Used 2019 Jeep Compass Altitude for sale 

The 2019 Jeep Compass comes in four trim levels, namely Sport, Latitude, Trailhawk and Limited. The pricing starts from $21,845 and goes up to $31,690 for the top trim. Standard features across all models include air-conditioning, touchscreen systems for infotainment, keyless ignition, etc and creature comforts increase as you climb higher on the trims.

We Recommend

The Trailhawk is the apt trim to buy for the 2019 Jeep Compass. It offers best of both worlds, and has some significant safety features that are missing on the lower trims. It offers a rich interior as well, and has a lot of customisation options to choose from.

The 2019 Jeep Compass is slightly overpowered when you look at the competition. The Compass gets a 2.4L I-4 engine that produces 180 hp of horsepower @6400 rpm and 175 lb-ft of torque @3900 rpm. These figures look promising, but that is all that they are. Actual performance is disappointing when it comes to real-life scenarios, according to customer reviews. "The car fails to balance what is written on paper vs what actually is offered" is a harsh comment made by one of the owner in the reviews. The car comes with a 6-speed manual/automatic or a 9-speed automatic transmission. It comes standard with a Front-wheel drive, but All-wheel drive is optional.

The 6-speed manual is the base transmission that’s standard on the Sport and Latitude trims with the All-wheel drive system. A 6-speed automatic is standard on front-drive Latitude and Limited models, and a 9-speed automatic is available with all-wheel drive in Sport and Latitude trims, and is standard on Trailhawk and Limited trims.

The competition for the Jeep Compass has smaller and less powerful engines. The pricing also varies a lot, with the Buick Encore being the only car more expensive than the Compass. The difference in produced horsepower is maximum for the 2019 Buick Encore, a difference of more than 40 hp. The Honda HR-V and the 2019 Subaru Crosstrek are pretty underpowered in comparison. Overall, peak power and peak torque is more accessible in the Buick, thanks to the lower rpms and this also helps give the Buick an advantage while checking for performance. 

Acceleration

The Jeep Compass's mildly powerful engine doesn't perform too well. There has been no improvement in the acceleration figures when compared to the last year's Jeep. It takes a slow 10 seconds to accelerate from 0-60 mph, and is the slowest among the cars. Quarter mile time is also the slowest among the four cars, at 17 seconds. It is safe to say the Jeep won't be setting any performance records on the tarmac at least.

The main purpose of the cars under the compact SUV catergory is not only of practicality and usability, but of acceleration or brisk performance as well. The other SUVs in this competition do not fall back on performance like the Jeep does.

As for the competition, the Buick Encore is the fastest of the lot. It takes under 8.5 seconds for 0-60 mph, even though it has the smallest engine among the lot. The quarter mile time is the best for the Buick at 16.2 seconds as well, and the Subaru is the slowest at 16.9 seconds. The Honda HR-V is a tad bit quicker than the 2019 Jeep Compass with a 0-60 mph time of 9.3 seconds.

Ride and Handling

The 2019 Jeep Compass is relatively nimble on its feet, much more than its bulked looks tells you. The steering is nicely weighted, although the feedback seems a little lacking. The other factor that limits the handling capabilities is the lackluster engine.

According to consumer inputs, the Compass is quite stable in the corners but has a fair amount of body roll as well. The ride quality is smooth, no matter where you drive it. However, the off-road focused tires of the Trailhawk do not inspire much confidence, and all-season tires perform much better.

Off-roading Capability

When you talk about any Jeep, Off-road ability is one of the most discussed features. Even though the Compass is primarily a "soft-roader", Jeep hasn't gone completely soft with this car. If you find yourself in a neighbourhood devoid of tarmac roads, you would appreciate the off-roading capabilities of this Jeep. It has 8.2 inches of ground clearance, good for not being stranded over smaller rocks.

Braking

The Compass has a nervous brake pedal, ready to engage at the slightest touch. Such quick responsiveness of the pedal may make you believe that the car has strong brakes, but don't let this response fool you. The brakes are not very efficient at shedding speed, mostly due to their off-roading nature. Opting for better road tires, preferably all-season tires might help get a better braking response.

