2019 Jeep Compass

A single naturally aspirated 2.4L covers the entire 2019 US range from Sport to Trailhawk, and 180 hp sits essentially at the floor of the 150–550 hp SUV band. Unchanged from 2018 and carried through 2021 before being re-rated to 177 hp for 2022.

Peak torque arrives high at 3,900 rpm on a naturally aspirated curve with little underneath it, which is why the 3,327-lb 4x4 feels flat pulling away. The turbocharged compact-SUV rivals of 2019 deliver more torque from roughly 1,750 rpm.

No instrumented 2019-specific test is published, but 2019 is a mechanical carry-over and the volume Latitude 4x4 shares the 3,327-lb curb weight of the C/D-tested Sport 4x4, placing it at the quick end of the 9.3–10.1 sec 4x4 span. Either way it falls at or below the bottom of the 3.5–9.5 sec SUV band — the weakest figure in this category and the complaint every review of this generation led with. Confidence is MEDIUM because the figure is transferred from an identical adjacent model year rather than measured on a 2019 car.

The Tigershark is unresponsive rather than laggy — no turbo to wait on, just an engine that has to be wrung out toward its 6,400-rpm power peak and turns coarse and loud doing it. 2019 rates marginally above the 2020 car only because stop-start was not yet universal, removing one roughness complaint on many volume examples. Clearly in the lower half of the band.

The nine-speed is the most-criticized component of this generation — it upshifts early, resists kickdown and shifts without much polish, compounding an engine already short of torque. The 4x2's Aisin six-speed is smoother but narrower in spread, and the C635 manual is the one gearbox that lets a driver keep the engine on the boil.

Standard unibody compact-crossover capability, unchanged across this generation, but 2,000 lbs sits near the bottom of an SUV band running to 8,000 lbs — and the front-drive versions that make up much of the volume are not rated to tow at all.

Four-wheel drive is available on every 2019 trim with Selec-Terrain modes and a genuine 20:1 crawl ratio on Trailhawk — sophisticated for a compact crossover — but it remains a cost option rather than standard equipment, with front-drive Sport, Latitude, Altitude and Limited versions sold alongside. Standard 4x4 does not arrive until the 2023 model year.

The Trail Rated Trailhawk remains the most genuinely capable thing in the compact-crossover class — a 30.3° approach angle, 8.5 in of clearance and a low-range crawl ratio are real hardware rather than a badge — but it is a unibody crossover with no locking differential and no two-speed transfer case. Upper half of the capable-light-duty band; non-Trailhawk 4x4 trims, at 16.8° approach and 8.2 in, are far more modest.

One engine for the entire range with no turbo upgrade, hybrid, PHEV or EV anywhere in the US lineup — take-it-or-leave-it on what this item actually measures. The four certified drivetrain combinations, including a manual that survives to 2020 and then disappears, give some configuration choice but not a second powertrain.

25 MPG combined for the volume 4x4 automatic — mid-pack among 2019 gas compact SUVs and unchanged across the pre-facelift generation. Two points shy of the 27 MPG the later turbocharged eight-speed Compass manages, so the less powerful car is also the less efficient one.

A disconnecting 4x4 system and optional stop-start hold city economy at the class average, but a naturally aspirated 2.4L hauling 3,327 lbs has no efficiency trick in reserve — the hybrid compact SUVs already on sale in 2019 beat this outright.

The 9HP48 nine-speed's tall overdrive gearing (0.48:1 ninth, 9.81 ratio spread) makes steady-state cruising the Compass's efficiency high point, and it is the one economy figure here that holds up against the segment.

A small 13.5-gallon tank paired with only average economy puts total range near the bottom of the 280–600 mi SUV band. Frequent fuel stops are the practical consequence, and it is the weakest figure in this category.

Running costs land near the middle of the SUV band — no premium-fuel penalty, but 25 MPG combined on a regular-gas four-cylinder gives the Compass no cost advantage over larger, more powerful rivals that match its economy.

87-octane regular on a naturally aspirated multiport-injected engine, with no premium recommendation, no additive requirement and nothing to plug in — the cheapest and simplest fueling situation available.

NHTSA rated the 2019 Compass 4 stars overall, identical for FWD and AWD; the frontal-crash 4 stars and a 3-star rollover result (20.2% rollover probability) hold it back from a 5-star overall.

