New Jeep Compass turbo-petrol engine ruled out for Australia

Jeep North America has announced a major powertrain upgrade for its 2023 Jeep Compass line-up, replacing the 2.4-litre ‘Tigershark’ four-cylinder petrol engine with a 2.0-litre ‘Hurricane’ turbo-petrol.

Available for the first time in the Jeep Compass, the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol produces 149kW of power and 300Nm of torque, paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission.

That compares with the 129kW/230Nm 2.4-litre engine – and nine-speed automatic – fitted to all Australian-spec Jeep Compass models except the top-spec Trailhawk, which uses a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel (125kW/350Nm).

It hands the Hurricane a significant 20kW and 70Nm advantage over the naturally aspirated 2.4-litre Tigershark engine, with maximum torque available across a much wider rev band (1750-4250rpm).

The new engine will be standard across the US range, but Jeep Australia has told carsales that there are currently no plans to offer it here in Australia.

Given plentiful low-end torque is one of the prerequisites for effective off-road driving, the new eight-speed transmission offers a lower first gear ratio of 4.71:1, which when paired with the turbo-petrol Trailhawk’s 4.398 final drive, delivers an effective 20:1 crawl ratio.

This low gearing is afforded by the Jeep Active Drive Low four-wheel drive system, which comes standard on the US-spec Trailhawk.

The rest of the Compass line-up features the more road-focused ‘Jeep Active Drive’ on-demand 4WD system which can disconnect the rear driveshaft when all-wheel drive isn’t required.

Other changes to the MY23 Compass include an expanded array of standard safety gear – including drowsy driver detection and rear seat reminder alert – and full LED headlights.

There’s no word yet on whether the Australian market will receive these updates for Compass, following the North American launch in the first quarter of next year.

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