Edmunds Drives Jeep Concepts

Back in March of this year, Jeep had several of their recent concepts gathered for a "ride & drive" event for the press. Even though approx. 100 journalists were present, up until today I had only found one article about these test drives. That was at www.allpar.com and they really didn't have much to say about the Compass, one way or the other. Today, we see a second write up, this one from www.edmunds.com. Its a pretty good article and reviews three recent Jeep concepts, the Compass, Gladiator and Hurricane. This is what they had to say about the Compass.

Jeep Compass: Jeep's Crack at a Rally Car
The Jeep Compass concept, which originally appeared three years ago in Detroit, seems like it would be a great choice to bring into production as a crossover competitor. With its rounded top, distinctive sportiness and its platform, developed with Mitsubishi, think of it as Jeep's crack at a "rally car." Still it's not hard to imagine this friendly-looking, manageable Jeep in parking lots and driveways throughout this country's suburbs during the weekdays, at least.

With the Compass, Jeep has basically taken the functional versatility of the Liberty's design and honed it into an overall package that could be potentially even more accessible to mainstream car buyers. Those put off by the brand's characteristic angularity could find themselves rethinking their anti-Jeep bias after one look at the Compass' smooth and rounded appearance.

Despite the vehicle's sleek profile, the interior exhibits about as much femininity as Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2. Sure, the rivet-studded canvas seats, milled aluminum console and metallic composite floors of the concept are appealing on a primordial level, but Jeep will surely have to add some Lexus-esque touches in order to snag the sort of buyers that it lacks in today's market, who would not normally go for a Jeep Wrangler.

While only so much can be learned of a car's performance in the limited confines of a parking lot, the Jeep Compass still gave the impression of being hardy enough to justify its brand name, but with an added flexibility. The 3.7-liter V6, derived directly from the Jeep Liberty, gained a whole new lease on life in the Compass' more sprightly body, giving the car very even and consistent performance. Regardless of the hurly-burly cabin appointments, the Jeep Compass seems poised to take a real chunk out of the burgeoning crossover market. All the car needs is a bit more in the way of civilizing touches, which are bound to happen if it makes it to the production roster. Let's just hope Jeep gets that GPS scope functioning properly.

See the full article here.