Good in every legacy IIHS crashworthiness test — small overlap front driver and passenger, moderate overlap front, original side, roof strength, head restraints — but the Compass earns no 2019 Top Safety Pick because its best-available headlights rate only Marginal, and it later scored Marginal on the updated (2021-protocol) side test.

Nothing beyond the federally mandated backup camera is standard on any 2019 Compass: forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise, LaneSense lane keeping, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-path detection are all extra-cost, bundled into the Advanced Safety Group, and the base Sport trim cannot be optioned with them at all.

When ordered with the Advanced Safety Group the full-speed forward collision warning with active braking earns IIHS Superior for vehicle-to-vehicle avoidance — genuinely strong hardware — but it is optional rather than standard and there is no pedestrian-detection capability, day or night.

Radar-based Blind Spot Monitoring with Rear Cross Path Detection is available across the range except the base Sport, but it is alert-only — no steering or braking intervention, and no safe-exit warning.

LaneSense Lane Departure Warning with Lane Keep Assist is optional and provides only corrective nudges back toward the lane when drift is detected; there is no continuous lane centering, and NHTSA does not credit the Compass with even standard lane departure warning.

Adaptive cruise control became available on the Compass for the first time in 2019, packaged as an option on upper trims, but it is a standalone convenience feature with no integrated highway-assist mode pairing it to lane centering.

No hands-free highway driving system was offered on the 2019 Compass or anywhere in the FCA lineup that model year; Stellantis did not field a comparable system until well after this generation's mid-cycle refresh.

Every 2019 Compass headlight configuration IIHS tested rated below Acceptable: the standard halogens and the Premium Lighting Group on its own are both Poor, and the best available setup — Premium Lighting Group with Advanced Safety Group high-beam assist — reaches only Marginal. This is the single failing that cost the Compass its Top Safety Pick.

The second-generation Compass's chunky styling costs it sightlines — thick pillars and a heavy rear C-pillar create sizable blind spots that reviewers and owners both flag, and there is no surround-view camera offered to compensate, only a mandated backup camera plus optional rear park sensors.

IIHS rates the Compass's LATCH hardware Poor — the two rear outboard positions have complete anchor sets and there is a middle tether, but the lower anchors are buried too deep in the seat bight and are hard to maneuver around, and the compact rear bench makes three-across a non-starter.

Five seats is the compact-SUV norm and sits near the floor of the 4–8 SUV band. No 2019 trim from Sport to Trailhawk offered anything else.

The Compass's upright, boxy Jeep roofline gives mid-pack front headroom for a compact SUV — comfortably clear of the 37 in band floor but well short of the 42 in ceiling set by taller mid- and full-size SUVs.

41.8 in is a genuinely average front measurement — the Compass rides on the small-wide (Renegade-derived) platform with a 103.8 in wheelbase, so front occupants get compact-SUV space rather than the 43-plus inches larger crossovers manage.

The near-vertical rear glass and flat roof pay off here — 38.5 in is above the middle of the 36–40 in SUV band and one of the Compass's better interior numbers, keeping adult rear headroom genuinely usable.

38.3 in is a strong figure for a 173-inch-long compact SUV and the single best space number on the car — the second-generation Compass gave rear legroom priority over cargo depth, and it shows in both directions.

Strictly two rows — scored in the low band as a missing capability rather than omitted, per the item's SUV rule. Normal and expected for the compact segment, but it is a real capacity limit against three-row rivals.

27.2 cu ft is barely above the 25 cu ft floor of the SUV band and is the Compass's weakest practical measurement — a 2019 RAV4 (37.6) or Escape offers roughly a third more behind the rear seat. The space traded away to that generous rear legroom comes out of the cargo hold.

Seats-folded volume sits just above the 55 cu ft band floor, again near the bottom of the SUV field. It swallows a normal weekend's luggage but is a genuine constraint for furniture, bikes upright, or a full cargo run.

Competent and unremarkable: everything a compact SUV is expected to have, nothing invented. The reversible cargo panel and fold-flat passenger seat are the only clever touches, and there is no household outlet or deep underfloor bin — squarely mid-band.

Firm, flat-ish cushions that reviewers rate adequate rather than praise — fine for a commute, less convincing for a full day. Limited adjustability on the volume trim keeps it from the upper band, but generous rear legroom means back-seat passengers are not the compromise.

Ride is the strongest part of the Compass's road manners and the deliberate trade behind its poor body control: soft springs and tall-sidewall 16–17 in tires on the volume trims absorb broken pavement well. Above the segment median, held out of the top band by float over big undulations and by the 19-inch wheels on optioned Limiteds.

