[SlowButSure]

Hi,

A few weeks ago I ordered my 26E. I just didn't feel that leather seats and a stick shift automatic justified the limited edition. I already know that it will be built on the 4th of Jan 2007, so i'll be reading it's horoscope it's a capricorn :lol:

I was also looking at the Dodge Caliber, The specs are IDENTICAL except for height and weight but since I already have a Jeep liberty, I didn't wan't to sacrifice the 4x4 option. I live on a mountain side and the road gets pretty tricky. So Michelin X-ices an 4x4, that seems to be the right recipe.

My driving is 90% highway 10% city (town really). So I am hoping for better gas mileage than the liberty.

I am worried, though. I read this review. http://www.truedelta.com/models/Compass ... sion_code=

And the analyst mentions sloppy steering and an anemic motor. he trashes the Compass completely. Is this your exprerience? Does the Compass really have loose steering? I imagine that a 2.4L would have some pick-up to it.

My heart sank a bit when I read this. But then I found this forum and people seem happy with their rides. Maybe the author is an overly critical critic.

Anyway, there isn't much I can do about it now. I rarely chase other cars. I don't race and i don't go above 120/km an hour. It should do it's stuff very well.

Looking forward to reading your posts.

 

[oldmisery]

We test drove the Compass several times (at different dealers) before we
ordered ours. The name Jeep means very little to me, versus the way in
which the vehicle performs, according to our needs. The reviewer noted
has a very negative stance, one with which I cannot agree.
As we were taking our Compass home from the dealer, the comment
was made as to how direct and responsive the steering appeared to be
compared to the vehicle we had traded. I also got some hot tongue
when my spouse realized we were up to 120km. I slowed down.
I do not find the engine at all anemic or noisy. The CVT is a delight, no
more worries about shifting on a slippery hill.
I hope you will be as happy as we are.

 

[kwc]

Sloppy steering? Hardly. My Compass is actually pretty agile, and I haven't found any problems in the steering department.

Anemic motor? Personally I don't think so. Will it fly from a dead stop like a sports car? Nope. I haven't experenced any problems with the power at all. Passes well on two lane roads or on the interstate (drove from upstate NY to Maine in October and my Compass did just fine).

The author of that review also didn't care for the styling of the Compass. It does look a bit "heavy" (and I'm not sure if that's the right word) from the front, but I really like the side profile and the rear view. I've had a lot of positive comments from people at work. The author raved about the Pontiac Aztek in one of his (?) reviews ... and that was one awful automobile.

I am always leery of reviews ... it's best to just try a car out first and make your decisions on the test drive. My dealer let me drive the car a couple times before I decided to buy it.

 

[JeepChick]

Well, I finally picked up my Compass North (26E) 4x4 last night (after ordering it in early September). I have to say that I'm loving this car. It's definitely all that I hoped it would be.

Let me preface the following statements by noting that before last night, I was driving a 2000 Jeep Cherokee Sport with a V-6. The ride is so much smoother and quieter! People who have switched over from cars probably don't notice that as much. And perhaps it's because the Compass is slightly closer to the ground than the Cherokee, but I felt that the car was hugging the road. The steering was quite reponsive and not at all sloppy. I can't wait to try it out in some rain or snow. (We're expecting a lot of rain on Friday.)

As far as get-up-and-go, I haven't had any issue with that. However, I'll leave it up to the more experienced Compass drivers to give you their opinions on that. It may be my driving style, but I tend to be slow off the block. With slow and steady gas (as is my style), the Compass gains speed relatively quickly for the size engine it has. I haven't had any problems with passing or highway driving. I'm not having any problems with blind spots other than the usual, but am still getting used to backing out of parking spots. The configuration of the rear windows (compared to my old Cherokee) seems to make seeing pedestrians and other cars a bit more difficult.

The interior isn't plush, but it's pretty much on par with my old 1990 YJ and the Cherokee. Reviewers write that it's a sea of plastic, but the only thing that really caught my eye was the hard plastic on the backs of the front seats. I hadn't seen that in a vehicle before, but I figure that I'm going to be riding in the front, and so don't really care too much. The fit and finish in the interior is great. And contrary to what some others have posted online in various places, my armrest doesn't move back and forth too easily. It actually takes some effort.

Okay, features I love: The AUX plug for my mp3 player. The driver's convenience group (EVIC). The auto-dimming mirror. The little compartments throughout the interior (I'm a pack rat). The seats - really comfortable! All of the safety features.

Features I'm not yet so fond of: The gas tank is visible below the rear bumper. (Just tends to break the asthetic.) The cup holders. I would have no problem with a rearrangement of that area of the car, with the parking brake on the driver's side and the cup holders closer to the passenger seat. Again, just something to get used to. Finally, the placement/style of the door locks is a bit inconvenient. I admit that I'm a spaz, but I got the sleeve of my knit sweater stuck on the driver's door lock this morning. As you can see, all of these things are about personal preference and NOTHING to do with the performance of the Compass itself.

