7 months. & 7000km with my Compass 4x4 AT: What I like & what I don't

I am from the hills. My daily drive is of good roads bad roads and no roads in true sense.

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Completing 7 months 7000 kms in a JC Diesel Model-S AT 4x4. The Good The Bad The Ugly.

Brief Background:

I am from the hills. My daily drive is of good roads bad roads and no roads in true sense. Upgraded from a 4x4 Thar.

Ergonomics:

Ergonomics for driver and passenger I found is perfect as adequate adjustment is possible and the 2 Memory seating helps especially to get back to position from cleaning and all. I am 180 cm and I can seat fairly comfortable behind my own driving position. Nothing very spacious but not to cringe about for its size. Also rear seat is not that small as mostly pointed in reviews unless one is XL in size. 3 average sized individuals or 2 +1 car seat easily can sit. The hump for the rear shaft is present but not very very obtrusive.

Driveability:

The USP of this car. Can anybody tell another car available in India south of 40 lakhs which feels as close to this.

AT in Hills:

I was skeptical at first but no more. It doesn’t hunt gears and stays perfect for 90+% of the time, for occasional hard braking or sudden deceleration it refuses to upshift when you nudge it to for some time. Hardly have to go to Manual Mode for gear selection. If very steep uphill, then if on Auto 4x4 mode then tries to start on 2nd (like always) which has to be manually overridden to 1st or have to go 4WD Low where it goes to 1st. If you don’t want AWD but want to start from 1st gear, then must manually override. The need doesn’t arise much except very steep climbs where you have to stop and go. On plain side highways it’s a no bummer, it catches the gear 99% of the time.

Fuel Efficiency and DEF Efficiency:

Hills Highway 9-10 kmpl. Hills Traffic 6.5-8 kmpl Plain Highways 14kmpl. No complaints as I was getting almost same with my Thar 4x4 also. DEF usage was higher for first few thousand kms then have averaged out, Now I guess it will consume around 5 litre for 3000 kms in the hills. Haven’t had any DEF issues even on cold winters or anything. Using Standard ADblue from ASS or sourced from Amazon.

The Good Points:

• Ample of steering wheel control buttons ergonomically placed front and back. No accidental presses. Presence of Dedicated Hardware Buttons (plus Touch) for HVAC.
• 360-degree camera is a boon in some tight spots in our hills though overtime with the experience of approximation usage has come down.
• Music System and U connect is working flawlessly. An occasional software issue with Apple Car Play ® is there which can be sorted by restarting the phone.
• TPMS is smart, detects wheel rotation itself, no need to readjust after wheel rotation. Takes around 10 kms of driving and it detects correct placement.
• Turning Radius and Steering wheel weight is remarkable.
• One touch Up Windows on all 4 doors.
• LED Projector Lamps and LED Foglamps are doing a remarkable job. May need a long throw spot beams for highways but not able to figure out where to mount them. The frame is front in front of radiator is aluminium.
• The specs GC at 178 mm is adequate because its the fully laden GC. It sits above 200 mm with only you in it. Havent hit anything until now running frenzy on our roads.
• Boot: This is good and bad both. The Auto Tailgate is good to have. No need to touch dirty vehicle on roadtrips to open & close the boot. The placement of the button is good for shorter people but for me I would have preferred it to be a bit outside not buried in. Day to Day grocery shopping isn’t that appealing when the boot door is clean cause it takes a few seconds and we are all in a hurry. Also, there is adequate storage underneath the boot floor where vehicle maintenance kits like Tyre Kit Cleaning Kit Inflators and the likewise can be stored. I have some utensils and 2 camping stools also stored underneath. Tie Points are added advantage.

The Bad Points:

• The Start Stop System should have a permanent kill feature. It will work when it wants to and stop when it wants to. Although manual says it will be deactivated on slopes it doesn’t most of the time and if you are on Hold Feature then car goes back when engine restarts because it deactivates Hold and doesn’t activate Hill Hold in that brief 1 sec period.
• Auto Headlamps/ Auto Wipers sensitivity is a hit or miss even with adjustment levels in the system. Less concerning as it can be overridden to manual.
• The door sills are a bit high to my liking. People inadvertently step on it on ingress or egress making it dirty all the while.
• Wish the fuel inlet could take in a regular diesel pump nozzle and not the narrow ones only. Have to hunt for these specifically while filling. They have provided a converter but the hassle and the dripping of diesel and the smell that lingers on in it is not worth it.
• The air deflector underneath the front bumper is the lowest point on the car. It grates and squeaks on some rough patches. Although it hasn’t broken as of now there is a possibility. I guess it could be deleted.
• Boot Space: If you know how to pack it will swallow an enormous amount of luggage. Airport Runs with Hard Box Luggage is another story. Road Trips with duffels and soft luggage is not a problem.
• Mud Flaps: The OEM Mud Flaps (especially the front) kept of breaking as also mentioned by many users. Shifted over to a flexible time universal Mud Flap found dirt cheap in Amazon. Working great ever since.

The Ugly::

If I could say one thing Ugly, then it is the choice of 18 inches Wheels with a 225/55 tyre which becomes its Achilles heel. The low sidewall height combined with the tread pattern makes it vulnerable. Also the absence of AT availability in this size in India adds to the woes. The Trailhawk 17inchers should have been here too. I would trade my 18 inchers to anyone with 17.]

Comparison/ VFM:

Unless one owns or regularly drives the JC one cannot understand its driveability, handling and other safety features it has incorporated. There has been a lot of comparison videos and lack of features etc in comparison to other cheaper vehicles available in India but basically its about the gizmos and all. There actually isn’t another comparable vehicle here except may be the XUV 500 AWD AT or more likelt the Tuscon AWD AT or the Tiguan AT AWD or Subaru Forester(Not available in India) . Noone compares the robust built quality, the safety features and the driving ergonomics and the handling. Established sedans seems difficult to handle after driving this vehicle.

It may be expensive in comparison to many similar sized vehicles available in India, but I feel it is worth the money if you are into serious long distance travelling and want a no nonsense well handling medium sized vehicle which will take you from A to B safely and with less fatigue and has an AWD for those unforeseen events en route . (Not for offroading)

Service Centre ASS here at Siliguri (Nearest) and Guwahati have been very cooperative and helpful.

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