Jeep Compass SUV rides high on hills or flatlands

Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews also can be seen in the Northern & Central California Cruisin’ News magazine published monthly out of Folsom, California.

Sacramento, California -- Jeep made its mark in the world by being able to travel just about anywhere on the earth's surface.

So, when a vehicle wearing the name 2019 Jeep Compass High Altitude 4X4 shows up at your door, you assume it can tackle anything.  Rest assured, it can.  But also know that it's a very comfortable daily driver, entirely at home in an urban setting.

That, in a nutshell, is the appeal of the Compass sport-utility vehicle, nicely situated size-wise and off-road-wise, between the automaker's Wrangler and Grand Cherokee.

Technically, my tester was a Jeep Compass Limited with what Jeep calls the "High Altitude Appearance Package."  That gets you perks that include 19-inch "Satin Gloss Granite" wheels and grille treatments, a "Uconnect" 8.4-inch infotainment center with navigation, high-intensity discharge headlamps, LED lamps front and rear, deep-tint glass and specialized interior finishes and stitching.

It all but screams: "Let's go camping."

Sounds like fun, but for my purposes, most of my time in the Compass was spent in the urban/suburban jungle, and in that world, the Compass functioned quite well.

The 2.4-liter, four-cylinder engine rated at 180 horsepower is a bit noisy at full song, but it moved the Compass around nicely.  The SUV's road manners were solid, whether on city streets or dicey freeways.

My extremely well-equipped Compass -- which equated to a somewhat heft $37,360 on the sticker's bottom line -- included heated front seats, heated steering wheel, steering wheel-mounted audio controls and a power eight-way driver's seat.  This being a Jeep product, it has state-of-the-art electronic vehicle stability and off-road driving-enhancement features.

You can load up this Compass for serious away-from-home time; nearly 60 cubic feet of cargo space is created by folding the rear seats.  Gas mileage is pretty fair at 22 miles per gallon in the city and 30 mpg on the highway.

All in all, this is a sound, versatile commuter and outdoors pleasure vehicle, and it competes nicely against strong competitors that include the Nissan Rogue and Subaru Crosstrek.

My guess is that loyal Jeep buyers will find no reason to change brands as this Compass points the way to many hours of pleasurable driving.