Jeep Compass 2018 review: Limited Petrol

It’s a pretty cruisy drive in the Jeep Compass. The handling is great, the steering not stiff and with a 2.4-litre petrol engine, there’s enough power to get me up hills and around town fast. Though it is loud when you push it up a hill, it sounds like it’s taking a lot of effort. It’s a tiny bit slow on take off but once you get going it’s zippy and I felt good driving it. 

The Compass is easy to park, for an SUV (image credit: Dean McCartney)

The size also makes it easy to park, for an SUV, and this really impacts your day-to-day driving, especially if you’re like me, going in between work, school, daycare and the billion other places young children seem to need to get to. 

I’m constantly looking for parking spots. At 11.1m the turning circle is a decent size so you can squeeze in U-turns whereas in a bigger car you might need to do a three-point-turn. It's just another one of those things that gets annoying if you have to do it 50 times in one day. 

As suspected, I did not need to use the off-road capabilities in my week of driving, and if you’re just doing the suburban route it’s unlikely you will need them, either. But for weekends away when you have to drive along tricky dirt roads, climbing and descending big hills, it’s good to know there’s more traction than usual. 

Smaller cars suit me. They’re just easier to get in to. I can more easily reach behind to pick up Rainbow Dash because my children have dropped her on the floor and are hassling me. The kids can get into the car on their own and I just have to do… less. Which helps, right? So ticks for the size.

Ticks for the size. (image credit: Dean McCartney)

There are two cupholders in the front, two in the back and a bottle holder in each door, plus an easy-to-use centre storage bin. 

Everything is in reaching distance (well, it was when I finally found the volume button for the audio on the back of the steering wheel and stopped reaching for the knob). 

And lots of things are automated in the Compass Limited, all from the driver’s seat. For example,  putting the driver’s seat into position; opening the boot with a click of a button on the roof; the park brake goes on and off electronically, which is such a nice touch - especially with electric park brakes as I’m always turning them off when they’re on, or vice versa! It’s great not having to worry about it and just put the car into drive and take off.

The boot also opens automatically via a button on the key and closes with a button inside the cargo area, plus it’s a good height to lift groceries in and out of. So yes, in answer to your question, the Jeep Compass is a practical car. 

Surprisingly, for a car that is not huge, it has a fair amount of space inside. My 185cm husband and I both had enough leg and head room in the front, and in the back my two girls, aged four and six, had loads of room to comfortably create their own spaces, which is a good thing when they’re in a car together for long periods of time.

My two girls had loads of room. (image credit: Dean McCartney)

At 438 litres, the boot is one of the biggest in its class and I could fit a full load of groceries or the kid’s bikes in there (sidenote: we just taught our six-year old to ride a bike with no training wheels! Soon her bike will be too big for any boot). 

The Compass has one of the largest boots in its class (image credit: Dean McCartney)

A good sized boot is a must for any family, and if your family is small, like mine, this is just enough. It's not huge, but is enough for every day.

The Jeep Compass Limited has airbags for driver and front passenger, plus side curtain airbags that extend to the back. There are two ISOFIX points and three top tethers for children’s car seats and it has a maximum five star ANCAP rating. 

To get advanced safety features however, like auto emergency braking, lane departure warnings and adaptive cruise control, you will have to pay $2450 for the 'Technology Pack'. I did find these helpful, especially the warning that beeps when you are reversing out of a perpendicular park and a car is coming along the street - my driveway is practically a blind spot exactly like this and coming out is stressful, so it was a great feature for me. 

The Jeep Compass Limited starts at $41,250 (before on-road costs) for the petrol version. The power tailgate came with the 'Technology Pack', which costs an extra $2450, the sunroof is $1950, and the two tone colour (with the black roof) is $495. 

Fuel efficiency in the Compass Limited is higher than in the lower grades, with a claimed 9.7 litres per 100km. 

It’s covered by Jeep’s five year/100,000km warranty with services every 12 months.