Jeep/Dodge union spawns Compass

Change is difficult for men and carmakers.

The boys down at the Possum Lodge on PBS’ “The Red Green Show” know this. This is their Man’s Prayer:

I’m a man …

But I can change …

If I have to …

I guess.

This is not unlike the situation Jeep faces. Having planted its flag in the terra firma of off-roading, it now has to adapt to the new world of the road-bound crossover-utility-vehicle (CUV). It knows it must change and will, but that it will not be easy.

Jeep practically pioneered the old-school practices that produced rigs able to master Mother Nature’s muck and goo, her steep angles and sharp edges.

CUVs are built on car platforms. They are lighter and more fuel-efficient than SUVs. They ride and handle better and are quieter and smoother underway. When the going gets rough, though, they scamper back to the safety of the picnic shelter.

Sadly for Jeep, CUVs have been kicking the SUV world’s keister recently, especially since gas prices went nutty. Worse, CUVs are popular with women, who as a group tend to give traditional SUVs the cold shoulder.

If a situation ever called for change, this was it.

Jeep doesn’t have a car platform to build a CUV on, so it went shopping. It wound up at the doors of Dodge, one of its DaimlerChrysler cousins. There it found the Caliber, a new hatchback that would replace the Neon.

The Jeep/Dodge marriage produced spawn called the 2007 Compass. The Compass is a compact CUV that goes up against the likes of the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 and Ford Escape. It shares its platform and mechanicals with the Caliber and is available in front-drive and 4WD configurations and in Sport (from $15,985, including transportation) and Limited ($20,140) trims.

It’s the first Jeep to combine front-drive and an all-independent suspension (solid rear axles are a hallmark of old-school SUV design), and is powered by the Caliber’s 2.4-liter, four-cylinder, 172-horsepower engine with variable valve timing.

A five-speed manual transmission is standard and a continuously variable transmission (CVT) is optional.

It is becoming common practice to equip even entry-level vehicles with a healthy dose of safety equipment. Even the base Compass gets side-curtain airbags, brake-based traction control, driver-controlled three-mode electronic stability control, electronic roll mitigation and anti-lock brakes with brake assist and rough-road detection.

Otherwise, the Sport trim is sparsely outfitted. It has 17-inch wheels and a CD player with an MP3 jack, but such features as air conditioning, power windows and mirrors, keyless entry, and cruise control are optional.

Limited trims add all that and 18-inch wheels, leather seats, heated front seats and an auto-dimming mirror.

The optional 4WD system is dubbed Freedom Drive I. It’s a full-time system that automatically transfers power front to rear as the situation warrants. In extreme conditions, the center coupling can be locked in, sending 60 percent of torque to the rear wheels.

With just 8 inches of ground clearance and now underbody armor, though, the Compass won’t likely experience conditions more extreme than the ice berm at the end of the driveway.

Members of the compact CUV/sport-ute brigade are sometimes branded cute-utes, and here the Compass scores a direct hit. Jeep’s signature seven-slot grille, round headlamps and trapezoidal wheel wells are present and account for, albeit in a somewhat softened form.

The A-pillar follows the current swept-back fashion and the rear quarter and liftgate seem like direct lifts from the Caliber. Twin body bulges are probably meant to imply muscularity but seem pointless to me.

Inside the cabin, materials quality and fit and finish must be stepped up a notch if the Compass is to be a serious contender among some very classy competition. Some neat features have been carried over from the Caliber — including the iPod slot contained in the lid of the sliding center console — and the seats are equally good, as I learned on a drive to Portland.

Coincidentally, I took road trips in both the Caliber and the Compass and came away with two impressions:

1) From the driver’s seat, they feel like the same vehicle. Despite some suspension variables, ride and handling are much the same, as is basic performance, both straight-line and in the corners.

2) I would take a pass on the CVT. It re-engages jerkily after one has lifted the throttle and it allows the engine to rev too high for too long, which is annoying and a fuel-waster.

Still, change is not easy and Jeep is still in the early stages of a strategy meant to build market share and boost profitability. Nearly half of all Compass buyers to date are women, boding well for the brand’s long-term viability.

Then there’s the Big Picture to consider: If Jeep can change, so can we all. Which is a good thing. I guess.