By James Bergeron
Photo Gallery:
2009 Jeep Compass Limited
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After nearly two months, my life is getting back to normal — all in one fell swoop. I haven’t had a test vehicle in a good while and with the bus strike ending in Ottawa, I can get back into a more sane daily routine than the one I was forced into for the past few weeks. So, I return to my daily blog with the 2009 Jeep Compass — updated since I last drove this model back in, oddly enough, February 2007
As one would expect, the Compass has not had a complete makeover since 2007 — it was a new model then — but somewhat expected are a few tweaks made to improve the vehicle and make it more appealing to more people.
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My tester for the week is the Limited model — the top of the line choice, which comes well equipped for a rather small sport utility vehicle.
The Compass comes equipped with a 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine that produces 172hp. Standard equipment is a 5-speed manual transmission; my tester adds the $1,400 automatic transmission package, which is actually a Continually Variable Transmission (CVT), not the traditional automatic you may be accustomed to.
All Compass models are front wheel drive — the black sheep of the Jeep family (along with the Patriot) — but are available with an optional 4WD (Four-Wheel Drive) system that Jeep calls Freedom-Drive I™: an active full-time four-wheel drive setup with an electronically-controlled coupling (ECC) and selectable 4WD lock feature.
2009 Jeep Compass Limited
MSRP as tested (excluding destination): $28,260
For more information on Jeep and the Compass visit Jeep Canada
