Jeep has Invited JK-Forum to Test Its All-New Compass. We Invite You to Send in Your Questions.
Jeep vehicles are designed to go just about anywhere, but we don’t have to go far to experience the all-new 2017 Jeep Compass. Early next week, we’ll be making the short drive from Austin to San Antonio, Texas to do it.
As is usually the case, we’ll probably get to pick one vehicle from the full lineup – Sport, Latitude, Limited, and Trailhawk trim lines – for the first leg of the event. Whichever one we get our hands on will take us through the on-road segment of the media drive. That’ll give us a chance to test out the fully independent suspension’s ride quality and the get-up-and-go from the 180-horsepower/175-lb.-ft. 2.4-liter Tigershark I4. We’re curious to see how it is rowing our own with the six-speed manual, but if we happen to get a 4X2 Compass with the six-speed automatic or a 4X4 model with the nine-speed auto, so be it.
In order to experience as much of the Compass lineup as possible, we’ll probably go for a non-Trailhawk model for the on-road portion. We know we’ll be driving a Trailhawk during the off-road segment at a local ranch. There, we’ll be able to engage the Active Drive Low 4X4 system, switch the Selec-Terrain tech to Rock mode, and put the 17-inch off-road tires and Hill-descent Control to work. If this media launch is anything like the Renegade event we attended a few years ago, perhaps we’ll get a chance to take a third Compass on the way from the ranch back to our hotel.
We have plenty of questions before the big event and we’re sure you do, too. Feel free to ask us your questions at the bottom of this post via Facebook or in the dedicated forum thread below. Also, if there’s a particular Compass trim line you want us to drive during the on-road portion of the event, let us know.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
