New Jeep Compass points to bumpy road ahead for US manufacturer that invented the SUV

NOTHING smarts like the humiliation of being beaten at your own game.

We Brits are all too familiar with the emotion.

We invented football, rugby, cricket — then gave them to the rest of the world so that they could spend the next 100 years kicking our arses.

Poor old Jeep understands. At the launch of the new Compass — its compact soft roader — the gaffer stood up proud in front of the gathered press and declared: “Jeep invented the SUV.” That much is true.

Jeep developed rugged, go-anywhere wagons for the US military in World War Two and started selling them to the public in 1945 — inspiring the original Land Rovers which arrived a few years later.

It wouldn’t be true to say Jeep has been destroyed by other manufacturers since then but in Europe it struggles in a market dominated by high quality German bruisers such as the Audi Q5. At least, it did, until the Renegade arrived. Jeep’s smallest offering, basically a Fiat 500X in an edgier outfit, sold more than 300,000 units last year.

I was reminded by a Jeep PR that I compared the Renegade to a Tonka Toy when I reviewed it last.

I probably did but it will have been intended as a compliment, because it’s a characterful, attractive car which is now a common sight on the roads. The Cherokee, Jeep’s biggest offering, is a lot more scarce.

It might be an alien concept to an American company, but in Europe bigger isn’t necessarily better. In fact, compact SUVs make up 42 per cent of all sales.

Those eccentric Europeans, it’s as if they drive on congested, small roads and pay a fortune for petrol.

No matter, if it’s small SUVs they want, let’s give it to them.

Enter the Compass, a car which hasn’t been sold in the UK since 2015.

Its looks are a blend between the Cherokee and the Renegade. It has the Renegade’s clay-sculpted lines on the side but the Cherokee’s impressive, signature grille on the front. Which makes it a handsome thing.

In keeping with the SUV trend it comes in an assortment of engine flavours. There are two power outputs of a 2.0 litre diesel — 138bhp or 168bhp — a 1.6 diesel and a 1.4 turbo petrol.

Having driven most of the range, I recommend the 1.6 diesel or the 138bhp 2.0 litre diesel.

The higher powered lump felt a touch clattery around town and at high speeds. But if I hadn’t driven the others to compare, it wouldn’t have been nearly as noticeable. For urban driving the Compass is light to steer and feels just frisky enough to be called a fun drive.

Jeep is proud of the fact the Compass is the most capable off-roader in the segment and it made easy work of the gnarly off-road course on the launch.

There’s even a specific trim level — Trailhawk — which offers bigger ground clearance (22cm) than the others, and 3mm skid plates underneath to bounce off boulders.

But the success story grinds to a halt when you go inside. When you consider one of its biggest price-point rivals is the Peugeot 3008, the interior isn’t doing nearly enough to win the beauty contest.

The kit is all there — including an (optional) 8.4in colour screen. But it looks rushed, and is cheap to the touch.

It wasn’t lost on me that, at the same time as the Compass launch, Nissan was launching the facelifted Qashqai somewhere else in Europe. It’s a sobering reminder of the competition Jeep faces.

Just like the England football team, on paper the Compass has got the goods to take the fight to the others, but it’s no guarantee they’ll win at their own game.