[Roadster17]

Purchasing Decision

Wanted my 100th post to be special. So, what better than talking about your experience with a vehicle which I think is how “Rahul Dravid” was in our Indian team. Strong, trust worthy, non flashy and always in the shadow of someone who mostly outshone him. It was only who faced him on the pitch or who played with him knew his true character and strengths. For rest, he was boring, slow, sluggish, dimwitted and totally not value for money in this age of IPL and 20 over cricket where glamour is essential. Wow, this is a great start for the writeup with so much of intended pun.

So the story starts like this. “Khudak” – a north Indian slang for any unnecessary itch to do something. I started having this “khudak” to have a new big powerful vehicle without any reason in 2016. I had a Maruti Swift 1.3 Petrol as my ride and was willing to trade it off. However, the financial calculations suggested that I should wait for few more years to fulfill my itch of getting a big car. But, I had to do something then, so I bought an another small car – Shiny Red Polo with an agreement with myself that a bigger one is round the corner. The idea was I wanted a safe, small and good looking hatchback for my spouse which will look good in company of my next “big” car.

This shift from Maruti to VW made lot of changes in my desirability for all future vehicles. The biggest one was that it converted me to a sucker for build quality and safety over everything else, read Mileage, Performance, Space, Features, etc.

Fast forward 2018. The itch returns. This time it came with better preparation. My financial calculation gave a green light for a bigger one in my garage. So, I started making cover stories and back ground to my wife, so that she is mentally prepared, whenever I broke the story. After all, we share our EMI’s.

I quickly jotted down my priorities so that I can zero down the car I intend to buy (Initial budget – 15 lakhs on road Delhi).

- A car which makes me feel good in the eyes of my peers, friends and family members. In short, should be high on snob value and should not be common. Should gel well in all corporate lobbies and patios. Don’t want to look like a Rambo by driving a Thar to office.

- A car which gels with my personality. I am just 5 feet 5 inch tall and weigh a very modest 61 Kg. So, you can think me as slightly better than Yuzvendra Chahal (No offence to him BTW). So, even though I would love to have a big Scorpio or Safari, I don’t think it will suit my personality. For the same reason, I never drove a Royal Enfield.

- A car which looks good. Period. I think straight lines looks better for longer and age well than all these curvy, futuristic designs which ages rapidly. Remember Fluidic Verna or Dolphin Honda City.

- Safe as a tank. With all safety features thrown in. Should have minimum 4 air bags, ABS, EBD, BA, ESC at minimum. Doors should have a reassuring thud. The quality of material used inside should be of higher pedigree and fit and finish should leave no stones unturned.

- Petrol. My running is not so high (approx. 12000 km per year), and the vehicle was to be driven within the city for 95% of the time, so Diesel did not make any sense. In addition, I do not want to adversely contribute to the health of people and environment via Diesel’s exhumes. Petrol is no saint; however, it is certainly better than Diesel.

- I don’t need a 4x4 or an off roader, as I am certain I don’t have the guts to take my prized possessions on rocks and mud for no reason. Even a 1 cm scratch gives me sleepless nights. (With my adverse thought on driving a 4X4 off-roader, I am sure I will be treated as a minority on this forum where everyone just loves their Thars and Isuzus).

- An honest confession - I have been a very rash driver and my partner in crime was my Swift 1.3. It was such a hoot to drive and had a racing car like handling (as if I have driven a racing car. It spoilt me. So, this time I wanted a car which is sober in nature, preferably automatic. However it should have, this hidden power somewhere which can be used if really needed. Basically a vehicle which is relaxing to drive and has a mental character (Just love the silence before the storm feeling). But make no mistake, I still love to stomp the pedal. The frequency has decreased. Even now, when some one overtakes me from left without indicator or someone tries to outmaneuver me, my right foot starts itching. Lot of persuasion is required from my brain to calm it down. But I am glad to report, it is improving every day.

That’s all. As I said, these were some unnecessary reasons (khudak) which forced me to buy my next. There was no such pressing need, but sometimes you listen to your heart. And that is what I did, I bought a car without any good reason.

Filtering process

There were few absolute hard filters. Next car should not be a pre worshipped one and should be a top variant. In addition I decided to cap my budget to 20 lacs now due to dearth of options under the same.

Alternatives looked at – Late 2018, I started calling dealers in my city (Delhi NCR) to send their test drive vehicles to my office. Here are the vehicles I looked at before finalizing:

1. Hyundai Verna – Petrol AT – SX (O)



Likes :
• I liked the way it looked.
• Features were from segment above. Everything you wanted in a car was there (plus more - including a sunroof and ventilated seat).
• The engine was super silent and had awesome oomph. You could easily manage serious triple digits without problem. Gearbox was pretty sorted and I really enjoyed driving in straight lines.

