The original Jeep Compass disaster

Occasionally, car-makers invite journalists to off-the-record, secret viewings of future models.

This is in part to give them a heads up on what the maker in question has in store, but mostly so that said company can gauge an early reaction to its handiwork.

Such opportunities are always fascinating – what car nut wouldn’t want to see cars due out in one, two or three years time? Which is how the diplomatic skills of this scribbler and some colleagues came to be stress-tested one cold winter’s day in Detroit, where we were to be shown a whole phalanx of new products from Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge.

Nitro

First up was the Dodge Nitro (pictured), shown in a separate studio and not looking bad in a mini Land Rover Discovery kind of way, though some of us wondered why this chunky SUV wasn’t labelled a Jeep. We found ourselves wondering that with considerably more force when the doors parted onto a much bigger studio, around which was arranged a semi-circle of Jeeps looking rather like convicts lined up for slaughter.

Getting our bearings

Though considerably less imposing and glamorous than the pair of Detroit show-bound concepts taking centre stage, it was hard not to peel your eyes away from the huge bonneted box that was the Jeep Commander, the lame facelift of the Cherokee and most compellingly of all, the miserable, oddly-proportioned half-breed that was the Jeep Compass (pictured), a device that made its tougher-looking Patriot brother appear vaguely reasonable.

Clunkers

Our hosts duly explained the rationale – at times, a generous word - for each new offspring before the fateful moment arrived when opinions were expectantly asked. What I privately thought was that concepts apart – they were the outrageous and beautifully crafted Jeep Gladiator and the Chrysler Firepower coupe – the last time I saw such an array of ugly cars was during the scrag-end of an auction of hopeless bargain clunkers.

Limited lifespan

It was hard to see how a company producing such fabulous concepts, and the handsome Chrysler 300C, could turn out devices as sorry as these – especially the Compass. Putting this politely required an effort that it didn’t deserve.

None of which stalled the arrival of the Compass in the UK in 2007, though its departure came swiftly afterwards in 2009, Jeep failing to find many buyers for this softened-off cross-over. Beneath its skin was a Dodge Caliber, a tall, front-drive hatch whose bold appeal was comprehensively undone by a cabin of startlingly low quality.

Inside

The Compass had its very own bespoke interior of similar bin-end construction, the only soft-feel items besides its surprisingly comfortable, stain repellent seats being the carpet. The Caliber’s 2.4 litre engine powered the Compass too, its high-end torque ill-suited to low-speed mud-puddling, even if the Jeep’s multi-link rear suspension and a high-strength steel-stiffened monocoque made it a better trail-rider.

Lost

And one fine Compass feature, though optional, was the tailgate’s pair of detachable speakers – just the job for some noise at your trail’s end campfire. But Jeep obsessives hated the Compass, and the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV-4 owners that Chrysler was aiming at simply weren’t impressed by a gawkily rendered cross-over whose cabin was only marginally more inviting than a waiting room.

In truth there’s nothing wrong with the idea of a Jeep cross-over, but a marque with storied, dirt-burnished reputation like this deserves better than the misdirected Compass.

Back to the future

The car was facelifted (pictured) in 2011, resolving that strange visage, and it returned to sale in the UK until 2015, though with regret I must report that we still thought it a ‘clunker of the highest order’. A new Compass arrived in 2017 and we gave it three stars, and it looks as a Jeep should: tough and purposeful.