Long-Term Road Tests

Over the weekend I folded our Jeep Compass's rear seats flat to haul some cargo. When returning them to their upright position I discovered that their seatback recline angle can be set to multiple positions, including this one. This position is less than 90 degress relative to the seat bottom (that's my handy T-square for 90-degree reference). Who sits like this?

Continue reading 2007Jeep Compass Limited: Who sits like this?.

Categories: 2007 Jeep Compass Limited

With our 2007 Jeep Compass, its CVT makes it nearly impossible to get a jump on traffic when merging onto the freeway. It hardly has any power and even if you mash the accelerator to the floor it feels like the car doesn't understand what you're trying to do. "Wuuuut, Wilbur? Ohhhhh, you want me to go faster?..

Continue reading 2007 Jeep Compass: Makeshift Fix to CVT.

Categories: 2007 Jeep Compass Limited

"How did you get stuck with the Compass?" one editor asked me as I had purposely picked our 2007 Jeep Compass for the long Thanksgiving weekend. "Cuz I didn't want to deal with shifting the Fit," I replied. (I was left with slim pickings for the holiday; not that I'm complaining.) I'm currently training for a marathon and the last thing my legs want after a 13-mile training run is to deal with a clutch in stop-and-go traffic. Besides I knew that the Compass' heated seats would feel like heaven to my aching body...

Continue reading 2007 Jeep Compass: Noisy Bugger.

Categories: 2007 Jeep Compass Limited

Friday morning our Long Term Jeep Compass had a date with Buerge Jeep’s Service Center for an oil change, a brake squeal, a window screech, and the long-awaited CVT TSB update.

Continue reading 2007 Jeep Compass: CVT Service Bulletin and more....

Categories: 2007 Jeep Compass Limited

I remember hearing a while back that Chrysler/Jeep hadn't always intended to produce both the Compass and Patriot. The two Caliber-clone designs were shown to a focus group. The Compass was overwhelmingly preferred by women and the Patriot preferred by men. At that point, they decided to sell both...

Continue reading 2007 Jeep Compass: Take Your Pick.

Categories: 2007 Jeep Compass Limited

Our long-term Jeep Compass earned its keep during the past week, when It hauled Brownies and camping equipment to the annual Girl Scout Camporee and carpooled kids to and from elementary school. 

Despite the fact that the Girl Scout campground had warned (too late) against leaving food in vehicles, nary a feral cat or a ravaging squirrel smashed through the Compass' passenger window to gorge on the peanut butter chocolate chip granola bars I had left exposed in the Jeep's open dash storage bin.

Instead, the Compass suffered a worse fate at the elementary school parking lot where an unknown driver side-swiped the Jeep's rear passenger side and fled the scene.

Sheesh. What kind of lesson in responsiblity is that for your kids?..

Continue reading 2007 Jeep Compass: From Camping to Crash.

Categories: 2007 Jeep Compass Limited

Wow, I so don't like our 2007 Jeep Compass. It has no guts whatsoever. Whenever I tried passing someone last night on the freeway -- pressing the accelerator, then stomping on it -- it wouldn't respond. "Huuuuuuuuh?" it seemed to be saying...

Continue reading 2007 Jeep Compass: No Guts, No Go.

Categories: 2007 Jeep Compass Limited

Right off the bat, I’ll tell you that I’m not the biggest fan of the Compass.  Its power is meager, its styling is dubious, and it’s not even that comfortable.  But I think that has all been said before, so I went into this looking for something nice to say…and  I found it.  With the rear seats folded down, this diminutive Jeep has a surprising amount of space.  I was in a situation on Sunday where I was going to the gym in the morning, scuba in the afternoon, and yoga in the evening, each of which needed its own gear and equipment.  I wasn’t sure if the Compass could handle it, but sure enough it had room to spare despite all the tanks and flippers and all.  So there it is, the silver lining to the Compass.  It may not haul well, but it does haul a lot.

Glenn McClanan, Broadband Producer @ 11,472 miles

Categories: 2007 Jeep Compass Limited

OK. I need to say it straight-up. I'm not a big fan of the 2007 Jeep Compass. I think it's pretty damn unattractive...

Continue reading 2007 Jeep Compass: Big Fat Blind Spot.

Categories: 2007 Jeep Compass Limited

I've put about 1,250 miles on our long-term 2007 Jeep Compass in the past two weeks, most of consisting of highway miles amassed during four-hour, one-way trips. For a vehicle to be a successful long-distance tourer in my opinion, it must rank high in terms of comfort, amenities, storage, passing power, quietness and range. Here's how I think the Compass stacks up.

Continue reading 2007 Jeep Compass: Long-Distance Driving.

Categories: 2007 Jeep Compass Limited

Like its platform sibling, the Dodge Caliber, the Jeep Compass can be had with an optional audio system with flip-down speakers mounted in the liftgate. When the speaker box is lowered (pictured), the speakers point directly outwards.

It might seem gimmicky. And maybe it is...

Continue reading 2007 Jeep Compass: Liftgate Speakers.

Categories: 2007 Jeep Compass Limited

Our long-term 2007 Jeep Compass emits a loud horn honk every time you lock it with the keyless remote. Since I live and park within close proximity of my neighbors (the joys of apartment living), I immediately applied the usual button-mashing protocol to disable this feature.

No dice, so I immediately RTM'd, and oddly enough, there's no provision to disable the honk...

Continue reading 2007 Jeep Compass: Honk If You're an Extrovert.

Categories: 2007 Jeep Compass Limited

Earlier this week my husband and I went to the mall by ourselves and left complimenting each other on the fact that we didn't buy anything for our seven-year-old daughter.

On the way home, we decided to stop at Ikea. Forty-five minutes later, we were loading Emma's new desk, chair, desk lamp, and other accessories into the Jeep Compass' cargo area. So much for self-control...

Continue reading 2007 Jeep Compass: IKEA-Sized SUV.

Categories: 2007 Jeep Compass Limited

As we've noted on multiple occasions on this blog, and in our full road test , the 2007 Jeep Compass makes no great strides in interior design, materials quality, or fit and finish.

I don't especially enjoy sitting in the vehicle, but I realized today that I don't like it any less than the cabins of all the Cherokees (regular, not Grand) that various friends and family members have owned. My dad still drives a Cherokee, and it's obvious he gets a kick out of its rugged image. He looks for any opportunity to shift into 4 Lo. Cash-strapped friends from college were much the same way... they didn't care that they ended up with a base trim vehicle with a manual gearbox, they just wanted in on the Jeep life.

When you drive the Compass, it's obvious the decision-makers at Jeep failed to understand this tradeoff.

Continue reading 2007 Jeep Compass: An Old Way of Thinking.

Categories: 2007 Jeep Compass Limited

Our Magellan Maestro 4050 navigation system has made a voyage to our Jeep Compass. With its crisp graphics and easy-to-use software, I've finally found something about the Compass I like. I didn't get to try out all the bells and whistles, but it did get me home from an afternoon appointment. When I disagreed with its set course, it quickly recalculated without fuss...

Continue reading 2007 Jeep Compass: Magellan Makes a Voyage.

Categories: 2007 Jeep Compass Limited