2022 Jeep Compass Trailhawk review

The range-topping Jeep Compass Trailhawk poses a unique selling proposition, somewhat unrivalled in the compact SUV segment, offering genuine off-road capability while remaining a practical city runner.

But starting at $51,250 before on-road costs ($55,845 for our tester), it isn’t cheap for a compact SUV and, despite being ‘Trail Rated’, it’s still more city car than off-road explorer given its lack of transfer case or true low-range gearing.

Perhaps though, Jeep anticipated that owners were likely to spend most of their time on inner-city blacktop.

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It’s really only up against the 20-odd thousand cheaper Suzuki Jimny as a genuine compact off-road rival but eclipses it in terms of refinement and technology.

Price aside, it’s a fairly unmatched all-rounder in this segment. The issue is that its price encroaches on larger, more capable off-road options that can be had for a few thousand more, like the various dual-cab 4x4 ute options, seven-seat 4x4 wagons, and of course its more off-road capable Cherokee Trailhawk sibling. But none of these alternatives are compact city SUVs.

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So what exactly is Jeep going for with the Compass Trailhawk? We spent a week in the car and it was apparent from the outset that this is a compact SUV given some off-road armour and gadgetry, rather than being a genuine off-roader made city-friendly.

This is a vehicle for those strictly wanting a city SUV that’s also off-road capable and for that reason, it’s kind of the only option. A rare conundrum these days, when consumers are more often than not saturated with options.

Put simply, before delving into its features and performance, the Compass Trailhawk will be outdone in some way or another by its on- and off-road competitors, but no one compact SUV will outdo it both on- and off-road. Bit of a riddle, that one, but it may be where the Trailhawk shines, even if it feels like an odd fit in the market.

Tech and Features

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The Compass is certainly refined, with a technology-rich offering inside and out, fulfilling its urban adventurer aspirations.

For 2021 and carrying over to ‘22, the Compass Trailhawk scored a new 10.1-inch Uconnect 5 infotainment system, 10.25-inch digital cluster, and a redesigned interior with various hard and soft-touch finishes. The Trailhawk also sports red interior stitching accents, slightly sportier seats, and even some (most likely faux) carbonfibre trim pieces.

A new surround-view camera system provides plenty of assisted visibility, all accessed conveniently through the infotainment system – handy when squeezing in and out of tight spots. It also proved useful off-road.

Perfectly placed for easy phone storage is a wireless charging pad behind the gear shifter, with the benefit of adding juice as you go.

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Aside from that, though, the cabin does feel short of storage until you dig a little deeper. Jeep claims a redesigned central tunnel gives the Compass just shy of five litres of storage in the centre compartment, which is enough for most and served us just fine.

In terms of standard safety tech on the Trailhawk, it gets the whole shebang with Jeep’s Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) featuring intelligent speed assist, traffic sign recognition, pedestrian emergency braking, drowsy driver detection and active lane management. We’ll get into some of our gripes with this particular system, further down in the review.

The Compass scored a full five-star ANCAP safety rating, with six airbags onboard.

This is a vehicle for those strictly wanting a city SUV that’s also off-road capable and for that reason, it’s kind of the only option

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Standard keyless entry with push-button start and hands-free (dangle your leg under the rear bumper) tailgate mean the key stays safely in your pocket at all times.

From the outside, the Trailhawk looks tougher than the rest of the Compass range, with revised bumpers to enhance approach and departure angles giving it the appearance of being higher than it is. It also boasts a redesigned grille, full LED headlights with daytime runners, skid plate, in-your-face red tow hooks (two front, one rear), off-road suitable 17-inch alloys with Falken all-terrain tyres, and of course the loud-and-proud Trailhawk decals and esteemed ‘Trail Rated’ badge.

Our tester also had the optional dual-pane panoramic sunroof, ventilated and heated front seats, heated steering wheel and Alpine nine-speaker premium audio system. All useful extras, particularly the ventilated front seats that up here in Queensland are a lifesaver in summer.

Diesel Grunt and Faux 4x4 Gadgetry

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The Compass Trailhawk, unlike the rest of the range, is only offered with a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel. This feels fitting given its off-road adventure-ready credentials because, when you couple this fuel-sipping diesel with the 60-litre tank, you’re looking at around 800 clicks between fills.

Producing 125kW at 3750rpm and 350Nm at 1750rpm sent through a nine-speed automatic with some ‘Trail Rated’ wizardry built-in, the diesel claims a combined fuel use figure of 6.9L/100km that we weren’t quite able to match. But it’s still a frugal unit.

