Jeep Compass Mk49. An American car, built on a Mitsubishi platform, using Mercedes and VW engines and automatic gearboxes from Hyundai. But wait and see what the Jeep Compass and the Renault Laguna have in common. Jeep Compass MK49 – the official “Mr. Worldwide” car.
The Jeep Compass Mk49 sits halfway between the Caliber and the Patriot, cramped like a sanitary towel. Launched in 2006 when Jeep still had dreams and hopes in Europe just like we had until reality hit us at 25, and launched the euro offense of the mainstream car segments since then. The Dodge Avenger was for those who wanted a classic saloon because in 2006 a car had to be a car, dinner had to be dinner, alcohol had to be alcohol and a woman had to be a woman. Four doors and a boot. Then came Caliber which was a kind of Avenger with stretched legs and generally uglier and more compact, followed by Compass which was the more cross-over version of Caliber but it wasn’t even the full portion of burgers, colas, semi-automatics and freedom like Jeep Patriot. So if you wanted an off-road crossover but didn’t want the world to think you were drinking from a bottle without a label that only says “XXX” and so your sister wouldn’t think you’re hers tonight, Jeep Compass was the compromise.
And with that I have to bother wasting your time and internet bandwidth and writing the same review four times, because only the bodywork differs between Avenger and Caliber and Compass and Patriot. In fact, I don’t have to write the same review just four times, because these cars were jointly built with Mitsubishi Outlander, Citroen C-Crosser, Peugeot 4007, Mitsubishi ASX, Mitsubishi Lancer, Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, Dodge Journey, Fiat Freemont and who knows what other cars have used the same platform. I don’t know about you, but I think it’s funny that the americans teamed up with the japanese to take the european car market by storm.
But wait, the crossover doesn’t end here, because I really want to say that the Jeep Compass uses the same CVT automatic gearbox for petrol variants as Renault used on its Fluence, Mitsubishi Colt, Nissan X Trail (all front-wheel drive petrol variants) and who knows who else used this box. Jatco JF011E is the code, go nuts.
Jeep Compass MK49 Engines
Petrol
- 2.0 MPI World of 158 horsepower – We start with the world engine, which in the base version of 2 litre and 158 horsepower only comes with front-wheel drive and you still have a chance to find it occasionally through the classifieds, but it doesn’t convince me the same way I’m not convinced by the idea of working on weekends. Or anytime really. Including now.
- 2.4 MPI World of 170 horsepower – But let’s get down to business and crop up the summary. Noisy, not very fast or economical, but you have it for life. An old engine which sacrifices everything in the name of reliability. Just keep in mind to change the VVT timing, because it is a VVT-i engine with a timing chain. But overall it’s a genuine American engine. It will last longer than the rest of the car and possibly even longer than you.
Diesel
- 2.0 TDI E188 of 140 horsepower – Like the rest of the group, the non-facelift version up until 2011 uses the classic, eternal 2.0 TDI from VW but which is a cousin to the 2.0 TDI engine on the Golf and Octavia and is a decent engine, it is not the engine with fried injectors from Passat and Audi. Only the double mass flywheel remains to break your financial legs, but overall it remains a decent engine.
- 2.2 CDi OM651 of 136 and 163 horsepower – 2011 comes with a new concept, a new haircut and the eternal 2.2 diesel bought under license from Mercedes. Take care of the injectors and the oil leaks, but overall it’s a genuine Mercedes engine that will be overqualified for what you need and what work expectations you have from a Compass.
Jeep Compass MK49 Reliability Issues
- I talked about the JATCO CVT automatic gearbox that is installed on front-wheel drive petrol engines and I am not convinced, but you also have a 6-speed torque converter automatic box from Hyundai for the rest of the engines as well as for the 4×4 versions, which is a reliable gearbox as long as change the oil every 4 years or 60,000 km
- The transfer case which is actually not really a transfer case but a “Power Transfer Unit” for Jeep and for Americans. This unit / case which is a weak point for Compass, but only if you care about the off-road abilities of Compass, because a Compass makes me think of off-road just as Charlie Sheen makes me think of financial responsibility or how the book of Ye makes me thing about mental health awareness.
- It’s a Jeep from their euro offense era and the complementary moment must come when I have to talk about the rust underneath. The Jeep Compass MK49 is not a rust champion, but it’s good to check.
- It’s a Jeep from their euro offense era and the complementary moment about the cheap interior plastics must come. It’s not exactly a Touareg or X5 inside, but it’s not far from a Vectra. But at least it’s not Jeep Liberty, which is closer to a Cavalier than a Vectra.
Jeep Compass MK49 Verdict
It’s a Jeep from their euro offense era. If you’re too manly for a Caliber but not enough for a Patriot, Jeep Compass remains a decent choice. And why wouldn’t it be? It has a 2 litre engine sourced from VW, it handles medium off-road, it looks different. It is not a car for the pretentious, but if you want a reliable and simple car with which to do your work and you want something different from the neighbor’s Passat, then the Jeep Compass MK49 is definitely worth the money.
What engines do I recommend? For petrol I recommend both versions of the World engine, but I would prefer the 2.4 version because at least you can understand something from it performance-wise, but realistically the market is divided between the 2.0 TDI from VW and the 2.2 CDI from Mercedes. Whichever engine you pick, you’re in good american hands.
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