2018 Jeep Compass Latitude Review

Thank you to Blasius of Middletown for allowing me to test drive this 2018 Jeep Compass Latitude!

Going into this one, my previous Jeep experiences had been a couple of automatic early 2000's Cherokees and a manual 2015 Wrangler. So my expectations were a rough ride, fairly uncomfortable, and slow. My expectations turned out to be wrong.

The Exterior:

Walking up to this one, it is not the iconic Jeep Wrangler or Cherokee, but the boxy shape and the front grille will tell you that it is most definitely a Jeep. The exterior is fairly simple all-around, which is perfectly fine for this type of vehicle.

The Back Seat:

Hopping into the back seat, there is more than enough space for me back here, at 5'7", with the driver's seat set for me as well. I imagine there would be no issues at all for taller individuals or kids in car seats, even a rear-facing infant fortress of giant-ness.

The synthetic leather seats are also comfortable, and the black and white gives a bit of a sporty look.

The Front Seat:

Jumping into the driver's seat, the black and white synthetic leather continues, and the power lumbar support is noted and very much appreciated. The leather-wrapped steering wheel is laid out nicely, with a handful of large buttons on each side for easy access to basic infotainment functions, phone, and cruise control. The infotainment screen is a nice size, with standard temperature control and infotainment control knobs and buttons below it (Standard knobs. Let's keep them that way. I'm looking at you and your slider controls Honda.), and the driving modes and 4WD lock below that. It's very nice to see that 4WD option paired with a manual.

Then there's the gauge cluster, with the standard tach and speedometer on the sides, with a nice customizable menu in between. This one sacrifices a little size on the gauges, in order to get a little more room for the custom menu. No points given or taken away there for me.

The Tech:

Bluetooth, backup cam, Android Auto/Apple CarPlay (through the UConnect system), push button start, heated seats, heated steering wheel (amazing!), all the basic things you'd hope for in a new-ish car, plus a little extra. I also note the compass, which is good since this thing is called a Jeep Compass.

I just have a few notes about the infotainment. Somebody at Jeep likes hexagons I guess because they're all over the infotainment system. It seems like the buttons could have been made bigger and square, since there's a lot of wasted space, and they're on the small side. It's also a little annoying that the heated seats and heated steering wheel are buried inside of the infotainment. It would be nice if those were buttons, but I'm still certainly happy to have them.

The Drive:

Foot on the clutch, foot on the brake, push button to start. The clutch has a good weight to it. It feels pretty similar to my GTI actually. Shifter into first, the gearbox has a nice resistance to it and the shift knob feels solid. I honestly wasn't expecting much here, but my first impressions of the clutch/shifter combo are very good.

Driving around town, I feel like the bite point is a bit vague, and getting off the line in first gear has that sort of "this car is so heavy" feeling to it. Once you get into second and third gear, it really starts to open up a bit though. The steering is pretty light, but I note that it handles well for a car of this size. And as someone that prefers something smaller, the "ride height" on this one doesn't bother me too much. That may have to do with the seat settings, but it's nice to know that I can be in an SUV and not feel like I'm in something giant.

Getting onto the highway, I find it very easy to get up to speed. Putting my foot into it in 4th gear, I'm at 60 mph in no time, and I'm pleasantly surprised by that for an SUV like this. My Forester certainly felt like it accelerated very fairly slowly, the Wrangler definitely felt a lot slower, and the CX-5 was about as fast as a turtle in the mud.

Conclusion:

This one is a very livable daily and family/stuff hauler. There's plenty of space, it's surprisingly comfortable (at least surprising to me, since it's got a Jeep badge), the 22 mpg city/31 highway isn't too bad, and the 4WD is a big plus for the occasional off-roading and the not-so-occasional snow we see in Connecticut. I walked away from this one pleasantly surprised and fairly impressed. I then got into my car and drove away wondering how to get a heated-steering wheel into my GTI and about the possibility of heated shift knobs.