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Inside, stuff you need to grab or see&nbsp;is about where&nbsp;it should be. But&nbsp;&nbsp; the plastic&nbsp; encasing these things is unappealing.&nbsp;
 EnlargeBy H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY
Inside, stuff you need to grab or see is about where it should be. But   the plastic  encasing these things is unappealing. 
Point taken: Jeep Compass is pretty swell
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You really want to dislike the Jeep Compass.

It's a car trying to be a Jeep. It's ugly, at least toward the rear. The interior plastics have a Third World appearance, although they fit together well.

It's built at a Dodge factory in Illinois, not the Ohio plant that is Jeep's home. It has Chrysler Group's so-called World Engine under the hood, a four-banger that's been anything but world class in previous test vehicles. And if you need a final reason for anti-Compass prejudice, it's those awful bobble-head TV commercials, the most grating pitch since Mazda hired a kid to stage-whisper "zoom zoom."

PHOTOS/AUDIO: Jeep Compass with Healey's comments

Ah, but that's the thing with prejudice — by definition, judgment in advance. After some examination, it turns out Compass is swell. It's remarkably well equipped for its price (high teens to mid-20s). The test vehicle was a $23,380 Limited with four-wheel drive and manual transmission. With the possible exception of the optional automatic transmission, what it didn't have, you don't need.

The leather seats were unusually comfortable, shaming the chairs in some much-higher-price machines.

MORE TEST DRIVE: Archive of Healey's columns

The manual gearbox shifted easily, and the clutch engaged smoothly. It's not a Miata-style snick-snick shifter, but neither is it the kind of balky, truckish operation you get in some vehicles. It needs a sixth gear, though. It revs at a fast 3,000 rpm at 70 mph, bad for fuel economy and peace and quiet.

The body leaned a fair amount in fast corners, but the tested Compass surprisingly didn't feel tipsy. It was fun, not frustrating, in those ever-tightening freeway off-ramp spirals. The suspension conquered much of the body lean to get the Compass around bends smartly.

Brakes and steering felt about the way you'd want, responsive without being touchy.

And the engine — my, what have they done? It was a coarse and crude power plant in a pre-production Dodge Caliber (Test Drive March 3, 2006). In the regular-production Compass tester, it was the opposite. No shaking or vibrating. No nasty noises, only a gruffness that grew assertive as more throttle was applied.

Whatever was wrong with it before, no longer is.

Inside, the things you need to grab or see are about where you want them, but they are housed in plastic that looks and feels uninviting. And the climate control knobs had the precision and smoothness of a badly broken toy.

The sliding armrest between the front seats will be either just the right height or a constant elbow whacker when you shift gears, depending on your build. And it gets in the way of fastening the safety belts easily.

The back seats are uncommonly roomy for two people. Jeep claims an astonishing 39.4 inches of rear legroom. That's slightly more than in the second row of big General Motors SUVs, such as Chevy Suburban.

People won't fit in the middle seating spot in the rear. The center hump is too high, and the cup holders that stick off the back of the front console eliminate what little foot room there would have been.

The shoulder portion of the lap-shoulder belt for that middle spot unhooks to make it easier to fold the back seats flat for cargo. That's common. But when unhooked, the shoulder portion stows easily and securely in a slot on the side of the cargo area. That's uncommon, and welcome. It's easier than the ceiling slots you get in other vehicles, which never seem to work right and leave slack that rattles.

The Compass four-wheel-drive system normally is front-drive, but will start shipping power to the rears even if the fronts aren't slipping, Jeep says. Sensors mull such matters as how fast you're going and how sharply you're turning and can express up to 60% of power to the rear wheels a moment before they need it. Use the locking mode, and the spilt is 50/50 — good for sand, deep snow and the like. In any mode, it was excellent in the light snow and heavy rain during the test.