The Compass has a beautiful rim design which displays the disc brake setup on the car. The car has the largest disc size among the cars, at the front as well as at the rear. It is a surprise the car does not brake as well.

The braking figures highlight the late and slow braking system on the Compass. The car is the least effective, taking a distance of 141 feet to halt. The other cars are in the average range for this segment of cars, but it’s the Subaru which has the least stopping distance at 119 feet.

The disappointment in performance can be excused by its fuel efficiency figures, to give a reason. But even then, these figures are pretty much behind the competition. The Jeep Compass offers great gas mileage, but only when compared to the first-generation model of the Jeep Compass. The 2019 Compass returns 22 mpg in the city, and 31 mpg on the highway. The 6-speed automatic transmission also offers the same mileage numbers. The 9-speed automatic however, offers a slightly less highway mileage at 30 mpg. The car has a fuel tank capacity of 13.5 gallons.

The similar structure as an SUV, but with reduced weight has helped the compact SUVs return some good mileage figures. The Honda offers the best, at 28 mpg in the city and 34 mpg on the highway with a tank capacity of 13.2 gallons which is also the least among the four cars. The Subaru comes next with its class leading 16.6 gallon tank, and offers city/highway mpg returns of 27/33 mpg. The Buick returns figures of 26/31 mpg for the city/highway respectively. It has a decent tank size of 14 gallons.The car under review, the Compass offers the least.

The 2019 Jeep Compass has a very utilitarian interior, defined more by the function than the beautification. The interiors are not fancy, but they are simple and neat. The car’s controls are easy to use, well laid out and labelled. The doors open wide, making entry and exit a piece of cake. The windows and the windshield offer a good view of what’s around you. The materials used are of excellent quality, with leather wrapping on the steering and the shift knob.

The driver will not have any issues of visibility from the driver’s seat, as there are good adjustment levels. The only problem will be faced by drivers with long legs as the wheel does not have enough telescopic adjustability for a comfortable seating. Also, the rear pillar obstructs the view.

On the inside, the Compass is quite roomy with a lot of headroom and legroom in the front. The rear is the same, but three adults might not be very comfortable on the rear row. The support from the seats is good, and long drives should not be troublesome. There isn't much difference in front cabin space among the competition. The rear space keeps varying though, which is a point to be considered. The Honda HR-V has the best balance of space, which is comparable to, or even better than the Compass. Some of the interior features on the Jeep Compass are:

• Air-conditioing
• Keyless ignition
• Heated front seats
• Leather upholstery
• Heated steering wheel

Infotainment System

Last year, the infotainment unit on the Jeep Compass felt slow and laggy, but this has definitely changed on this year's model. The Compass Sport uses Jeep's Uconnect system that has been updated for the 2019 model year. The system is extremely intuitive and informative, with a standard 8-inch touch screen offering modern connectivity options such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. However, the standard touchscreen display has reduced from 8.4-inches to 8-inches. The 8.4-inch unit is now an optional feature. Other standard features include:

• Touchscreen-Infotainment System
• USB Port
• Auxiliary Input
• Bluetooth
• Voice Controls
• A Six-Speaker Stereo
• Apple CarPlay and Android Auto

Other than these, you get a few optional features:

• An 8.4-Inch Touch Screen
• Satellite Radio
• nine-speaker Beats Premium Sound System
• Navigation System Available.

Cargo volume

The little Jeep comes with plenty of trunk space, 27 cubic feet, good for all your family luggage rolled into 3 giant briefcases. If the need arises for more, you can double the cargo space by folding the rear seats down.

All the cars here come standard with foldable rear seats, which works great for additional cargo space. Not that they need it, as all daily hauls would easily fit in the trunk. The Jeep Compass offers the most minimum available cargo space, and also the most cargo space with the seats folded down. The Buick Encore falls behind in this comparison, with the least cargo space among the four.

The 2019 Jeep Compass's exterior has brutal looks, and reminds one of the Cherokee more. You can call it a down-sized Jeep Cherokee as well. The Compass has the same seven grille slot as the elder siblings in the front. The roofline is mostly straight, with slight tapering at the edges. The rear is simple and straight and does not offer much on looks. The car follows in the signature Jeep styling all over, with no changes to the basic design idealogy.

