[Pancham]

Originally Posted by Excommunicado

Coming to your new purchase, it is a magnificent beast! Glad your mother gave you the nudge at the appropriate time and made you stick with it. Congrats sir, stay safe and have fun!

Thank you thank you. Two for you for your nice words

Originally Posted by PapaBravo

Superb write-up Pancham. Your story of the Journey from Thar to Compass was gripping.

Congratulations on the Black Beauty !! Wish you many happy miles on it.

Cheers,
Pawan

Thank you so much Pawan for taking the time to read it. Thrilling to read but harrowing to lead.

Originally Posted by Bsreecharan

I realized that this car is best suited for highway cruising and off roads.

Cannot agree more. This is a cruiser!

Originally Posted by bangaloreguy

Congratulations on your new purchase and wish you all the best ! The limited diesel AT 4*4 retails for 34 lakh at Bangalore. The price you have quoted is an excellent deal .

Bangalore taxes are killer but West Bengal RTO also lets you register for 5 years - which I did.

Originally Posted by livetodrive

Congratulations Pancham and welcome to the Jeep Club. Your car looks awesome, please get PPF film done which will save the black shade from highway scratches and city bruises.

My Grey Goose says a 'Hi' to her sibling, she is almost 1 year old than yours, came on 12th Nov 2020. She is a 4x4 Diesel Manual and munched 32K KMs already:

Attachment 2289790

Thanks a lot LTD. Big fan of you and your wife's travelogues. In fact I was trilled to see another WB reg Compass being used the right way.

The PPF ship has sailed. I was in two minds initially. But I picked up quite a lot of stone chips during the CCU-DEL drive. My hood now has battle scars (not too many) that will not gel well with PPF I guess.

P.S: My initial choice of colour was Magnesio Grey.

[yashg]

Man, that is a stunning looking car! Congratulations. Heart wants what it wants.

Originally Posted by GTO

Glad you got this over the painful Petrol DCT; driving that variant is like going to the dentist.

Is the petrol variant that bad? I test-drove a pre-owned one few days back, it did take some efforts for it to climb up the ramp of the underground parking lot, but once on road it was smooth. Are you saying that as an enthusiast? Would you recommend it for an average Joe who would drive it to office may be twice a week on WE "highway" and an outstation trip may be few times a year?

[Tony2298]

Originally Posted by Pancham

Here is the star of the thread! Isn't he handsome?

Absolutely, one of the most handsome SUVs running on the Indian roads!

To start off, I want to keep this thread simple so please do not expect a master piece. The last time I wrote a proper review was back in 2011 for my i20. So its been a long time. The intent of this thread is to share my overall experience (with lots of pictures) with the Jeep which I intend to keep for a long time.

A fellow i20 owner here, actually, even though a very recent member of this forum, I've been following Team-BHP for more than past 10 years and I had read your i20 thread at that time, IIRC it was named something like the Korean Beauty comes home and you had a hard time with SBI clerks for processing your loan, also you had to go back and forth multiple times just to do PDI for your car. Anyways sad to hear that you parted with her, IMHO the first gen i20 was one of the most sorted hatches to be launched in our country and had brought in many never seen before in the segment features. Yeah, I did face similar issues with my i20 as well but it never discouraged in retaining her, mine is the 1.4CRDi from one of the initial batches(my car has amber interior illumination but post 2010 it was changed to blue theme), even though it has clocked well over 1L kilometres the refinement, torque rush and great efficiency all are still there, also my i20 has done innumerable favours for me, it has had been with me with all my ups and downs of life and even when I had a brutal accident and ambulance never arrived on the spot, it was my i20 then which helped me in saving my life which is why I never feel like selling it off as I feel it would be too ungrateful from my side to just shrug her off only because she has gotten old, sorry for going off-topic but I hope you understand my feelings

Anyways heartfelt congratulations to you on getting your new Jeep and hope that it serves you well for the coming years and continues keep bringing joy to your life. A small question by the way, why didn't you consider the Tucson considering you had a pretty good experience with Hyundai before? Thanks!

[Pancham]

Originally Posted by Tony2298

IMHO the first gen i20 was one of the most sorted hatches to be launched in our country and had brought in many never seen before in the segment features.

Anyways heartfelt congratulations to you on getting your new Jeep and hope that it serves you well for the coming years and continues keep bringing joy to your life. A small question by the way, why didn't you consider the Tucson considering you had a pretty good experience with Hyundai before? Thanks!

