JEEP COMPASS TRAILHAWK - Right on Point

It seems that every other day a new soft-roader is launched and it’s pretty much the same story: striking looks and plenty of gadgets, but basically a ruse.

When you get down to it, they are station wagons in off-roader frocks falsely claiming off-road capability.

Most of them are okay for gravel roads, but what if you want to take on a few Grade 2 and 3 trails, or get safely through a full day’s off-roading in sandy conditions? Say hello to the Compass Trailhawk, Jeep’s attempt at setting themselves apart from the rest of the soft-roader fraternity. It’s one of the few vehicles in the compact SUV segment which has a very low first gear which substitutes for low-range. To that is added Jeep’s Selec-Terrain™ system, and decent approach and departure angles. On paper the Trailhawk is a genuinely capable off-roader.

Powered by one of the coolest-named engines, the Tigershark, this 2.4-litre, naturally-aspirated petrol engine has 129kW and 229Nm on tap, giving the Compass enough power in most on and off-road situations. It’s an engine that needs to rev to deliver its best, which is unusual for a non-turbo engine, but once on the boil, it’s peppy enough. You would think being coupled to a nine-speed ZF-sourced auto box would smooth things out a lot, but the calibration felt less than stellar. We found ourselves self-shifting on a few occasions when progress was bogged by the auto’s too-high ‘eco-sensitive’ gear choice.