Compass provides Jeep with new direction in SUVs
PORTLAND, ORE. — When it comes to a single name to get out of the wilderness, the first name that springs to is “Jeep.†Right now, when $3 gasoline prices underscore a trend toward less-expensive commuter vehicles, small-family haulers, or active-lifestyle fun SUVs, Jeep has the answer: the 2007 Compass.
What could be a more appropriate name than Compass to lead buyers who are lost in the auto-buying wilderness?
At the media introduction of the Jeep Compass, it seems some other automotive journalists muttered that the Compass is too cute to be taken seriously as a Jeep. Hmmm…have we reached the level of sophistication that we don’t want out vehicle to look good? I’m not a subscriber to that theory. I think that if the Compass happens to offer a fresh look that attracts more young, active singles or just-married types, or – careful now – female buyers, that’s not a problem; it’s an asset.
If guys find the attractive looks and smooth lines beneath their macho standards, then that’s a guy problem. More self-assured guys will appreciate getting nearly 30 miles per gallon, having their four-wheel drive come from a front-wheel-drive platform, and being “forced†to spend about half – under $20,000 for most models – for a Compass that is comfortable and enjoyable to drive on the road.
The problem is that the Jeep name is one of the most recognizable in the world, and it has stood for rugged, uncompromising off-road vehicles since Willys-Overland first made the “Quad†vehicle for the U.S. military in 1941 – 65 years ago. Those vehicles became known as Jeeps after 368,000 of them were used during World War II.
The company, now owned by DaimlerChrysler, continues to make the Wrangler, which is the traditional successor to the first Jeeps. A larger and more civilized vehicle called the Cherokee and now the Grand Cherokee was joined by the Lilberty to give Jeep three nameplates in recent years. But by the time the 2007 rollout is complete, Jeep will be up to seven vehicles. The new and larger Commander, introduced this year, and a redesigned Wrangler, are joined by a Wrangler Unlimited – lengthened and with four doors — now being joined by the Compass. A new Patriot will be coming by the end of the year to make it seven.
In reality, the Patriot may be the more rugged version of the Compass, because Jeep is aiming at two different brackets – traditional and modern. The Patriot will go for the traditional Jeep buyer, and the Compass is aimed at people who may have never considered a Jeep before, but will find it meets their demands for size, style, price, fuel-efficiency, and capability.
While fitting in well in performance and capability with any compact SUV, the Compass also seriously undercuts almost all of them in price. The base two-wheel-drive model starts at $15,995. The base 4×4 model starts at $17,585. Moving up to the fancier models, with an impressive list of features and options, the Compass Limited starts at $20,140, and the Compass Limited 4×4 starts at $21,740.
The Compass starts out on the same platform, and with the same drivetrains, as the new Dodge Caliber, which has been wildly successful since its introduction. But the Compass has an entirely different look, and different intentions. From our preliminary introductory drive, the Compass can easily handle the casual, or active-lifestyle off-roading challenges that most people this side of serious rock-crawlers will find satisfying.
We drove off from downtown Portland westward to the Pacific Ocean. We got to the town of Tilamook, and had lunch in nearby Pacific City. Halibut fish and chips could be enjoyed at a neat restaurant called the Pelican Pub at Cape Kiwanda while looking out at an awesome off-shore rock formation. Haystack Rock is taller than SeattleÂ’s Space Needle, and is actually a mile offshore, even though it appears to be about 100 yards out.
After that, we headed north, entering a carefully protected sand-dune area, where we joined a flock of off-road buggies to challenge some major ridges and hills and terrain that amounts to mountains of soft, sinkable sand. It was there that I became very impressed with the Compass’s CVT – continuously variable transmission.
The Compass uses the new, Michigan-built, corporate 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, originally designed in a joint venture with Hyundai and Mitsubishi. Hyundai engineers came up with the most efficient original design adopted as meeting world-class standards for technology and power – 172 horsepower and 165 foot-pounds of torque. A transverse mount allows a shorter hood length and efficiently mounts on a transaxle to make it Jeep’s first front-wheel-drive vehicle.
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The engine, with dual overhead camshafts and variable valve timing, adapts well to Freedom Drive I, a new 4×4 system that transmits power back to the rear axle, as conditions demand. It also runs through a continuously variable transmission. This CVT is ingeniously designed to allow hand-shifting the AutoStick, which actually squeezes the continuously shifting belt to put you in a different gear ratio.
