LIKES
- Sharp interior
- Standard 8.4-inch touchscreen
- Good standard safety tech
- Good standard convenience tech
- Capable Trailhawk trim...
DISLIKES
- ...gets expensive
- Sloppy 9-speed automatic
- Coarse inline-4
- Could use comfier seats
- Narrow rear seat
BUYING TIP
The 2022 Jeep Compass stays fresh with good standard safety and convenience features.
What kind of vehicle is the 2022 Jeep Compass? What does it compare to?
The 2022 Jeep Compass is a five-seat crossover SUV slotting between the slightly smaller Renegade and larger Cherokee. Its rivals include small crossovers such as the Subaru Crosstrek, Hyundai Kona, and Kia Seltos.
Is the 2022 Jeep Compass a good car?
The coarse powertrain is average at best, but the revised interior with more standard safety and convenience features helps overcome what’s lacking under the hood. Good storage space and a Trailhawk off-road edition separate it from the competition, and help bump this year’s TCC Rating to a 6.0 out of 10 overall.
What’s new on the 2022 Jeep Compass?
The refreshed subcompact crossover with off-road capability features larger screens, new technology, standard active safety technology, and a more refined design inside and out than the outgoing model.
A 177-horsepower 2.4-liter inline-4 carries over, with a 6-speed automatic on front-drive models and an indecisive 9-speed automatic that comes with all-wheel drive standard on Limited and Trailhawk versions. Road manners are fine for a compact crossover, but when pushed hard the Compass will push back with noise. The off-road rated Trailhawk trim handles moderate obstacles and negotiates a good time off the beaten path.
Jeep specs out a Compass interior that’s large enough for four adults, but skimps on seat comfort. Cargo space is abundant at 27.2 cubic feet with the rear seats up or nearly 60 cubic feet with them folded down.
Safety agencies haven’t crashed the refreshed Compass yet, but Jeep upgraded it considerably with standard automatic emergency braking, active lane control, and blind-spot monitors, as well as the latest safety options including a limited hands-free driver-assist system.
How much does the 2022 Jeep Compass cost?
Offered in Sport, Latitude, Latitude Lux, Trailhawk, and Limited models, the 2022 Compass starts at $26,490, including $1,495 destination. In addition to the standard safety features mentioned above, the refreshed Compass comes with an 8.4-inch touchscreen running the brand’s latest Uconnect 5 operating software, which includes wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Options include leather upholstery, a 10.1-inch touchscreen and 10.3-inch digital gauge cluster. The Limited and Trailhawk top the lineup at a reasonable $32,890.
Four-wheel drive costs an extra $1,500 on Sport and Latitude models; it’s standard on higher trims.
Where is the 2022 Jeep Compass made?
In Mexico.
Styling
The Compass chills with Jeep’s rugged DNA.
Is the Jeep Compass a good-looking car?
More urbane than the Renegade but not suffering the inferiority complex of other tall hatchbacks masquerading as rugged SUVs, the Compass owns its DNA. The confident exterior and upgraded interior each earn a point to a 7.
Subtle exterior changes include a revised front fascia with a band that splits the upper and lower halves into the fog lights in the corners. Slender LED headlights flank a slender seven-slot grille that carries Jeep’s heritage, but Jeep snaps its smaller soldier in line with the Grand Cherokee and new Wagoneer. Slight black cladding runs over the squared wheel arches to the rear, and the Compass overall embraces what a baby SUV aspires to in finishing school. Trailhawks go punk with some knobby tires, fender trim, tow hooks, hood decals, and roof rails to make its own mark off-road.
Performance
Compass performance doesn’t move the needle.
Loud and coarse under heavy throttle, and milquetoast otherwise, the carryover powertrain in the 2022 Jeep Compass is nothing more or less than adequate. Ride and handling are more accommodating, unless pushing it, but the Trailhawk distinguishes itself with off-road aplomb. Overall, however, performance settles to a 5.
How fast is the Jeep Compass?
Jeep’s 177-hp 2.4-liter inline-4 doesn’t concern itself with speed. Push it hard and it’ll tell you so in no uncertain terms. The shifts come late, the engine strains, and cruising above 70 mph elicits some shakes. More reasonable throttle inputs result in far less of everything, though, so if you’re rarely in a hurry and don’t need the engine to prove itself, it’s fine.
Front-wheel-drive models come with a serviceable 6-speed automatic, while all-wheel drive versions standard on Lux, Trailhawk, and Limited models come with an efficient but indecisive 9-speed automatic. A disconnecting rear axle also helps with efficiency when rear-axle torque isn’t needed.
The available 172 lb-ft of torque helps the Compass tow up to 2,000 lb, but only on Trailhawk models. The Trailhawk eschews a two-speed transfer case for a low first gear that simulates a high crawl ratio, and ground clearance increases nearly an inch over the regular Compass to 8.6 inches. It’s more than capable and surprisingly fun but don’t go dreaming about runs up Moab’s slick rock in it. Skid plates protect the bottom, while front and rear tow hooks suggest some degree of helping out other stuck vehicles. Trailhawks wear different front and rear fascias to provide a 30-degree approach angle, 24-degree breakover angle, and 34-degree departure angle.
Otherwise, an independent suspension gives the Compass good composure on city streets, and it’s settled in highway driving but can be loud.
Comfort & Quality
The Jeep Compass retains its interior spaciousness.
Like its predecessor, the Compass earns a point for its spacious cargo room but the roomy seating area would benefit from seats that accommodate a wider range of frames. It’s a 6.
The good news is 27.2 cubic feet of cargo room that expands to nearly 60 cubic feet with the 60/40-rear seats folded flat. It’s one of the roomiest spaces in the subcompact crossover class. There aren’t many storage tricks in back, such as the side cubbies or tiered floors embraced by some rivals.
Rear seat passengers can be treated to both heated outboard seats and a whopping 38.3 inches of leg room, but the Compass is narrower even than the smaller Renegade, so it's a tight fit with three across. Thin, flat seats aren’t much improved up front but they look better than the previous year.
Safety
The new Compass comes with good standard safety tech.
How safe is the Jeep Compass?
Every 2022 Compass comes with automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, active lane control, and blind-spot monitors. Automatic headlights come standard on all but the base model. Options such as adaptive cruise control, a surround-view camera system, park assist, and driver-assistance tech that provides limited hands-free driving costs extra. The standard and optional safety gear would earn it a point each here, but we won’t assign it a rating until the IIHS and the NHTSA complete crash testing. Historically, it’s fallen short of a five-star ranking.
Features
The Compass would be better value with more standard safety equipment.
The 2022 Compass comes better equipped than its predecessor, earning a point each for its large standard touchscreen, good value, and extensive options list. It’s an 8.
In addition to standard safety features, the $26,490 Compass comes with an 8.4-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto/Amazon Alexa and over-the-air updates, USB-A and USB-C ports, dual phone connectivity, satellite radio, cloth seats with manual adjustments, LED headlights, keyless entry and start.
Jeep complements its basic 3-year/36,000-mile warranty with Jeep Wave, which includes the first three oil changes and free tire rotations for the first 36 months.
Which Jeep Compass should I buy?
Instead, for capable enough off-roading like a Ford Bronco Sport or Subaru Crosstrek and standard AWD, consider the $30,090 Latitude Lux. It adds automatic headlights, 17-inch wheels, heated leather front seats with power adjustment for the driver, a heated leather-wrapped steering wheel, a 10.1-inch touchscreen, a 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster, remote start, and 18-inch wheels.
How much is a fully loaded Jeep Compass?
Fuel Economy
The Compass earns 25 mpg combined.
Is the Jeep Compass good on gas?
For a gas-only engine, the Compass trails the Subaru Crosstrek, Mazda CX-30, and Hyundai Kona. There’s no hybrid version of the Compass. The EPA rates it the front-wheel-drive model with the 6-speed at 22 mpg city, 31 highway, 25 combined. That’s a 4 here.
The 9-speed automatic helps the all-wheel-drive Compass keep up at 22/30/25 mpg.
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