Jeep Compass Petrol-Automatic Longitude (O) Launched At Rs 18.9 Lakh

Is Jeep facing the heat of declining demand for the Compass? The last six months of 2018 haven’t been particularly kind to the American automaker, where they managed to move anywhere between 1300 units to just 1150 units of the SUV on a monthly basis. Compare December 2018 numbers to that of 2017 and you’ll spot a steep 58 per cent decline.

But Jeep’s not giving up just yet. It stirred up some interest with a new top-spec Limited Plus variant in September last year. Now, it’s renewing buyer attention with a new Longitude (O) variant for the petrol-automatic version of the Compass, priced at Rs 18.9 lakh (ex-showroom). Compare it to the Limited variant and you’d notice it being kinder to your bank balance by a significant Rs 1.07 lakh.

Also Read: Hyundai Creta SX (O) Executive Launched

So, what do you miss out on? Not much, really. The Limited variant additionally packs leather upholstery, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and a reverse parking camera. Both of these can be had for far less than what Jeep’s asking for it. And it’s not like the Longitude (O) variant is under-equipped. It's got a bucketload of features including a 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, 17-inch alloy wheels, projector headlamps, automatic climate control and push-button start.

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Before you get excited and run to the showroom here’s some insight from our road test: The 163PS/250Nm 1.4-litre turbo petrol managed to push the Compass to 100kmph in 9.99 seconds. While that’s appreciable for an SUV of this size, the efficiency is a bit worrying. It returned a paltry 6.1kmpl inside the city and got only marginally better at 8.5kmpl in the highway mileage run.

Must Read: Jeep Compass Petrol-Auto: Road Test Review

We think the Longitude (O) variant is a fantastic offering at the price point. It strikes a healthy balance of the good-to-have and essential features, and now offers the convenience of an automatic. The Jeep Compass petrol-auto goes up directly against the XUV500 petrol automatic. It also faces heat from the top-spec variants of the Hyundai Creta on one end, and its elder sibling, the Hyundai Tucson, on the other.

Note: Compass Petrol Automatic Limited pictured for reference