I had an opportunity (if that is what you want to call it) to rent a Jeep Compass. Probably a 2015 or 2016. Not sure which. I only had it for a day and hardly drove it, but came away with a few impressions:
It was small, so was fairly nimble. It was a front wheel drive platform, which I could definitely tell. This was an approximately 10 year old design, so it was not cursed with electric steering. It is being replaced next year, so that will soon change. The steering was probably the high point of the vehicle, everything else went down hill from there.
Visibility - normal/good out the back and sides. Poor out the rear. The combination of rear seats with tall headrests, sloping roof line, and small rear window meant compromised visibility out the back.
Comfort - poor. This vehicle had manual seats. I had the seat all the way back, and still had no where near enough leg room. Not sure who this car was designed for. The seats were reasonably well shaped and padded. I was in the car for at most 30 minutes at a time. I did not feel appreciably more uncomfortable when I got out as when I got in. Headroom was ok.
Cargo room - adequate. I only had 1 bag, which it swallowed with ease.
Fit/finish - subject to preferences. It seemed solid - no squeaks or rattles. But everything about the interior screamed 'cheap'. For example, the gear shift selector felt like a plastic child's toy. Pretty much the entire interior looked and felt like cheap plastic. It was a newish vehicle, so there was no apparent wear on the cloth seats.
Toys: very sparse. No navigation system (I had my own Garmin unit). Didn't even have automatic headlights. I didn't use the radio. Used the A/C, that was about it.
Braking - adequate. It stopped in time. I had no panic stop situations, so I had no opportunity to fully exercise them.
Engine - awful. I think this vehicle has 2 engine options - 2.0 and 2.5 4-bangers. I don't know which this had. No power, I had to stomp on the gas to get it to move. At idle, it sounds like a lawn mower full of gravel. As it revs it gets louder and sounds worse. The worst sounding engine I've experienced since a friend's Pontiac Vibe.
Fuel economy - unknown. I tried to fill it up before returning it to the car rental. I got less than a gallon in, the pump kept shutting off. I don't think it was full though, the gas gauge read a little below full. When I first picked it up it was on full.
It is rated for 20/26, which is rather poor for such a tiny anemic engine. My GLK will do close to that, and it has a 300 hp V6.
My rating: Whatever this car costs, it is too much. You couldn't give it to me.
It was small, so was fairly nimble. It was a front wheel drive platform, which I could definitely tell. This was an approximately 10 year old design, so it was not cursed with electric steering. It is being replaced next year, so that will soon change. The steering was probably the high point of the vehicle, everything else went down hill from there.
Visibility - normal/good out the back and sides. Poor out the rear. The combination of rear seats with tall headrests, sloping roof line, and small rear window meant compromised visibility out the back.
Comfort - poor. This vehicle had manual seats. I had the seat all the way back, and still had no where near enough leg room. Not sure who this car was designed for. The seats were reasonably well shaped and padded. I was in the car for at most 30 minutes at a time. I did not feel appreciably more uncomfortable when I got out as when I got in. Headroom was ok.
Cargo room - adequate. I only had 1 bag, which it swallowed with ease.
Fit/finish - subject to preferences. It seemed solid - no squeaks or rattles. But everything about the interior screamed 'cheap'. For example, the gear shift selector felt like a plastic child's toy. Pretty much the entire interior looked and felt like cheap plastic. It was a newish vehicle, so there was no apparent wear on the cloth seats.
Toys: very sparse. No navigation system (I had my own Garmin unit). Didn't even have automatic headlights. I didn't use the radio. Used the A/C, that was about it.
Braking - adequate. It stopped in time. I had no panic stop situations, so I had no opportunity to fully exercise them.
Engine - awful. I think this vehicle has 2 engine options - 2.0 and 2.5 4-bangers. I don't know which this had. No power, I had to stomp on the gas to get it to move. At idle, it sounds like a lawn mower full of gravel. As it revs it gets louder and sounds worse. The worst sounding engine I've experienced since a friend's Pontiac Vibe.
Fuel economy - unknown. I tried to fill it up before returning it to the car rental. I got less than a gallon in, the pump kept shutting off. I don't think it was full though, the gas gauge read a little below full. When I first picked it up it was on full.
It is rated for 20/26, which is rather poor for such a tiny anemic engine. My GLK will do close to that, and it has a 300 hp V6.
My rating: Whatever this car costs, it is too much. You couldn't give it to me.
