Personally I find it to be all about exterior styling... The Compass looks like a soccer mom crossover or some outcast cousin and the Patriot looks like an affordable yet classy extension of the family. Truthfully they are incredibly similar and the beauty of it all is that Jeep gets away with selling two nearly identical cars to two different market segments. Small SUVs and Crossovers.

 

yep, one is fugly and one is cool.

imho of course.

 

Agreed. The Patriot is fugly.


JK - I like them both but I think that the Compass looks better.
However I do think that the Compass looks better in real life than in photos where as the Patriot looks better in photos than in real live - IMHO.

 

Thoughts?

I prefer the color scheme of this forum.

 

It is more Jeeply in here, isn't it. Strike two for the Compass Camp....

 

I test drove a Compass, but I prefer the look of the Patriot.

 

I personally prefer the looks of the Patriot. It just looks more "Jeep like" IMO. That, and I wanted the Trail Rated FDII Package.

That said I've seen a heck of a lot more Compasses on the road then Patriots, at least in this area. I saw my first Compass Rally edition and I gotta admit, it was kinda cool looking. I think Jeep should strongly consider sourcing some parts from the upcoming SRT4 Cabiler and throw their hat into real WRC style rally racing. It'd be a cool way to further Jeep's offroad brand imagine.

 

Yeah there aren't many differences between the 2 vehicles - The FDII is the biggest difference. Haven driven both the Compass suspension seems more tuned for On Road where as the Patriot suspension seems more tuned for Off Road, although even those differences seem slight.

 

How many of you think that they will stop making the compass? I think that the Patriot is going to kick it's A@# and they are going to stop prduction of the Compass!!!

 

Doubtful. The whole point of the Belvedere Assembly plant was to build Multiple Vehicles on the Same Platform. The Caliber, Compass & Patriot are all selling well. The Caliber is selling best (by far) and the Compass & Patriot have very similar sales numbers - Although more Compass' have been sold over all since it debuted first.

 

I think the Compass looks better in pictures and the Patriot looks better in person. Something about the lines of the Compass translate better in 2d.

I was buying a Compass instead of the Patriot based on web pics and research till I got to the lot and saw them both in person.

Jim

 

That's funny - my wife and I felt exactly the Opposite. We were going to buy the Patriot as it looked better in pictures. Then we saw them both for real and thought the Compass loked much better. I guess that's why Jeep / DCX decided to build them both.

 

The Compass would have been nice as an AWD Diesel Turbo...rally orientation...but it has nothing over the Patriot.

 

my dealer has a bunch of Compasses but only one Patriot. I brought my wife over and she agrees with me, we just like the Patriot's looks more. It's more Jeep to me. I liked the Cherokee and was sorry to see it go, so I'm glad the Patriot is here now. That does not mean I have anything against the Compass, it's just a matter of personal taste.

 

The thing I don't like about the compass is in the sport models, from the side, it looks like it has two huge dents in it, in the front, and back fender flares. Just, bad design. I actually ordered a Compass, but refused shipment, and ordered the patriot... could not have been happier!

Another thing about the compass I wasn't in love with, is it looks like they grafted a 7 slot grille on the front of a more expensive car, looks a little odd to me...

Patriots rule!

 

Yeah the Limited Compass looks much better.

I just didn't like the boxiness of the Patriot, it's kind of boring to me when compared to the Compass - but again beauty is in they eye of the beholder. In reality we all know that aside from the FDII the Compass & the Patriot are the same vehicle. You can't really hate one and love the other. I like them both I just prefer the looks of the Compass.

:smiley_thumbs_up:

 

When it comes down to it, there is an obvious design difference to appeal to the different markets, Compass is for people who like pretty things, Patriots are for people who like cleaner, simpler lines.

I do disagree with them being the same vehicle, I think they both drive differently, and the interior of the patriot seems more spacious.

 

I suppose that depends on your point of view. I'd say the Compass is for people who like exciting/cutting edge things and the Patriot is for people who prefer boring/traditional things.

Well the Compass is a little smoother On Road and the Patriot is a little smoother Off Road - I think that's just because the suspensions are tuned a little different. The interiors are pretty much identical - as are the vehicles. (FDII aside)

Not sure how anyone can say that they're not basically the same vehicle. They're more different than the Caliber but the Compass & Patriot are much more alike than they are different.

 

That's me I like the cleaner, simpler lines.

 

I never considered getting a Compass, but I would agree on the 2d viewing versus real-life. The rear fender flares as I call them are much more prominent and I think distracting in real person versus how they are perceived in pictures.

 

I don't understand why other Jeep owners get so uptight about the Compatriot twins.

They feel threatened.

