I had an infuriating discussion with a close friend last year that gave me some insight in to why people are obsessed with SUVs.
We were talking about what our next cars might be and she was appalled when I told her which cars I was considering buying, because not one of them was an SUV.
“But why don’t you want an SUV? Everyone thinks they’re so cool,” she said.
“I just wouldn’t use it. I’m not a camping kind of person and I prefer sedans for now, so I don’t see the point of having one,” I told her.
I might as well have said that I boiled babies for a living. The friend in question refused to understand my point of view and we had a rather heated discussion. She viewed any SUV as an indication of success, a vehicle that offered more versatility than anything else on the road, and she thought I was rather dim for not wanting one.
Equally, I thought she was rather dim for lusting after SUVs because she believed (quite wrongly) that they were safer than cars, saw them as a must-have accessory and because she would then have a capable vehicle for bush adventures that we both knew she would never undertake.
Pity she’s now living in England because Jeep has launched a vehicle — the Compass Limited — that I thought would be perfect for her because it falls into her price range and has a rugged yet urban appeal.
The Compass is aimed at young professionals, both male and female. During the media launch in Alicedale, Port Elizabeth, Jeep went to great lengths to accentuate that the new arrival is an urban recreational vehicle, hence the creation of “Cityman”, who South Africans will be seeing in print and TV ad campaigns encouraging people to have fun with the city in the new Compass.
The round headlamps and seven-slot grille makes the Compass look a great deal like the Cherokee, but it has a chunkier look up front that sets it apart from its bigger brother.
It has trapezoidal wheel arches and the rear-door handles are positioned in the side of the door. The Compass shares a few similarities with the recently launched Dodge Caliber in that the rear light clusters look similar to the Caliber’s, the tailgate has a set of speakers that flip down and point outwards, and the Compass has a rear interior light that can be detached and used as a torch.
Inside, the plastic seems a bit harder than what we’re used to on cars upwards of R240 000, but when you consider the standard specification list, you will easily forgive this oversight.
Motoring journalists must have annoyed Jeep divisional manager David Elmore, who stated quite clearly that the specification on the press test fleet was the standard specification for the Compass and that the only extras customers could spend money on were metallic paint, additional headlamps and a sunroof. “Does that include the digital compass under the speedometer, the leather upholstery and the heated seats?” asked one journalist. “Yes,” said Elmore patiently before repeating what he had just told us.
According to Elmore, Jeep is of the opinion that customers would prefer a high standard specification list rather than a lengthy, and costly, list of optional extras. I have to say I agree, not only because I’m a coastal naf who cannot do without heated seats, but because it cuts costs and simplifies the process of buying a vehicle.
Among the notable features is a very impressive 458W MP3 compatible Boston sound system, heated power side mirrors and an adjustable steering column.
Safety features include four airbags, ABS with offroad calibration, ESP, traction control and electronic roll mitigation.
The Compass comes with four-wheel drive in the form of Freedom Drive 1, but it does not have low range, so serious off-roading is not an option. Then again, most yuppies I know would consider driving on a dirt-road serious offroading so I don’t think the young target market would want to get anything but designer mud on this vehicle. However, in Alicedale, we put the Compass through some mild to medium-range offroading and it coped admirably. On the road, the suspension set-up, which features MacPherson struts up front, seemed a little too stiff, but when we were off-road it felt a great deal smoother.
There are two engines in the range, a 2,4-litre petrol engine which produces 125kW of power and 220Nm of torque and would only display any enthusiasm when the revs climbed past 3 500rpm, and a 2,0-litre turbo diesel that produces 103kW of power and 310Nm of torque.
Prices range from R244 900 for the entry-level five-speed manual petrol to R254 900 for the automatic petrol and R279 900 for the turbo diesel.
The Compass is covered by a three-year/100 000km warranty and maintenance plan, and Jeep claims the turbo diesel consumes 6,5 litres per 100km on a combined cycle and 8,7 litres per 100km for the manual petrol. Overall, the Compass represents a competitive and credible package that, in my opinion, will definitely find a place among young professionals.