This is a cross shop that used to be impossible to have. For a few years the Cherokee simply was not in the lineup, so anyone walking in wanting a Jeep that was not a Wrangler and not a Grand Cherokee ended up in a Compass by default. The Cherokee is back now, it sits between the two on size and price, and the choice is a real one again. If you want to see what is actually on the ground, our new Jeep Compass inventory is online and updated as vehicles move through Portage la Prairie.

Here is the honest version of the decision, from a dealer that sells both of them and therefore has no reason to push you toward either. These are not two versions of the same vehicle. They are separated by about eight thousand dollars, a size class, and two completely different ideas about how to make an engine.

Key Takeaways

• They are not the same size or the same money. Jeep Canada publishes a starting price of $34,495 for the Compass Sport and $42,390 for the Cherokee, both less any applicable incentives. The Compass is the compact; the Cherokee sits above it.
• The powertrains are the real divide. Every Canadian Compass runs a 2.0 litre turbocharged four at 200 horsepower and 221 lb ft through an eight speed automatic. The Cherokee runs a 1.6 litre turbo hybrid rated at up to 210 horsepower and 230 lb ft through an electronic variable transmission.
• The Cherokee wins fuel and towing, and it is not close. Jeep Canada publishes 6.3 L/100 km combined and up to 800 km of total range for the Cherokee against 8.9 L/100 km combined for the Compass, and 1,587 kg (3,500 lb) of towing against 907 kg (2,000 lb).
• The Compass wins on price and on the Trailhawk. The Compass is the only one of the two with a Trail Rated version, and Jeep Canada rates that Trailhawk for water crossings up to 19 inches deep.
• Both are all wheel drive in Canada, and both run Selec Terrain. For most Manitoba driving, that plus a good set of winter tires matters more than anything else on this list.

The Size and Price Gap Is the Real Story

Most comparison posts bury the price. We are going to lead with it, because on this pair it decides a lot of the outcome before anyone opens a spec sheet.

Jeep Canada publishes starting prices of $34,495 for the Compass Sport, $38,595 for the North and $41,590 for the Altitude. The Cherokee starts at $42,390. Every one of those figures is a published starting price, less any applicable incentives, and none of them is the number you sign for once freight, taxes and the current programs land on it. Incentive programs turn over monthly out here, so check our current pricing here for the most up to date pricing information on the new Jeep Compass and the new Jeep Cherokee.

Read that ladder again and something jumps out. A loaded Compass Altitude and a base Cherokee are separated by about eight hundred dollars. That is the single most useful fact in this comparison. If you are shopping the top of the Compass range, you owe yourself a drive in the bottom of the Cherokee range before you sign, because at that point you are choosing between a well equipped smaller vehicle and a plainer larger one for nearly the same money. Some people want the loaded small one. Some want the room. Both are defensible, and nobody should make that call off a brochure.

The other half of the gap is physical. The Cherokee is a bigger vehicle with more room behind the second row, and Jeep Canada lists 20.3 cm, about 8 inches, of ground clearance on it. If you regularly haul three teenagers and their hockey bags to Winnipeg, the Cherokee's extra space is not a luxury, it is the reason you would buy it.

Turbo Four Against Turbo Hybrid

The engines are where these two genuinely part ways, and it is not a case of one being a bigger version of the other.

The Compass runs a conventional turbo four. Jeep Canada lists a 2.0 litre DOHC turbocharged four with stop start, 200 horsepower and 221 lb ft, an eight speed automatic and all wheel drive on every Canadian trim. It is a familiar, understood combination. You put fuel in it and it works, in July and in February, and our shop has been maintaining this engine family for years.

The Cherokee runs a 1.6 litre turbo hybrid. Jeep Canada rates it at up to 210 horsepower and up to 230 lb ft through an electronic variable transmission, with Jeep Active Drive, an always on and fully automatic all wheel drive system. On paper it makes slightly more of both than the Compass out of an engine that is smaller by a third.

Now the part that matters to your wallet. Jeep Canada publishes 6.3 L/100 km combined for the Cherokee and 8.9 L/100 km combined for the Compass. That is a difference of 2.6 L/100 km. If you drive the Portage to Winnipeg run with any regularity, and plenty of people reading this do it several times a week, that gap compounds into real money over a few years. The Cherokee also publishes up to 800 km of combined range, which on the prairies means the highway leg to Brandon and back without thinking about it.

The honest counterpoint, and we will give it: a hybrid system is more parts than a turbo four. Hybrids have been on the road long enough now that this is not the gamble it once was, and the Cherokee's is covered under the same new vehicle warranty, but if your instinct is to keep a vehicle to 300,000 km and keep it simple, that instinct is not irrational. Say so out loud when you are here and we will talk it through rather than talk you out of it.

Capability, and What Actually Matters in a Manitoba Winter

Both of these are all wheel drive in Canada and both run Selec Terrain traction management, so the day to day traction story is closer than the badges suggest.

Where the Compass pulls ahead is the Trailhawk. The Compass lineup runs Sport, North, Altitude and Trailhawk, and the Trailhawk is the Trail Rated one: a low range capable four wheel drive setup, Rock mode in Selec Terrain, skid plates, and water crossings that Jeep Canada rates up to 19 inches deep. The Cherokee lineup does not offer an equivalent. If you have a cabin approach that turns into a swamp every spring, or you actually leave pavement on purpose, that is a genuine reason to take the smaller vehicle. We wrote up exactly what the badge buys in our look at the Cherokee Trailhawk, and the same logic applies here.

