Jeep’s new Compass EV is a promising package of function, features and solid construction

Jeep gave its Compass line a thorough overhaul late last year, with a new e-Hybrid Plug-In model and the introduction of the all-electric Compass 4xe. Slotting into a line-up that includes the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, flagship Jeep Wagoneer S and the Jeep Avenger 4xe, the new Compass presents a surprisingly likeable side to a brand working hard to shake off its rather rudimentary image.

As part of the Stellantis family, Jeep has the benefits of massive parts bin and shared engineering ability as well as the pressing need to reassert a character of it own as result. The Compass sits on the STLA Medium platform, one of several shared bases that Stellantis uses to cross-pollinate engineering savings across its many brands.

Engineered for petrol, hybrid and pure electric powertrains, other vehicles in this C- and D-segment include cars, crossovers, and SUVs like the Peugeot 3008 and 5008, Vauxhall Grandland II, Citroën C5 Aircross II and the DS N°7 and N°8.

Does the Compass do enough to stand out? Discounting the luminous Hawaii Green of the test car, we’d say that Jeep’s design team has largely succeeded. In crossover configuration, STLA cars tend to share a boxy silhouette, something that plays very well to Jeep’s strengths (and doesn’t do any favours to the likes of Peugeot or Citroën).

Add a pleasingly faceted approach to bodywork, light signatures and the seven-bar Jeep radiator grille, and you end up with a car with a credible and confident solidity – not something you can say about every modern SUV.

Averting any identity crisis is one thing, but Jeep has gone a little bit overboard on the design ‘Easter eggs’ scattered around the car, like the silhouette of an original Jeep on the base of the windscreen, and the recurring Jeep grille motifs in the cabin that pop up like Mickey Mouse’s ears at Disneyland. What was once a fun little diversion is in danger of becoming a little bit twee.

The brand needs to have a little bit more courage of its convictions, because these little visual tricks really aren’t necessary, nor is additional branding like the seat stitching.

However, Jeep is very much a lifestyle brand these days (witness collaborations with the likes of The North Face and the simple sans serif logo adorns a huge catalogue of accessories and even a separate clothing store. Nothing unusual for a modern mobility brand, of course, but all part and parcel of building a connection between object and consumer.

The new Compass can speak for itself, regardless of all this behind-the-scenes stage management. The exterior design feels fundamentally right, certainly more so than the original Compass 4xe, and the Jeep isn’t so huge as to be unwieldy or unwelcome in urban spaces (it measures 4.55m long by 1.9m wide).

The 74kWh battery provides the equivalent of 213hp and has an official WLTP range of 290 miles. Your mileage will definitely vary, as always, but it’s more than enough to get over the range anxiety hump (a feeling that is fast being consigned to cultural history).

Downsides? There’s not an enormous amount of logic or consistency in the user interface, with multiple duplication of functions, confusing and unintuitive interfaces scattered across the main 16” touchscreen, although oft-used controls are thankfully given physical analogues.

Performance is ample, with electrification diverted towards refinement rather than raw power, and the light steering feels at odds with the robust, chunky nature of the overall package.

Image 1 of 3

Ultimately, the new Compass points to a promising future for the Jeep brand, especially as some of its Stellantis stablemates struggle to assert themselves. The conglomerate is promising more and more design distinction between its brand portfolio going forwards. On current evidence, Jeep is ahead of the game.

Jeep Compass Electric, from £36,999, First Edition Altitude Plus edition from £39,800, Jeep.co.uk, @Jeep_UK