Wait for diesel Patriot, Compass in limbo

Jeep is staging a comeback for compact SUV buyers. Its upgraded Patriot provides the importer with a credible means to draw Jeep-loyal buyers back into the market segment.

There is, however, a fly in the ointment; not a big fly, mind you -- more a sandfly. The small SUV was available with a diesel engine option on its original launch in 2007, but that option is no longer available.

For the upgraded model, the Patriot currently offers just the 2.4-litre petrol engine, with the options of five-speed manual transmission or CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission). The Volkswagen diesel previously on offer is no longer available in Australia.

"We always knew that the introduction of diesel was going to be late, but the only plan that we know of at this stage is to shift to the Mercedes-Benz engine," explains Brad Fitzsimmons, General Manager for Sales and Distribution at Chrysler Australia.

"That was the official plan; they mentioned that at Frankfurt... but at this stage, we've got no firm dates. We expect the diesel at the earliest probably to be around mid-next year -- about June or July. In effect, we don't have a firm answer on that engine, but definitely the Volkswagen engine is ending."

Fitzsimmons believes that it's the timing for the Benz-engined Patriot that has put an end to the Volkswagen engine in the Jeep -- and nothing to do with Chrysler ending its existing supply contracts during the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings earlier this year. It was when the company filed for Chapter 11 status that it was forced to lie low and stop production of all cars built in the US for a two-month period. This is why Chrysler Australia has been short of stock to sell until very recently.

Given it's now over 12 months since Chrysler and Daimler AG went their separate ways after the DaimlerChrysler experiment was aborted, why didn't Chrysler opt for a Fiat diesel to power the Patriot? Did Chapter 11 put a crimp in new vehicle development as well as existing vehicle production?

"The Mercedes-Benz engine was probably agreed on a year or two ago... so that was always the plan -- and obviously a lot's happened since then. They may be considering some Fiat powertrains, but we're not aware of that yet," says Fitzsimmons, who also believes that an automatic diesel variant should be on the drawing board, but such a project, if it's approved, is yet to filter through to Chrysler's Australian management.

"It would be in the plans, but nothing that we've seen," says Fitzsimmons.

"Essentially, there's a new head of powertrain, who's from the Fiat Group. The lower levels of sales [of the diesel Patriot to date] are because there wasn't an automatic option, but no, we just don't have any visibility as to what the plan would be. There would have to be a plan to go to an auto at some stage -- they just haven't told us what that plan is or what the timing might be."

Only nine per cent of Patriot sales were diesels, reflecting the low demand for compact SUVs with diesels, unless they can be specified with a self-shifting transmission. Once such a variant is offered in the Patriot range, assuming that will happen, say goodbye to Compass.

Indeed, it's best to say goodbye now, says Fitzsimmons. The company's future plans for marketing activities in the VFACTS compact SUV segment do not involve the Compass to any significant degree. While the company can leave the door open to reintroducing the Compass if there's some justification, such a rationale doesn't exist when the Patriot outsells the Compass in a ratio of virtually 3:1.

"Our plan at this stage is to stick with Patriot," says Fitzsimmons.

"Compass for us... we're not able to service both vehicles in the same part of the market. We need to focus on one. We took the decision to focus on Patriot. Compass, for us, would only be offered if it represented some sort of special edition. We would only look at Compass if it was a limited opportunity to bring in a certain special edition...

So does that mean the effective end for Compass in Australia?

"Compass, in terms of mainstream general offering, is not available."

What happens then, if a buyer has his or her heart set on buying a Compass through a Jeep dealer? Would Chrysler Australia have an ADR-approved Compass built to special order for the customer?

"We'd shift them to Patriot," Fitzsimmons responds. "We haven't got a plan in place for Compass, so to try and place a special order would take some time. And the vehicles are just so similar...

"We'll keep Compass open as an option, dependent upon if they do something unique or special with Compass that's not available in Patriot. If a special package became available or a particular powertrain that wasn't in Patriot, they were doing for international markets -- we'd look at it then."

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