What do you think about these so-called "soft utes"? Will they ruin Jeep's "tough" market? Or open a brand new one for the brand?  

I know they certainly got a lot of negative feedback from the hard-core jeeper community on the Compass & Patriot. My feeling is this: As long as they don't abandon the Wrangler (their core market) and continue to build genuinely capable 4x4s, their customers won't abandon them.  I mean, the Grand Cherokee SRT8 doesn't exactly fit with their traditional "image," but man, what a bad-@$$ SUV!

I think the only thing they dropped the ball on with the Compass/Patriot is not coming out with an SRT version right away. If they would have done an AWD Compass with the 300-horse turbo from the Caliber SRT, then you'd have a credible competitor to the Subaru WRX. Granted, it's not Jeep's traditional "rock crawling" image, but if it could perform on dirt rally roads like the Subie, I think they'd still have at least some credibility in the minds of Jeep enthusiasts (and possibly import owners).  

Joela, I actually had a chance to drive a Compass recently. I tried to be as objective as possible about it, but I think it's safe to say it's definitely not targeted toward Jeeps' "traditional" customer. It is essentially a compact 5-door with round headlights. I could see urban-dwellers in New York, L.A. or other metro areas buying it for its versatility, and its traction (on the AWD models).

In a nutshell, I think it's a little overweight, and a little under-powered, even with the 5-speed manual. I did get decent mileage with it, though. My vote is for an AWD, 300-horse SRT version. :-) Features-wise, it's pretty clever. It has a 2-prong AC outlet in the front seat, as well as several 12v outlets, and an auxiliary input for an iPod for the stereo. If you want to read my full review, check out:

http://www.minitruckinweb.com/features/0607mt_2007_jeep_compass/  

in my humble opinion, those things are "yuppie-mobiles". like you said esanchez, they're geared towards the urbanite posers that will never see dirt except that which is on the street.  

Well, at least one and possibly both of them are probably going to get killed off. No tears shed here.  

i'm with ya there