Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
2009 Jeep Compass
I hope nobody minds, but I didn't see anybody discussing this car yet and so started a new topic.
Today, I went to Bob Howard Chrysler Jeep Dodge, on Sunday when the sales people are not there, of course, and found the row of 2009 Compass Sport 4x2s. They didn't have any Limiteds, nor did I see any 4x4s.
I'm a longtime Toyota Corolla driver, so I'm used to nice interiors. I'm not talking Lexus nice, but a nicer grade velour cloth material, better than the stuff GM uses in their Chevrolet line. I'd read some nasty stuff about the "hard plastic" interior of the earlier Compass models. I understood what some reviewers meant regarding all the plastic. It turns me off, as well, and I'd seen and felt the interior of the Dodge Caliber and definitely didn't like it. It wasn't classy at all.
Anyway, as luck would have it, I found a tan-colored Compass Sport 4x2 that was unlocked, so I got into it and sat for a while. I was pleasantly surprised by the 09 Compass interior in that it wasn't like Caliber at all. Instead of a cheesy garish silver-plastic console, this one's was all black and almost elegant. While some reviews lamented how hard the plastic armrests were, I found nothing hard about the 09's armrests. They were still plastic, but they FELT good and have a texture and give to them. The whole dash does. Even the steering wheel doesn't have that Chevrolet-cheap feel to it.
In all, I felt that while this was a car that was designed to be useful and therefore easy to take care of, it wasn't so low-class as to be tacky! It makes me wonder what value the Limiteds offer, because the Sports are very well equipped already.
This isn't the first time I've sat in a Jeep product. Years ago I test drove a Jeep Cherokee and liked it, but it was well out of my price range at the time. However, this IS the first time I've ever sat in a Jeep product and thought, I could live with this car. It's the right size, about the size Honda CR-V is now and Toyota RAV4 used to be; and it has small tires, so they shouldn't cost and arm and a leg to replace. Even the MSRP isn't bad, this one had only a power package 26E and automatic and was about $21.5K. Visibility is decent - one will need to do about 2mph backing up. Outside mirrors are nice and large; didn't see if they can be bent in toward the car - Toyota's Venza can't, I tried! Don't have to worry about sunroof leaks and the like because it doesn't come with one, so good. Granted, a black interior will fade quickly in a hot Oklahoma summer but it's definitely the nicer-looking of the two interiors. There's a little handle by the rear window on both sides which I can't figure out. Pulling on it does nothing...
Anyway, I might be persuaded to test drive the car to see if the claims of sluggishness and excessive road noise remain true. If Jeep survives bankruptcy, they can definitely take pride in the improvements they've made to their smallest product! The true test, of course, is whether one could trust the car to be reliable, to be built right in the first place and not rely on a warranty to fix what shouldn't have broken in the first place. This, too, is where Toyota has me spoiled!
Today, I went to Bob Howard Chrysler Jeep Dodge, on Sunday when the sales people are not there, of course, and found the row of 2009 Compass Sport 4x2s. They didn't have any Limiteds, nor did I see any 4x4s.
I'm a longtime Toyota Corolla driver, so I'm used to nice interiors. I'm not talking Lexus nice, but a nicer grade velour cloth material, better than the stuff GM uses in their Chevrolet line. I'd read some nasty stuff about the "hard plastic" interior of the earlier Compass models. I understood what some reviewers meant regarding all the plastic. It turns me off, as well, and I'd seen and felt the interior of the Dodge Caliber and definitely didn't like it. It wasn't classy at all.
Anyway, as luck would have it, I found a tan-colored Compass Sport 4x2 that was unlocked, so I got into it and sat for a while. I was pleasantly surprised by the 09 Compass interior in that it wasn't like Caliber at all. Instead of a cheesy garish silver-plastic console, this one's was all black and almost elegant. While some reviews lamented how hard the plastic armrests were, I found nothing hard about the 09's armrests. They were still plastic, but they FELT good and have a texture and give to them. The whole dash does. Even the steering wheel doesn't have that Chevrolet-cheap feel to it.
In all, I felt that while this was a car that was designed to be useful and therefore easy to take care of, it wasn't so low-class as to be tacky! It makes me wonder what value the Limiteds offer, because the Sports are very well equipped already.
This isn't the first time I've sat in a Jeep product. Years ago I test drove a Jeep Cherokee and liked it, but it was well out of my price range at the time. However, this IS the first time I've ever sat in a Jeep product and thought, I could live with this car. It's the right size, about the size Honda CR-V is now and Toyota RAV4 used to be; and it has small tires, so they shouldn't cost and arm and a leg to replace. Even the MSRP isn't bad, this one had only a power package 26E and automatic and was about $21.5K. Visibility is decent - one will need to do about 2mph backing up. Outside mirrors are nice and large; didn't see if they can be bent in toward the car - Toyota's Venza can't, I tried! Don't have to worry about sunroof leaks and the like because it doesn't come with one, so good. Granted, a black interior will fade quickly in a hot Oklahoma summer but it's definitely the nicer-looking of the two interiors. There's a little handle by the rear window on both sides which I can't figure out. Pulling on it does nothing...
Anyway, I might be persuaded to test drive the car to see if the claims of sluggishness and excessive road noise remain true. If Jeep survives bankruptcy, they can definitely take pride in the improvements they've made to their smallest product! The true test, of course, is whether one could trust the car to be reliable, to be built right in the first place and not rely on a warranty to fix what shouldn't have broken in the first place. This, too, is where Toyota has me spoiled!
0
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
I bought a 2009 Compass 4x4 with AutoStick CVT sport model. Drove through a huge downpour the day I picked up the vehicle with no sun roof leak problems that many 2007 model owners had posted here and elsewhere.
Now the vehicle is barely 2000 miles as of today. Couple weeks ago, while driving home in a very, very light snow (<0.3"), suddenly the dreaded defect that's been kept in the back of my mind happened. For the remaining 5 miles home, water was dropping from the overhead lamp on and off-ly !!!!!??? I have not yet brought the vehicle back to the dealer simple because I read the 07 owners complains and would not like to deal or hear their fake findings and phony solutions !!
Another thing I noticed, not sure it's also a problem, is that I can smell pungent gas outside the car. This happens after I back the car out of my gargare and got out to close the garage door. Defect catalytic converter?
I have been keeping a MPG log since the day I got the vehichle. So far it averages 23 miles local/hiway, 60% local though.