As far as the styling, well, the police report says:

The fellow doing time for the look of the Pontiac Aztek was paroled. A hard-core recidivist, he fashioned an ugly stick and began whomping on the Compass. Alert authorities wrestled him to the ground before he could get much beyond the front and rear fenders, and the reverse-slant rear-most roof pillar. Unexplained is what miscreant made the windshield pillars so wide that you can't see pedestrians in the periphery. Use special care in busy parking lots and intersections.

Why a car-style Jeep? To sell more Jeeps. The brand figures people are pining for the Jeep name and look, but not the stiff ride and other rugged attributes.

That leaves a sour taste, though; a watering-down of what Jeep stands for. So look at it this way instead: Compass is a marvelous, affordable package that's a lot more fun to drive and has a lot more utility and room than you expect. And it just happens to be a Jeep.

2007 Jeep Compass

•What is it? Small, four-door crossover SUV based on the Dodge Caliber hatchback sedan. Available with front-wheel drive (FWD) or four-wheel-drive (4WD). Manufactured at Belvidere, Ill.

•How soon? On sale since July.

•How much? Base model, called Sport, starts at $15,985 (including $560 destination charge) with FWD and manual transmission; $17,585 with 4WD. Limited starts at $20,140 with FWD, $21,740 with 4WD.

•Who'll buy? Jeep says mostly women in their early 20s to early 40s, single or recently married, who earn $60,000 a year, plus or minus, and consider themselves independent, sophisticated and modern. Jeep says 50% are college-educated.

•How many? As is becoming common, Jeep won't say. It's the worst-selling Jeep the past six months, on track to hit only about 45,000 a year.

•What's the drivetrain? 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine rated 172 horsepower at 6,000 rpm, 165 pounds-feet of torque at 4,400 rpm; five-speed manual transmission. Continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) is optional. The optional four-wheel-drive system can send up to 60% of power to the rear wheels and can be locked in a 50/50 split.

Optional in the base model with FWD only, for those who can't drive a manual but crave good fuel economy numbers: 2-liter four-cylinder rated 158 hp at 6,400 rpm, 141 lbs.-ft. at 5,000 rpm, CVT.

What's the safety hardware? Expected bags and belts, plus side-curtain bags, stability and anti-rollover systems, anti-lock brakes.

•What's the rest? Standard features include AM/FM/CD stereo with auxiliary input jack; power steering, brakes; tilt-adjustable steering column; rear wiper, washer, defroster.

More notable are features that aren't standard. Unless you pay extra, you don't get climate control; power windows, mirrors, locks; cruise control; remote-control locks; floor mats. Jeep can change standard features any time. Check

•How big? Not very; think a half-size smaller than a Honda CR-V. Compass is 173.4 inches long, 69.3 inches wide, 65.2 inches tall on a 103.7-inch wheelbase.

Passenger space is listed as 101.3 cubic feet. Cargo space is listed as 22.7 cubic feet behind the back seat, 53.6 cubic feet when the back seat is folded flat.

Weight is listed as 3,071 to 3,329 pounds, depending on model and equipment.

Rated to carry 925 pounds of people and cargo. Rated to tow as much as 2,000 pounds.

Turning circle diameter is listed as 35.6 feet curb-to-curb with 17-inch wheels, tires; 37.2 feet with 18-inch wheels, tires.

•How thirsty? 2.4-liter engine with FWD is rated 26 mpg in town, 30 on the highway with manual transmission, 24/27 with CVT automatic. 4WD is rated 25/29 with manual, 23/26 with CVT.

Optional 2-liter, FWD, CVT is rated 26/30.

The trip computer in 4WD, manual test vehicle showed 16.3 mpg in suburban driving, which included significant amounts of cold-weather idling.

Tank is 13.5 gallons (4WD) or 13.6 gallons (FWD). Regular-grade (87-octane) gasoline is recommended.

•Overall: Surprisingly delightful.

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The delightful, smooth-riding Compass offers a lot more than you'd expect from a Jeep. One reason: It's really a car that mostly only tries to be a Jeep. The delightful, smooth-riding Compass offers a lot more than you'd expect from a Jeep. One reason: It's really a car that mostly only tries to be a Jeep.

By H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY