, I am someone who rarely drives sedately or with a light foot. So, I wanted a Diesel, which would be more forgiving for my heavy-footed driving. Plus, I love the tug of torque you get from a Diesel engine. This turned my eyes (and heart) towards the Jeep Compass. In fact, I always had an eye on Jeep.

In 2016 when Jeep started operations in India, I was quite excited to know that the Jeep brand that I have always admired had finally come to India! I used to work in IT and live in Chennai during that time. My daily commute was via Old Mahabalipuram Road and there was a Jeep showroom at Perungudi (Guys from Chennai would know). Whenever I was driving past the showroom, my head used to turn trying to catch a glimpse of the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee that would be on display. When the Compass was launched, I was optimistic that I could afford this Jeep sometime in the future. Fast forward to 2021- I took a test drive of the Compass Diesel manual and booked the car right away.

I had booked the Jeep Compass Diesel MT 4x2 Longitude. My reasons for going with this variant are,

• I did NOT want a panoramic sunroof. I hate panoramic sunroofs. No offence to people who like it, but practically speaking, sunroofs do not make sense for our climatic (hot and sunny) and environmental (dusty and polluted) conditions. My old Fabia has a single pane sunroof and the only times I open it is when driving in hill stations while the weather is cloudy and cool. But if there was a vehicle passing close in front of me, I had to close the sunroof to avoid all the dust and smoke from getting inside. Plus, I have had a clogging issue once during the monsoon in Chennai that caused the water to leak on the driver and passenger from the roof liner. It dampened the roof liner and that caused it to loosen and sag after a few weeks and I had to replace the roof liner. I did not want to go through such things again and did not want that awful amount of heat coming from above either. I would not have had a problem having a single pane sunroof, but definitely not the large ones.

• The reason for choosing a Diesel engine is mentioned in one of the above paragraphs. I like driving manual transmissions. Did not want an automatic at this point of time. I live in a small town and I drive to the nearby cities often but did not want the extra convenience of an automatic at the cost of driver engagement. Although, I would have liked if the Manual transmission was offered in the 4x4 guise like before.

• The only features that I liked and found to be useful on the top variant- Model S are the ventilated seats, the 18 inch alloys and the Greyed out seven slat grille and the strips running along the window line and the rear windshield. The last one is purely cosmetic and I don't really bother about it. The 18 inch alloys look cool and probably would be better for cornering?!! I will come to this later. The ventilated seats are the only ones I cannot get out of the factory but paying another 5 lakhs just for the Ventilated seats alone did not make sense. I wish we had more customization options in India to omit or add features, like they have in the US and Europe.

I do not wish to make this post a very long one and therefore I will not elaborate on the buying and PDI process. The salesperson Mr. Shankar from SRT Jeep, Coimbatore was prompt in arranging a test drive and helpful right from the beginning. The sales and PDI process went on smooth and in one month time, I had my car delivered.

Coming to the likes and dislikes now. Here is where I need to make comparisons to my old Fabia and the Compass.

Likes and Dislikes

• Build quality- Exterior: The body seems pretty strong. You get that reassuring thud while closing the door. But still, it doesn't feel as heavy and strong as the 2008 Fabia. Nevertheless, I am hopeful that the made in India Jeep Compass would score well in Indian GNCAP crash test ratings. Fingers Crossed!!!

• Build Quality- Interior:
  The build quality of the interior plastics is quite good. I have got used to the soft touch plastics on the Fabia's dashboard so much that any car with hard plastics on the dashboard felt cheap. Thankfully, the Compass has got soft touch plastics on the dashboard and front door pads. I wish Jeep had fit soft touch door pads for the rear too. How much are they going to save in costs here?!

• The looks of the car. This is one great looking car both inside and out.

• The interior space is quite good enough for me. The seats are pretty large and hold you well. The rear seats are good too and the legroom, headroom and shoulder room are great to keep 4 passengers in comfort on long drives. The boot capacity is quite good, in my opinion. Though, I wish there was a recline function for the rear seatback.

• Engine:
  The 2.0 MultiJet 2 and the manual transmission combination make for an exciting drive. It is quite torquey even below 2000 rpm and the mad rush of torque post 2000 rpm is addictive. Coming from a car with a smaller engine, it took me some time to get used to this explosive torque in the turbo zone. Where I used to slam the accelerator pedal to the floor in my Fabia, I was trying to be light on the throttle here with the Compass.

• Clutch:
  The clutch is on the heavier side which is absolutely not a problem for me. Probably this is what one can expect from a car with a large diesel engine and 350Nm of torque. I don't have any complaints on this. But for people who drive in heavy city traffic on a daily basis, this is not the car you want to be driving. The automatic should be the automatic choice.