I will say, it genuinely surprised us off-road during a day of testing on mild tracks and soft sand at Bribie Island

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The nine-speed auto sends drive mostly to the front wheels but will send drive back when slip occurs. Four drive modes alter the traction control, offering Auto, Snow, Sand/Mud, and Rock settings to cover most scenarios.

Under the drive modes there are also a few off-road-focused modes, being 4WD Low, Hill Descent Control and 4WD Lock. These are your friend off-road, but this is where the wizardry comes in, because there’s no transfer case or true low range despite brandishing the Trailhawk badge. Instead, 4WD Low will hold first gear, which isn’t a new concept and does work, as long as you’re not a purist. The 4WD lock feature is the handiest, maintaining drive to the front and rear.

On and Off-road Goer

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I will say, it genuinely surprised us off-road during a day of testing on mild tracks and soft sand at Bribie Island just north of Brisbane. We expected to have to really push it outside of its comfort zone, like the guys you see on YouTube taking an old beaten-up Subaru Forrester down rough single track terrain until it’s utterly destroyed, but it puffed its chest out and got the job done.

So perhaps Jeep’s ‘Trail Rated’ certification, one that involves passing through the harsh Rubicon Trail in California, was awarded without nepotism.

While it’s capable off-road and may have earned its Trail hawk badge, it still feels like a compass with more clearance, slightly more aggressive tyres and revised front and rear bumpers. Let’s put it this way; it’s more city-SUV than it is off-road conquerer.

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And on that, the improved ground clearance (225mm), approach angle (30.3 degrees) and departure angle (33.6 degrees) are all respectable numbers and didn’t let the Trailhawk down as an out-of-the-box off-roader.

Stiff suspension and not a great deal of articulation, however, did. It still feels like it’s set up to be nimble around town, with the compromises shining through off-road.

Once off-road, on a moderate access trail, we left the Trailhawk in ‘auto’ but popped the 4WD Lock on, which sent drive to all four wheels and adjusted the traction control. A couple of small climbs lifted wheels, but the system braked the airborne wheel to simulate a locker, call it a ‘brake locker’ if you will, and the Compass soldiered on. The system did this without any confusion or hesitation.

The improved ground clearance, approach angle and departure angle are all respectable and didn’t let the Trailhawk down as an out-of-the-box off-roader

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We shot over to the beach access track, where we dropped tyre pressures to a suitable 20psi and gave the Sand mode a try while also engaging 4WD Lock. This mode kept the traction control at bay, allowing the slip needed in soft sand. Where it wasn’t handy was on the beach trying to maintain 30km/h to follow our camera car (a mighty TD42 GU Patrol).

The Trailhawk was revving its head off, doing up over 3000rpm, which doesn’t feel great for any length of time in a diesel. We found we had to jump back to ‘Auto’ and turn 4WD Lock off the moment we were up and moving as it holds the lower gears and limits speed.

Also worth noting is that when you drop the tyre pressure, the onboard tyre pressure monitoring will continue to warn you – not a bad thing, though, and the system is dead-on accurate because it matched our gauge down to the pound.

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The suspension not only made lifting a wheel all too easy on tracks, but it also made for a pretty jarring ride on even soft sand, with whoops just about launching you through the sunroof. Okay, maybe not that bad – but a softer ride would help things along.

Tyres will also let the Trailhawk down in mud, but that’s easily fixed and a common limiting factor on most stock 4x4s running factory all-terrains.

Overall, we ended the adventure pretty damn impressed. Most Compass Tailhawk owners won’t find the limit of it off-road and with more aggressive rubber it will serve all of your weekend adventure needs.

After the day at Bribie Island, holding high revs, thrashing it and keeping it in 4WD Lock, the little Compass returned a fuel average of 9.9L/100km. That’s a pretty frugal outcome in our eyes.

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On the road, the firm suspension suddenly becomes a strong point and while the diesel feels a little lazier than petrol options in this segment, its meaty torque spread gets the Compass up and moving quickly enough.

It isn’t fast, but it isn’t sluggish, either. The nine-speed auto isn’t the most urgent cog-swapper about, but once you learn to lean on the car’s torque it’s absolutely sufficient in terms of acceleration from both a standstill and out of corners. Just expect a little delay from the 'box.

We returned dead-on 8L/100km after almost a week of purely on-road, short city trips, which is pretty good. Had we spent more time on the highway, the figure would have dropped closer to Jeep’s 6.9L/100km official claim.

