"Jeep loses its way with Compass"

[RJB]

Not pleased.

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?A.../608020302/1149

And of course those demon spawn - the Lienerts and their review.

http://info.detnews.com/autosconsumer/auto...ex.cfm?id=22802

[FAPTurbo]

SHE -

Why are there no lighted vanity mirrors? And -- this is really a no-brainer -- why is there no standard compass?

. Way to take down female car buyers a peg. Sure, maybe lighted vanity mirrors may be important to some people, but with a vehicle like the Compass that is pretty flawed and very underwhelming, I'd figure there'd be more important things to complain about.

[njtex]

Not pleased.

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?A.../608020302/1149

And of course those demon spawn - the Lienerts and their review.

http://info.detnews.com/autosconsumer/auto...ex.cfm?id=22802

175279[/snapback]

Is it just me or is there really some AMC Gremlin design heritage in the Compass?

[Intrepidation]

Meh, I don't like the Compass, so for once, I can't complain about the review

[regfootball]

honestly, this is just another example of how people judge a car as a whole so much on interiors.

interiors is probably the biggest reason (that and styling) why people (*cough* women) by a certain car.

its why GM falters so bad. its why chrysler gets ragged on some.

It should be interesting to see the Patriot reviews. I'm still 50/50 on whether the compass should have been built, but the Patriot, i think it will be well received and its the same car.

Why can Honda and Toyota be excused for their wimpy Rav 4 and CRV and a similar Jeep gets burned?

Edited August 4, 2006 by regfootball

[MyerShift]

The Compass was a bad idea from the start.

Remember Chrysler's old mantra?

"No Jeep platforms shall be shared with anything else, and if it can't tackle the Rubicon, it's not a Jeep"?????

Whom shall we blame?

The stiff beards of Stuttgart, that's who!

[4gm]

Ouch. That consumer panel article was pretty brutal. People will stay away from this car in droves based on the styling alone.

Move over, Aztek. Here comes the Compass!!

[Matt276]

Jeep should be a low volume division.

[Robert Hall]

The Compass seems pointless to me..the Liberty is fine for an entry-level Jeep, IMHO. The Compass exterior is ugly and the interior is cheap and nasty (unfortunately, that seems to be the trend with all recent Jeeps...)

[Mule Bakersdozen LS]

I agree Moltar-the Compass and Patriot, unless shipped over to Dodge or nChrysler, have no point in existence and I have been opposed from the start on any Jeep that is not an off-road capable truck (unibody is beside the point-look at the success over the years with Liberty, Cherokee, and Grand Cherokee-the Commander is a horrible vehicle period). I saw my first Compass yesterday, a cool grey (aka not-really Bright Silver Metallic) Sport with the Option package, all of whose features should be standard on all models. Seriously, can someone explain to me why air conditioning is optional on a compact crossover SUV (or anything that's a subcompact car, maybe base-trim compact for that matter)? The equipment level sucks, cheap-looking dashboard-the rear seats were more comfortable than the front, with good rear legroom with a deep under-seat footwell. However, the head restraints in front are so uncomfortable, its impossible to get a comfortable position, as the headrests protude into the driver and passenger's head. The rear seat is heavy to fold back into place, but they recline a little. Cargo space is limited, the car sits lower to the ground than any other FWD/AWD car-based SUV, the styling's okay but not great, and there's little point in having both vehicles in the lineup. It might sell, it might not-I don't care, its not a great vehicle, and I'm still curious as to what the best compact crossover SUV is, as the others are either severely dated (Escape, VUE), lousy or 4-cylinder only (CR-V), or a combination of both or other loss-leader factors.

[usonia]

Personally, I don't see why jeep is getting such grief over the Compass. I didn't care much for it until I saw it in person. I think it looks pretty good, at least in dark colors. I haven't seen a light colored one yet. I do think the interior leaves much to be desired as far as materials go, but it isn't ugly. Boring, yes, but not ugly.

With the price of gas going up and most likely never coming back down to what it was, they have to have something inexpensive and economical to sell. The luxury SUV market cares less about the price of gas, but Jeep doesn't play exclusively in that market. They have to appeal to mainstream buyers in order to survive. As long as they are the 'best' in their segment as far as 4wd goes, I don't see a problem and I hope they do well.

Edited August 13, 2006 by usonia