Dislikes :
• Too much of Verna’s around.
• I was not happy with the way the doors felt and overall build quality was just average.
• The moment there were turns or quick lane changes, confidence level on the vehicle dived down considerably.
• DEAL BREAKER : My friend who sat on the back seat while test drive told me after the drive that his knees were almost touching his chin . Joke aside, the rear space and the crampness inside the cabin was the deal breaker for me.

2. Honda City – ZX - CVT



Likes :
• Front seats and overall space inside cabin. I still think the rear seats of Honda city is better than most of the cars below 30 lacs.
• Middle class still swears by having a Honda City in their garage.
Dislikes :
• DEAL BREAKER : I am sure the manual iVTEC “kicks in yo” but the CVT makes it absolutely lethargic. The engine growls and sounds as it means business, but there is absolutely no progress on road. The paddle shift feels good though but the difference it makes was just minuscule. May be, I had sky high expectations from this gem of an engine.


3. Honda Civic ZX – CVT


Likes:
• If look was the only consideration, it would be an easy pick. Looks absolutely ravishing.
• Got a juicy deal from one of my relatives who has a Honda dealership.
• Sports car like feeling whenever you step in your cockpit and the handling was too good.
• Decent amount of features for the price range.
Dislikes:
• DEAL BREAKER: Drove Octavia 1.8 TSI just after this. The car again suffers because of the lazy CVT.

4. Skoda Octavia 1.8 TSI – Mid variant



Likes:
• This was the only car which forced me towards mid variant instead of top, because it was too good. Top Variant – L&K was 27 lacs on road which was too north for me. Style plus was around 24 lacs. I was ready to go for this even if it was 4 lacs above my budget, only due to its stonker engine and gearbox combination. I really enjoyed the car’s performance and we all are aware about its heroics.
• Fit and finish inside was top notch and it also had a very assuring build quality.

Dislikes:
• Fear of DSG horror stories around.
• Skoda’s poor service in my locality.
• I just disliked the plain and simple 5 spoke boring alloys on the vehicle. I offered to buy the one from L&K and was ready to pay for that. But, they disagreed and warned me that it will void the warranty. I still can’t understand the logic behind this. This is the alloy that I wanted to get rid of without affecting the warranty and Skoda did not budged.

Looks absolutely pathetic to me on a 20 + lac car.



• DEAL BREAKER: Sales experience – Skoda’s showroom in Delhi is near other showrooms in vicinity. Mercedes, Jeep, Audi, Mahindra, etc all are its neighbor. I took my family to the showroom with an intention to close the deal even though I was not happy with “zero” discounts. But then the 1.8 TSI was too tempting. So, we reached the showroom and asked our sales advisor to show the vehicle to my family. Wanted to have a short drive, where I could impress my home ministry and eventually get the extra 4 lacs approved. Anyways, there was only 1 TD vehicle available and that too was super dirty. Everyone just lost the interest in that one glimpse and we just walked away. To my dismay, the sales advisor did not even tried to do any alternative arrangement. May be he could have said that he can arrange the car at my residence and bring a neater car. That was end of my 1.8 TSI Love.

• 2 things happened due to this Skoda saga. One – I was now ok to spend 25 lacs and two - the aspiration of moving to D segment directly from B was too empowering. Therefore, I decided to stop looking at Cretas and Vernas of the world and focused only on "D".

So finally here come’s the HERO. - My "Grey Arrow"



Jeep Compass was running second to Octavia for most part of my decision making process. Early 2019, I asked the dealer to send a test drive car to my residence. The call was promptly responded and here comes a boring silver vehicle (mid variant) at my gate next morning. Honestly was not really impressed to the sky when I first entered the cabin. Overall size was not equating with my belief of directly proportional relationship between money spend and the size of car you get. Anyways, I started the drive. Adjusted my seats, steering and slotted the gear to "Drive". Put my foot on the accelerator and gently dabbed it. Nothing happened. The car did not moved and it felt as if I was riding a slow elephant. I thought let’s end the test drive. Did a small 2 km round, came back and said thank you to the sales advisor and decided to stop this car finding marathon and move ahead. My office friend, my family members, every one took a sigh of relief. They had seen me, how I was watching 1000 YouTube reviews, spending 1000 hours on internet researching cars and reading their reviews and doing 1000 test drives (Ok, this is too much of extrapolation) but was still not able to decide 1 car.