Wind and road noise are merely average, but the coarse engine — which has to be revved hard because of its 180 hp and 3,327 lb curb weight — dominates the noise impression at any real throttle. Below the segment median, and audibly behind the class quiet leaders.

The winter kit families and northern buyers care about is all present and reasonably priced on the volume Latitude, and standard dual-zone auto climate is above par for a 2019 mainstream compact. Nothing for rear passengers and no cooled seats at any price keep it mid-band.

The 2019 Compass opened at $22,095 plus a $1,495 destination charge for a front-drive Sport, one of the lowest entry prices in the compact-SUV class — but that figure buys a manual-transmission car with no active safety equipment, and the Sport 4x4 most Jeep buyers actually wanted cost $1,500 more.

The Latitude is the volume Compass and Jeep buyers skew heavily toward four-wheel drive, so the representative 2019 car is a Latitude 4x4 at $28,340 delivered ($25,345 + $1,500 4x4 + $1,495 destination), which in practice left the lot with an option package fitted — roughly $29,000 as typically equipped.

CarEdge projects roughly $10,821 of maintenance and repair across ten years for the nameplate, front-loaded well under half of that in the first five, while RepairPal adds about $526 a year of unscheduled repair — meaningfully worse than the $429 it estimates for a RAV4 or $407 for a CR-V — so the 2.4L Tigershark/nine-speed Compass lands above the segment average rather than at it.

The 2019 cars passed the five-year mark in 2024, while the used market was still firm, and retained a little more than the 2020 and 2021 Compasses did — but 54% is still short of the roughly 58% a compact SUV averages, and KBB rates Compass resale only 'average' for the class.

Jeep's 3-year/36,000-mile basic coverage is the industry floor and two years short of the 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranties Hyundai, Kia and Mitsubishi gave buyers of directly competing 2019 compact SUVs.

Five years/60,000 miles sits at the bottom of the SUV normalization band and is half the 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain coverage Hyundai and Kia offered 2019 buyers — a real exposure on a model with a below-average predicted-reliability record and a nine-speed automatic reviewers repeatedly criticized.

A 2019 Compass came with no complimentary scheduled maintenance whatsoever — Jeep Wave was restricted to select higher trims of the Wrangler, Grand Cherokee and Gladiator in 2019 and did not become automatic across the whole Jeep range until the 2021 model year, so a Compass buyer paid for the first oil change. What is included is 24/7 roadside assistance for the full 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain period plus the usual SiriusXM and Uconnect trials — respectable roadside cover, but nothing beside ToyotaCare's 2-year/25,000-mile scheduled maintenance on the all-new 2019 RAV4 or Hyundai's 3-year/36,000-mile complimentary maintenance on the Tucson this car was cross-shopped against.

$29,000 volume-trim price minus its estimated resale value after 5 years (54% retained, or about $15,660) leaves about $13,340 in depreciation. Add the projected $6,400 in 5-year maintenance and repairs, and owning this vehicle for 5 years costs about $19,740 in total.

2019 is the worst predictor year of this generation and both raters say so in the same direction: Consumer Reports drops the verdict a full step below the 2020 car, calling it less reliable than other cars from the same model year rather than about average, and the reported J.D. Power score sits in the Average band instead of the Great band 2020 earns. The federal complaint file is the hardest number here — 327 filings for this single model year against 138 for 2020 and roughly 70 for 2021 — and it clusters on engine and electrical faults rather than on trim.

Jeep was near the floor of the brand table in the survey contemporaneous with this model year — 26th of 30 in Consumer Reports' 2019 rankings, having fallen three more places — which is a worse standing than the 19th of 26 it recovered to for 2020. The dependability study that follows these cars to three years old reinforces it: the 2022 VDS surveyed 2019-model-year owners against a 192 PP100 industry average with the Korean brands well clear and the Stellantis marques trailing. Bottom-third is the fair read, and 2019 sits at the low end of it.

Two federal recall campaigns, and unlike 2020's single wiper-nut fix one of them is a genuine braking defect — insufficient caliper piston coating forming gas pockets and reducing rear brake performance. The heavier mark is the federal defect investigation opened specifically on 2019–2020 Compasses for false-overheat engine shutdowns across an estimated 229,000 vehicles; it closed with no manufacturer action, so no remedy ever reached owners, and the service-side volume behind it is severe — 327 complaints for the model year with 74 mentioning stalling, 62 infotainment failures and 44 battery drain, alongside 13 crash-flagged filings.

