Team-BHP - Jeep Compass : Official Review

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Just finished a trip from Bangalore to Wayanad and back, around 700kms in total on my 3 month old Jeep Compass Diesel AT. Absolutely loved the car during this drive! It felt so planted on the road and extremely composed at triple digit speeds. The icing on the cake was the handling on the winding roads!
Man, what grip and composure! There was this one instance where i had to overtake on the outside ( F1 style:D ) on a sweeping corner, and the way the car went about that, i think it’s just leagues ahead of anything i have ever driven! ( for reference I had a Rapid and 1st gen Creta earlier ). My wife and son, who are not usually very comfortable over such winding roads didn’t feel a thing because there isnt a lot of movement inside the car.

And for the first time ever I saw the fuel efficiency creep up to 11! But that quickly disappeared on my way back when I encountered traffic throughout the return journey.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alphahere (Post 5460740)

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.

Thank you alphahere. Appreciate your response. Good to know the difference in how the steering feels between the X1 and Compass.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CLIX (Post 5461072)

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.

Thank you CLIX. Yes, the air pressure machines at fuel stations are not really accurate. Probably because they do not maintain the machines well. I have been using a Tusa Tyre Inflator since a year and I am not sure if that is accurate either. One thing that I noticed with the Tusa tyre inflator is that, say if I set a pressure of 30psi and inflate a tyre, the machine reaches 30 psi and stops but immediately after this the display shows 31.5psi. So, when I set 34psi it looks like the actual pressure that the machine inflated the tyre to is 35.5psi. I have not cross checked it through any scientific method, but having driven a car for so many years, I can feel the bouncy ride if the pressure is high. Based on that I decided to set the pressure on the Tusa tyre inflator to 1.5psi less than the desired pressure whenever I am topping up. Moreover, after much experimentation, I have found that the optimum tyre pressure seems to be 33psi at the front and 30psi at the rear- This is for one, two or three people with less luggage. But if the passengers are on the heavier side or if the car is loaded with heavy luggage, the pressure can be bumped up to 35psi for the front and 32psi or higher for the rear.
I had also tried 31psi for the front but I realized that it was too low after I felt vibrations from the steering wheel at speeds of 120kmph and above.

Quote:

Originally Posted by motorworks (Post 5463527)

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 I'm 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.

Hello motorworks. It is nice to meet someone from Coimbatore area here on TeamBHP. Congratulations on your new Jeep Compass.

Coming to your reply,
Build Quality: The build quality of the Jeep Compass is in no way bad. I have only made comparisons to my previous car and listed down what I observed and felt. The Fabia was Euro spec. It came as CKD kits and was assembled in India. Only from 2010 onwards they started manufacturing it in India with a bit more locally produced components. Like you mentioned, the ANCAP crash test ratings are good and so there seems to be no need to worry about safety in the Compass.

Handling: I had already mentioned in my previous post that one cannot expect a high riding, heavy Crossover to handle like a low riding, little hatchback. I am aware that the Centre of Gravity, the longer wheelbase, the extra weight that comes with a larger car would have negative effects on driving dynamics. But it doesn't mean the Compass is bad in the handling department. It is enjoyable, but not impressive when pushed hard. I know I cannot expect it to be as impressive as the lighter cars in the corners.

By the way, the Polos, Rapids, Ventos and Fabias did handle much better than many other cars in their class. Only the Fiat Punto and Linea were even better than the Skodas and Volkswagens.

Tyres and Alloys: I was thinking about changing the alloys to 18 inch once the current tyres are up for replacement. But I am not sure if I would really do that. I feel like it doesn't make financial sense. So, the Geolanders you were talking about seem to be available only on 235/65 R17. Is this the tyre size you said many had changed to?

Quote:

Originally Posted by torque_87 (Post 5464147)

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.

Thank you torque_87. The tyre pressure that I found to be optimal is 33psi for the front and 30psi for the rear for light loads. I have mentioned about this in detail in the reply for one of the quotes above.

Just completed a trip from Pune to Kevadia & back this week. The overall distance covered was 1100 Kms & the overall mileage that i got from this trip was 17.4 Kmpl with this the overall kms that i have covered in a year & 2 months of purchase is 18K.
Touch wood no issues with the car so far & have no issues with the rattles as well

Hi All-
Apologies if this has been shared earlier, I could not find it. Jeep Compass has an emergency/panic braking system that can be used in case the driver becomes incapacitated as demo'ed by my sales rep. Just keep the parking brake switch pulled while moving at whatever speed and the vehicle comes to a total standstill in the next few seconds. No drama nothing. Just a muted rattling sound that sounds like the ABS mechanism kicking in and then a strong and controlled retarding force through all the four wheels. For sure no drifting allowed on this one. Not sure if all vehicles with electric parking brake behaves like this, never had the guts to try it out myself before today.