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Grip and traction are good considering it’s predominantly a front-driver on knobblier tyres than your usual city SUV, and if you punch this thing mid-corner and experience some traction loss, the rears quickly jump in to secure grip. The system works well and doesn't trip over itself.

The digital dash is fairly advanced and not short of display options and onboard data, all accessed via steering wheel controls. Coolant temp, trans temp, oil temp and battery voltage are all there for you to monitor in real-time, especially useful when off-road and giving the little Compass a hammering.

Digital dashes aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but this system has a pretty damn good faux analogue display that is responsive and easy to view. You’ve got a good range of displays available, too, depending on what you’re into.

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There are some really irritating warnings in this car, with one of the most startlingly abrasive warning noises out. We were disabling as much as possible each time we got in.

In the words of my partner, “I’d crash if I heard that!” An exaggerated statement, but nonetheless it scares the shit out of you when it beeps at max volume. We’re told you can turn it off, but for the limited time spent in the car we put up with it. It’s one of those systems where it’s difficult to know what it’s beeping at you for, making it difficult to isolate what you’ve done. It deters you from relaxing a bit during already tense peak-hour runs.

Active lane management is almost constantly intervening, too. We suspect some of Brisbane’s less than ideal roads and lane markings may have been the reason for this, as it was worse on a few particular sections of road. Once we were out of the city, the system calmed down substantially.

Grip and traction are good considering it’s predominantly a front driver, and if you punch this thing mid-corner and experience traction loss, the rears quickly jump in to secure grip

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The infotainment screen is sensational and the vehicle comfort screen was the go-to for air-conditioning adjustments. It works really, really well.

Our car's optional Alpine nine-speaker premium audio system absolutely bangs, too. I’m not familiar with the standard audio system, but this one provided ample doof even with the blood-curdling warning beeps occasionally yelling at me.

The centre infotainment display offers a logical layout and all of the functionality you could ever want. The tabs down the bottom make operation simple, and many of the adjustments, for example, air-conditioning, can be adjusted with voice control.

‘Hey Jeep’ wakes the voice alert up but that’s not really my style so I used my hands instead. Call me old fashioned.

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A camera view screen gives you various front and rear views, which as mentioned earlier came in handy. Your obvious Apple CarPlay and Android Auto get the job done wirelessly.

The comfort screen is cracking on this car, and while I usually opt for manual controls for things like air-con, volume and so on, this screen completely changed that. I was adjusting all of the interior temperatures and fan speeds using the touchscreen, including firing up the seat vents. It’s just so simple to operate and beats the analogue controls all day.

You also have various analogue climate control, volume and other buttons, so you can turn the screen off and use basic controls if you so please.

Air-conditioning can be adjusted with voice control. ‘Hey Jeep’ wakes the voice alert up but, that’s not my style so I used my hands instead. Call me old fashioned

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The Home Screen function gives you a simple, configurable menu with all your favourites displayed. It’s a pretty refined infotainment experience for this segment, particularly when you look at the more off-road capable but unrefined Suzuki Jimni, for example.

Front and rear seats in the Compass are comfortable and relatively snug, though being a compact SUV, the rears may be a squeeze for taller adults. The seats up front offer a couple of driver positions, useful if sharing the car among a family.

Cost and Ownership

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As mentioned, our tester will set you back $55,845 excluding on-road costs, made up of the base price ($51,650) and Trailhawk Premium Package ($4,195) consisting of ventilated front seats, heated steering wheel, heated front seats, dual-pane panoramic sunroof, and Alpine nine-speaker premium audio system.

Jeep offers a five-year/100,000km warranty, capped-price servicing, and lifetime roadside assistance. Visits to the dealer come around every 20,000km/12 months and will set you back $399 under the capped-price servicing scheme.

VERDICT

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Given we pitted this thing against a Jimny, as its primary off-road competitor, it smashes the Suzuki in everything but gnarly off-road going. The Compass Trailhawk really is the only compact offering that’s actually good off-road, and refined on-road.

The diesel won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but range and fuel economy make up for that lazy diesel feel. It’s also not a particularly noisy oiler, so it feels like the most suitable option.

It’s simple really; if you only drive on-road, the Trailhawk isn’t necessary. If you strictly attack 4WD tracks and you want something compact; get a Jimny. If you’re someone that wants day-to-day on-road refinement, with the ability to venture off the beaten path come the weekend; a Compass Trailhawk is the pick.

We came away impressed, with all but the price, making this a great if expensive little all-rounder.

2022 Jeep Compass Trailhawk specifications