To begin the new year, Stellantis’ tiny crossover, the 2023 Jeep Compass, will receive a new engine. The original 2.4-litre “Tigershark” four-cylinder will be replaced with a new 2.0-litre turbo-fourn. On the surface, this appears to be a downgrade, but when you delve deeper, the smaller, new engine really has greater power and torque. Car and Driver discovered some specifics about the new engine in paperwork submitted to federal authorities, revealing that it will produce over 100 horsepower more than the current engine.
Jeep’s previous naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine produced only 177 horsepower and 172 pound-feet of torque. This is significantly less than the power output of more recent rival engines, such as Ford’s Ecoboost (250 horsepower) and Chevrolet’s 2.0-litre turbo-four (228 horsepower). This new Compass engine, on the other hand, produces 270 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque and will be paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. According to the EPA papers, the front-wheel drive Compass will be discontinued, and all-wheel drive will be standard.
The new engine will power the Dodge Hornet and was scheduled to power the Alfa Romeo Tonale before the latter discarded it in favour of a plug-in hybrid powerplant. It’s unknown if Jeep and Dodge will ultimately obtain Tonale’s PHEV system, which is more powerful, efficient, and has a 30-mile electric range.
The new turbo-four engine raises the starting price of the 2023 Compass to $31,590, up from $30,380 for the 2022 all-wheel drive Compass, which isn’t too awful given the significant power gain.
We’ve gone out to Stellantis to see whether there will be any additional modifications to the 2023 Compass to accompany the new engine, and we’ll update this when we learn more. However, the Compass was previously facelifted for the 2022 model year, so big revisions for next year are doubtful.