Where the Cherokee pulls ahead is towing. Jeep Canada rates the Cherokee at 1,587 kg (3,500 lb) properly equipped against 907 kg (2,000 lb) for the Compass. That is the difference between a small utility trailer and a pair of sleds or a light boat. If there is a trailer in your life at all, this is the line that decides it.

Now the part nobody selling vehicles likes to say plainly. For the great majority of Manitoba driving, neither the Trail Rated hardware nor the towing rating is what keeps you out of the ditch. Winter tires do. A Compass on four proper winter tires will out drive a Cherokee on all seasons every February, and the reverse is equally true. Whichever one you land in, budget for the tires, and book the swap with us before the first storm rather than during it, because that week in November is the busiest one our shop has all year.

Inside, and What You Live With

Jeep Canada lists a 12.3 inch Uconnect 5 touchscreen and a 10.25 inch digital cluster as standard on the Cherokee, along with adaptive cruise control with stop and go. That is a genuinely well equipped baseline for a vehicle at the bottom of its own range, and it is part of why the base Cherokee stacks up so well against a loaded Compass.

The Compass answers with a lineup that lets you spend less and still get the things most people actually use. Every Canadian Compass comes with all wheel drive and heated front seats, and the trim walk up to Altitude adds the comfort and appearance items without pushing you into the next size class.

There is one more consideration if you are the kind of buyer who thinks three years ahead. The Cherokee nameplate is in the middle of a bigger story, and Jeep has been open about where the platform is going. If that matters to you, our piece on the next generation Jeep Cherokee covers it. And if you are cross shopping outside the family entirely, the Jeep Compass against the Toyota RAV4 comparison is the other conversation people usually want to have.

How We Would Actually Decide It

Strip out the noise and it comes down to three questions.

Is there a trailer? If yes, the Cherokee, at 1,587 kg against 907 kg. That one is arithmetic, not opinion.

How many kilometres a year do you drive? If you are running the highway regularly, the Cherokee's 6.3 L/100 km against the Compass's 8.9 L/100 km will quietly pay back a meaningful piece of the price difference. If your vehicle mostly does town errands and sits in a driveway, that advantage shrinks and the Compass's lower entry price wins.

Do you actually go off pavement? Genuinely off pavement, not a gravel road. If yes, the Compass Trailhawk is the only one of these two that is built for it.

Everything else, and we mean this, is preference. Sit in both. Put your car seat in both. Fold the back seats in both. That twenty minutes settles more of these than any comparison chart ever will.

Every new Jeep we sell carries Dunn's Eh+ value stack, which includes the maintenance plan, anti theft protection, walkaway coverage and absolutely zero dealer fees. Ask us how it applies on the Compass Eh+ offer or the Cherokee Eh+ offer. If a trade is part of the deal, get your number first with our instant cash offer tool so you are comparing real out of pocket figures rather than sticker prices.

FAQs

Is the Jeep Cherokee bigger than the Compass?

Yes. The Compass is Jeep's compact SUV and the Cherokee sits above it, with more room behind the second row and 20.3 cm, about 8 inches, of ground clearance published by Jeep Canada. The price ladder reflects it: the Compass Sport starts at $34,495 and the Cherokee at $42,390, both less any applicable incentives.

Which is better on fuel, the Compass or the Cherokee?

The Cherokee, by a clear margin. Jeep Canada publishes 6.3 L/100 km combined for the Cherokee's 1.6 litre turbo hybrid and 8.9 L/100 km combined for the Compass's 2.0 litre turbo four. The Cherokee also publishes up to 800 km of combined driving range.

Can a Jeep Compass tow?

A little. Jeep Canada rates the Compass at 907 kg (2,000 lb) when properly equipped, which covers a small utility trailer. The Cherokee is rated at 1,587 kg (3,500 lb). If you tow anything of consequence, the Cherokee is the one to look at.

Are both the Compass and the Cherokee all wheel drive in Canada?

Yes. Jeep Canada lists all wheel drive with Selec Terrain traction management on both. The Cherokee uses Jeep Active Drive, an always on automatic system. The Compass offers Jeep Active Drive, with the Trailhawk adding a low range capable setup and Rock mode.

Does the Cherokee come in a Trailhawk?

Not in the current Canadian lineup, which Jeep lists as Cherokee, Laredo, Limited and an 85th Anniversary Edition. The Compass is the one of the pair that offers a Trail Rated Trailhawk today.

Which one is better for a Manitoba winter?

Whichever one is wearing winter tires. Both are all wheel drive with Selec Terrain, and that plus proper rubber handles what this province throws at a vehicle. Choose between them on size, towing and fuel, then spend the tire money regardless.

The Bottom Line

The Cherokee is the better vehicle if you need the room, the towing or the fuel numbers, and the base Cherokee lands close enough to a loaded Compass that a lot of buyers should drive both before deciding. The Compass is the better vehicle if you want to spend less, if the size suits your life, or if you want the Trail Rated hardware that the Cherokee lineup does not offer.

What we are not going to do is tell you the more expensive one is automatically the right one. Come drive them back to back on a road you actually know. Browse the new Jeep Compass inventory and the new Jeep Cherokee inventory, tell us what your week really looks like, and we will point at the one that fits it, even when that is the cheaper one.

Tyler Dunn, Dunn Ram Trucks, Portage la Prairie