The 2019 Jeep Compass does the segment proud by sticking to the unspoken dimension constraints. It remains quite small, less than 15 feet in length. It is also quite light, well under 3 and a half thousand pounds. The tiny 103-inch wheelbase helps with city manoeuvring but compromises the interior space. There is also a lot of empty space under the body, with 8.2 inches of ground clearance.

Compact dimensions are a given factor with all the cars in this segment, and none of the cars here stand out in terms of dimensions. The Subaru Crosstrek is minutely longer than the Compass, just 2 inches longitudinally. Apart from that, there aren't many discernible differences between the two. Some of the Compass's exterior features are:

• Sunroof
• 17-inch alloy wheels
• Underbody skid plates
• Xeon headlights
• Power liftgate

The IIHS rated the 2019 Jeep Compass crossover SUV top “Good” scores on its entire crash tests range, including a “Superior” score for its optional front-crash prevention. “Poor” and “Marginal” scores for its headlights prevented it from earning a Top Safety Pick award. On the other hand, the NHTSA results speak a different story. The Compass earned an average overall score of 4-stars and a relatively low 3-star score for rollover. The C-pillar obstructs visibility in the rear, and the blind spot system is hence recommmended. Apart from the seven airbags, traction control, stability control and the rear-view camera, the Jeep Compass has a lot of safety features as well. The standard equipment is as follows:

• 4-Wheel Disc Anti-Lock Brakes
• Advanced Multistage Front Airbags
• All Speed Traction Control
• Center Rear 3-Point Seat Belt
• Driver Inflatable Knee-Bolster Airbag
• Electronic Roll Mitigation
• Electronic Stability Control
• Engine Immobilizer
• Front Passenger Seat Belt Alert
• Hill Descent Control
• Hill Start Assist
• LATCH Ready Child Seat Anchor System
• Motorized Pretensioning Seatbelts
• ParkView Rear Back Up Camera
• Rain Brake Support
• Supplemental Front Seat-Mounted Side Airbags
• Supplemental Side-Curtain Front and Rear Airbags
• Tire Pressure Monitoring Display

Jeep Compass vs Honda HR-V

The 2019 Jeep Compass is a more expensive car than the 2019 Honda HR-V and has premium interiors to justify the price. What it cannot justify, however, is the lack of space and performance. Honda is much cheaper and offers comparable features. The Jeep demands a surprising premium over the other cars here, but sadly you won't get much for that dough.

Jeeps are known for their ruggedness and off-road ability, and the Compass Sport keeps up that tradition. If the 3-grand difference between the base trims of the two is not a problem, the Jeep is worth your money. And also, the Trailhawk is an off-road version, whereas the HR-V does not have anything even close to the Trailhawk in terms of off-road capabilities.

Jeep Compass vs Subaru CrossTrek

The 2019 CrossTrek is the only vehicle that can come close to match the Jeep’s offroad capabilities. The Jeep has a more traditional design, and boasts of the powerful sluggish engine which can be pretty useful for offroad. On the other hand, the Subaru can come close to the Compass’s off-road capabilities, has a better resale value and also has better economy.

Both the 2019 Jeep Compass and 2019 Subaru CrossTrek offer reliable transportation and cargo-carrying capabilities. If safety, interior usability quality, and some off-road fun hold more priority, the Jeep Compass, will likely be your choice. If you desire quirky good looks with strong resale and a good fuel economy, the Subaru Crosstrek is the right choice for you.

Jeep Compass vs Buick Encore

In terms of pricing, Buick Encore is the closest competitor to the Jeep currently. Those are the few similarities they have, along with a relatively heavyweight for the class. The Buick is a much easier car for the city, with slightly tighter dimensions and better performance, but also has a pricier entry point.

Both are great mile munchers too. If you do not have any interest in getting off the tarmac, ever, then consider the Buick Encore. It can do everything the Jeep Compass does on tarmac in a better way.

You could look for better practicality in many other segment offerings, but you would be losing out on the fun you can have in the 2019 Jeep Compass. The handling is a little weak on road, with plenty of body roll and slow performance, but take to the broken trails, and this car comes alive. In essence, this is just a family car that can offer you cheap thrills off-road, and that is just marvelous. It also has a premium feel, which only makes the ownership experience better.