 

As for the uptight other Jeep Owners, is maybe because, they don't like change. Heck there are some Wrangler owners that don't even like the 4 door Wrangler and it gets bashed. It has to be a change thing. They can't control it.

 

They should be happy that the Jeep brand is prospering. It's better than the alternative...

 

I agree

 

I think they are both great, but I do like the patriot more. I just got off of a jeep group on facebook and my blood is boiling due to some of the comments on their discussion board about the patriot, I didn't even dare to open up one about the compass.
I can't stand people that think there is only 1 jeep, a two door wrangler. I'm sorry, but 1 automobile does in not make up an entire car company. Change is what keeps the world going. Jeep had to evolve in one way or another like everything else. I think the Patriot and the compass are going to propell Jeep into the future.

 

I can't stand people that think there is only 1 jeep, a two door wrangler.

That's what I've ran across. There's been the Wagoneer, Cammanche, Cherokee, there is a Jeepster (guy here in town has one I love it), etc. Jeep is the Make, Wrangler, Patriot, Grand Cherokee, Compass, Liberty, Commander is the Model.

 

Simple and boring are two different things, simple and clean, may be perceived as boring while, bubbly lines, and collagen infused fender flares may be considered interesting, fresh, or new... its the difference between the overstuffed sofa, with the frilly dust ruffle, and the cleaner, more modern sofa with simple, clean, sharp lines.

The main competitor up against the riot (for me) was the scion XB... so it shows you where my taste is. I just really couldn't get past those obnoxious front bumpers...

 

Let's keep this civil guys... no need to bash one car or the other...

I went to the dealer with an open mind. I had test driven the compass at the Carlisle All-Chrysler Nationals, but the only Patriot they had was the one on display. So I went to the dealer the following week and took a look at both of them. I felt as though they performed almost identical under "my buying criteria" and they would both work perfectly for what I needed. I chose the Patriot simply because I liked the boxier shape in comparison to the crossover look of the Compass. They really are, however, the fraternal twins of the Jeep family!

 

Yup they're the Compatriot Twins and they're both great!!!

 

I like both the Compass and the Patriot...

I'd imagine that both can perform well at each given "role," regardless of what that might be. At least in my neck of the woods I see far more Jeep Compass's and Patriot's than I do the Caliber. I think that is all that really matters.

 

regarding Jeep snobs, i remember back in the day after Chrysler acquired Jeep that a couple of CJ owners i knew tried to tell me that my Wrangler wasn't a "real Jeep" either.
:blah:

 

A couple of things...

I think Chrysler is downright crafty. I understand that some market research produced an almost 50/50 split between the Patriot style and the Compass style with a rough order of magnitude demographic showing men favouring the Patriot over the Compass (no offence meant to you Patriot-lovin' ladies). I think Chrysler just decided to market both and actually take some real advantage from the Belvedere site. Best of both worlds so to speak.

Being from Canada, things get a little blurred around similar model types. Up here, we tend to have dealers selling multiple lines - example a dealer selling both Dodge and Plymouth or a dealer selling both Pontiac and Buick or a dealer selling both Ford and Mercury. In the U.S. I understand you have separate dealers flogging Dodge, Plymouth, Pontiac, Buick and so on. So, to make a winner for any dealer, the big 3 would craft very similar models that can be made available to all US dealers. Think Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager. So, with Plymouth out of the way, and Dodge Caliber being very popular, the Jeep dealers are crying foul they have nothing to compete with - enter the Compass. In Canada, when I go to my Chrysler dealer, both the Caliber, Compass and Patriot are side by each in the showroom.

Um, give me the Patriot any day. The Caliber is for kids.:doh: The Compass is for um, ladies and the Patriot, now that's a Jeep! :smiley_thumbs_up:

 

I've seen 2 articles on the Demographic / Sales breakdown for the Compass & Patriot.
One article said that 51% of Compass buyers were women. The other said 55% women.
The Patriot was the same but in reverse. One article said 51% of Patriot buyers were men and the other article said 55% of Patriot buyers were men.
Either way it's hardly a huge difference.

I'll try to find the articles again & post them.

 

Buy what you want... They are both great cars.

 

Ah..finally a thread where compass owners like myself can come out of the closet..so to speak .

Regarding focus groups, I remember reading the pat was preferred by men in the US, versus a rough 50/50 split for the compass, but the compass was preferred by both genders in Europe. Something like that..

Personally I prefer the general European design rip-off of the compass -BMW X3, Volvo, even Porsche Cayenne- to the very American traditional "jeep-y" shape of the pat (even though I do own a wrangler ).
Bottom line: they are both great vehicles, and, as I was taught early growing up in Europe " de gustibus non est disputandum - you can't argue about taste" :blah: