Interesting!

I'll tell ya this much... our friend's black Compass and the Inferno Red one that pops up every once in a while near my office look really nice!

Now, is it just my imagination or is the interior of the Compass smaller than that of the Patriot?

 

I think it's a little smaller at the Back Corners along the roof.

 

they are selling fine in Australia considering no Advertising and no off road package with the Patriot

critics bag them as they do all Jeeps

At least we get the crd

 

What do the critics in Australia consider the top-rated offroad-capable vehicles?

 

At least we get the crd

Rub it in, why don't ya?!

 

Thanks, good read.

Not really surprised that it's meeting/exceeding expectations.

 

When it comes to whether or not Jeep will drop the Compass, the question is not whether it is selling. Rather, the question is: what would those buyers purchase if the Compass were not available. It seems to me the next vehicle on their list would be the Patriot. One would think that Jeep is asking its customers this question.

 

The Jeep Compass is here to stay!

Hoosier Ron,

Reasonable observation and questions, but as I interpret what Chrysler/Jeep spokespeople have been saying in their interviews and press releases is that the Compass is here to stay at least until the model completes it's planned production run.

Think about it: the Compass is reportedly selling 4000-5000 units and perhaps more per month worldwide, including the North American market. The Compass and Patriot are virtual runaway hits in Europe where it has been traditionally difficult at best for American designed, engineered and built vehicles to make any significant market impact. And too, there's the Australian market where the Jeep marque and these two 'little' Jeeps have been generally well received.

Most importantly .. the painful heavy spending to get the vehicle to market is for the most part finished: design, engineering, tooling and reconfiguration of Belvidere Assembly is bought and paid for, which means as time goes on the per unit profit on each vehicle will increase. So the longer Jeep builds and sells the Compass, the happier will be the folks in accounting.

Finally, kindly note that while some Compass buyers may cross-shop the Patriot, it is by no means the general rule. The styling of the Patriot and Compass are strkingly different [some might even say polarizing] and as we here in the JP.com forums know very well, each model has its enthusiastic and distinct fan base. My view is that if the Compass were to be removed from the product mix, I believe you'd see many people who would have bought a Jeep for the first time go back to their RAV4s, CR-Vs, or other similar small SUVs and Crossover vehicles.

Whatever our personal feelings may be about these vehicles, Chrysler/Jeep management has spoken clearly on the matter and both the Compass and Patriot are here to stay.

Just my two pfennig's worth.


Irish Waif
​

 

is it just me ??? or does compass have a Subaru look to it???

 

I see it too... I think the Compass is a very sleek crossover but those big round headlights just don't fit on the face of it.

 

I think the compass and patriot were created as two separate looks. People who like the compass might not like the patriot and same for patriot lovers. I like the additional size of the patriot and it was a little cheaper. I can understand how critics can say the compass is for women and the patriot is for men because it was like the difference between the grand cherokee and the cherokee sport. One was box like and the other was a little rounded. Either way they are built on the same production line so dropping one of them doesn't really make sense. They aren't lossing any money by having both.

 

Additional size? Where? Along the top back corners on the ceiling? Yeah I suspend a lot of stuff in mid-air...
:doh:

 

I wouldn't have bought a patriot if the compass didn't exist... its just personal preference. I wasn't even in the market for a new vehicle, but when I saw the Compass, I just had to have it... it was exactly what I wanted and never knew existed LOL...

I wouldn't pick the patriot because its just too boxy for me, I love the styling of the Compass, I guess it appeals more to women, but this is just a generalization. If I didnt get the compass, I'd be looking at a hyundai tuscan or something, or even the new nissan rogue is nice!!

 

Well I'm male and I prefer the looks of the Compass too. The Patriot is to Boxy and Boring for me. Just my opinion.

 

I am stumped at the notion that the Patriot is good looking and the Compass is ugly, after all the Patriot is just a box. It is very practical design, but has less styling than a Scion Xb or a Honda Element.

While I’ll admit I’d not call the Compass a good looking vehicle either, it does have a little bit of style to it. (Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I’ve known people that claimed that my old MR-s and my new Elise are both ugly, while IMHO, short or a Dino or a Miura, the Elise is the prettiest car on the planet, and the MR-s is very nice).

I’d not go so far as to say I’d never buy a Patriot, but if I have to drive a box I think I’d pick Scion’s Xb over the Patriot personally.

I’ve always had the notion that the folks that hate the styling of the Compass would not mind it so much if it was the Subaru Compass or the Mitsubishi Compass, but since it is not their preconceived notion of a Jeep, they don’t like it.

But either way its ok, as the Compass is doing what Jeep designed it to do, interest non-Jeep people into considering purchasing one.

 

"The Compass, however, has more than met expectations in Europe — where it has ranged from 950 to 1,800 in sales monthly since February. European roads are smaller and more suited to the Compass and Patriot."

Aeh i think that must mean Europe excluding Germany.

Here are some Jeep Compass sale rates on Germany:

October: 105 (0,5% of all SUVs)
Jan-Oct: 462 (0,2% of all SUVs) (Notice Compass was introduce in april here)

So compass sale rates are very low in Germany.

 

As far as I know, the Compass sells really well in Canada compared to the US. And I see many more on the road than the Patriot.

The Patriot is still nice, but it's not my type of styling, it reminds me of the older type traiditional Jeeps that I never would have bought. The Compass is something new and fresh and I think its great to appeal to new markets in this way.

Many guys like them them too, but I just assumed more guys like the Patriot, but there are also many girls who love the patriot, it just a generalization. The Compass' target market is female single women in their 20's with a middle income.

 

The Compass is something new and fresh and I think its great to appeal to new markets in this way.

It is new and fresh for Jeep (Chrysler). Toyota and Honda have been doing it for a while (RAV4 and CRV).

Many guys like them them too, but I just assumed more guys like the Patriot, but there are also many girls who love the patriot, it just a generalization. The Compass' target market is female single women in their 20's with a middle income.

The target audience is really anyone who likes the RAV4 or CRV look regardless of anything else (the corporate target audience is just a way to say that they want to take some of the above mentioned sales or any of the other look-a-like Cute Utility Vehicles without naming them).