Team-BHP - Jeep Compass : Official Review

Quote:

Originally Posted by Omkar (Post 4258572)

The Jeep Compass is on sale in India at a price of between Rs. 14.95 - 20.65 lakhs (ex-Delhi).

This review has been jointly compiled with Jaggu. Thanks to him for the expert observations![/i]

Thanks for an excellent review, although little delayed by any standard, for an over-hyped but a capable car in its own right. Also happy to see young bhpian (Omkar, of course with capable supports of Jaggu & GTO) taking gun at such a big project like reviewing Compass! Best wishes. A least biased review, well expected from a young reviewer! Kudos again..

As for the product, now the target customers are well aware of the strengths & weaknesses of the Compass in comparison to other products available in this segment and price band. I personally feel, XUV 500 and Hexa should not be worried, and even Creta for that reason. Whatever, it is high time for we Indians to welcome a world class product being manufactured for India and the world. Thank you Jeep and Fiat!

Quote:

Originally Posted by nitinralli (Post 4259221)

Question:
How good are the fog lamps while working as cornering lamps? Compared to XUV's cornering lamps which sits high on main headlight unit resulting in excellent throw of light, wouldnt fog lamps of compass have restricted throw?

Not tested XUV cornering lamp, but the one's on Compass can be described as adequate for roads of Goa.

Quote:

Originally Posted by srivatsahg (Post 4259236)

Experts correct me if I'm wrong !

Yes you are correct.

What an incredible review!!. Thanks Omkar, Jaggu, GTO and team for a fabulous indepth review of the most sought after vehicle currently. Thread rated a well-deserved 5*s. (Its now become a reflex action of sorts for me to click on 5* for the Official Reviews)

A couple of niceties that I felt on the compass are :

1) The VIN engraving visible through the front windshield.

Jeep Compass : Official Review-img_3548.jpg

2) Nessie

Jeep Compass : Official Review-img_3551.jpg

Quote:

Originally Posted by Omkar (Post 4258577)

The engine start button is placed where you would usually insert the key! This is the worst position we've ever seen for this button. How convenient is the cost cutting. No chrome lining or any aesthetic enhancements either:

I would beg to differ, call me old school, but that is the conventional slot and they have used it well for the push button (it is much better than leaving an ugly cap as some others do). But I do agree, the implementation could have been much better and I would gladly have accepted a cap here than the ugly dummy buttons on the Steering which would otherwise have housed the cruise and adaptive cruise control switches.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Omkar (Post 4258577)

…the bonnet lever. Ugh, that metal plate looks so ugly and should have been covered with a plastic panel. OBD port located here as well:

Horrendous lack of eye for detail from FCA. Couldn't they have covered this up with a black tape at the very least?

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Originally Posted by Omkar (Post 4258577)

The steering column joint on our test vehicle had already started rusting! Should've had proper coating / paint:

I shudder to think what other parts are rusting all over which are hidden from our view.

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Originally Posted by Omkar (Post 4258577)

That's actually Morse code which reads - Sand, Snow, Rivers and Rocks (L-R).

This, for me, is the defining moment in a stellar review.

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Originally Posted by Omkar (Post 4258582)

• The Compass will be available in 5 colour options - Silver, Red, Blue (our test car), White and Black. Thanks to BHPians for sharing the linked pictures

Wow, that pic of the Black variant is my very own contribution to a Team-BHP Official Review. Thanks Omkar and team for picking it up. :thumbs up:D

Looking forward to the Diesel Auto with 6 Airbags, All Black Seats, Cruise Control, an 8.4 U Connect system and a Panoramic Sunroof (while an open sunroof may not be to everyone's liking here, I feel there is no parallel to gazing out through the glass roof at the night sky). Perhaps the Trailhawk version will come with all these.

Cheers,
Uday

Quote:

Originally Posted by nitinralli (Post 4259221)

The fog lamp is very similar to the ones on the Linea (Punto Evo gets a different fog lamp) and carries the same mounts too. The spread is wide and more towards the outwards than straight ahead of the car. Let me get a pic with just the fog lamps on. The fog lamps are very good in the Linea with a good 55w bulbs. So there should not be any shortage of illumination. Mind you the fog lamps is adjustable one for the vertical alignment.

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Originally Posted by RAHS (Post 4259317)

Excellent Review! Rated 5 starts! It's totally worth the wait :thumbs up
Any reason for not including Renault Duster in the comparison chart? I only see Tucson, Creta, XUV, Hexa & Tiguan.
It would have been good to include Duster also considering this was the game changing product in the compact SUV space in India and it is still relevant, specially the Duster AWD.

Probably we have to include the Kaptur from the Renault stable considering they just released the teaser slated to be released in 2017 itself

The review is so detailed and so specific that I am not sure even if the Americans have reviewed it anywhere in such details. I have read only a part of it by now and wonder how much time Omkar must have spent in reviewing and writing about the Compass.

The first impressions I could gather are that:-

- Fiat India and its dealer's proven apathy could kill such a splendid launch.

- The interior space is at a premium for a SUV of such large external dimensions.

- The ground clearance @ 155 mm could have been bettered. Even while on the road, the Compass looks a bit "low rider like" for a SUV. And here I also read that the bumper scoop on the front hits speed breakers.

- The rear AC vent intrudes into the rear leg-space. This is avoidable. Even if 2+2 adults are seated, there is sometimes baggage (if the rear boot of 438 liters is full) kept on this space. And a 4 feet plus tall child if seated at the centre, will experience discomfort during long journeys.

- The American made spares like "MAN" etc are OK , but replacements will come for a premium. These too need to be localised being not very hi-tech spares.

Overall, a very good SUV and also with a monococque body that will tear into the competition but only if Fiat gets serious about after-sales.

Excellent and an amazingly detailed review. Where else can you find it but here!
Looking at the minor imperfections, it looks like a classic FIAT product. Blanked out buttons, rusted steering joints, feeling the steering joints with your feet with every turn, rusted OBD port holder etc. This shows the Italian trait of lack of attention to detail. On the other hand JEEP logos on the plastic parts, Easter eggs, honey comb structure inside the head lamps show the American adventurism.
But this is not a marriage made to last and it shows in FCA boss looking to sell the JEEP brand and/or looking for a partner for FCA.

The car looks good but is missing many features and is small for the price range it is competing in.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Omkar (Post 4258577)

At this price point, the Compass should've had auto-levelling headlamps:

It is not surprising that the compass doesn't have auto-levelling feature. I do notice that the top end models equipped with HIDs don't have headlamp washers either. This would mean that the light output is less than 2000 lumens.

It is mandatory for vehicles with headlights having output greater than 2,000 lumens to have a headlight cleaning mechanism and an auto-leveling mechanism. Most OE HID implementations have an output exceeding 2,000 lumens (except a few) and hence are equipped with both owing to regulatory requirements (than being provided as a feature).

To reduce costs, manufacturers have been working to bypass this rule (HID /LED bulbs below 2,000 lumens), so they may skimp on the washers and levelling mechanisms.

Another example is Baleno / S-cross with HID lamps, but no washers or auto-levelling mechanism.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Omkar (Post 4258577)

Interior - Front

Talk about the uniqueness of a vehicle! Look closely at the dead pedal. See those dots and dashes in four vertical lines? That's actually Morse code which reads - Sand, Snow, Rivers and Rocks (L-R). Decode for yourself (Wikipedia image):

IMHO if they are so particular about Morse code, then they should keep different Morse coded pad for the respective versions. This one is only meant for the Trail Hawke version. Because thats the only version which can do rocks. Otherwise a fantastic Jeep that I would love to buy one day.