However, "Kismat" Babu bhaiya "Kismat". The follow up calls started. Sales advisor wanted me to ride once more and then decide as I told him that I was not very impressed by the performance. After 3-4 weeks, I agreed but this time I had a condition. The test drive would be at least 25 kms trip and will be done on my chosen route. He agreed to this and this time he brought a new shiny red compass. This guy knows how to seduce. Jeep Compass in red color is too difficult to ignore. I am normally a sakht launda, lekin eedhar fisal gaya (pardon my language – picked up from a situp).



All of a sudden everything started falling in place. The exterior looks, white pure leather interior, a massive sunroof and I was already in love with it. We took the car through busy Ghazipur market and then on the Nizamuddin NH 24 stretch to unleash its 160 horses. For someone who has not travelled to this part of country, NH24 Nizamuddin Meerut road is one of the best roads in any urban location within India. There was no speed cameras installed at that time (2019), and that gave me a license to unleash this beast. The way it pulled and pulled and pulled was simply addictive. We did serious triple digits and it broke no sweat. I understood it was all about your right foot. This car just needs more input on on gas pedal and it will surely bring smile on your face. However, this smile will make sure you visit your favorite BPCL pump even more frequently. I also liked the way smaller cars, autos and bikes gave space was a great feeling. Coming from Polo it was a welcome experience. The only gripe was the steering which did felt tad heavy in slow speeds.

After returning, showed the car to the family members and everyone liked it. So, finally we had a car which was ticking most of the boxes. A car which looked good, is not so common, has a brand value and a respected pedigree, is built like a tank inside out, has top notch quality interiors, filled with safety features, has almost all needed comforting features and comes with decent performance.

Color selection - > Loved the red most, however since we already had a red Polo decided to go with blue. Somehow, did not like the way blue looked in bright light, changed it to black. I know how difficult is red to maintain, Black was going to be even tougher. Plus, the dual tone effect that came with Limited plus made no sense due to black color. Ultimately settled for Magnesio Grey which was a new color then and looked different and suave on road. Everyone loved it and there was no polar opinion on this color. So, played it safely.

Variant selection -> No questions here. Only Top variant – limited plus had all the necessary features which I wanted in my vehicle (4 extra airbags, Cool looking alloys etc.). Plus, it was the top variant.

So here you go, the deal was finalized. Magnesio Grey Limited Plus 1.4 DCT was confirmed to be delivered in mid May 2019.

So, as I said back at the start of this writeup – this time, this "Khudak" was for real. Most of these reasons that I mentioned would sound childish or unreasonable to most of us on this forum, but that is how humans are made of. We all are different. Our priorities, needs, likes, purchasing capacity, perspectives are different and therefore a blanket statement like – “this is the best” or “this is the worst” does not really make sense. What makes sense is - whatever satisfies your "Khudak" and is endorsed by your heart should prevail. In my case it did.

Commercials - May 2019>

Ex showroom – 21,50,000
RTO – 2,50,000
Insurance – 60000 (Addons : RTI, Engine cover, Consumables, Tyre cover etc.)
Discount – 20000 (reduction in Insurance charges)
Accessories - 20000 (Mopar OEM - Mats, Cargo mats, Tyre inflator)
Total – 24,60,000
Additional expenses - PPF (Entire Vehicle) – approx. 1,00,000
Extended Warranty – 3+2 years – 32,000

Delivery experience ->

Overall it was pretty smooth delivery. The vehicle was delivered on time despite me changing 3 colors. The paper work was already ready when we arrived. A customary Ferrero Roche box was given along with the keys. Sales advisor tried to explain me about the essential features and switches to me, but I was already in different zone. Just wanted to hold that steering and glide away. Some snaps from the delivery day :

The big dilemma



And here I am holding that absolutely gorgeous and meaty steering and of course gliding away. BTW, that Qutab minar in the background is not original.



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Fast Forward – Dec 2020

• Odometer – 9800 Kms (approx. 10 k)
• Running – 60% Light Traffic run, 20% Heavy traffic run, 20% Highways
• City travel – Delhi NCR
• Highway travel – Agra, Vrindavan, Jaipur
• Overall Average mileage – 9 kmpl (City – 8.5 kmpl, Highway – 11 kmpl)
• Top Speed - > Not supposed to disclose. But have tasted its might. Easily manages speed well above the fastest train in India which runs at 160 kmph approx.
• Services – 2 (1st 6 monthly car checkup and 2nd 1 year service, Service Interval – 12 months or 15000 km)
• Service cost – No charges for 1st service. 14000 for 1 year service which did included stuffs which I could have avoided (eg: Dry ice engine compartment cleaning, Lubrication charges etc). Normally it should be around 7000 if we stick to only the essentials. I was cajoled into it as I decided not to visit the service station due to pandemic situation. I was told – “Your car deserves a Spa”. I am again normally a sakht launda, lekin eedhar bhi fisal gaya.
• Unplanned visit to service station – None.
• Used RSA once – Battery conked off as it was standing for a month. Needed to jump start.