So far, the Compass is doing exactly what I had hoped it would do. I'm sure you'll love yours.

 

[RedVortex]

I agree with everything that everyone said in this post so far.

The Compass really handle very well. Much much better than what I hoped for and I'm a very aggressive driver. Believe me when I say that I tested the very limits of this truck in the last few days (snow/ice/rain) and I'm only about 1000km on the counter. This truck is really the best thing I've driven so far. It is fun and exciting to ride every time I get in it. This is my fourth brand new car (I had 2 corollas and 1 Chevrolet Venture before) and it is the very best I had.

As an example of my stupid aggressive driving, just tonight, I thought that was it. I tried a very fast right turn to get on the highway, just for the fun of it. However, it became clear to me, when I began to turn right to get to the exit to go on the highway, that I was going way too fast to be able to make it in the turn and that I was doing a very big mistake here and that it was too late to correct it. the problem was, I thought the pavement was dry like the road I was on just before my turn, but when I entered the exit, it was all wet and it was a very, really, bad surprise.

I was sure I was going to hit the cement border on the side of the road (I'm a french speaker, I can't remember the name of this 6 or 7 inches tall thing on the side of the street) and at least puncture a tire and maybe hit other parts of the truck because I was sure I was going off the road because of my stupidity. But as soon as it began to slip a bit because of my reckless driving and wet pavement, all the electronic stability systems came online (ABS, engine cutoff, 4wd) and I negotiated the turn like nothing happened. Surely I came very close of the cement border but, I never touched it. The systems knew where I wanted to go and they did their best to get me there, not off the road like most cars would've went, no doubt about it now.

Two things allowed me to take this turn without crashing the truck tonight.

1 - The Electronic Stability System which helped counteract what I was not doing right while turning.

2 - And, mostly, the handling and the way this truck seems to be glued to the road whatever happens and whatever the road conditions are.

I would never had tried something like this with my previous cars. I would never, never, have made it through.

I would definitely not recommend you to try any of what I did here, but this surely made me very much more confident about this truck capabilities, even though I would never try that again, except off-road or in a vast parking lot.

That however, I would recommend you to try. Go on a rainy or snowy day in a parking lot when it's almost empty (make sure you have enough room in case you get out of control) and test the limits of the Compass and the ESP. I do think it is important for a driver to understand how his vehicule reacts and what are its limits, you never know when this knowledge might come in handy in a emergency situation.

Bottom line is, this truck handles exceptionally well and the steering is perfect, I wouldn't change anything about it. And it is surely not sloppy in any way.

The other question was about the engine. I had a V6 before and surely it was more powerful than the engine in the Compass but I'm not missing it at all. I have enough power to do everything I want. Passing others is a bit different than before but it is easily done nevertheless. More power would've been almost useless. I do think that the engine fits perfectly with this truck.

I can't think of any way that you might not like your Compass. My excitement is still very high after a thousand kilometers driving it. And it will surely not die off before a few weeks or months since winter is coming and I bought the 4x4 model

I had very high expectations and I'm in no way disappointed.

RedVortex

 

[jeepkeep]

I have something to say about some of the negative reviews I've read about the jeep compass. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and everyone is different. I've found you cannot really trust someone else's opinion of a vehicle or pretty well anything else. It's their own opinion and that's all it is, period. There are quite a lot of negative and frustrated people writing reviews about this vehicle that I found aren't true for me or I'm sure for a lot of us compass owners. I think this vehicle is great in a lot of ways, much more pros than cons and I'm glad we decided to purchase it for our own reasons and we will enjoy it.

 

[welshfyr]

GREAT posts everyone!

I am also very pleased with the handling etc of my Compass.

I tend to have a heavy foot, and although it's not a sports car, it still has pretty good pep, and feels pretty solid on the road.

On a side note...

Bord in french
Curb in english (and may I say, your english is amazing!)

I think that the posts to date pretty much say it all... especially since that 'reviewer' LIKED the Aztec (there's NO accounting for taste!)

@ Just under 4000km's on the OD and loving it still!

 

[CompassFan]

Handling

I dont own a compass yet. But in my test drives not once did the terms sloppy or anemic come into my mind. Now maybe if this reviewers daily driver is a BMW then these terms might pop up to him. My 4 door Ford POS has no where near the pep of the compass so i'd say its got plenty of zoom zoom.

Also I find a lot of reviews say under powered when the engine in question is a 4 cyl. engine. It is a heavy vehicle but I don't think it needs a 6 cyl.. However a 2L Diesel might not be a bad thing.

The only question that matters is - at the speed(s) at which you drive is the engine working too hard and sound too noisy. I found that in my driving the CVT keep the engine RPMs lower and the Noise to a minimum.

