The Jeep Compass, which is now manufactured in Europe instead of America, continues its career with a new engine and advanced technologies.
The Jeep Compass production line has been moved from Mexico to Italy by the FCA Group. Not only did this promise more flexible, faster service to European customers, but it also meant retuning the model’s chassis: the shock absorbers have been modified so the Compass now corners with less sloping, brakes more stably, and drives more accurately.
At the Melfi plant, the car will be built with a new engine: the 1.3-liter petrol engine taken over from Renegade can be 130 or 150 horsepower. The former is connected to the manual, the latter to a dry double-clutch transmission, and in both cases the front wheels are driven. With an automatic transmission, only all-wheel drive Compass has been available so far, the new development makes the model more affordable, not to mention that the new powertrain is 30% more economical than the previous 4 × 4 automatic petrol version.
Also, this new front-wheel-drive, dual-clutch powertrain is first available with a ‘Sport’ mode, which provides tighter steering, more direct throttle response and delayed engagement. In Sport mode, the coastdown function is stopped, and the transmission does not engage in the event of sudden throttle, as usual. Both versions of the block with cast aluminum crankcase are capable of 270 Nm of torque.
The engine range also includes a revamped version of the 120-horsepower 1.6 MultiJet II diesel engine (manual transmission, front-wheel drive) and the large-throwing, 4xe plug-in hybrid, based on the 1.3 engine described above, in 190 or 240 hp available and in all cases on request with all-wheel drive. These two engines will be available in Europe in the second half of the year, while version 1.3 will be available from June.
(Source: vezess.hu / photo: pixabay.com)