The 2019 car carries exactly the drivetrain with the worst paper trail in this generation — the 2.4L Tigershark MultiAir2 at the centre of the FCA oil-consumption class action, paired with the 948TE nine-speed on 4x4 trims. The certified class stops at the 2018 Compass, one model year short of this one, but that is a litigation boundary rather than an engineering one: the federal file for 2019 still carries 24 oil-related and 74 stall-related complaints, and the loss-of-power investigation NHTSA opened names this model year by name. Stellantis replaced the whole drivetrain for 2023.

This is the same pre-refresh cabin the 2020 car uses, and the criticism is the same: hard plastic across the dash top and door uppers, workaday materials and low-rent switchgear, with Consumer Reports going as far as sharp, unfinished edges. Reviewers do credit soft-touch material at the main contact points, so it is not a bottom-of-class cabin — but Jeep redesigning the interior wholesale for 2022 is the plainest available verdict on the piece.

Physical assembly is the part reviewers actually praise — no creaks or rattles even over rough ground, panel fit called out as good — so the mechanical build is mid-pack rather than poor. The deduction is electronic, and for 2019 it is large: Uconnect and module faults are the biggest single complaint theme of the model year at 62 filings, with 44 more for batteries draining or failing outright, and a dead screen or a car that will not wake up reaches an owner as a finish defect exactly the way a rattle would.

Coverage is the strong half and it is not year-dependent — Jeep runs one of the densest franchise networks in the US at roughly 2,400 rooftops, so warranty and parts access is straightforward almost anywhere, including rural markets where import brands thin out. Service satisfaction is the ordinary half: Jeep sits mid-pack among mass-market brands in J.D. Power's customer-service measurement rather than near the top.

A high-volume nameplate on the widely shared Stellantis small-wide platform means abundant Mopar and aftermarket supply, and independent shops service it without dealer-only tooling. Measured repair spend backs that up — RepairPal puts annual cost below the compact-SUV average with fewer unscheduled shop visits per year — which remains the one place the Compass outperforms its reliability reputation, even in its worst model year.

7.0 in sits exactly on the floor of the 7–15.5 in SUV band, so the spec scores zero even though the 2019 car was an upgrade on 2018. The screen was competitive for a 2019 mainstream compact but is small against the fleet the band is calibrated to.

This is the strongest part of the 2019 Compass's technology case. Uconnect 4 was genuinely one of the best systems of its year — quick, uncluttered, and unusually good about keeping climate and volume on hardware controls. Held below 80 only because the volume trim's 7-inch panel is small and its graphics were already dated by 2019.

Wired projection standard on all trims, wireless not offered on any — the textbook middle band. Making CarPlay/Android Auto standard on the base Sport was ahead of several 2019 rivals that still charged for it.

The volume trim simply cannot be ordered with built-in maps, and the voice system is the rigid keyword variety most owners abandon in favor of CarPlay. Below the segment median; the Uconnect voice implementation is at least reliable within its narrow vocabulary, which keeps it out of the bottom band.

A conventional six-speaker base system with a real, amplified nine-speaker branded upgrade available — competitive rather than notable. BeatsAudio is bass-forward and was not rated by reviewers as an audiophile system, so it does not lift this into the top band.

Partial digital, with the good 7-inch color display reserved for upper trims — the definition of the middle band. The 7-inch unit is crisp and well-organized when fitted, but the volume Latitude buyer does not get it as standard.

No meaningful OTA capability of any kind — not even maps. Firmly bottom band, and one of the clearest ways this 2019 car shows its age against the modern fleet the calibration is drawn from.

Core remote functions exist but sit behind both an upper-trim hardware requirement and a paid subscription, and the app of this generation was widely reported as slow to wake the vehicle. Below the segment median, above bottom band because the functions themselves work.

Two USB-A ports up front is the 2019 baseline and nothing more — rear-seat power is optional, USB-C is absent everywhere, and there is no wireless charger at any price. Dated ports on the trims most people bought put this just below mid-band.

Proximity entry and push-button start on the volume trim and up, with remote start easy to option — the middle band exactly. No kick-activated liftgate and no digital key keeps it well short of the top band.

Rear camera standard plus optional sensors and even semi-automated parking — but the camera is a low-resolution unit of its era and there is no 360-degree view at any price. Solidly middle band and no better.

