Why the Jeep Compass TrailHawk is an off roader’s delight

Jeep India has begun first drives of the Compass Trailhawk top-end SUV. The new off-road focused trim of the Compass will also be the priciest variant in the SUV’s line up. In terms of pricing, expect to pay around Rs. 30-32 lakhs, on-road for the Compass TrailHawk. But what’s the SUV got that makes it so pricey, and an off-roader’s delight? We list out the various features that are specific to the TrailHawk variant of the Compass.

Firstly, in terms of styling, the Jeep Compass has a bunch of understated but important features. The bonnet gets black trim in order to minimize glare on the windscreen, and this will be particularly useful while off roading when the SUV will find itself at awkward angles. The front and rear bumper are all-new items and have been designed to improve the approach and departure angle.

The SUV gets a full 30 mm lift thanks to raised suspension while four skid plates on the underbody provide protection to critical components while going off the road, and also give owners peace of mind about not damaging the underbody. There’s a tow hook that’s a TrailHawk rated Jeep’s characteristic feature, and it can pull up to 1.5 times the weight of the Compass.

The four wheel drive system gets a 20:1 crawl ratio is low range, which is specific to the TrailHawk variant, and allows the Compass to negotiate challenging sections off the road where there’s a requirement of high torque low down the rev range. Up front, the air intake has been raised by 120 mm, to 840 mm, and this will give the SUV better water fording ability. The four wheel drive system gets rock and mud modes, and also allows the rear axle to be totally disconnected in order to maximize fuel efficiency on the road. Jeep has also outfitted the TrailHawk version of the Compass with Falken all terrain tyres that measure 205/70/R17. The tyres sit on 17 inch alloy wheels.

Another key addition that will work great on road as well is the brand new, 9 speed torque converter gearbox that will be offered with the 2 liter turbo diesel engine. The outputs of this engine remain unchanged though, at 170 Bhp-350 Nm. While the Jeep Compass is also available with a diesel-manual combination and also a petrol-manual, and petrol automatic trims, the TrailHawk version is available exclusively with the 9 speed automatic gearbox. In the coming months, Jeep may offer this automatic gearbox on the lower variants of the Compass Diesel. Such a move would drive sales. The automaker won’t be hoping to sell too many units of the TrailHawk though as it’s more of a flagship variant that showcases the Compass’ off road ability.