To make a long story short, if all goes well, my wife and I should be having our first child within the year. I'm planning on getting a new car in 6 months, and I'm wondering what your opinions are about a Jeep Compass being the family car. We'll probably have it for about 6 years, and I would expect that we would have a second child in that time. Our other car is a PT Cruiser, and that would probably be replaced in about 3-4 years. (The PT would be replaced with another fuel efficient car since that is my longer commuting car.) My gut keeps telling me to get a larger car, but I keep coming back to the fact that the Compass will have about the same great gas mileage and a larger trunk than the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu that we're going to replace. What do you think? Opinions?
Is the Jeep Compass big enough for a family?
misterjensen
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To make a long story short, if all goes well, my wife and I should be having our first child within the year. I'm planning on getting a new car in 6 months, and I'm wondering what your opinions are about a Jeep Compass being the family car. We'll probably have it for about 6 years, and I would expect that we would have a second child in that time. Our other car is a PT Cruiser, and that would probably be replaced in about 3-4 years. (The PT would be replaced with another fuel efficient car since that is my longer commuting car.) My gut keeps telling me to get a larger car, but I keep coming back to the fact that the Compass will have about the same great gas mileage and a larger trunk than the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu that we're going to replace. What do you think? Opinions?
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The trunk realy is not all that big on our Compass but it's ok. Get a piece of carpet to cover the floor as everything slides on the plastic one.
Our two teenagers fit in the back seat well. One is close to 6foot. My biggest complaint is the back doors could open further.
The driving position is a liitle higher that your PT and thats nice. The other thing thats nice is that neither the Patriot ot the Compass look like Minivans but have most of the functionality and you can get 4x4 for a reasonable price if you need it. Milage is close to 28MPG on the interstate with air on and 65 to 70MPH
We have 8,000 mile now on our FWD and the only problem is the ESP light has comne on twice for no apparent reason. I believe the there is a bulletin out on that though.
Also you can check out JeepForum.com lots of users there also.
Our two teenagers fit in the back seat well. One is close to 6foot. My biggest complaint is the back doors could open further.
The driving position is a liitle higher that your PT and thats nice. The other thing thats nice is that neither the Patriot ot the Compass look like Minivans but have most of the functionality and you can get 4x4 for a reasonable price if you need it. Milage is close to 28MPG on the interstate with air on and 65 to 70MPH
We have 8,000 mile now on our FWD and the only problem is the ESP light has comne on twice for no apparent reason. I believe the there is a bulletin out on that though.
Also you can check out JeepForum.com lots of users there also.
might have a lil more room,but still gonna have to use a roof top carrier for family trips. even in my MIDsize MS we need a roof top carrier.
Better late than never. 
In a word, Yes. The hauling capability of stuff in the back is sufficient for the grocery run and with the little ones, you will be able to use the space in the rear foot wells for large diaper bags. These buggies have a surprising amount of usable space. The Pat does have more hauling area in the rear but the Compass has more style. In both cases, the back of the seats have a hard shell which helps with the little ones kicking the seats and the interior is pretty easy to clean up. (Especially when you pick up the coffee cup by the lid and it lets go...:doh
In a word, Yes. The hauling capability of stuff in the back is sufficient for the grocery run and with the little ones, you will be able to use the space in the rear foot wells for large diaper bags. These buggies have a surprising amount of usable space. The Pat does have more hauling area in the rear but the Compass has more style.
In both cases, the back of the seats have a hard shell which helps with the little ones kicking the seats and the interior is pretty easy to clean up. (Especially when you pick up the coffee cup by the lid and it lets go...:doh
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vechicle room
I had the same question before buying my compass. Except in my situation we have 3 boys, aged 3 1/2, 2 1/2 and 9 months. All 3 car seats fit in the back, but it is a little tight. However, with that said the compass actually offers lots of hidden room. The leg room in the back is actually better than the 07 unlimited that we traded in, the difference is 5 less inches of hip room. Best bet is to go to kelly Blue book, just type KBB. There you can compare the room in different vechicles side by side. The compass and patriot actually are fairly roomy in comparison to many others. On other notes the gas mileage with the 5 speed is great and I love the way it drives. Look for a 07 they have over 4000 in rebates and dealers are ready to sale(more discounts) what they have left. Also, in our area some dealers were offering 2500 on 08 patriots, but this was not advertised on Jeep's web site.
