Jeep Compass: Buy lower variant, get upgraded to higher variant for FREE

American SUV manufacturer Jeep is offering a rather unique offer on the Compass SUV this December. The offers include a free upgrade to a higher variant for free along with year-end benefits worth Rs 50,000.

The rather unique discount and upgrade package for the Jeep Compass may be a year-end offer but it is also a reflection of the American SUV’s falling sales numbers since the launch of the XUV500 from Mahindra earlier this year. Since the launch of the Mahindra XUV500, sales of the Compass have been on a mostly downward spiral, with numbers going down every month especially in the second half of the year despite the Diwali Dusshera festive season.

Over the past few months Jeep has seen sales numbers for the Compass drop massively compared to the same period last year, which was the period after the SUV was launched in July 2017. In November alone, the Jeep Compass recorded a year-over-year drop in sales numbers of 59 per cent with sales numbers totaling up to just 1,164 units compared to November 2017 when the brand sold 2,828 units of its most affordable SUV offering.

Jeep has tried to arrest the sales slide of the Compass by introducing a new range-topping model with new features and the Black Pack special edition. The Compass Black Pack edition gave the American SUV several blacked-out elements including the roof and the alloy wheels along with the interior. The Black Pack Special edition was offered only with the Limited (O) model, which at the time of the Black Pack’s launch was the top-spec variant of the Compass. The limited edition Black Pack was priced at Rs 20.59 lakhs.

Later that month in September, Jeep launched the all-new top-spec variants of the Compass called the Limited Plus, which bought a whole lot of upgrades as standard kit including a sunroof, new 18-inch alloy wheels, and a blacked-out roof along with Limited Plus badging on the tailgate. The Limited Plus also got tan leather interiors, electronically adjustable front seats, and a larger infotainment touchscreen. However, even the launch of the Limited Plus model with all the extra kit did not help arrest the sales slump of the Compass.

The Jeep Compass is the American SUV icon’s entry-level SUV in India with prices starting at Rs 15.39 lakhs ex-showroom (New Delhi). The Jeep Compass is currently offered with both petrol and diesel engine options. The petrol is a 1.4-litre unit that produces 160 Bhp and 250 Nm of torque and comes paired to either a 6-speed manual or a 7-speed automatic gearbox. The 2.0-litre diesel engine, on the other hand, is only offered with a 6-speed manual gearbox and cranks out 171 Bhp and 350 Nm of torque. The diesel variants are the only models of the Compass offered with all-wheel-drive as an option.

One of the biggest reasons for the sales slump is the lack of an automatic option for the Compass diesel. However, Jeep will be launching the Tail hawk model of the Compass early next year, which should address the issue with the addition of the nine-speed automatic gearbox. However, we are still not sure if the new automatic gearbox will trickle down to the other diesel variants.