Any Compass facelift owners have experience with disabling 80km/hr speed chime ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by alphahere (Post 5465859)

I had experienced this in pre facelift model , when my kid at the back pulled the brake. The car came to sudden halt with a judder as you mentioned. Thankfully, the speed was less with no trailing vehicles, otherwise it could be a disaster. I think the sales rep's version could be given a miss.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harsha89 (Post 5465890)

Any Compass facelift owners have experience with disabling 80km/hr speed chime ?

I had the same query and thanks to NightRaven for the solution, redirecting to the post.
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...ml#post5324862

Quote:

Originally Posted by alphahere (Post 5465859)

Quote:

Originally Posted by bullitt1 (Post 5465981)

Sorry, a bit confused here. So what you are saying is that it is definitely risky to pull the brakes. But alpha here experienced something different?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pancham (Post 5465999)

Sorry, a bit confused here. So what you are saying is that it is definitely risky to pull the brakes. But alpha here experienced something different?

From that I understood alpha's post is pulling the epb when in motion results in behaviour as described. I dont think its an emergency/panic braking feature, since there is no intermittent phases, the epb stops the car abruptly. Not sure why the sales rep linked this to driver being incapacitated.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pancham (Post 5465999)

Sorry, a bit confused here. So what you are saying is that it is definitely risky to pull the brakes. But alpha here experienced something different?

I do think this is an intended feature either for safety or some other reason unknown to me. It is not locking the rear wheels and sending into a crazy spin. It for sure is applying the brakes strongly in a controlled manner.

Finally got my Jeep Compass night eagle delivered yesterday. Had all callipers painted in red for that contrast with 18 inch full black alloys

Quote:

Originally Posted by alphahere (Post 5465859)

Hi All-
Jeep Compass has an emergency/panic braking system that can be used in case the driver becomes incapacitated as demo'ed by my sales rep.

My sales advisor also demonstrated this to me when I was doing the test drive. On an open stretch he told me he will demonstrate the emergency braking feature and pulled and held the EPB. I must have been doing around 60 kmph that time and was about to enter a curve. I vaguely remember there being a warning chime followed by hard braking and the vehicle came to a stop without any drama. It was so strong that I almost felt like something is coming out of my stomach. To be honest we got quite impressed especially after the pathetic braking we had experienced with the Kia seltos the same day.

Quote:

Originally Posted by anilntny (Post 5466809)

Finally got my Jeep Compass night eagle delivered yesterday. Had all callipers painted in red for that contrast with 18 inch full black alloys

I met your car at Muttom showroom yesterday. We should have talked. I was walking around the showroom yesterday for my self PDI while you were getting the car delivered. There wasn't a red caliper that time you got that done from outside? Alao please do provide your input on how the ceramic or graphene coating is holding up. Do you think it is worth it now that you have had the car for 2 days and what was the cost please? The accessories guy is trying his best to upsell the coating to me and I am keeping myself away from it. Also they have a dashcam which I would have gone for had it supported a parking mode. I think the cam itself supports this mode but they say Jeep advises to run power off of the 12v socket due to which the cam will not work once the ignition is switched off. Seems a half cooked story to me so I declined the cam as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alphahere (Post 5466859)

I painted it from dealership, ceramic coating is ok, but overpriced , they don't have a studio, do it inside the paint booth, so better get it done from outside. I also plan to have the dashcam as it's connected neatly and has both front and back cameras.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rosh_aveo1.4 (Post 5325764)

So my stereo display has started developing bubbles. I asked the dealer to fix it as part of warranty that I still have left (took the extended warranty) but they say this is not covered as it’s not a defect. Any thoughts on next steps?

Hi rosh_aveo..
Today I noticed same kind of bubbles on the right corner of stereo screen in my compass. Found your post while searching for related problems in the form. How did you proceeded further and was it covered in warranty. Your insights will be really helpful.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Alpha (Post 5467267)

Hi..unfortunately no. The bubble has just increased in numbers and I won't get any extended warranty coverage for the same as the insurance idiots claimed it's a 'cosmetic defect'. However the bubble is noted only when the screen is off. When it's on you can hardly see anything wrong. But still pissed off at the extended insurance not covering it with the silly reason.