pdxbubba
06-19-2006, 09:54 AM
First Drive: 2007 Jeep Compass
Portland, Oregon. At the Jeep Compass launch in rugged Oregon, Jeep's Jack Dolan had already explained that the Compass, while not the trail-rated rock crawler of Rubicon fame, was not a total poseur (well, he didn't exactly put it that way, but you get the idea).
http://www.canadiandriver.com/photos/2007/jeep/compass/07compass_5-1.jpg
"It'll handle city streets and two-lane trails," he said, "and we've paid attention to the ground clearance, approach, breakover and departure angles just as we do with all Jeeps."
But there's no doubt that this Jeep, built on the Dodge Caliber base front-drive platform with a compliant fully independent suspension that gives a very smooth ride on the highway, is something of a Jeep-lite, when it comes to genuine off-road cred'.
So it was with some surprise that Quebec colleague Marc Bouchard and I found ourselves in four-wheel drive "Limited" version of the Compass, ascending a steep, rather treacherous mountain trail, peering down at an ever-disappearing canyon floor below. Especially as we were on fancy optional rims with performance tires.
"They must want us to see that this vehicle can handle some difficult terrain," said M. Bouchard, as he pulled a lever to lock the front and rear axles into 4WD mode to reduce wheel slip. We could have also disengaged the standard electronic stability control as we gingerly navigated through a deep swale that traversed the muddy track.
"Or we made a wrong turn," I said.
Up we went, lurching and bouncing on the rain-soaked trail, waiting for the magic 13.5 miles to appear on the odometer at our next scheduled turn, confirming that we were indeed on the right route...
http://www.canadiandriver.com/photos/2007/jeep/compass/07compass_7-1.jpg
...the rest of the article is at this link (http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/pw/07compass.htm)
Portland, Oregon. At the Jeep Compass launch in rugged Oregon, Jeep's Jack Dolan had already explained that the Compass, while not the trail-rated rock crawler of Rubicon fame, was not a total poseur (well, he didn't exactly put it that way, but you get the idea).
http://www.canadiandriver.com/photos/2007/jeep/compass/07compass_5-1.jpg
"It'll handle city streets and two-lane trails," he said, "and we've paid attention to the ground clearance, approach, breakover and departure angles just as we do with all Jeeps."
But there's no doubt that this Jeep, built on the Dodge Caliber base front-drive platform with a compliant fully independent suspension that gives a very smooth ride on the highway, is something of a Jeep-lite, when it comes to genuine off-road cred'.
So it was with some surprise that Quebec colleague Marc Bouchard and I found ourselves in four-wheel drive "Limited" version of the Compass, ascending a steep, rather treacherous mountain trail, peering down at an ever-disappearing canyon floor below. Especially as we were on fancy optional rims with performance tires.
"They must want us to see that this vehicle can handle some difficult terrain," said M. Bouchard, as he pulled a lever to lock the front and rear axles into 4WD mode to reduce wheel slip. We could have also disengaged the standard electronic stability control as we gingerly navigated through a deep swale that traversed the muddy track.
"Or we made a wrong turn," I said.
Up we went, lurching and bouncing on the rain-soaked trail, waiting for the magic 13.5 miles to appear on the odometer at our next scheduled turn, confirming that we were indeed on the right route...
http://www.canadiandriver.com/photos/2007/jeep/compass/07compass_7-1.jpg
...the rest of the article is at this link (http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/pw/07compass.htm)