That worked well on the highway, where I wanted to pass a slower vehicle. Knowing a CVT might be tardy in building up extra torque, I manually downshifted two gears and our Compass sprinted away on its assigned task. But in those sand dunes, it really came through.
Driving with a specialized instructor in the passenger seat, we easily climbed some normal sized dunes. Then he asked me to try to conquer one that he had never even tried. I put to use all my best driver-learning techniques of scaling the icy slopes of Duluth, and used the same instincts. When you get some momentum, you keep it. At one point, the Compass wheels were churning and throwing sand, and I honestly thought we would go no higher. But I stayed on the power, and sawed the steering wheel back and forth, and, sure enough, the CVT stayed with its self-adjusting power range, and we made it to the top.
We not only got a breathtaking look at the Pacific from there, but my instructor was impressed, and I kept thinking how much fun it will be to try scaling those January hillside avenues in Duluth.
The Compass interior is contemporary and ergonomically efficient. You sit higher than the Caliber, which is less-designed for any off-roading. The Compass roof is 2 inches higher, and you actually sit 4 inches higher than the seat point in the Caliber. The Compass also has 8.4 inches of ground clearance, a 20.6-degree approach angle, 32-degree departure angle, and 21-degree breakover angle – all better than the Caliber. There is a switch to lock the four-wheel-drive in place for serious off-roaders, and traction and stability controls all contribute to the Compass’s directional balance and control.
From an appearance standpoint, the Compass has a little reverse pillar at the rear that adds flair, and bulging rear wheelwells add a serious look, but up front, the “cuteness†also has the traditional Jeep grilled and forward look, with a clamshell hood opening. Standard 17-inch wheels are standard, with 18-inchers on the Limited upgrade models. A fold-down rear seat that also is recline-able, and spacious footwells, with a sizeable cargo area in the rear, provides a roomy interior. You can add things like a nine-speaker Boston Acoustics audio upgrade, with large speakers in the rear doors, and 6×9 inch speakers up front. Leather seating comes standard on the Limited.
Jeep is marketing the Compass at younger buyers, maybe single, and both male and female. The primary aim is active-lifestyle types, but on a starting income. Average household income of $60,000, and age targets of 25-35, quite likely buying their first new vehicle, all fit into the demographics. Of course, those targets mean nothing if you happen to be old, experienced, wealthy, or not wealthy, but you simply like what it will do for a bargain price.
If you wanted the top of the line Compass, loaded with every option possible, you could probably get it up to $23,000. But a budget-minded shopper could get a well-appointed 4×4 version for under $20,000.
For that, you get technology, good power, good mileage, electronic roll mitigation, antilock brakes, and off-road capabilities that seem surprising because of how impressive the Compass is on the road and for normal creature-features. If the Compass also happens to look good, compared to some of the more rugged-faced Jeeps, well, thatÂ’s just something buyers will have to put up with.
Lucerne restores Buick’s large, bargain-luxury image
A friend of mine from the European ancestral melting pot called the Iron Range in Northern Minnesota identified himself simply as “a Bohunk.†Years ago, when I was test-driving a Buick, he said “We call Buicks Bohunk Cadillacs.†The hard-working iron miners couldn’t afford Cadillacs back in the 1960s, so Buicks became the luxury pinnacle of their car-buying aspirations. The new Buick Lucerne may rekindle that feeling.
I’ve never called anyone a Bohunk, but I guess someone who identifies himself as one can be excused for defining the reason Buicks have always been so popular among the working class. After some tough times, the Buick heritage has changed to include several SUVs, and only two cars – the year-old LaCrosse and the new for 2006 Lucerne.
We might never figure out why established names such as Regal, Century, LeSabre, Park Avenue and Roadmaster have been replaced by the monickers for a small town in Wisconsin and a big city in Switzerland, but the two cars definitely should restore BuickÂ’s health in the value/luxury segment.
The Lucerne is big. Very long, with an enormous rear seat and trunk. As a 6-foot tall driver, I can put the seat back to where IÂ’m comfortable, then find I can sit in the rear seat and have a full 6 inches of space from my knees to the front-bucket backrest.
In replacing half of a five-car fleet, the Lucerne is the luxury liner of the new Buick fleet, and it does the job admirably. It is slightly shorter than the full-boat Park Avenue Ultra that previously headed the Buick line, but it has a longer wheelbase, and modern designers were able to parlay that into an increase of interior room.
Similarly, the trunk is enormous. It is a definite contender for any family that needs to haul five occupants regularly, with luggage as well.
The stylish exterior has a definite Buick look to the grille, which is flanked by glassed-over headlights, and the side shows very wide rear doors, and a nice slope to the roof at the rear, with a rear-end design that is contemporary and looks good.
Inside, the front bucket seats are wide and roomy, and I think the instrument panel looks good by being simple and easy to read, with the usual controls on a restyled center stack. For its size, and for what it replaces, the Lucerne is a bargain. My test car went from a base price of $28,265 to an as-tested price of $31,430.
There are, however, a couple of curiousities with the Lucerne, and its sibling relationship with its smaller and less-expensive LaCrosse.
Go back a few years, and Cadillac led the way in modernizing the whole crop of GM engines, with the Northstar V8, and the so-called high-feature V6. The 4.6-liter Northstar V8 and the 3.6-liter V6 both are treated to dual overhead-camshafts, four valves per cylinder, variable valve timing, and assorted other features that set high-tech engines apart from more-primitive engines. It takes money to build such engines, obviously.
For over four decades, GM also has made a 3.8-liter V6, called the 3800 for its displacement cubic-centimeters. It was a good engine when it first came out, built by Buick, and it has gotten better as the prime workhorse V6 fitted into nearly every GM sedan this side of Cadillac. It has been renovated over the years, and weÂ’re now up to a Stage III version of it. However, it is showing its age, and still has pushrods operating the valves. GM considers it a good value because its performance is adequate and the cost to build it long since amortized.
Meanwhile, when Bob Lutz came to GM as vice president, he insisted that Buick designers had to throw away their attempts at making all five car models look the same and design something new. To help the brand along, he pried both the 4.6 Northstar and the 3.6 V6 away from CadillacÂ’s self-contained world, to be used by Buick.
Both cars come standard with the 3800, which is now called the 3.8 again.
In the LaCrosse, the 3.8 has 200 horsepower, while the upgrade optional 3.6 offers 240 horsepower, despite having smaller displacement. The 3.6 makes the LaCrosse a very impressive car, indeed.
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In the Lucerne, the 3.8 has only195 horsepower, and can be upgraded to the 275-horsepower 4.6 Northstar V8 – the first V8 offered in a Buick since the old Roadmaster days.
The new Lucerne CXL test car I tested came with the 3.8 V6, with a four-speed automatic, and it seemedÂ…adequate. In the current highly-competitive entry-luxury level, adequate might not do the job against so much high-tech. My curiosity is that if the smaller-displacement 3.6 has enough added punch to be the optional upgrade over the 3.8 in the LaCrosse, why wouldnÂ’t Buick offer the better and more potent 3.6 as the base engine in the larger Lucerne?
A much stiffer platform and new suspension make the Lucerne handle very well, and it engulfs occupants with a silence that is Lexus-like. I am assuming the car would have better-than-adequate performance with the V8, although the base pushrod V6 might be good enough for the more traditional Buick buyers.
Standard features include four-wheel disc brakes with antilock, side airbag curtains, OnStar, remote keyless entry, rain-sensing wipers, particulate air filters on the climate control, AM/FM/CD/MP3 audio, leather seat appointments, and power locks and windows. ItÂ’s a lot of car for under $30,000, although installing the V8 would boost the price.
The test car had several option packages to add eight-way power and heated seats for both front buckets, power lumbar support, chrome-plated wheels, remote starting, rear parking assist, and an audio upgrade.
At $31,430, thatÂ’s still a good deal. But IÂ’d like to know what the sticker would say if the 3.6 V6 were available. Whatever the difference, I would consider it a bargain, but thatÂ’s because I like the 3.6 V6 so much. It also means that a discerning shopper will look all through the Buick dealership before buying, because if the LaCrosse is big enough, it also offers a lot for an even bigger bargain. IÂ’ll have to check and see which model is selling better on the Iron Range.
About the Author
John Gilbert is a lifetime Minnesotan and career journalist, specializing in cars and sports during and since spending 30 years at the Minneapolis Tribune, now the Star Tribune. More recently, he has continued translating the high-tech world of autos and sharing his passionate insights as a freelance writer/photographer/broadcaster. A member of the prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year jury since 1993. John can be heard Monday-Friday from 9-11am on 610 KDAL(www.kdal610.com) on the "John Gilbert Show," and writes a column in the Duluth Reader.
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