• Gearshifts:
  Coming from the butter smooth and precise gearshifts of the Fabia, I found the Compass' gear shift was slightly harder. They slotted precisely but it is just that it felt a bit clunky. All these are not a problem at all. I am just making a comparison to my old car to highlight the difference.

• The Steering:
  I should definitely compare this aspect with my Fabia. The Fabia's steering is an electro-hydraulic unit and therefore it is heavier. It does not have slack in the center position and it is so direct and fast. It offers so much feedback from the road that you feel like you are walking with your hands on the road. It lets you know exactly what the front wheels are doing and that in turn gives you a lot of confidence to push it around corners. It was a tactile delight!
  The steering on the Compass is a bit light for my liking. I would have preferred it to be heavier and weigh up more consistently at higher speeds and higher degree of turn. What I feel is that the steering is pretty light when in the straight-ahead position but when you turn in to some degree you can feel that it starts becoming heavier. And also, the steering doesn't offer much feedback from the road. You have a faint idea of what the front wheels are up to but not exactly what they are doing. Moreover, the steering in the center position and a little off from the center position doesn't give much feel, but when you turn in more you can feel more of the road and what the front wheels are up to.

• Handling:
  Handling at high speeds on highways is absolutely fantastic. It is absolutely stable at three-digit speeds, good for quick lane changes and confident and stable in braking at high speeds.
  The same is not the case when it comes to winding roads. I know I cannot expect a heavy Crossover with a relatively higher center of gravity to handle the same as a small Hatchback with a lower center of gravity. But this is not based on a traditional body-on-frame construction and not a hardcore off-roader, is it?! It is a monocoque Crossover built for soft-roading and therefore we tend to expect more in terms of handling. The Compass does not impress here but does not disappoint either.
  When you take the points I said about the steering into consideration, you have a Crossover that does not really encourage you to push hard into corners. The corners where my Fabia lets me feel the road and judge the speed at which I can enter a corner, the Compass does not make me feel that confident. I am really not sure what speed I can enter the corner at, but when I turn to a degree the steering feels heavier and offers more feedback which makes you to suddenly realize that you could have entered the corner at a higher speed. But at the same time, you can feel the understeer and the wheels squealing a bit. Nonetheless, I could carry same speeds on my Compass as with my Fabia into the same corners, but with a bit of squealing from the tyres.
  Actually, it took me some time to get a hold of the steering feel and the cornering grip of the Compass. I drove both my cars several times on the same roads, same corners and found out that I was actually going at higher speeds into the corner with my Compass than I did with my Fabia. For example, there is a road with sparse traffic, it has an almost 90-degree corner at a place. I go through that corner at 60kmph in the Compass and obviously it goes into understeer and the tyres squeal a lot. When I attempted the same corner with the Fabia at 60kmph, it did go into understeer and the tyres did squeal too, although slightly less than the compass. But when you drive through back-to-back corners which require you to change directions quickly (I think they call these switchbacks), the Compass understeers markedly and the tyres screech louder which might startle the people around. The same switchbacks did not cause any understeer or squealing noise in the Fabia. Passers-by would not even notice that I was driving hard. I tried the same switchbacks with the Skoda Kushaq 1.5 TSI Manual transmission, and it was similar to the Fabia, passed with flying colors.

• Ride Quality:
  I am someone who doesn't really mind a firmer ride quality. The ride quality is a bit on the firmer side on the Compass but softer than the Fabia. That could probably be because of the tyres with taller side walls and the Frequency Selective Dampers. I would always be willing to sacrifice a bit of ride quality for better handling.

• Something I sorely miss is a Sunglass Holder. My old Fabia has it and it is very convenient to store the sunglass, to take it out or put it inside whenever you want instead of opening a glove box. Moreover, you cannot store the sunglass in the glove box without putting it in to a case which is inconvenient when you are driving.

• Auto Start Stop is something that I don't use at all. I have to turn it off every time I start the car, which is an irritant.

Speed Chimes:
Nothing much to say here except that I despise the loud speed chimes.

I believe I have put down all the things that were in my mind for now.

I have a few questions for fellow BHPans. Would appreciate if you can share your knowledge, thoughts on these.

• If I upgrade the alloy wheels from 17inch to 18inch, would that help with the cornering abilities of the Compass? If so, how much of an improvement would it be?
  I was talking about this to a service advisor and he suggested me not to put on 18 inch wheels. His reason is that the bushes and suspension parts of the variants with 18 inch wheels are stronger and harder and if I did that to my Longitude variant, that would wear off the bushes sooner than normal. Is it so? I know the suspension tuning, damper rates vary between different engines on the same car to adjust for the change in weight, but is it true that the Compass has slightly different suspension components between the 17 inch (Sport and Longitude) and 18 inch (Limited and Model S) models?

