Rental Review (very superficial) - 2023 or 2024 Jeep Compass Trailhawk

[Number_35]

My wife and I were in Colorado last week, and on our last full day rented a vehicle so we could drive out to the mountains to hike.

We expected a Toyota Corolla or equivalent, but were given a quite new (looked minty, and had only 15K miles) Jeep Compass Trailhawk.

I had misgivings, as we had a couple of older (c. 2010) Jeep Compasses in the vehicle pool at work, and they were not very nice to drive. The new one we rented certainly had nicer styling.

So, kudos to Jeep on this newer one - it hugged the twisty highway (Big Thompson Canyon, US-34) nicely, and provided a firm but not harsh ride. I presume it had a CVT, but it was fine. I really didn't notice the "rubber band" effect I've heard about. I should have lifted the hood to see what the engine was, but regardless it felt completely adequate. The brakes felt a bit twitchy, but that might have just been me getting used to them.

We didn't track fuel consumption - I would have been interested to know how it did.

There was a fancy centre screen that did all sorts of things except GPS, which we would have liked. No matter, navigation was pretty straightforward.

Anyway, we hardly tested all of the Jeep's capabilities, but found it to be perfectly fine one-day rental.

 

[ctechbob]

My wife and I were in Colorado last week, and on our last full day rented a vehicle so we could drive out to the mountains to hike.

We expected a Toyota Corolla or equivalent, but were given a quite new (looked minty, and had only 15K miles) Jeep Compass Trailhawk.

I had misgivings, as we had a couple of older (c. 2010) Jeep Compasses in the vehicle pool at work, and they were not very nice to drive. The new one we rented certainly had nicer styling.

So, kudos to Jeep on this newer one - it hugged the twisty highway (Big Thompson Canyon, US-34) nicely, and provided a firm but not harsh ride. I presume it had a CVT, but it was fine. I really didn't notice the "rubber band" effect I've heard about. I should have lifted the hood to see what the engine was, but regardless it felt completely adequate. The brakes felt a bit twitchy, but that might have just been me getting used to them.

We didn't track fuel consumption - I would have been interested to know how it did.

There was a fancy centre screen that did all sorts of things except GPS, which we would have liked. No matter, navigation was pretty straightforward.

Anyway, we hardly tested all of the Jeep's capabilities, but found it to be perfectly fine one-day rental.

View attachment 220684

I think the brakes being twitchy is a Compass thing. My kid drives a 2018 and I swapped pads out on it (to a set of pads which should have blunted the initial grab) because it is so grabby as to be dangerous.

Didn't help. Don't know what those guys did with their brake engineering, but it sucks.

 

[daves87rs]

They seems pretty nice….

 

[Number_35]

I think the brakes being twitchy is a Compass thing. My kid drives a 2018 and I swapped pads out on it (to a set of pads which should have blunted the initial grab) because it is so grabby as to be dangerous.

Didn't help. Don't know what those guys did with their brake engineering, but it sucks.

Both of us drove, and both found the brakes that way. Good to hear it's not just us.

 

[Number_35]

They seems pretty nice….

Exceeded my expectations for sure.

 

[andrew_j]

With respect to center screen GPS is no longer needed with a smartphone contracted running Google or Apple Maps showing up on it.

 

[Silverado12]

Chrysler brakes have kind of sucked for a long time. Dodge Dakotas in particular would have issues with pistons seizing in the calipers. My wife's 2018 Cherokee recently had a sticky caliper and we're not in the salt belt. Not an expensive issue, though.

 

[Number_35]

With respect to center screen GPS is no longer needed with a smartphone contracted running Google or Apple Maps showing up on it.

Good point, and I should have thought of that.

 

[ctechbob]

Chrysler brakes have kind of sucked for a long time. Dodge Dakotas in particular would have issues with pistons seizing in the calipers. My wife's 2018 Cherokee recently had a sticky caliper and we're not in the salt belt. Not an expensive issue, though.

Yea, up till I changed the pads on kiddos I figured it was just super grabby pads. Nope, they somehow missed the calibration completely. Maybe from reusing parts or something. First time I ever drove her car I was just moving it down the driveway and, this is no exaggeration, I dang near rammed my head into the steeringwheel. They were that stinking grabby.

But then on the flipside, when speeds pick up, they are a bit better. But at parkinglot speed they are dang near dangerous.