I will now try to talk about the experiences with regards to important aspects involved with owning any vehicle. I will also mention the competition at required places so that a fair comparison is made.

Build Quality and Safety - This is the most misunderstood term which most of us use frequently. However, for me the build quality is a sum total of Sheet quality, Strength, clean shut lines, welding strength, high tensile steels, heft of the bonnet and of course the reassuring thud which you should get while closing everything even if it is just a fuel lid flap. There are lot of things which we cannot assess and therefore we rely on external rating agencies for them. Although Jeep Compass in India has not been through any such rating, but I don’t think it will fare badly as the Company has publicly claimed that the quality of the vehicle we get in India is same as they have for the ones where they export. It scored 5 star in Australia.
The areas which you can assess speaks volume about the build quality . The heft of bonnet, gates will bring a vault to shame. The moment you step in and close the door, the thud is absolutely assuring. Even the fuel lid flap is so well built. Try pressing the bumpers by your hands and you will realize the strength of the frame behind it. It feels so well built. Try that on a Kia/Hyundai/Maruti and you will be surprised.

One of the best thing about owning the Jeep Compass is that you get almost all safety features in every variants. Only gripe is the extra 4 airbags in Limited plus and Trail Hawks. Rest everything like Disc brakes, ESP, ABS with 4 channels, full function traction control, Panic brake assist, Hydraulic boost failure compensation, electronic roll over mitigation control and many more are present in all variants. My humble request to all potential future car buyers is that they should go beyond the abbreviation they read on product brochures. Ask, whether they have ABS with 2 channels or 4, is their traction control has all the functions or is limited in nature and one of the most important safety feature – Rollover mitigation program in all SUVs. Is that present? Most of the gizmo centric vehicles skip on these and do not disclose.

Listing some of the features present from the list of 50 plus safety features FCA advertises. This list should be on top of every potential car buyers.

• Standard all disc brakes
• Standard electronic stability control
• Standard hill assist ( Immensely helpful for heavy vehicles on incline to prevent rolling back)
• Standard ABS (4 channels), Electronic brake distribution ( The four-channel, four-sensor ABS system allocates a different valve for each wheel and also a separate speed sensor for each of the four wheels. This is considered to be the best system because it monitors each individual wheel to ensure that the greatest braking force is achieved.)
• Rollover mitigation system (Roll over mitigation technology constantly monitors your vehicle's handling behavior using ESP sensors. If it detects anything that may result in the vehicle potentially rolling over, it will then control the braking and driving forces on individual wheels to control the situation and stabilize the vehicle.)
• Fully functional traction control system
• Minimum 4 airbags ( which I think is missing in JC lower variants and should be provided. 6 is preferable as is provided in Limited plus and Trail Hawks)

Ones which are good to have (which I barely notice).

• Cornering fog lamps
• Anti fog coating on windshield, etc.

Good to see Tata Harrier as another vehicle which is comparable to Jeep on these aspects. Other competitors should learn. Most of the time we don’t go behind what has been dished out to us in technical jargons and fall for marketing gimmicks. I am pretty satisfied with my purchase on this aspect for sure.

Looks, Interior, Features and overall feel

Likes :

- Even after 3 years of launch, the vehicle manages to look pretty suave and awesome. Lesser sale has helped in its exclusivity. Even today the vehicle gets more praises in my office parking lot despite surrounded by many handsome blokes (read Seltos and Hectors). Straight lines and clean design will age well. Only Harrier looks better to me.
- The 18 inch alloys Limited Plus has looks absolutely ravishing.
- The paint quality is top notch, however I have seen many Compasses loosing their paint shine if they are not kept properly. But then, people normally buy Jeep to take it into slushes and mud, which I don’t.
- The white leather is ORIGINAL. The fit and finish of the leather seats is very good. You certainly feel money well spent. I was pretty apprehensive about upkeeping of the white color, but I am happy to report, it has been absolutely easy to maintain top class.