Now you could always go get one of those racing muflers and poof...instant ferrari. Ask any Honda Civic owner... :twisted:

 

[SlowButSure]

Back from holidays,

Thank you all so much for the information and replies. I must admit I now have more information than I could get from my dealer. The best pulse is the one from actual owners.

Like I said, my Compass is scheduled for assembly on the 4 th of January, this Thursday.

I'm hoping transport is less tha a month.

Does anyone know where the Compass plant is located? I heard Mexico. Is this right?

Thanks

 

[oldmisery]

Assembly plant is in Belvidere, Illinois.

 

[Pointer]

Wimped out on the Colour but got my Compass !

Ordered Nov 29 - Compass North 4X2, CVT, Sunroof and all the toys in Jeep Green.
Dealer called Dec 30, 2006 and said I could have a Black with all my options now !!!
or wait for 4-6 weeks more.
Glad I wimped out as I drove it home Dec 31 with only 7 KM on it.
Now I think Black kinda looks classy !!!



Re Factory Order times and designations such as BX, D, D1 are explained in this post
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct ... f0bb880/38

 

[SlowButSure]

Not waiting anymore

I received my Compass 4x4 last friday and I'm very impressed with it. I know it's new but just the same. Sunday I took it out in icy road conditions and I was surprised by the handling of the car. I used to have a Liberty with no ESP and on icy roads quick braking would result in the truck spinning on itself. So it's the first thing I tried with my Compass. On a country road at -12Celsius with patch ice on it at 100 km/h I slammed the brakes hard. The Compass never even hinted at sliding sideways. It tracked straight and the ABS brakes controled a perfect stop. And I have the ordinary "Affinity" tires on the car. Next week I'm having 2 pairs of X-ICE tires installed and I will try this again.

I also wasn't used to the car turning with confidence on tight icy curves in this country road. Granted I was only going 90 km/h but it is impressive just the same.

My Compass has a better ride than the Liberty had, it is more of an automobile than a truck. This I like.

I will miss my Liberty, because I would use it to go fishing on back roads around here. They are old gravel truck roads and only trucks, jeeps (liberty, wrangler, etc), pickups can go there. With the muffler hanging from the butt of the Compass I wouldn't dare go on those roads. I have friends with pickups, though, so I'll be bumming rides with them.

I have driven 250 km in two days, I like the suspension, the gas mileage will be better. I am happy with my choice.

P.S. At the Detroit Auto Show, I saw a man comparing the Compass to the inside of an IGLOO plastic cooler. I think it's a bad comparison. If you consider the price of the Compass and all the features on it, I wil GLADLY accept plastic in the cockpit.

 

[ACX]

glad to hear you got it and are enjoying it.

Ours should be here this week and I am looking forward to some seat time.


As for the reviews:

I love to hear the ranting and whining of people about the compass. For the pricepoint, I didn't see anything close to as well equipped as the compass / caliber.

Regarding sloppy steering, I'm not sure what vehicle that person was driving but neither the compass nor caliber I drove exhibited anything like sloppy steering.

I priced out Rav4s and CRVs comparably equipped and they were THOUSANDS more.. many thousands..

 

[G_Prime]

Hi folks! I just picked up my Compass 4X4 North on Friday February 2nd. For those interested, I had ordered it November 14th, which translates to 11 weeks and 3 days from the date of order to delivery. I had to light a fire under my dealer about 2 weeks ago to make some phone calls to find out when it was to be built. The factory built it Jan 26, and I was driving it exactly one week later.

Over the weekend, I had a chance to drive 250 km through LOTS of snow (I'm in Muskoka, and we had a little over a foot of fresh snowfall over the weekend) and I must say, I'm impressed. I LOVE this thing!

For those of you waiting for yours to be delivered, hang in there, it's worth it.

For those of you deciding whether or not to buy one....what are you waiting for?

 

[ACX]

Hi folks! I just picked up my Compass 4X4 North on Friday February 2nd. For those interested, I had ordered it November 14th, which translates to 11 weeks and 3 days from the date of order to delivery. I had to light a fire under my dealer about 2 weeks ago to make some phone calls to find out when it was to be built. The factory built it Jan 26, and I was driving it exactly one week later.

Over the weekend, I had a chance to drive 250 km through LOTS of snow (I'm in Muskoka, and we had a little over a foot of fresh snowfall over the weekend) and I must say, I'm impressed. I LOVE this thing!

For those of you waiting for yours to be delivered, hang in there, it's worth it.

For those of you deciding whether or not to buy one....what are you waiting for?

Glad to hear you're enjoying it. We've had some rough weather out here as well with no issues. 8)

Our wait time was similar to yours. We ordered Like novemeber 7th and I picked it up on January 29th.

Anyone who is waiting should get on the horn and see what is going on. They made over 10 thousand last month so you should see most orders from months gone by being filled.

:lol: