Ride & Handling

Before this review starts sounding like a bash fest, there is some good news. For an entry-level product, the Compass handles a lot better than it should. Steering feel is light without giving up any accuracy. You can zip through traffic and around corners just like you can in any sporty compact car.

There was a fair amount of road noise on the highway, which can be expected in the compact segment, but it wasn't as noticeable as in the Dodge Caliber. Wind noise was light, and the ride over a torn-up highway of grooved pavement was much better than I imagined. An above-average driving feel like this is much harder to attain than a quality interior, so it's a good thing Jeep got this right.

    See also:

    Advanced Front Air Bag Features
    The Advanced Front Air Bag system has multistage driver and front passenger air bags. This system provides output appropriate to the severity and type of collision as determined by the Occupant ...

    Shared Modes
    This allows the VES™ to output radio sources to the headphones and the radio to output VES™ sources to the vehicle speakers. When the radio and VES™ channel 1 or 2 are in the same (shared) ...

    Anti-Lock Brake System
    The Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) is designed to aid the driver in maintaining vehicle control under adverse braking conditions. The system operates with a separate computer to modulate hydraulic ...