The most dirt prone area - the driver side hand rest


- Every touch point (top of dashboard, hand rest, door hand rest, etc.) are padded either with soft plastic or leather.
- There are small leds well placed in the door bottle holders and all door switches are illuminated which many competitors forgot to put in their cars.
- The glovebox opens smoothly and slowly and does not simply pops out. The bottle holders have inbuilt rubber pads to reduce any noise and vibrations.
- Arm rest is movable and is very useful (unlike many other vehicles I have used or tried).
- You do have a commanding position while driving. Only Harrier has a better driving position. I did not like the way it felt when I test drove the Seltos. It was much lower.
- I can’t emphasize how good it feels to control the temperature on your side if your better half is 180 degrees apart. Dual zone climate control helps me there.
- Massive Panoramic Sunroof – Brings lot of sunlight inside and is very easy to operate. The blinder upholstery actually works like a blinder and does not looks like a mosquito net as in Harrier.
- Seat quality both in front and rear is top notch. Coupled with ride quality and great suspension setup, long drives are easy on your back and is quite less tiring for your passengers too. People are more energetic even after a long spin on it. Powered lumbar support adjustment in driver seat is great too. The front seat has great bolstering and also has apt firmness. You feel good when you use them.

Neither here nor there

- Memory function in seats. Adjusting your seat position anyways is super easy due to electronic seat adjust, don’t see lot of use of this memory function for me.
- Auto headlamps – I feel the sensors are too sensitive and even when there is too much of light around (at around 4 PM) it sometimes activates.
- Auto wipers – We can leave without this. I do not see a lot of utility for this feature as well.
- Infotainment system – The 8 inch screen is very easy to operate and is average in terms of responsiveness. It has both Car play and Android auto and packs a more than decent punch through the 8 speakers it has. I felt Seltos and Creta have far better infotainment system and Harrier has better sounding one. Harrier is even better than Bose which comes in Kia.
- I can only imagine how bad a normal setup of highlights would be in lower variants. Mine has a Bi-Xenon top of the line HIDs (Costs around 1 lac) which is just about satisfactory. Wish it had more throw. Although, I have not faced any issues yet while driving in night, I think 20% more would be great. The fog lamp is below average. I will replace its bulb with an LED in some time. See the issue is when there is absolutely darkness, it performs well, but at times when evening is turning into night, or we have sufficient street lights, I feel the throw is not so great.

Low beam


High beam



Dislikes

- With heavy doors and solid built quality, door creaking sound was bound to be complimentary. Have notice this in Skodas, VWs and also in Jeep. The door needs constant silicon lubrication (at least 6 monthly) to keep those irritating creaking sound away.
- If door was not enough, after 4 months this noise also started coming from Sunroof. Got it checked at Service station, and they did the same. Poured 1000 litres of lubricant on the sunroof rail, and prayed in their mind that the sound should go away. Their face said it all, that they had no clue what to do. 3 days post this experiment of theirs; noise came back again. I decided to ignore it as I was not willing to experiment further. Voila, after 10 days, the noise went away on its own, and it has been more than a year since then and there is no noise.
- The blank switches on steering is such an eyesore. I do miss cruise control too.
- With so much money asked, a hydraulic bonnet would have been nice. The bonnet lifting is an exercise in itself.
- The boot space looks big but the intruding wheel space eats up lot of usable space.
- Initially before the system was updated during 1 year service, Android auto used to hang and Infotainment screen used to freeze on its own. After the update, there is no issue.
- Lack of places to keep your knick knacks while traveling. Tata and Honda are masters of carving out spaces. Eg; There is no proper place to keep your mobile if you intend to connect with cable and keep it in a way that it is easily under your eyes. There is a net provided on passenger side.
- Passenger seat should be also power operated.
- I simply don’t like the antenna on the roof. How I wish, a smart shark fin antenna would have been provided.
- The Key Fob is sturdy and well built however it looks plain vanilla. Little bit of drama could have been more welcomed.
- The rear seat should have a better incline angle or it should be adjustable. For me it is too upright. However, the experience of rear passengers during long drive has been very good.
- This IRVM fitting on windscreen disappoints in fit in an otherwise great cabin experience.



Drive, Performance, Handling

The car comes equipped with 1.4 Multiair engine which is an old horse in Fiat’s arsenal now. In 2010, the 1.4L MultiAir engine won the International Engine of the Year as well as Popular Science's Best of What's New. The technology bypasses a primary engine inefficiency, pumping losses caused by restriction of the intake passage by the throttle plate, used to regulate air feeding the cylinders. It produces 160 bhp and 250 nm of torque. The engine has been detuned from 170 hp to 160 hp in India to keep the fuel efficiency in check (I can imagine 170hp fuel efficiency figures). It uses a 7 speed DCT gearbox as a partner for this engine.

Engine compartment is neatly organized and looks well planned. No loose dangling wires and connections.


Insulation sheet does its job well.