Not offered on any trim — bottom band by definition. Unsurprising for a mainstream compact SUV at this price in 2019, but it is a straightforward absence.

Rear-seat space and door openings genuinely help with car seats, and the low load floor suits stroller lifting — but 27.2 cu ft is the constraint that shows up on every trip, and the LATCH anchors are awkward enough that IIHS flagged them. Handles family duty with real compromises.

A 3-star rollover result and, more importantly, zero standard driver-assist content mean the trims a budget-conscious family actually buys — Sport and Latitude — leave the showroom without automatic emergency braking. That is a real safety gap at the family price point, not merely a features shortfall.

Space and ride are adequate for four on a long day; amenities and luggage capacity are not. With the back seat full there is not enough room for four people's bags, which is the specific failure that matters on a family trip.

Low-effort and unintimidating around town — the ride, seating height and light steering all help in traffic. What tires the driver is merging and passing: the nine-speed hunts and hesitates and the engine has to be revved hard to do anything. Fine daily manners with one persistent annoyance.

25 MPG combined is 4–5 MPG behind the mainstream compact-SUV leaders of the same year, so the Compass costs meaningfully more per commuting mile than its direct rivals. Regular fuel and cheap conventional consumables keep it from the bottom band, but this is an expensive car in its class to drive daily.

Short, narrow and tight-turning — 36.3 ft is well inside the SUV norm, and the boxy body makes the corners easy to place. Held out of the top band only because a 360-degree camera was never offered and the thick D-pillars pinch the over-shoulder view.

A 2,000 lb rating available only on 4x4 models covers a small utility trailer or a pair of jet skis and nothing beyond that, and the modest cargo hold rules out most trade use. Not meaningfully work-capable — this is a passenger crossover, and it does not pretend otherwise.

The engine is durable but the transmission is the known weak point, and the nine-speed is exactly what suffers under repeated loaded or towing use. No fleet track record and no wear-friendly interior specification. Below the middle band.

Roof rails, a hitch and tie-downs are the whole story — enough for a ladder rack or a small trailer, nothing more. There is no commercial upfit ecosystem behind this vehicle in the way there is for a van or truck.

The ride flatters a highway cruise, but the pieces that make a good mile-eater are missing: a 338-mile tank means frequent stops, ADAS that would reduce fatigue is not on the volume trim, and the engine drones on grades. A capable tourer with clear endurance limits.

This is the Compass's genuine differentiator and the reason to buy one. Even the volume Latitude 4x4 gets a real disconnecting AWD system with terrain modes and 8.2 in of clearance — well beyond gravel-road competence — and the Trailhawk is meaningfully off-road capable in a class where rivals are pavement-bound. Kept out of the top band by the modest tow rating and the fact that the 4x2 volume car gets none of it.

The folding arrangements are flexible and roof rails let bulky gear go outside, but the underlying box is small — 59.8 cu ft folded is near the bottom of the SUV field, so anything genuinely bulky either goes on the roof or does not go. Fits normal luggage, squeezes on gear.

Soft springs, tall tires and a high center of gravity produce exactly what reviewers describe — roll, early understeer and scrub. It is secure and predictable at legal speeds, but it is one of the less composed handlers in the compact-SUV class and sits well below the segment median.

Not merely numb but inconsistently weighted — the off-center lightness followed by an artificial build-up is the specific complaint, and it undermines confidence in exactly the situation (a highway lane change or a tightening bend) where the soft chassis already needs help. Low band.

Conventional hardware doing a conventional job — adequate stopping power with an unremarkable but consistent pedal. Solid rear rotors and a modest brake package keep it mid-band rather than higher; this is the least criticized part of how the Compass drives.

The single worst aspect of driving a 2019 Compass. Nine closely stacked ratios over a naturally aspirated engine with only 175 lb-ft mean the transmission is constantly deciding, and the resulting hesitation between throttle input and forward motion is what every road test leads with. Clearly bottom band.

Isolation at steady cruise is acceptable, but the Tigershark turns thrashy the moment it is asked for anything, and the gearing guarantees it is asked often. Intrusive rather than merely audible — low band.

36.3 ft is comfortably inside the 34–42 ft SUV band and a real strength in parking lots and on tight trails — the short 103.8 in wheelbase and 173 in overall length do the work. The Trailhawk's 35.3 ft is tighter still.

