Stellantis has introduced its first new SUV in Europe, the 2021 Jeep Compass. Although technically a facelift, the compact high-rider is the brand’s first model to offer Level 2 semi-autonomous driving in the Old Continent, and it boasts visual updates inside and out, and a revised powertrain family.
Starting with the design, Europe’s refreshed Compass follows in the footsteps of the Chinese model that was shown last fall. It looks virtually identical, sporting the same LED headlights, wide lower grille and big central air intake. Updates at the back are much more discreet, but it’s the interior that you will want to pay attention to, because it brings some rather important novelties.
The most important is the new dashboard panel and the brand’s Uconnect 5 infotainment system, with an 8.4-inch touchscreen display in the lesser variants and a 10.1-inch screen for the upper specs. A 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster is also included, alongside smartphone integration, TomTom navigation and voice recognition. The redesign has allowed Jeep to free up additional storage spaces, claiming that the 2021 Compass has almost 4.4 liters (0.15 cu-ft) more than its predecessor.
Related: Check Out China’s 2021 Jeep Compass Here
Equipped with the latest generation ADAS as standard across the range, the facelifted Compass has driver drowsiness alert, traffic sign recognition, intelligent speed assist, and automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection. It combines the adaptive cruise control with lane keep assist to keep it in the middle of the lane, thus becoming the brand’s first vehicle in Europe to offer Level 2 semi-autonomous driving.
The engine lineup comprises of the new 130 and 150 PS (128-148 HP / 96-110 kW) 1.3-liter petrol units, coupled to a manual and a dual-clutch transmission, respectively, and a 130 PS (128 HP / 96 kW) 1.6-liter diesel with a six-speed manual gearbox. All of them are offered with front-wheel drive exclusively, while the 190 PS (187 HP / 140 kW) and 240 PS (237 HP / 177 kW) plug-in hybrid 4xe models, which get a six-speed automatic transmission, have an eAWD system.
Pricing and specifications will be announced in due course, but customers in Europe will have to choose between the Sport, Longitude, Limited, S and Trailhawk trim levels, with the latter being the most off-road capable of the range.