Likes
- Silence before the storm: Look at the torque band - Max torque: 250nm @2500-4000 rpm and Power band - 161 bhp@5500 rpm. Both comes late. Not a good sign if you are looking for a cat on a frying pan type performance. But for me it just works well. I know that the power and the pull is right there. I just need to be more forceful and assertive. It will obey and give what I want.
0-100 in 10 seconds (10.29 sec as per media houses and is just a fraction of second slower than Seltos GT Petrol Auto. ) actually tells you a lot about the thrust you can expect when turbo spools . When we start the car and move, it is not very responsive, if we feather the pedal. However just a little more expression from your right foot and you literally see bonnet rising a bit, Wheels screeching for traction, Good amount of torque steer , nice turbo whistle and traffic reeling behind in your rear view screen. Never ever, I have felt lack of power from the car if I was not lacking that in my mind. Normally I like the silence before the storm. The way car pulls after 120 KPH is just maddening. I doubt, the feeling can be replicated in vehicles where the torque band is skewed towards low rpm.


- Ride quality and Handling – Lot has been already said about this. The ride quality and handling is class leading. Period. Harrier with its 17 inch tyres might be more plusher in ride, but as a combo of both handling and ride, Jeep Compass is simply untouchable. Seltos was good too, however not in the same league as Jeep. The frequency selective dampener is a low cost but highly efficient system. No amount of rough road patches, turns etc unsettles the car and the cabin. The car feels rock solid almost every where it has been driven. The 17 inch profile though will have better ride quality than the 18 inchers I have. However handling is better in 18 inchers due to fatter tyre profile. You can carry a decent amount of speed both in straight and corners, which is a good thing. It stays perfectly stable in both situation. Body roll is well controlled with minimal lateral movements.

Dislikes

- Drivability in town for enthusiasts – If you are a driver who looks at each red light an opportunity for a drag race, does not like a Wagon R overtaking you from wrong side in a slow moving traffic or gets annoyed easily due to a slow moving three wheeler in front. Then, look some where else. Buy a Seltos GT. I am like these on some days and that is the time I feel annoyed. The car needs lot of inputs from your end if you want to out maneuver the slow moving traffic quickly or to win that drag race at traffic light. For others who want to just move in a straight line with minimal efforts, just slot in “D” and sit quietly. The gearbox is good enough to provide a relaxed driving experience in traffic. Do not expect more. You will need a clear space in front of you to enjoy the thrust. I test drove the Seltos for my younger brother. Boy o Boy, it was so much fun to drive in the city. With slight flex of your muscle it jumped like a frog on steroid. Really exciting. It is 2x better in driving pleasure in a slow moving traffic. Although, KIA’s DCT overheating problem in traffic has been also reported. Touchwood, DCT in Jeep has no such frequent stories. The DCT in Jeep might not be as exciting as DSG of VW group or even KIA’s DCT, but it gets it jo done fairly well.

- NVH levels – I am not very pleased with overall NVH levels of the car. The insulation inside the cabin is great. You cannot hear outside noise and it feels supremely calm inside when the engine is off. Even after engine is ON, you still cannot hear the noises from outside , but hear the engine. There is little bit of vibration you can feel while car is stationary on the steering wheel. It was so much better on Seltos/ T-ROC. There is fair amount of engine noise too especially after 4000 RPM. The noise is sporty but robs the premium-ness of the vehicle. The other issue is that whenever accelerator pedal is pressed enthusiastically, the gear box is too eager to downshift 2-3 gears. Now this means higher RPMs and too much of noise. To top of it, the gear in this scenario when more power is demanded, does not upshifts quickly unless you release the pedal slightly. The calibration of gearbox is something which should be looked into. The good thing is that in manual mode it holds on to the RPM till you manually upshift/downshift. That is not the case in others, where the gearbox is too eager to move to higher gears even in manual mode.

- I do miss Steering mounted paddle shifters and cruise control. Don't really need a air purifier, mood lighting, puddle lamps, etc.

- The ground clearance is good for most of daily usages/ speed breakers. However, it is not enough for many other situations. Sitting high, driving a Jeep sometimes gives you a false sense of being Ok to cross somethings which you should avoid. I have scrapped couple of times while crossing over a stone divider and a road pot hole. Thankfully the under body protection in Jeep is great. The front lip of limited plus is better than other variants though.


Accessories installed

1. Full body PPF done including, headlamps, dual lamination on sunroof. The PPF after 18 months is holding well. I cannot see any yellowness or peeling off issues. However the swirl marks have started appearing on it. At least I am happy that the original paint is still there to shine in its original glory whenever I wish. I also had got ceramic coating done on the PPF 18 months back. The shine did hold well but I think, I will have to get it fresh coated soon.

I also got the ORVM's wrapped in glossy black vinyl just to add that extra character.





2. Mopar Original mats. Including Dicky mat. The fitting is awesome. I advise only to get these mats for our Jeep. Feels well built and looks good too.