A genuine bright spot — the tall Jeep seating position, easy step-in height and the retained hardware controls make it easy to get comfortable and easy to operate without looking. Held below the top band because a power driver's seat and lumbar adjustment are options rather than standard on the volume trim, and the thick rear pillars pinch the over-shoulder view.

On pavement it is an appliance with a slow, noisy powertrain and steering that discourages enthusiasm. What lifts it off the floor is that the Trailhawk is actually entertaining off the road in a class where almost nothing else is — but that is a niche trim, not the car most buyers get.

2019 brought a genuine gain — Jeep made the 7-inch Uconnect touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto standard on Sport and Latitude, replacing the 5-inch base unit — alongside 17-inch alloys, roof rails and 60/40 split-folding rear seats. But active safety is where the car falls down hardest: automatic emergency braking and lane-departure warning stayed inside the optional Advanced Safety Group (which newly gained adaptive cruise for 2019), and blind-spot monitoring was a separate extra, in the very model year Toyota fitted Safety Sense 2.0 to every all-new RAV4, Subaru made EyeSight standard on the Forester, and Nissan standardized AEB on the Rogue. The base Sport also still had a four-speaker stereo.

The mechanical package is the weakest part of the deal: a single 180-hp 2.4L Tigershark four paired with a six-speed manual or automatic on front-drive cars and a nine-speed on 4x4s, good for about 9.4 seconds to 60 mph and 25 MPG combined against 30 MPG for a CR-V, RAV4 or Escape — all of which also offered hybrids the Compass could not answer, and the RAV4 was brand new for 2019. The low $23,590 headline evaporates once you want an automatic and any driver assistance, at which point the car simply matches rivals rather than undercutting them. Trailhawk off-road hardware is the one genuinely good-value part of the range.

Configuration choice is a genuine strength: Sport, Upland, Latitude, Altitude, Latitude Sun/Wheel, Limited, High Altitude and Trailhawk spanning roughly $23,600 to $31,400 delivered, with front- or four-wheel drive, a six-speed manual on the base car, and a Trailhawk that is properly Trail Rated rather than an appearance grade. New for 2019 were the Upland special edition and a High Altitude Appearance Package with 19-inch wheels and navigation. The one real gap is powertrain — a single engine, no hybrid or diesel in the US range.

143,933 US deliveries in calendar 2019 is the nameplate's second-best year on record and a genuinely strong mid-pack result in a huge segment — but it is a 16% fall from the 171,167 peak of 2018, the first year of a decline that ran unbroken to 75,642 by 2021. It also remained far behind the RAV4 and CR-V, both of which cleared 380,000.

Jeep's off-road halo was strong in 2019 — the Wrangler carried the badge and the Gladiator arrived that year — and the Compass trades on it with available 4x4 and a Trail Rated Trailhawk no CR-V or RAV4 can answer. But the Compass sits at the soft end of that badge, and FCA's quality and appeal rankings were middling to poor over this period, so the brand lifts the car without carrying it.

A slow-moving Compass in a pre-pandemic buyer's market was heavily discounted: FCA was among the industry's most aggressive spenders, stacking retail consumer cash of up to $1,500, seasonal Black Friday cash and Chrysler Capital lease allowances on top of large dealer discounts. Industry incentive spending hit a then-record monthly average near $4,599 per vehicle in December 2019, and a buyer who negotiated could take well over $4,000 off a Latitude — real money for the buyer, even though it signals weak demand.

2019 is the third year of the second-generation (MP/552) Compass launched for 2017, so the car was still comfortably mid-cycle with no successor in public view, and the year brought real content rather than a pure carry-over — standard 7-inch Uconnect on volume trims, adaptive cruise in the Advanced Safety Group, the Upland edition and a new High Altitude Appearance Package. It sits fresher than the 2020 and 2021 cars, but the underlying design and its single non-hybridized engine were already behind the all-new 2019 RAV4 and the 2019 Forester.

Professional verdicts on the 2019 Compass sit near the bottom of a deep class: U.S. News ranked it 14th of 16 affordable compact SUVs at 7.0/10 and called it 'not a very good used compact SUV', and Consumer Reports criticized handling that 'lacks agility' and an interior of 'cheap plastics and sharp, unfinished edges'. It won no NACTOY, Car and Driver 10Best or MotorTrend award, and although it earned Good ratings in all six IIHS crash tests plus a Superior front-crash-prevention rating with the optional system, Marginal-to-Poor headlights kept it off the Top Safety Pick list — an award the refreshed 2022 car did go on to win.