Compass Mk2

The Jeep Compass compact SUV was re-launched in Australia in January 2012 after being pulled from the American car-maker’s lineup two years earlier. The original model was released in March 2007 and lasted two years on the Australian market before it was discontinued.

The 2012 model was based on the original Compass but included significant styling changes, particularly to the front end, where a face resembling that of the 2011 Grand Cherokee was planted to give it a more up-market look.

Other styling improvements over the previous model included roof rails and 17-inch alloy wheels on the entry-level Sport variant and 18-inch alloys on the Limited.

The baby Jeep came with plenty of standard gear, which on the Sport included stain-resistant cloth seats, cruise control, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, 60/40-split rear seat, and power door locks, windows and mirrors.

The more kitted-out Limited featured leather trim, heated front seats with power adjustment on the driver’s side, a premium audio system with touch-screen display, 40-gigabyte hard drive, voice-control Bluetooth phone connection, nine Boston Acoustics speakers and climate control.

The 2012 Compass missed out on the original’s 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine, replaced by an entry-level petrol engine producing 115kW of power and 190Nm of torque on the new two-wheel-drive Sport base variant.

Meanwhile, a carryover 125kW/220Nm, 2.4-litre petrol engine was available on the AWD Sport and Limited models.

The 2.0-litre engine consumed 7.6 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres in manual guise and 8.2L/100km with the continuously variable transmission (CVT). The 2.4-litre engine returned 8.5L/100km for the manual and 8.6L/100km for the CVT.

Although the Compass didn’t fare too well in the Euro NCAP results with a poor two-star rating, it did much better here in Australia, with ANCAP awarding the compact SUV four stars.

Standard safety appointments on the Compass included multi-stage front airbags for the driver and passenger, side curtain airbags, anti-lock brakes, electronic traction and stability control, and electronic roll mitigation.

A more comprehensive safety package featuring seat-mounted side airbags was only available in the ‘Safety and Comfort’ package - $800 extra on the Sport model and $550 on top of the Limited price.