2017 Jeep Compass rental review

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Rented a Jeep Compass 4X4 in limited trim from Budget for 4 days this past week. Im not a huge Chrysler fan but was impressed with a few things.

First off the positives:
The limited trim had leather seats and a nice panoramic sunroof which I quite enjoyed. The A/C was great and worked very well. The interior was void of hard plastics for those who care about that. The dash was a somewhat soft rubbery feel to it. Im 6ft 6 and surprisingly had plenty of room in the drivers seat. Satellite radio was nice and the controls were laid out fairly okay but took some getting used to. The ride was smooth enough as most my time was spent on the highway at 70-75mph. Its great for cruising along. I didnt take it offroad obviously but it seems it could likely handle some offroad. It felt confident during a heavy rain shower and passed alot of cars on the way, so that was nice. It was confident and would be good in mud or snow. i felt the sound system could of been a bit better for the limited trim, it was ok.

The negatives:
I truly believe they should of put a V6 in it or at least a turbo. The engine was adequate at best and certainly not helped by the 9 speed transmission which acted like a CVT alot, 4th gear by 40km per hour...so you really have to stomp it to get it to merge onto a moving highway. Even a 6 speed auto trans might have improved the experience. I am confident that my Corolla had more trunk space, that was a bit of a let down.
Taking curves in it required slowing down alot as there was alot of body roll. Gas mileage, I didnt measure but id guess the epa 22 city 30 hwy seemed to be almost correct. It was ok on gas, not great but not terrible.
It drove more like a truck than a car but can tell they tried to keep it refined.

I was impressed by the quality of the inside materials and overall thought it was a huge step up from my last Chrysler experience with a Dodge Avenger 4 cyl which I completely disliked.

If I was single, Id likely consider a Jeep product. I can also see why Jeeps have a following but unfortunately for me, Id need something more family friendly (more space, power etc).

If you offroad and arent concerned with a sporty feel, its not a bad choice. If they sold it with the pentastar, id bet they would sell many more. I wonder how the pentastar works with the 9 speed auto trans?

Overall despite my reservations it was a reasonably positive experience. Id give it a 7/10.
 
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