√2022 Jeep Compass Trailhawk review

Jeep has built its reputation on a rugged go-anywhere image. But the Jeep Compass is a compact SUV, so surely it can’t do the same… Can it?

What we love

Surprisingly competent in rough terrain
Comfy and quiet long-distance cruising
Much improved interior presentation

What we don’t

Engine lacks punch
Priced far too high
Still outclassed by more dedicated off-roaders

Introduction

Jeep does a pretty good job of standing out from the crowd. Along with staid medium and large SUVs, it also has a range of very capable models – and the 2022 Jeep Compass Trailhawk is one of those.

Like the larger Cherokee Trailhawk, the Compass Trailhawk shares plenty with the regular Jeep Compass range, but steps up the small SUV’s off-road ability in a way nothing else in its segment does.

Now, if you want to find yourself far from civilisation, traversing rugged terrain, you’ll probably want something more purpose-built – like a Wrangler. If you want to dabble in some weekend getaways and still have a comfy car to schlep about in during the week, Jeep sees you.

The Compass Trailhawk is the $51,650 flagship of a range that kicks off from $37,950 (both before on-road costs), so no member of the Compass line-up is a low-cost budget fighter.

For that you get a car sized just a touch shorter nose-to-tail than a Kia Seltos. In something of a break with the rest of the segment, though, the Jeep Compass offers a diesel engine and claims to have genuine off-road prowess, carrying the brand’s internally benchmarked ‘Trail Rated’ ranking.

To see how the Compass fits both its segment and its lofty claims, we hit the road and trails to see how it fared.

Key details	2022 Jeep Compass Trailhawk
Price (MSRP)	$51,650 plus on-road costs
Colour of test car	Brilliant Black Pearl
Options	Premium paint – $895
Price as tested	$52,545 plus on-road costs $58,731 drive-away (Melbourne)
Rivals	Isuzu MU-X \| Suzuki Jimny \| Audi Q3

Inside

Launched in mid-2021, the updated Compass received a range of revisions, both inside and out.

Compared to the pre-update range, the new Compass has a fresh dash design, new infotainment, and in the case of the Trailhawk a digital instrument cluster.

The interior is a well-presented and rich-feeling place to be. The horizontal dash design, soft-touch surfaces, red contrast stitching and nice metallic detailing look and feel premium.

While the interior is littered with little Jeep surprises, like hidden classic Jeep grilles in the interior plastics, and a little jeep silhouette in the edge of the windscreen, past touches like the mud-splattered instruments have been retired in favour of more formal instrument graphics.

The seats, steering wheel, and gear lever are leather-trimmed – but if you want seat heating and cooling, or a heated steering wheel, you’ll have to option those. Standard fit does include power-adjustable front seats, driver’s memory, and dual-zone climate control.

The Compass Trailhawk also comes kitted out with keyless entry and push-button start, plus remote start function, carpet flooring topped with rubber floor mats, a reversible carpet/vinyl boot mat, LED head and tail-lights, and a 230-volt household power outlet in the rear seat.

While it’s well-presented, the interior does feel compact. Driver and front passenger are separated by a narrow console and may clash elbows at times, while the rear seat works for two passengers, but is a pinch for three.

Rear riders at least get plenty of head room, although tall passengers might find knee space at a premium. The rear is equipped with vents, a USB port, 12-volt outlet, and a 230-volt household power socket to keep devices of all shapes and sizes topped up.

The powered tailgate, with foot-activated opening, opens to reveal 438L of capacity, which makes it decently roomy for the car’s overall footprint, and with the 40:20:40 rear seat folded there’s up to 1680L available.

	2022 Jeep Compass Trailhawk
Seats	Five
Boot volume	438L seats up / 1680L seats folded
Length	4398mm
Width	1819mm
Height	1657mm
Wheelbase	2636mm

Infotainment and Connectivity

One of the key points of the updated Compass range is a new Uconnect 5 infotainment system displayed on a 10.1-inch touchscreen on all Compass variants.

It comes with satellite navigation, AM/FM/DAB+ radio, Bluetooth connectivity and wireless connectivity for both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. To keep the system fully wireless, an inductive phone charger is included across the range.

As something of a fan of Jeep’s earlier infotainment systems, I’m not as convinced by Uconnect 5. It’s snappy to load, but the layout and deep-dive menus don’t feel as user-friendly as they used to be – like all things, time and familiarity are sure to help here.

The new 10.25-inch digital driver display is a little similar. It’s capable of displaying plenty of useful info, but for me, I never found the right balance of display information.

You can hero the speedo in one screen only, and in most other displays vehicle speed gets minimised with plenty of empty space that feels like it could be better utilised. The potential benefits of a digital display have been largely overlooked here, and the simple legibility of the old analogue dials has been lost in the process.

Safety and Technology

The revised 2022 Jeep Compass range retains the five-star ANCAP safety rating it received when launched 2017.

New features for the updated models include adaptive cruise control with stop functionality, lane-keep assist, traffic-sign recognition and intelligent speed assist on all variants. Autonomous emergency braking (with pedestrian detection), rear cross-traffic alert and blind-spot monitoring carry over for the Compass.

A 360-degree camera is standard on the Compass Trailhawk, along with front and rear park sensors and semi-automated park assist. The Trailhawk is also the only model in the range to carry a full-size spare wheel.

	2022 Jeep Compass Trailhawk
ANCAP rating	Five stars (tested 2017)
Safety report	Link to ANCAP report

Value for Money

The 2022 Jeep Compass Trailhawk comes into this fight with one arm tied behind its back. As a small SUV with a $51,650 price before options and on-road costs, it wears a premium price tag.

