New Jeep Compass Rallye 5 Door SUV 2006

Car Specifications & Information

CAR REF NUMBER:
20561

CAR MAKE & CAR MODEL:
New Jeep Compass Rallye 5 Door SUV 2006

OTHER INFO:

Jeep Compass Rallye 5 Door SUV 2006

just when you thought reality tv had exhausted itself, along comes another series of the x-factor. hundreds of thousands of hopefuls vying for their 15 minutes of fame only to have their dreams shot down by a sam missile otherwise known as cowell.

i’m not a great lover of these type of shows but my kids are, and after watching the first program with them i can see why they draw millions of viewers each week. we like to have a great belly laugh at someone else’s expense. it makes us feel better about ourselves and less inadequate when we see talentless and misguided wannabes believing they’ll ‘go platinum’ before the end of the year. sorry love, the only metal you’re liable to see at christmas will come from the argos catalogue.

heaven forbid, i’d consider myself as acid-tongued as the high-waisted mr. cowell (that’s been left to a gobby, curly-topped, tall bloke who can be seen on bbc2 on a sunday evening), but to a lesser extent my job is to judge and give constructive criticism on new cars. manufacturers are nothing more than enthusiastic parents with immovable faith that their child can go straight in at no.1.

recently, i was the only uk journo to be invited to be the first to get behind the wheel of the new jeep compass six months before its official launch date. this is similar to someone phoning up pete waterman and saying they’ve found the new kylie and asking if he wants to be the first to hear her. hype is all well and good, only if it matches the talent. i’ve heard countless times such-and-such a car will revolutionize the industry, but invariably it’s one-hit wonder and ends up languishing in the bargain bin with the likes of gareth gates and steve bernstein. yet after driving the focus-sized compass it could have some longevity in a very fickle market. it doesn’t or won’t have the same mass appeal as the mini, but for those looking for a compact suv it might just give kia, hyundai and toyota a run for their money. based on the dodge caliber platform, the compass is a huge, nay, gigantic leap forward for jeep. they’ve always been at the serious end of the 4×4 market – the u2’s if you like - slogging it out with the land rover discovery’s and bmw x5’s of this world. now they’re going head-to-head in a place dominated by cheaper and smaller imitations of their sixty-five years of handiwork. the press blurb sent in advance read okay, but as any record producer will tell you there’s a huge difference between a studio demo and a live performance. the reality is, the compass is just as good, if not better than described.

before you start thinking i’ve gone soft and shown my hand a little too early, wait just a minute. there’s one minor point which can’t be overlooked. the styling. from every angle other than side profile it looks the part – chunky and purposeful. however, side-on and the basic version has all the cues of a vietnamese potbelly pig. perhaps i’m being a tad over picky, because the blinged-up, beefier rallye version we’ll be getting over here seems less pot-bellyish by comparison.
power comes in the same form as the caliber with a vw sourced 2.0-litre diesel engine pumping away under the bonnet and six-speed manual transmission. despite the obvious extra weight from the part-time four wheel system, freedom drive1, it still felt amply capable for the job in hand. no, it will never set your hair on fire with its turn of speed but its overall driving characteristics are more towards a car than an suv. and this is the crux of its success. it would have been all too easy for jeep to make it a mini-me of the cherokee, yet they haven’t. it’s been designed for a specific lifestyle market. the rufty-tufty image is there and it has a four-wheel drive system to match, but i’ll bet a whole wad of cash the majority of its owners will never get the tyres dirty. and so do jeep. that’s why they given as much effort to the cabin adornments as they have to power-train. straight out of the caliber are speakers that swing down from the tailgate, a dual-purpose rechargeable torch mounted in the headline above the cargo area and a flip pocket in the armrest for an ipod or mobile. these small touches just add to what is already a very pleasing interior.

so far the compass has passed its first audition based on looks, sub £20k price, on and off road manners and accommodation. the next step is boot camp where it will be put against other hopefuls such as the soon-to-be launched land rover freelander and re-vamped kia sorrento. the compass has as much chance, if not more, of making it to the finals.

verdict

for: off-road system to match bigger, more expensive 4×4’s. over 40 mpg. who thought of those swing-down speakers? brilliant.

against: heavy clutch. side profile could frighten small children. agricultural engineering noises from the engine when cold.

conclusion: whether it can ultimately win the hearts of the buying nation and become the overall winner, only time will tell. but given the achievement of previous runners-up, second place isn’t such a terrible place to finish. just ask lemar.






Source :http://modifiedcars.com