LA MOTOR SHOW: New Compass to reverse Jeep's fortunes

Jeep's new Compass will be the brand's top-selling model in Australia, where it will play a key role in returning the US off-road brand to 30,000 annual sales by 2018.

That's the word from both Jeep's global boss Mike Manley and its new Australian chief Steve Zanlunghi, who revealed the ambitious sales target at today's Los Angeles motor show.

Jeep claims 70 safety and security features will entice buyers, including an electric parking brake, capless fuel system and push-button starting.

The 438-litre boot and square-metre load floor are augmented by a three-level cargo system and 60/40-split folding rear seat that liberates up to 1251 of luggage space.

Seven airbags, electronic stability control with roll mitigation and a reversing camera will be standard, and available driver safety aids will include Forward Collision Warning-Plus, LaneSense Departure Warning-Plus, Blind-spot Monitoring and Rear Cross Path detection.

Other options will include a powered tailgate, dual-pane panoramic sunroof, heated seats, automated parking, a black roof and wheels up to 19-inch.

Jeep Australia's biggest sales year was 2014 when it sold 30,408 vehicles, but since then sales have slumped to 24,418 in 2015 and are a further 50 per cent down to October this year with just 10,657 registrations.

"Australia's pretty tough for us," admitted Manley. "If you look at our year-to-date we've lost significant volume.

"There's a number of reasons for that, but for me it remains one of my key markets around the world and I'm convinced that... we're going to regain our position and hopefully grow, but there's no doubt it's a tough market for us at the moment."

Asked when Jeep would return to 30,000 annual sales, Manley said: "I'd love to get back to 30,000 sales and more than that. I actually believe the spirit of Jeep ... is very close to the spirit of Australia.

"So I think it fits the brand and if we get things right, given the [small SUV] segment in Australia, we should be able to get back to that number and beyond that number, but it will take some time."

Asked if that would take two years or five, Manley said: "I'm going to push as hard as I can for two.

"But that's probably unrealistic because we need to get Compass into market, we need more traction for Renegade and get refreshes for some of other products into the market.

"I'd love it to happen in two years, but we recognise we've got a lot to do."

Jeep's global chief described the new MP-series Compass, which was first revealed in Brazil in September and arrives Down Under in late 2017, as a great opportunity for Jeep.

"It's not do or die, but it's a very important model for us," he said. "It's replacing two vehicles [Compass and Patriot] and our C-SUV segment penetration around the world is very low, so it's a great opportunity."

Described as the most global Jeep ever, the new Compass will be produced in four factories globally including Brazil, China, and Mexico, with all right-hand drive production – including for Australia – taking place in India from the second quarter of next year.

To be positioned between the light-size (B-segment) Renegade, which is currently priced from about $26,000, and the mid-size (D-segment) Cherokee, which is priced from the low $30,000s, the 4.4-metre five-door SUV will be aimed at small SUVs like the Nissan QASHQAI with a starting price of around $30,000.

However, Zanlunghi admitted that before the Compass arrived here Jeep was likely to slash the price of the 4.2-metre Renegade to make more room for it.

Meantime, motoring.com.au understands that next year's early reskin of the 4.6-metre Cherokee could bring a larger body housing three rows of seats, making it a direct rival for more expensive mid-size seven-seat SUVs like the Nissan X-TRAIL, Land Rover Discovery Sport and upcoming Volkswagen Tiguan 'XL' and Honda CR-V.

While the Cherokee, which features multi-link rear suspension, is based on a version of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta platform, the Compass is underpinned by a stretched version of the Italian-made Renegade's 'small wide' architecture and comes with a Chapman strut rear-end.

Jeep claims the 2017 Compass will bring class-leading off-road capability thanks to a Trailhawk version with 216mm of ground clearance – 20mm more than other models – plus 200mm of wheel articulation and 30-degree approach and 34-degree departure angles.

It also promises world-class on-road driving dynamics and passenger safety thanks to segment-first Koni frequency selective damping (FSD) and a body featuring 65 percent high-strength steel.

Also fitted are electric power steering (EPS) and driving steering torque (DST) systems to reduce under/oversteer, and frame under glass door construction with triple seals and acoustic wheel-well liners to deliver "world-class interior sound quality".

Inside will reside FCA's fourth-generation Uconnect infotainment system via 5.0-, 7.0- or 8.4-inch touch-screens with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, and both 3.5- and 7.0-inch full-colour LED instrument clusters.

There will be even more choice under the bonnet, where 17 powertrain options will be offered globally, including three petrol and two diesel four-cylinder engines.

The Australian engine line-up is yet to be confirmed, but North American models will be powered by a 2.4-litre Tigershark petrol engine, while 1.6- and 2.0-litre turbo-diesel and, for China, 1.4-litre turbo-petrol versions will also be produced.

Transmission choices will include six-speed manual and automatic (for both 4x2 and 4x4 models), nine-speed automatic (4x4) and, for China, seven-speed dual-clutch gearboxes.

Alongside will be two new full-time 4x4 systems: Jeep Active Drive with fully automatic one-speed power transfer unit (PTU) and Jeep Active Drive Low with 20:1 crawl ratio and five-mode Selec-Terrain.

The 134kW/237Nm 2.4-litre four will come with engine idle-stop, but a unique rear-axle electronic disconnect system is claimed to deliver 4x2 levels of fuel-efficiency while engaging 4x4 mode automatically when required.

Four Select-Terrain modes will be offered (Auto, Snow, Sand and Mud), plus Rock mode for Trailhawk models, which also score underbody skid plates, front/rear tow hooks, a full-size spare wheel, all-season tyres, unique front bumper, 4.33:1 final drive ratio, hill ascent/descent control and raised ride height.