Dicky Mat


3. Got couple of following items from Ali Express when buying something from China was not a taboo.



Never liked these exposed metal latches or round swatches on the doors. Got them covered.




Finally, who should buy Jeep Compass Petrol Auto :

Does it feels value for money, absolutely not! especially in the lower trims. However, the Compass certainly feels more than the sum of its parts. It is supremely well built, Safe, Practical, perfect size for city, great ride and handling, enjoyable engine( if you learn how to tame those 161 horses), brand with a pedigree, exclusivity, joy of being part of a brotherhood ( I am part of Jeep DNCR group and really enjoy the stay there with like minded people – Special Thanks to couple of TBHP friends – Achyuta Ghosh Dada, Sameer) and of course Pride of owning a Jeep (I always dreamt of since my childhood).

For others, there are many alternatives in the market which will suit their needs. As I started, no choice is a bad choice as it caters to that specific need , that “Khudak”.

Leaving with some snaps of my "Grey Arrow" although I admit, my photography skills are pretty novice.

Pretty Royal .. Heh !




If eyes could say





Love these alloys!

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Reviews section. Thanks for sharing!

Your car is going to our homepage today

[sagwal]

Great review
What is the behaviour of DCT with respect to speed.
D1 to D2, D2 to D3 etc
At what speed and rpm gear changes with light foot driving.

[Hayek]

Extremely nice and detailed review. Must say the Compass is still a good car - which is trapped in a vicious circle where poor sales lead to people to worry whether Jeep will also pull out of India - which causes folks to avoid the brand. A friend has now had the Compass for over 3 years, and is extremely happy with it. Think the Seltos had pushed it out of many folks consideration set - but the recent crash test reviews has brought it back in the reckoning for me at least

[WhiteKnight]

Thank you for the detailed review. Very pleased to see the mileage figures, which is better than the ones I've read elsewhere.

One point that is odd is the highway mileage. I think there is room for a better mileage with better engine tuning. As a comparison, 1.8 Tsi gives 15+ on highway runs. Something Jeep needs to look into, which will improve sales potential for the petrol compass.

Wish you many more miles

[ramnaresh_2000]

Congratulations on your Compass. The color is very subtle and classy on Compass. In my opinion all color options look great on Compass. How was the transition from humble Swift to Compass? What challenges did you face while handling such a big change?

The photos do not do justice to the road presence of this vehicle. I just wish Compass brings in sub 4 meter vehicle to keep dealerships afloat by bringing in more crowd. The Jeep showroom in my hometown is already closing down and next nearest showroom is 150 kms far.

I agree with exclusivity of Compass, unlike Creta or Seltos which are pretty common these days. Enjoy your monster. Can you share more details on PPF? Which brand? Warranty etc.

[fhdowntheline]

Great ownership review and a lovely night profile shot ! Almost felt like a glamorous supermodel pose !

[Rambo-RS]

A lovely and well written ownership review there, brought back my memories when I drove my friend's compass for the first time (though that was 2.0 L Multijet Diesel manual). What a well built all rounder machine it is! Btw the title of this thread is groovy

[Pynummoottil]

Thank you Roadster for the detailed and composite ownership review of the Jeep Compass. I myself am the owner of a brand new Red Compass Limited Plus since the last one and a half months. My previous car was a Škoda Yeti and my first choice when I decided to go for a new car was the Škoda Karoq in spite of the very poor service experience with my Yeti. However, the dealer refused to give any concession, not even a loyalty bonus and with that I decided to go for my second choice, the Compass. I happy to say that I am quite delighted to have opted for this vehicle. Biggest advantage for me is the Service centre is on 10km away, whereas I had to drive 110km for the poor Škoda service. One major gripe which was not mentioned by the Roadster is the much poorer turning circle of the Jeep Compass, compared to my Škoda Yeti. Otherwise, on the whole, I am quite satisfied with my choice.

[yd_gli]

What a beauty that is with those rims and the grey color! Thanks for the review. I test drove one early last year I think and found the petrol to be a bit lethargic. But then, my benchmark at the time was a GT TSi and most cars feel lethargic compared to it.

If I am in the market for an SUV now it will be the Compass AT. Diesel or Petrol I don't know since I haven't thought that far as yet. But it is a looker and dare I say it looks even better than the Fortuner and Endeavor. The interiors are top notch and the facelift will be even better.

[viscosity]

Congratulations on the new ride and wishing you many more happy miles ahead.
What a fabulous & so much detailed review. The bar for quality of the reviews just keeps getting pushed higher and higher with such posts. I can very well relate to the "Khurakk" thing & I find some similarities in what you went through and what I will be going through in near future as in I am also just starting my search for my next ride which should be around 15-20L range & a 4/5 seater would be sufficient. Given the market dynamics on car options we have currently (pricing, features etc), selecting the right car has become a mammoth project and thanks for sharing your journey in this regard. I guess it may take a year to settle down on the option. I currently have a 10 year old Ritz Petrol and have done only 32K Km so far and have had a great experience with it so far.

[clementj]

Great review and thank you for the detailed review. I could not agree with you more on the car and why I am happy that I went with the compass over the others. Btw, I own a Compass Limited Plus but the 2.0 Diesel Manual variant.

While the Seltos and Creta offer more tech, I find that every little feature in the Compass to be useful and something that I find difficult to live without once I get used to it. The memory seats, auto headlamps, auto wipers, the auto electronic parking brake, the 2 stage one touch electric shade for the sunroof, the keyless sensor on both driver and passenger side doors and the boot. And I personally feel that the sunroof and the leather interiors on the limited plus boost the luxury quotient by a mile.

The only grouse was that I had to change my battery after 17 odd months. The car went dead without any prior warning and I had to call in roadside assistance to jump start the car. The battery was a goner and only came with a 12 month factory warranty and I had to replace the battery from the dealer for the sake of a 24 month dealer warranty (a fellow owner had his battery replaced outside from a local vendor which also failed in 9 months and is still going back and forth with Exide to honor the warranty).

But that experience aside, the car has been a dream to own and run, rides and handles very well and is a motorway express. The automatic should be a lot more easier to live with in the city but the diesel is not bad either especially once you find yourself on longer stretches and don't need to change gears often. Never fails to bring a smile to your face when you 'launch' from any speed leaving the traffic far behind.

There is another problem of owning a compass though. It will most definitely restrict your upgrade options only to the german trio as anything else will be a compromise

[RaghavEvoX]

Originally Posted by Roadster17

Purchasing Decision

Wanted my 100th post to be special. So, what better than talking about your experience with a vehicle which I think is how “Rahul Dravid” was in our Indian team. Strong, trust worthy, non flashy and always in the shadow of someone who mostly outshone him. It was only who faced him on the pitch or who played with him knew his true character and strengths. For rest, he was boring, slow, sluggish, dimwitted and totally not value for money in this age of IPL and 20 over cricket where glamour is essential.

I loved reading the review and the Rahul Dravid analogy (He is my all-time favorite cricketer).
Wish you to cover many more miles.

[achyutaghosh]

Just what the team-bhp forum lacked- a Compass petrol automatic ownership thread!
Thanks for taking the lead on it, Ritesh.

Just like the diesel, the petrol is a wonderful car, and IMO far ahead of the competition.

Keep updating the thread so that buyers can make informed decisions, and not go by perceptions and biased opinions.

[Roadster17]

Originally Posted by sagwal

Great review
What is the behaviour of DCT with respect to speed.
D1 to D2, D2 to D3 etc
At what speed and rpm gear changes with light foot driving.

Well I have noticed - D2 comes at 15, D3 at 30,D4 at 60. This is based on absolutely light foot driving. 100 comes at D7 with rpm sitting at 1900 rpm. So, the meat is still beyond this starting at 2500 and waiting.

Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000

Congratulations on your Compass. The color is very subtle and classy on Compass. In my opinion all color options look great on Compass. How was the transition from humble Swift to Compass? What challenges did you face while handling such a big change?
Can you share more details on PPF? Which brand? Warranty etc.

Honestly not much effort was needed while moving from Swift to Compass in terms of ease of driving. The visibility is great and inspires confidence. There is minimal body roll so you can carry lot of speed in corners like the swift. Only thing which bothers me sometimes is the left edge of front bonnet and bumper. It is not clearly visible to me at all times, so I have to take a calculated decision in that sense. Nothing much to worry though.

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

Great ownership review and a lovely night profile shot ! Almost felt like a glamorous supermodel pose !

Never intended to take this purposefully. Bas ho gaya Sir!

Originally Posted by Rambo-RS

What a well built all rounder machine it is! Btw the title of this thread is groovy

Had thought of couple of other punch lines, but this was something which grew on me!

Originally Posted by RaghavEvoX

I loved reading the review and the Rahul Dravid analogy (He is my all-time favorite cricketer).
Wish you to cover many more miles.

He is my all time favorite too.. Thanks for your wishes.

Originally Posted by achyutaghosh

Just what the team-bhp forum lacked- a Compass petrol automatic ownership thread!
Keep updating the thread so that buyers can make informed decisions, and not go by perceptions and biased opinions.

Absolutely Dada! Let us all petrol Compass owners create a thread where we can be of some use and give unbiased opinion on our vehicles. That is the beauty of this platform. It actually helps people.