• Are all Electric Power Steering units similar in terms of feel, feedback and lightness? I haven't driven many cars to know the difference. Anyone with exposure to different cars with Electric Power Steering (for example: Mahindra XUV 700, VW TRoc, Skoda Karoq, BMW X1, BMW 3 series) who would have also driven a Compass can throw some light on the comparison.

• The recommended tyre pressure for the Compass Diesel is 35psi at the front and 32psi at the rear. Are these the pressures for a full load of 5 people with lots of luggage? If so then what would be the proper tyre pressure for a load of 3 or 2 people with minimal luggage? I tried 34psi at front and 31psi at rear, but it feels too bumpy and hard. I have brought it down to 33.5psi front and 30psi rear. It feels kind of ok. What are your suggestions here?

This indeed is a long one. Especially the Steering and Handling part. I couldn't express the way I felt with the steering and handling in just a few words.

Cheers,
Arjun

[alphahere]

Originally Posted by ArjunKrish

• Are all Electric Power Steering units similar in terms of feel, feedback and lightness? I haven't driven many cars to know the difference. Anyone with exposure to different cars with Electric Power Steering (for example: Mahindra XUV 700, VW TRoc, Skoda Karoq, BMW X1, BMW 3 series) who would have also driven a Compass can throw some light on the comparison.

• The recommended tyre pressure for the Compass Diesel is 35psi at the front and 32psi at the rear. Are these the pressures for a full load of 5 people with lots of luggage? If so then what would be the proper tyre pressure for a load of 3 or 2 people with minimal luggage? I tried 34psi at front and 31psi at rear, but it feels too bumpy and hard. I have brought it down to 33.5psi front and 30psi rear. It feels kind of ok. What are your suggestions here?

I am also on the wait now to get my Compass S 4x4. I chose white and they have promised a delivery in the first week of 2023. I already own an X1 xDrive at the place where I work and live (not my hometown). I can say that the Bimmer can't be steered with one finger or one hand. Even if you wanted to steer it with one hand you'd have to wrap your fingers where you can find the leverage. It is not feather light. But it is good, it feels really connected and you don't find yourself correcting the path because the car did not track where expected. I haven't driven the Jeep in it's Indian avatar but I had a short stint with the 4xe version just to get a feel of the interiors to see what I was getting into here. The wheel was surely lighter than the BMW.

I'd go for 33psi all round, it seems to be the better balance of FE, handling and comfort. Will need to see if this holds true for the Jeep as well, but I'd make a wild guess that it does. Not sure why they would recommend 35psi and I don't think tire pressure varies wildly based on loading unless the load causes a change in the volume of the tire.

[parthdmaniar]

Originally Posted by anilntny

I have almost finalized on Compass Nighteagle diesel manual. On road price, with all offers- still touching 29 Lakhs.

Should I stay back or proceed? Last minute confusion. So much negatives shared here, veterans please help me out.

My other option is Harrier.

In my humble opinion, please consider the Jeep Compass over the Tata Harrier. I am a first-time car buyer and did extensive research between the Compass, Harrier and Kushaq.

My primary requirement was a "driver's" car, and I can confidently state that Jeep Compass is a better driving experience than the Harrier. On the other hand, Kushaq is a fantastic car which was dropped from the higher power at home (my wife ) primarily due to its interiors and lack of a sunroof.

I've had Jeep Compass MT Limited variant for two months now with over 7000 km driven. The car has an impeccable driving record, including two instances when the car went from a smooth road to a pothole-ridden patch while around 90 kmph. Everyone in the vehicle stumped at the car's stability over the sudden lousy road. That was when I accepted the decision to spend an additional six lakhs over Kushaq.

I can further comment on minor issues, too; I had the rear left passenger seatbelt's plastic egress cover come off, and I also had an instance of little rubber to protect the ingress of water bent due to the PPF application. I went to Landmark Jeeps Andheri (Mumbai) service centre in both cases. My experience was splendid. From booking the service to execution and resolution, I had no qualms, and the service centre staff took good care of me.

I will give a brief of my first service, which is a wonderful experience and kudos to the entire Landmark Jeep team.

