2007 Jeep Compass

This new 2007 Compass is probably Jeep's first car, at least in a lot of years—if it is a car at all. Jeep calls it a compact SUV, but it's really a car-based "crossover" utility (CUV), a competitor to the likes of Toyota's RAV4, Honda's CR-V and many others of that ilk. Your interpretation depends on your definition. Compass shares its architecture with its corporate cousin, Dodge Caliber. Caliber arrived last year, followed by Compass, then (surprisingly) a mechanically identical Jeep platform-mate called Patriot.

Styling

The semi-curvy Compass looks to us like a wagon-back car with a Jeep signature face. The squared-off Patriot looks exactly like a Jeep SUV is supposed to...like a reincarnation of the long-dead Cherokee. Both begin with Jeep's first-ever front-wheel-drive platform and powertrain, but Compass offers the option of Freedom Drive I four-wheel drive while Patriot adds available Freedom Drive II, a second level of off-road capability that helps it qualify as "trail rated." Compass is Jeep's first recent volume vehicle that is not trail rated.


Why offer both vehicles? Excellent question, and one that a lot of folks at Jeep and parent DaimlerChrysler have surely asked themselves and each other countless times. The answer is that both were tested in consumer clinics, and both scored so well that they could not decide which one to produce and which one not to. So they went with both, a fairly expensive and risky decision that may pay off in incremental volume. Together, they complete Jeep's modern product line, which has swelled from three to seven vehicles in just the last two years.


As the most car-like member of Jeep's famously mud-caked clan, Compass' stated role is to be the "fun-to-drive, fuel efficient, affordably priced Jeep designed to reach youthful customers who may not have considered the brand." Its intent is to marry the packaging and utility of a small CUV with the driving character, fuel economy and price of a compact car.


Hardcore Jeep enthusiasts may find it difficult to accept this somewhat soft new baby into their macho, rugged family. Some will fear its very existence dilutes the brand. Hardcore Porsche purists sang the same sad song when that storied marque brought a (gasp) highly capable SUV called Cayenne into its performance sports car clan. But Cayenne has sold well, has made a lot of money and has helped preserve Porsche's proud independence. We believe that Compass, like Porsche's Cayenne, expands Jeep's reach and will bring a lot of new folks into its camp who will step up to Liberties, Grand Cherokees and Commanders in future years.