For a not dissimilar spend you could potentially get into a BMW X1 or Audi Q3 – but the Jeep isn’t alone as a near-premium small SUV. Range-topping versions of compact SUVs like the Mazda CX-30 and Peugeot 2008, while still slightly cheaper, aren’t far off.

Where those cars can’t match the Compass is off the beaten track. It’s one of the few small SUVs available with a diesel engine, and its high clearance and off-road-ready set-up mean it’s more adventure-ready than style-over-substance rivals.

Despite that, anyone serious about heavy-duty off-roading is likely to be more interested in an Isuzu MU-X, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport or Toyota Fortuner – all available with low-range and more baked-in capability off the showroom floor, and all with similar starting prices.

If small but capable tops your list of priorities, and you can make do without the luxuries, there’s always the Suzuki Jimny – though it’s a very, very different proposition again. At almost half the price, it’s a left-field competitor.

At a glance	2022 Jeep Compass Trailhawk
Warranty	Five years / 100,000km
Service intervals	12 months or 20,000km
Servicing costs	$1197 (3 years), $1995 (5 years)

The Jeep range in Australia comes with a five-year/100,000km warranty, and lifetime roadside assist renewed annually for vehicles serviced within Jeep’s dealer network.

Capped-price servicing on the Compass Trailhawk means you’ll pay $399 per visit for the first five services. Intervals are set every 12 months or 20,000km, whichever comes first.

Claimed consumption is rated at 6.9 litres per 100 kilometres. On the open road, the Compass proves quite thrifty, but around town it was much harder to keep fuel figures down. All up, after a week of commuting, and a weekend on the open road and trail driving, consumption settled at 9.2L/100km.

Fuel Useage	Fuel Stats
Fuel cons. (claimed)	6.9L/100km
Fuel cons. (on test)	9.2L/100km
Fuel type	Diesel
Fuel tank size	60L

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Driving

Jeep is a little different to other brands with its approach to the Compass. While there are more road-oriented models, all except the entry-level Night Eagle come with all-wheel drive and ‘Jeep Active Drive Low’ all-wheel drive.

The Compass Trailhawk is unique among its rangemates, however, with raised suspension, additional underbody protection, and a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel engine rated at 125kW and 350Nm.

Drive is via a nine-speed torque converter automatic sent to the on-demand all-wheel-drive system with switchable drive modes to keep the system in auto, snow, rock and sand/mud modes. It’s possible to lock the system to 4WD mode, along with 4WD Low, although this isn’t a fully fledged low-range transfer case, instead keeping the transmission locked in its low gears.

Impressively, the little Jeep walked through challenging terrain that I thought might have been beyond it. While it isn’t the equal of more rugged body-on-frame 4x4s, an impressive list of underbody protection (fuel tank, front suspension, transmission and transfer case) and 225mm of ground clearance mean you don’t need to gingerly approach uneven terrain.

Its tyres may be the biggest shortfall. With a set of chunkier rubber underfoot, the little Jeep could no doubt go further still. The Falken Wildpeak highway tyres offer only mild off-road ability.

There are other limitations too. Although the Trailhawk wears higher-clearance bumpers and boasts 225mm of ground clearance (compared to 212mm for other AWD models), in uneven terrain it was easy to catch the bumpers or sills on high ground.

As a rural tourer, the little diesel finds its own. Happy to quietly lope along on the open road and frugal in the process. With soft suspension and a forgiving wheel and tyre package, the Compass took everything from corrugated gravel to roughly patched tarmac in its stride.

In town the Compass felt less comfortable. The engine isn’t free-revving, and while Jeep claims the diesel can reach 100km/h in 9.7 seconds, compared to 10.1 for petrol AWD variants, it can feel breathless when pushed.

Rolling acceleration is leisurely rather than brisk. In flowing and fast-changing traffic, the nine-speed automatic does a good job of plucking the right gear to keep things moving, but the engine has a hard time keeping pace.

Around town it often feels like the slow-revving engine is holding the car back. With plenty of responsive diesel options from brands Volkswagen, Hyundai and Mazda over the years – though not always in similar types of vehicles – the Compass feels very out of touch.

With the need to be both capable in challenging conditions and comfy in urban confines, the Compass Trailhawk strikes a neat balance. Not too floaty or loose, but not cumbersome or vague either.

Key details	2022 Jeep Compass Trailhawk
Engine	2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel
Power	125kW @ 3750rpm
Torque	350Nm @ 1750rpm
Drive type	All-wheel drive
Transmission	Nine-speed torque convertor automatic
Power to weight ratio	77.1kW/t
Weight (tare)	1621kg
Tow rating	1500kg braked, 450kg unbraked
Turning circle	10.8m

Conclusion

It’s hard not to be charmed by the plucky little Compass. Few cars can do what it can, and fewer still do so in a compact, easy to manage package.

Niche cars like this one deserve to be praised, and there are bound to be buyers for them. True adventure seekers are likely to look straight past this one and towards something more fit for a life off the road.

Not that the Compass Trailhawk can’t venture places other small SUVs fear to tread. It absolutely can. It does ask a lot of money to do so, however, and pitches itself more as a prestige brand than an out-and-out workhorse.

For the most part, it has the right amount of tech and interior polish to play in the premium space, but for anyone considering a compact Audi or BMW SUV, it feels highly unlikely a mud-slinging Jeep might also be on their radar.

The Jeep Compass Trailhawk is certainly hard to ignore, but even harder to justify as a rational purchase.