[CLIX]

Originally Posted by ArjunKrish

The recommended tyre pressure for the Compass Diesel is 35psi at the front and 32psi at the rear. Are these the pressures for a full load of 5 people with lots of luggage? If so then what would be the proper tyre pressure for a load of 3 or 2 people with minimal luggage? I tried 34psi at front and 31psi at rear, but it feels too bumpy and hard. I have brought it down to 33.5psi front and 30psi rear. It feels kind of ok. What are your suggestions here?

My 2cents on tyre pressure.
- Lower tyre pressure will mean more side-wall flexing leading to heating - the cause for many tyre bursts.
- 1 or 1.5 PSI Less, Will it matter? IMHO it may not if not on peak load.

However the accuracy of the guages used is not too high and between fuel stations we sometimes find a difference of 1 PSI as it is.
I just stick to 35 & 32. Not really knowing if 35 is actually 35. Could be a little higher or lower.

[hianooo]

Originally Posted by ACe_10

Does any one know what the ‘Medium’ indicates on the Jeep Life app? It was showing Good yesterday

The coolant temperature is in Yellow. So the vehicle condition is 'Medium'.

[ishaanranderia]

Got a year end surprise from Jeep India. I got a call from Landmark Andheri that there was some software update and 40 point check up being done by Jeep India and I should send my car for a couple of hours to the workshop. As we all know the 1.4 Petrol automatic is a little lethargic when building speed, but I don't know if its just me but it seems they must've done some remapping to the engine or gearbox because there is a marked improvement in acceleration since I got back my Jeep. Has anyone else felt the same.

[techfreak]

Originally Posted by ishaanranderia

Got a year end surprise from Jeep India. I got a call from Landmark Andheri that there was some software update and 40 point check up being done by Jeep India and I should send my car for a couple of hours to the workshop. As we all know the 1.4 Petrol automatic is a little lethargic when building speed, but I don't know if its just me but it seems they must've done some remapping to the engine or gearbox because there is a marked improvement in acceleration since I got back my Jeep. Has anyone else felt the same.

Is this update only for 1.4 petrol?
Anyone with 2.0 ltr diesel got the update or call?

[ishaanranderia]

Originally Posted by techfreak

Is this update only for 1.4 petrol?
Anyone with 2.0 ltr diesel got the update or call?

Well I have the 1.4 Automatic don't know about other models

[Anandltx]

Originally Posted by techfreak

Is this update only for 1.4 petrol?
Anyone with 2.0 ltr diesel got the update or call?

I have a Jeep 2.0L Diesel Feb 2022 model, I got a Software update as part of Jeep Camp early December, it was a coincidence that I took the vehicle on the day the camp was being conducted, I did not get a call, I was told they will give a call.

[RaiVW]

Hi Bhpians,

I just completed a highway drive in my model S(O2) and was able to see a strange warning coming up everytime the Horn + Brake or the Accelerator + Horn were pressed simultaneously.

The warning mentioned “ The auto start stop could not be activated as the driver seat belt is not engaged.”

Can anyone please share some insights on this warning sign? Has anyone on the forum experienced the same in their Jeep Compass.

Thanks

[Evyas]

Is it true that Jeep has discontinued the base MT Petrol model and only offer the MT in Diesel and petrol starts with DDCT? Went to Landmark Andheri to check out the MT petrol models and they said there are no petrol manual models anymore :(

[motorworks]

Originally Posted by ArjunKrish

Hello everyone,
I have been a long-time reader of this wonderful and interesting forum but haven't posted till now. This is my first post here and I would like to share my experience of buying and owning the Jeep Compass Diesel MT 4x2 Longitude, which I bought in October of 2021.

Likes and Dislikes

[list]Build quality- Exterior: The body seems pretty strong. You get that reassuring thud while closing the door. But still, it doesn't feel as heavy and strong as the 2008 Fabia. Nevertheless, I am hopeful that the made in India Jeep Compass would score well in Indian GNCAP crash test ratings. Fingers Crossed!!


Cheers,
Arjun

Welcome to Team-Bhp! Great to know about a fellow Jeeper from Udumalpet ( I’m from the Pollachi-Coimbatore belt, but based out of Bangalore for the last 20 years now ).

I’m quite new to Jeep as well, having bought my Jeep Compass 5th Anniversary edition Diesel AT 4x4 just 3 months ago. I’m just going to try and address some of the points you mentioned, some maybe purely subjective, but here goes.

Build Quality—I really dont know how and why you would find the Fabia to be better. Yes, the Fabia was almost euro spec when it launched in india, but I don’t think the Compass is anywhere behind. I have not owned a fabia like the way you have, so I may not be able to comment on your comparisons.

Second, and no offence, the Fabia was never a driver’s car or an enthusiast’s car by any stretch. So here again im not sure about your comparisons on handling etc. I think we must not mistake the agility of a hatchback as better handling versus that of a rather much bigger and heavier SUV. I have just done Bangalore- Wayanad and have driven on some really good “S” corners and I can tell you that this is a true benchmark for SUVs in handling. I have owned a Rapid and a Creta ( 1st gen ) in the past for reference. In fact, even the Polos, Ventos and the Rapids ( which suddenly have attained halo status of driver’s cars post them being discontinued) really struggle on “S” corners. Again, we just cannot compare any of these to the Compass. Just look at the weight, dimensions and you would know instantly that there cannot be any like for like comparisons.

Third point on Tyre sizes, my car came with 18” Turanzas and they aren’t bad at all. Although I have seen many fellow jeepers being happy with their 17” since they are cheaper to replace, and plus the additional side wall height is a boon on some instances as well. The stock firestones in general are not the best, if you can, switch to brands like Continental or even Yokohoma Geolandars ( The bangalore jeep group got discounts on Geolandar 17” from Yokohama and I hear many good reviews for this). Its a higher profile, but its within the acceptable deviation. I had 235 profile Geolandars in my earlier Creta and it made such a huge difference in handling and grip ( and that on a car which was a bit slippery all the time). So a good option would be to switch to some really good tyres. Moving to 18” may be just too expensive, you would need to invest on alloys as well, rather look at Yokohama Geolandars on 17” profile. If you are interested, I can check with the Yokohoma dealer for a good deal on the 17”.

On tyre pressure, i dont know whats the recommended psi for 17”, but I have stuck to stock recommendations of 37/34 for my car. I tried adjusting it by 1psi, but stock setting seems to work the best.

On your query on crash test rating, although there has been no straightforward record of the India made Jeep Compass, it has been tested and has been rated 5 in ANCAP. But the flipside here is that all such crash tests have been done on petrol variants. If you read some of our threads on the Harrier, Safari and even the MG Hector Diesel, you will realise that none of the RHD cars with Fiat’s 2.0 diesel engine have been crash tested. I read somewhere that this is because of a possible design flaw with some part which supposedly intrudes into the driver’s footwell area, thereby delivering a lower crash rating. Not really sure what are the facts, but there is not going to be any new crash test on the Compass for sure. But, fundamentally the car is well built ( i’m sure you would have seen videos on the making of the Compass in the indian factory and even the india made jeep compass ANCAP crash test), so we need not worry about this to a large extent.

[argchoff]

Originally Posted by Evyas

Is it true that Jeep has discontinued the base MT Petrol model and only offer the MT in Diesel and petrol starts with DDCT? Went to Landmark Andheri to check out the MT petrol models and they said there are no petrol manual models anymore :(

I first started enquiring about the petrol MT in October 2021 and was told by the dealer that this model is very hard to get and was being discontinued. They kept calling me repeatedly over the next 7 months to urge me to book the diesel or petrol ddct and i kept insisting i am only interested in the MT petrol variant. Come may 22 the dealer calls me and says there are 3 petrol MT cars in the stockyard.

Jeep just hiked the price of the petrol MT model by 1.8 lakhs in November. What costed 18.04L ex showroom in may 2022 now costs 21.09L. No other variant has got such steep price hike. It just looks like although there seems to be a lot of queries / demand for the petrol MT, Jeep or their dealers only want to push the higher end models to customers.

May be if you push Jeep India via their twitter page, the car might be made available.

[torque_87]

Originally Posted by ArjunKrish

The recommended tyre pressure for the Compass Diesel is 35psi at the front and 32psi at the rear. Are these the pressures for a full load of 5 people with lots of luggage? If so then what would be the proper tyre pressure for a load of 3 or 2 people with minimal luggage? I tried 34psi at front and 31psi at rear, but it feels too bumpy and hard. I have brought it down to 33.5psi front and 30psi rear. It feels kind of ok. What are your suggestions here?

I have a Model S 4x2 Petrol AT and after multiple trial and error I have found a sweet spot at 33 psi on all 4 wheels. On long drives TPMS shows that the pressure has gone up to 35 psi and I feel a bit of thudding on bumps but not uncomfortable. When I started with the recommended pressures my front tyre started hitting 36-37 psi and that made it really uncomfortable. My reco is to keep it at 33 Psi on all 4 wheels.

[yashg]

Originally Posted by anilntny

I have almost finalized on Compass Nighteagle diesel manual. On road price, with all offers- still touching 29 Lakhs.
Should I stay back or proceed?

Go ahead. Once you have got Compass in your head, it won't get out. There's no perfect car. I was in a similar dilemma but eventually chose Compass over more sensible Toyota Hyryder.