SEMA: Jeep MK49 Compass Rallye
John Neff has found a Jeep Compass we can all get behind. Look, we constantly rail against the Jeep Compass for being a car in Jeep's clothing. Does the MK49 Compass Rallye butch it up? You bet it does. It certainly looks ready to go tackle some tall brush and kick up a little gravel. While there are no engine mods (what?!?!?!), the suspension's been dialed in by the wizards at SRT and a strut-tower brace has been added. We fully dig the wheels and Yokohoma rubber, as well as the HID driving lamps, which should totally be an option on the Compass. In fact, this whole car is what the Compass should have been to begin with. If the engine were tuned we'd be more impressed. Are you listening, Jeep?
(Photo gallery after the jump)
JEEP MK49 COMPASS RALLYE:
Click to enlarge placard
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Fabulo 5:42PM (11/01/2006)
It's a car in a stand-still car show, emphasis on shiny paint job, chrome and bling.
Does it even need an engine?
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G-Ram 5:32PM (11/01/2006)
They totally should NOT offer those lights as an option - the last thing I need is some jackass driving around with either a) these lights on instead of headlights, or b) these lights on while i'm stuck in front of them in traffic on a totally clear night. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that your typical Compass owner will not know what these lights are for, and will simply go with the "more is better" route when it comes to vehicular lighting.
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felonious monk 5:48PM (11/01/2006)
"Does the MK49 Compass Rallye butch it up? You bet it does. It certainly looks ready to go tackle some tall brush and kick up a little gravel."
I really really hope that was sarcasm.
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JB 5:56PM (11/01/2006)
This is officially the beginning of the end for Jeep. The brand has no meaning any longer. What is next, a Jeep minivan? This is a horrible excuse for a Caliber, which itself needs a couple more years of development work. Noisy "world" engines, sloppy CVTs, a total disaster. I guess the Germans don't know how to run a car company after all. Of course, Mercedes has gone down the toilet too, done in by too many gizmos and "software upgrades".
Jeep does not need this many models - it is the road to ruin - that should be the theme of the next Jeep Jamboree.
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kash 6:10PM (11/01/2006)
World engines are fine, but CVT is crap yes, but hey it's japanese CVT!!! LOL
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Jason 11:58PM (11/01/2006)
Bags under eyes.
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Rowland 7:29PM (11/01/2006)
Funny,Nissan hasn't had any problems with their CVT. I wonder why it didn't work so well in the american car? I agree that this "car" was a huge mistake for Jeep. Chrysler is just chasing dollars. They have no understanding of what Jeep means.
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John 7:32PM (11/01/2006)
Nope.
Still ugly as an Aztek to me.
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JW 8:16PM (11/01/2006)
I love it! This should be the standard Compass... I mean it is JEEP after all. Add a real four wheel drive system and oh yeah!
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hmmm 8:52PM (11/01/2006)
You can put lipstick on a pig and it will still look like a pig !!! they should have got rid of that nut holder chimpmunk face front bumper !! i like the headlites and grille but the rest of the front end is just soo wrong !
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MikeW 10:04PM (11/01/2006)
Just say no to HID lighting unless you are in low range.
When it says 'driving light' that means for use with high beams only, but do people read anymore?
More light isn't the answer, turn down the dash-dilate your pupils. Saab had a near stealth mode for a good reason.
old and young wippersnappers
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Adam 9:53PM (11/01/2006)
Enter the thing in WRC and maybe Jeep can save the Compass from being an abomination of the Jeep brand. It'll have some hardcore rough road cred then, right?
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ohmy 10:31PM (11/01/2006)
yup, jeep has jumped the shark....
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Talis 11:43PM (11/01/2006)
I think a lot of you guys missed the point. This gives the compass street cred with real jeeps. NOW! If Jeep wants to go rally racing with this little monster, we will have ourselves a reason to go out and buy a jeep that is more an on road car than it is a trail rated rock crawler.
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James 5:07AM (11/02/2006)
if they stuck the 300bhp SRT-4 engine in it, it'd...
...still be crap.
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Howard Kerr 6:40AM (11/02/2006)
At least on this particular example, you don't notice the really odd looking fender "flares" of the standard Compass. But I don't agree that making this CAR, and it is really just a car, look more "butch" corrects all it's problems. To do that, it would need to be re-engineered as a NON-FWD car.
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Mr. Oak 10:40AM (11/03/2006)
--->4. This is officially the beginning of the end for Jeep. The brand has no meaning any longer. What is next, a Jeep minivan?
This like most other mini-utes are marketed to a certain demographic. Young chicks that want a tougher than car image, but don't need an all out off road vehicle.
I don't get you guys, did the Toyota Highlander and Lexus RX300 signal the beginning of the end for Toyota? they're both disguised Camrys. If you're not in the market for this kind of car, move on.
Listening to you reminds of going shopping with my wife. She heads straight to the rack with the crap that she would not wear, and spends half an hour ranting on how horrible it is.
Judging by the number of sissy-utes you see on the road everyday, I think it was smart to enter this market segment. Just wish they didn't make a half-assed luke-warm effort.
Entrants in the Sissy-Ute Segment:
Honda CRV
Toyota Highlander
Lexus RX300
Toyota Rav4
LR Freelander
Ford Escape/Mercury sistership
Jeep Compass
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GOT 12:54PM (11/04/2006)
It's still ugly!
IMHO, there's only one way to make the Compass desirable... terminate production!
The CVT tranny is awesome! I've got a Dodge Caliber with the CVT and it performs great, is strong, smooth and responsive and it OWNS the traditional automatic. If the CVT is reliable and durable then kiss the traditional automatic bye bye.
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Dennis 11:39AM (11/08/2006)
The Mk49 looks like it has potential. I feel that Jeep's Marketing Dept has screwed up this launch just as Porsche screwed up the Cayanne launch. They should have had this thing out on the ProRally circuit a year ago to give it some Jeep-dirt creadability, just as Prosche should have had the Cayanne out in the Dakar Rally the race before its public launch to give it some Porsche Racing creadability. Companies are moving away from their past which is not all bad, but they need to keep a little hold of their history with each new product.
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