Louth Motors: Jeep Compass S 4xe PHEV - Coming back from the wilderness

Not many companies can boast giving a genre their name but just like Hoover, Jeep has done it.

Before we all learned what an SUV was, they were all called Jeeps. Anything that had 4-wheel drive and was shaped like a “Jeep” was called a Jeep. Not too long ago when you wanted a rugged vehicle you wanted a Jeep.

Things have changed for Jeep since then and they are a marginal player here in Ireland. Jeep is now sold and marketed by the Gowan Group who have a collection of brands from the Stellantis Group, Jeep being just one of them. Gowan don’t mess about so expect to see the Jeep brand rise in the coming years after a bit of a meandering period in the wilderness.

I want to give you the one thing that I really liked about the Jeep Compass first. It was the ride in it.

It was super comfortable and day to day driving in this car would be a joy. Every time I drove it was like putting on a favourite pair of slippers being comfortable and rewarding. It also has a solid feel of ruggedness to it and the build quality is fed back to you with everything you touch.

Apart from that is the feedback you don’t get from the steering which is practically non-existent. But where this Jeep plies its trade, with the owners who buy it, they won’t be upset.

The Compass with its proud 7 slotted traditional Jeep grill looks very much how a “Jeep” should look. And the best thing is that it is actually one. The sides continue the Jeep look with a high waistline but at the back it could be any SUV/crossover from the last 5 years indistinct as it is.

Inside is where you get the alternative experience with the controls a lot different to anything else out there. That’s mainly due to its rarity. And for me it is a welcome difference not being bothered by where have I seen that switch or control knob before? I’m not saying it is better, just different.

For a model that would have modest sales aspirations here it is quite flabbergasting that there are 5 trim levels available. I’d have streamlined this and had maybe two trim levels and they’ be fully loaded as our American cousins say.

The entry model to be fair has quite an impressive list of standard features with Keyless Enter 'N Go, 10.25" TFT cluster display, Parkview Rear Back-up Camera, Active Emergency Braking with Pedestrian and cyclist detection, Intelligent Speed Assistance, Forward Collision Warning Plus Mitigation, Hill Start assist and Trailer Sway Damping. Not bad at all, but price is my main fault with the car.

This is a car that competes with the Qashqai, Kuga, Sportage and Tucson. The cheapest model starts at €43,995 with my PHEV model costing €54,995.

The equivalent best-selling entry Tucson costs €37,045 with the entry PHEV costing €42,995 compared to its Jeep equivalent at €49,995. The entry Tucson is diesel whereas all the Jeeps are petrol with 130bhp available from both engines in the range. Of note is that the Tucson is taller, wider and longer than the Jeep so less car for more money.

I found the driving manners acceptable and with the amount of creature comforts on the car every trip is a comfortable and cosseting experience.

It has off-road capability of course, it’s a Jeep after all, but I didn’t try or test that out. The combined petrol and electric power is a claimed 240HP. The petrol engine on its own is good for 130hp and the car has an all-electric range of 50km with a recharge time of 240 minutes using a domestic wallbox charger. There’s good performance with a 0-100 km/h time of 7.4s. I managed a fuel consumption of 7.2l/100kms but to be fair I only recharged the battery once. That battery is guaranteed for 8 years /160,000kms and you can get an overall warranty of five years.

I really wanted to love this car completely, and for what it does it’s good, not brilliant or the best.
But that price is a stumbling block and the established players will be more tempting.

It needs to be comparable at least to bring it back in from the wilderness that, being a Jeep, it is capable of exploring. That old adage, the day you buy is the day you sell, would also be a concern when trading a Jeep Compass. That’s a real-world decision that can’t be ignored.

Neither will you ever be explaining the decision to buy a Tucson or a Sportage but you’ll be forever explaining why you opted for a Jeep. The Jeep name is iconic and in Ireland at least, idiosyncratic but if you want to stand out from the herd then it may be the car for you. My take is I’d be interested, but tempted is another story.