I had the same question before buying my compass. Except in my situation we have 3 boys, aged 3 1/2, 2 1/2 and 9 months. All 3 car seats fit in the back, but it is a little tight. However, with that said the compass actually offers lots of hidden room. The leg room in the back is actually better than the 07 unlimited that we traded in, the difference is 5 less inches of hip room. Best bet is to go to kelly Blue book, just type KBB. There you can compare the room in different vechicles side by side. The compass and patriot actually are fairly roomy in comparison to many others. On other notes the gas mileage with the 5 speed is great and I love the way it drives. Look for a 07 they have over 4000 in rebates and dealers are ready to sale(more discounts) what they have left. Also, in our area some dealers were offering 2500 on 08 patriots, but this was not advertised on Jeep's web site.
I've got 400 miles on my Compass in 4 days, but so far it works as a secondary family car. I don't expect it to work for weeklong family vacations, but for running around town and day trips, it should be great. I've got a 2.5 yo and 4 mo old. It fits the two child seats, a small convertible and infant carrier. I'll be moving my younger child to the other seat reverse facing in about a month and my older will get a big Britax Regent seat that I've already test fit. The single stroller we have fits perfectly in the back, but I don't know about the double we plan to get soon. The only complaint so far is lack of reading lights in the back seat, but I've got a solution already that I'll post in a new thread. The seatbacks look durable for dirty shoes/boots.
As far as the Patrior is concerned I would have to say the rear seat and storage are my only complaint at this time. We have a 4 yr old and 1 yr old. Two car seats fit fine on opposite sides but there is no way we can fit a third car seat. We actually tried this week as my wife was babysitting another child and wanted to take the kids out to the mall. There was no way three seats were fitting. And we have pretty compact seats which we tried to configure in there. It would also be impossible for an adult to sit in the rear w/ the two car seats. Only a skinny child could fit. Believe it or not I actually have more rear seat room in my Pontiac Vibe than my wife has in the Pat.
The storage is fine but with the baby's stroller in the back and diaper bag etc we have a hard time getting all the groceries in. My son had to actually hold a bag while in his car seat while we drove home from the grocery store the other day.
But even with that the Wife's still happy with her Pat.
The storage is fine but with the baby's stroller in the back and diaper bag etc we have a hard time getting all the groceries in. My son had to actually hold a bag while in his car seat while we drove home from the grocery store the other day.
But even with that the Wife's still happy with her Pat.
I'm sure I could get two of the Evenflo Titan car seats + the Graco Snugride infant carrier in the rear seat. They are all pretty narrow, and the Snuride being reverse facing helps overlap a little. 3 forward facing would probalby not work, but we only have 2 kids. When my younger child upgrades to the convertible, it will move to the passenger side as it is not as long as infant carriers. We've got a minivan and full sized truck for vacations. While the stroller usually stays in the minivan with lots of space, I plan to only take it when we need it in the Compass.
I still say MK's do not make for primary family vehicles, but are great for running around town. If you only have 1 kid, you could fold down the 60% of rear seat for lots of storage room.
I still say MK's do not make for primary family vehicles, but are great for running around town. If you only have 1 kid, you could fold down the 60% of rear seat for lots of storage room.
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I have sat in the back with the two car seats. Hubby can't fit and it is tight for me, but fine for <1hr trips. This is with the seats in rear passenger and center and me behind the driver. The only thing I have to remember before getting it, is to switch the child locks so I can open the door (especially since we have power windows and keep them locked as well).
We use the patriot for vacations, carpooling and around town.
We use the patriot for vacations, carpooling and around town.
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234 Posts
If I had kids I would seriously look at a Fuel Efficient MiniVan. Even the smaller Mazda 5.
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