Posted by SoNaive
although it is better than having a Jeep Compass in their driveway. but not by much.
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The Compass... where to begin?
Pretty great in the looks department. The 7 bars works better than the Dodge PLUS. Plus that car is really sharp in Jeep Green. Looks much less effeminate than the Caliber or PT, and actually looks like it could survive an accident (aka doesn't look too plasticky).
Despite a couple of drawbacks, the Compass is actually pretty good on paper... A car that
COULD be the perfect daily driver for most Northeasterners. Available 4WD, AWD and FWD trim levels, better ground clearance than most other sport hatches, and the CVT which makes short work of snow and ice. So where did they go wrong?
TINY engines that are entirely underpowered for a car that is in the neighborhood of 1000lbs heavier than its Caliber cousin. A relic of the Mitsubishi partnership where entirely capable engines were crippled by electronics and sheer weight of the cars. Plus, the engines are HUGE, despite their relatively small rated size and output. This uses the updated version of the engine in my Stratus, and it takes up much more room than necessary. With the CVT, this engine runs 5 belts. 2 for transmission, one for timing and crank, one for power steering, and one for accessories. That makes this a BITCH to maintain. Oh, PS, this is not only an update to the old engines, but it's an update that relied heavily on Hyundai engineering. Yeah, Chrysler went to the Koreans to help fix their I4's rather than fix the known issues with the I4's from the Neons/Stratuses.
NO Trail Rating, and overall AWFUL ground clearance, despite it being better than most. How can you make a Jeep product that is a nice, capable little car and then take away the bulk of its capability? This guy barely makes it over speed bumps without scraping. And that's being generous. I get probably the same overall clearance with my Stratus, which absolutely eats through its suspension (tie rods and struts in particular) on a yearly basis.
Chrysler PM/MK (now JS?) platform, and surprisingly poor 4WD traction, all related to the poor PM/MK platform. Decent amount of body roll, poor brake feel, no giddyup, BORING interior, especially considering all of the electronics that Chrysler killed the potency of that little 2.4L I4 with. Turn on the AC and the stereo and you're looking at a barely usable 85 HP for winter or NE highway driving.
Poor gas mileage with anything but the manual, because of the weight and a high(ish)-revving engine. The CVT sweet spot closes in on 3500rpm very frequently, piddling away a surprising amount gas for the sake of constantly being in that power band, especially considering it's the same 2.4 I4 that got about 37MPG in new 95-01 Stratus/Cirrus/Breeze.
This car
could have been an outstanding little buggy. I can see a strong market for a small Jeep
that is still a Jeep, but there are just too many things that Chrysler just did completely wrong with this one.
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