Man! You brought back memories of my i20. I miss it everyday and maybe I jumped the gun by selling it. The earlier gen i20s' were indeed well made and I am glad you liked the thread. I would say keep it till you can but maintenance cost of the 1st gen i20s is quite high.

The reason I did not consider the Tucson was because I did not want Hyundai's anymore. My last few years were not so nice with Hyundai. Given that they never recognised two major faults (steering and brake issues) in their cars that could compromise safety actually made me move away from Hyundai.

[arun_josie]

Nice detailed and unbiased review.

Wishing you many many happy miles with this lovely machine.

[Pancham]

So this happened.





After all the effort, I could not avoid paint marks on the car.

Background:

My society is getting painted and I keep getting calls from the building security guard to move my car during the day depending on the section of the building that is getting worked on. The other day I noticed these white spots on the bonnet and then all over the body. I missed these initially as the car is almost always covered in a layer of dust (thanks to dusty Gurgaon).

The society has offered to get these removed but I dont trust them - not sure what chemical they will use to clean the marks. Several other cars in the society have these paint marks as well.

Need suggestions

Now, I need some suggestions to get these removed. Can anyone recommend a good detailing shop in Delhi NCR?

I know of 2 places - (i) Tee Car Care which has now become Ceramic Pro Delhi, and (ii) Detailing Bull.

A full detailing job at Tee Car costs 10k. Boy the prices have gone up. I am not inclined towards Ceramic Coating (costs 28K in Tee Car Care). I dont think it will be useful in my case.

Any other genuine shop recommendations will be helpful.

[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by Pancham

So this happened.

Attachment 2294816

Attachment 2294817

After all the effort, I could not avoid paint marks on the car.

Background:

My society is getting painted and I keep getting calls from the building security guard to move my car during the day depending on the section of the building that is getting worked on. The other day I noticed these white spots on the bonnet and then all over the body. I missed these initially as the car is almost always covered in a layer of dust (thanks to dusty Gurgaon).

The society has offered to get these removed but I dont trust them - not sure what chemical they will use to clean the marks. Several other cars in the society have these paint marks as well.

Need suggestions

Now, I need some suggestions to get these removed. Can anyone recommend a good detailing shop in Delhi NCR?

I know of 2 places - (i) Tee Car Care which has now become Ceramic Pro Delhi, and (ii) Detailing Bull.

A full detailing job at Tee Car costs 10k. Boy the prices have gone up. I am not inclined towards Ceramic Coating (costs 28K in Tee Car Care). I dont think it will be useful in my case.

Any other genuine shop recommendations will be helpful.

Those are very minor flecks of building paint that has hopefully dried on the clear coat. I think you could probably scrape them off with a fingernail safely. Or get some toothpaste and a wet rag and rub the parts with the paint flecks on them till they come off. Get it polished during the next wash. Going for a 10-20k detailing job just to remove the paint flecks is a bit overkill. Go for it only you want the ceramic coating.

[ramnaresh_2000]

Originally Posted by Pancham

A full detailing job at Tee Car costs 10k. Boy the prices have gone up. I am not inclined towards Ceramic Coating (costs 28K in Tee Car Care). I dont think it will be useful in my case.

Congratulations on your new Compass, but buddy the black color choice will haunt you for rest of the ownership, especially if you have OCD. My previous TUV 300 was black and oh boy even minute scratches were magnified 10x compared to other lighter colors.

Ceramic will only protect from minor scratches, and harsh water marks, that too for a limited period of time. Brands will promise you 2-5 years life, but that's all marketing. It will hardly last 6-10 months, the juice is not worth the squeeze. Even PPF is not worth it, many have been complaining about bubbles formation, yellowing and original color peeling issues .

[Pancham]

Originally Posted by Cresterk

Those are very minor flecks of building paint that has hopefully dried on the clear coat. I think you could probably scrape them off with a fingernail safely. Or get some toothpaste and a wet rag and rub the parts with the paint flecks on them till they come off. Get it polished during the next wash. Going for a 10-20k detailing job just to remove the paint flecks is a bit overkill. Go for it only you want the ceramic coating.

Nope. Not using nails. I was anyway planning to get detailing done as the car has started showing swirl marks.

Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000

Congratulations on your new Compass, but buddy the black color choice will haunt you for rest of the ownership, especially if you have OCD. My previous TUV 300 was black and oh boy even minute scratches were magnified 10x compared to other lighter colors. .

Thanks Ram. I don’t plan to get either ceramic or PPF. My idea is to get at least one detailing job done every 8-10 months. That way I might be able to preserve the paint.

The thing is, and I have highlighted this earlier, Compass’ black is sparkly in nature and is not pitch black. So it ‘looks’ faded quite easily.

[McLaren Rulez]

Regarding the paint marks, don't sweat it. Enjoy the car as usual and during the annual detailing, take care of that, scratches etc. Repeatedly polishing will thin your clearcoat out. Always do these things periodically and in one go - I would say now is rather early.

[Hells_Fury]

Many congratulations and welcome to the #JeepLife!

Originally Posted by Pancham

Indicator stalk (high beam issue): I have checked this issue with a few other owners but they don't not seem to have it. There are times when downward/upward taps make the indicator stalk move sideways (horizontally) and the high-beam gets flashed. Quite annoying.

This keeps happening to me too but like many other things you learn to live with it. I've lost count of the times I've accidentally flashed the car in front.

[Pancham]

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

Regarding the paint marks, don't sweat it. Enjoy the car as usual and during the annual detailing, take care of that, scratches etc. Repeatedly polishing will thin your clearcoat out. Always do these things periodically and in one go - I would say now is rather early.

You are right. I will get this done not immediately but perhaps after the first service.

Originally Posted by Hells_Fury

Many congratulations and welcome to the #JeepLife!

This keeps happening to me too but like many other things you learn to live with it. I've lost count of the times I've accidentally flashed the car in front.

Finally someone who faces the same issue. Good to know. Looks like we will have to live with this.

As I write this, the car will be sitting for another 4 weeks as I am travelling again.

[Pancham]

A service update with other tit bits:

First Free Service at 5000kms or 6 months

Date: April 30, 2022

ODO: 3862 KMs

Where: Landmark Jeep Gurgaon

The following were done:

1. General service

2. Wheel alignment = INR 1,062/-

3. DEF refill = INR 1,132/-

Total paid: INR 2,194/-

I was not keen on wheel alignment but the SA really pushed for it. He also used the magic words 'void warranty'. I know he was lying but I let it be.

The only issue was that they took an enormous amount of time to give me the car back. I was one of the first to get in at 9:50am. All the work was done by around 11am. I kept waiting near the car thinking perhaps there is some more work left - there wasn't. Then they went for lunch before the car could get washed. I asked them to give me the car as is but the SA insisted that I get the car washed by them (for free obviously).

Nevertheless, I got the A pillar plastic cladding fixed which was mentioned in this post:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...ml#post5284962 (My Jeep Compass Limited 4x4 Diesel Automatic | Ownership Review)

Overall, it was an ok experience. I dont see any difference in service experience compared to a Hyundai. Basically, my Santro/i20 experience was similar. So, in principle, Jeep does not really seem to be a premium brand compared to few other Korean manufacturers.

Few pictures from the day:













Other updates

These updates are slightly more interesting:

1. The trip to Himachal:

I did a solo trip. It was excellent. The car performed flawlessly. The travelogue is up. Few pictures from the tip:









You can read about it here:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...-himachal.html (Lahaul in a Jeep Compass - My first solo trip to Himachal)

The car gobbled up the bad roads till Mandi pretty easily. This a true tourer and it can do it all day.

FE was pretty dismal though in the mountains. Nice smooth mountain roads with a lot of braking, uphill/downhill action yielded somewhere around 7-8kmpl. Overall FE was around 11.5kmpl.

2. Rattling noise

Unlike many other owners, currently I do not have any rattles. Fingers crossed. Car went through a lot during the Keylong trip. The roads till Manali were not exactly good. But after 6000kms, the car is rattle free. There were some sounds from the sun roof but it is not frequent.

3. AC performance

Again, many owners have complained about the AC. I think it works fine when 1-2 persons are onboard. I have had no issues when temperature outside was more than 43 degrees. Then again, there were few instances when I thought the AC was not doing its job. The only caveat here is that I always have my AC on 'Lo' with fan settings at 3 or 4 or 5 speed.

4. Overall Fuel efficiency

I am Drivvo App to track the FE and expenses. Currently the average FE stands at 11.90 kmpl over 6100kms and 8 months.

Highest average= 14.04kmpl
Lowest average = 8.84 kmpl

FE is not great for a diesel car I think. The manual variant has significantly better FE. Nevertheless, this is a known devil.

5. Detailing and some TLC

The car needed some TLC off late. There were paint marks which I need to get rid of. I called Tee Car Care which has now become Ceramic Pro. Its in South Delhi. I got their detailing package and the overall job was pretty well done. I have prior experience with them and they have always been very good. But then I went for PPF -

This is where my experience went for a dip. I got it done on the front bumper, hood, side fenders and side mirrors. Here are some pictures:









The issue now is that the PPF has glue marks on them.



Tee Car has asked for 30 more days and apparently these will go away. I have no hope of these going away - but he has promised to get the film replaced if they still remain after the 30 day period. Lets see. Not much worried because I trust the owner. Fingers crossed.

6. Covered parking

After months of looking for a decent car parking spot in my society I found a really nice covered (from all sides) spot. Earlier the car used to be covered in dust within 2 hours of washing. Now it doesn't. You dont know you have OCD till you own a black car it seems.

7. What next

Something epic is coming up. A trip I have been waiting for. The car will really be put to test. I am confident that it will do well. Lets see. We will get to know how well the 18 inch wheels hold up and also that underbody protection kit. More updates soon.

The ODO is at 6,100 KMs. Overall, really happy with the car.

[argchoff]

Originally Posted by Pancham

I was not keen on wheel alignment but the SA really pushed for it. He also used the magic words 'void warranty'.

As per the Jeep warranty booklet wheel balancing and wheel alignment are not covered by the basic 3 year warranty.
So whether or not a customer opts out of wheel alignment, the warranty should not get affected.
I am attaching a screenshot of the warranty manual for reference.

[Pancham]

Few updates:

PART 1

Zanskar conquered

The trip I had been waiting for - finally happened in July 2022. The Compass managed to complete the Zanskar trip. I had briefly mentioned this in the official thread but I haven't been able to pen down a travelogue or update this thread. The drive was overall smooth except a few hiccups:

- I got a 'high oil temperature' warning while climbing up to Shinkula. This was at 5000m and understandably quite a high altitude for any modern car. I stopped and waited for a bit and warning disappeared. It did not reappear for the rest of the trip

- One of the many scary moments of the trip: I got stuck in one of the water (not river) crossings. That was a misjudgment on my part as it was late afternoon and I could not gauge the water level which was quite high. On top of that there were deep ruts and the Compass got beached (almost). It was the scariest moment of the trip and it haunted me at every water crossing for the rest of the trip. I managed to put it on 4WD and reverse my way out. Other wise, the car did really well at all other river/water crossings.

- Rattles here and there: For once I will not blame the car for this. The kind of the road the Compass saw in this trip - no car deserves them. There were no roads for miles and miles and the Compass managed to take it all in its stride. It was just too torturous for it. End result: noise from the rear RHS door and few other places which seem to have disappeared now. I was also worried about the low profile tires so I went really slow.

One notable point here are the tires. I have seem many people diss them (including me). I agree they are low profile tires and it was genuinely a pain to be careful all the time. But the grip it provided was outstanding. I dont think I could have asked for better tires in terms of the grip - be it rain, river, sand, rocks - it did pretty well. There was one time I had to reverse up a >30 degree incline on a narrow stretch because a truck had come from the opposite side. The terrain was all sandy and super tricky but the tires managed really well.

Route taken: Manali - Atal tunnel - Darcha - Shinkula - Gonbo Rongjon - Kurghiak - Purne - Padum - Rangdum - Kargil - Leh - Manali

We had planned for Hanle as well but fellow Bhpian Slipstream's Thar had DEF issues because of which we had to cut short the trip. So now we have to plan another trip for Hanle and Umlingla Pass.

Total Trip distance - 2343KMs
Avg. FE: 11.5kmpl (Lowest was 2.5kmpl on the way to Padum from Purne)

Conclusion: No matter what we say about this car and how much our janta compares this with the Creta and the likes - this car is one heck of an off-roader. Except for that one hiccup at the water crossing which was my mistake it did not bat an eyelid and managed all other obstacles quite well. I am glad I went for the 4x4 variant.

Few pictures: