Jeep Compass (2025 - ) review

If you have a home charger running costs for the electric Jeep Compass will be manageable. It does have a sizeable 74kWh battery – with a larger capacity battery on the way – so you might only need to plug it in once or twice a week, depending on your daily driving distance. It gets a 160kW DC charge rate, so it can top up its battery quickly enough at rapid chargers, typically taking around half an hour. These are more costly to use of course, reducing the advantage of the electric model in terms of daily costs. If you prefer to keep your petrol engine the 48-volt mild-hybrid system does help reduce both emissions and fuel consumption on paper but, in reality, the gains are marginal compared to a pure petrol engine.

Generally speaking, electric vehicles should be more reliable than combustion-engined models as there are fewer moving parts, but that doesn’t make them exempt from fault. The mild-hybrid system is a relatively uncomplicated setup, too. The electric and hybrid powertrains used in the Jeep Compass are featured across other models in the Stellantis group, including similarly sized models from Citroen and Vauxhall, which is reassuring. Jeep provides all new vehicles with a 36-month warranty that can be extended up to a further 36 months on the main electromechanical components.

You get the usual autonomous emergency braking, a multitude of airbags and road-sign recognition with an audible speed limit warning. The latter can be muted using a convenient shortcut button beneath the touch-screen but, as is the law, it resets each time you start up the car. Front and rear parking sensors plus a reversing camera (standard on First Edition models) help to avoid car park bumps, and there’s wireless Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and Bluetooth so you’ve no reason to be touching your phone. There are two ISOFIX mounting points in the rear for child seats, which is standard across the industry.

The suspension in both hybrid and electric Compass models is on the firmer side, though not to the point of being uncomfortable. The 20-inch wheels and lower-profile tyres fitted to the First Edition electric model exacerbate this, whereas the smaller 18-inch wheels on the e-Hybrid and lower overall weight make for a slightly softer ride. Body control is kept well in check in both variants. The optional heated, ventilated and massaging front seats are comfortable, supportive and electrically adjustable, making it easier to find a preferred position. Rear passengers are treated to ample head-room and leg-room for adults of average size. There isn’t a completely flat floor across the rear, but those in the middle seat still get reasonable amounts of space. A large panoramic sunroof brightens up the cabin, though it does eat into the headroom as it has a retractable blind. A hands-free boot on First Edition models is welcome, and the useful space within is easy to access thanks to the square shape. A more flexible 40/20/40 split for the rear seat is a useful upgrade over the basic 60:40 of before.

The new Compass is more practical than before, Jeep claiming a doubling in storage space with its combination of a flat shelf in front of the passenger, a deep storage cubby with additional space under the armrest on the centre console and big door bins. There’s a fully digital layout too, with a 10.25-inch instrument display and a broad 16-inch touch-screen for the infotainment. The latter is mostly quick to react to inputs, though some features, such as the heated seats, take a few taps of the screen. We also found the native navigation to be a little laggy, which isn’t ideal when you’re coming up to multi-exit junctions. An optional colour head-up display does help by showing quite detailed mapping information, including countdowns to the next turn, along with all the usual driving information. Along with the various USB-C ports a wireless phone charger is available, and angled and contoured to keep your handset in place. The rotary drive selector has a nice, rubberised texture and is damped, so it feels robust. Being a Jeep, the Compass is also available with a wide range of accessories. These include off-road bumpers for increased approach and departure angles, big, bright red rear tow hooks and even a black vinyl bonnet sticker to reduce reflection in sunny conditions.

Jeep refers to its mild-hybrid model as the e-Hybrid, but it’s important to differentiate it from ‘full’ hybrids like the Toyota RAV4 and others like it that have bigger batteries. For its part the Jeep uses a compact 1.2-litre petrol engine with a small electric motor to support parking manoeuvres and brief spells of engine-off driving. It’s smooth when it cuts back in but does get a bit noisy when worked hard. There’s more performance available from the electric Compass. It can make a steady getaway, reaching 62 miles per hour in 8.5 seconds and, with a full charge, it can cover 310 miles by official numbers. Traction and grip feel plentiful given its front-wheel-drive layout and the lower centre of gravity due to the battery placement. Different modes can be chosen via the rubberised Selec-Terrain switch on the centre console, including Snow, Sand and Mud settings that alter the stability control. Energy recuperation can be varied in stages, and there is a selectable one-pedal mode which, once you get used to it, is a real bonus in city traffic and almost does away with the need to use the brake pedal at all.