And now for something a little different. For the first time, I performed a luggage test during a first drive event. Not because I decided to pack WAY too much stuff for two nights of travel, but because said press event was happening 15 minutes away from my house. Score! So, you can read all about the revised 2023 Jeep Compass that I experienced during that first drive or stay here for the bonus luggage test. Or do both, whatever. You do you.
So, the Jeep Compass is positioned against compact SUVs … at least in terms of marketing and price. But oh boy, is it nowhere close to the size of the Honda CR-Vs and Kia Sportages of the world. Nowhere close. In terms of both its back seat and cargo area, it’s far closer to the Honda HR-V. I know this quite definitively because, as you can see in the background up there, I happened to be testing an HR-V at the same time. If anything, the Honda is a bit bigger.
On paper, the capacity is stated at 27.2 cubic-feet behind the back seat. Yeah, that might be optimistic.
Note that there was no cargo cover to test with and without. There was also nowhere to store that cargo cover inside the vehicle, but I’m simply noting that, not criticizing it for such an omission. It’s rare.
On the other hand, there is no spare tire at all let alone a full-size one. And you call yourself a Jeep …
Alright, let’s get to the bags. As with every luggage test, I use two midsize roller suitcases that would need to be checked in at the airport (26 inches long, 16 wide, 11 deep), two roll-aboard suitcases that just barely fit in the overhead (24L x 15W x 10D), and one smaller roll-aboard that fits easily (23L x 15W x 10D). I also include my wife’s fancy overnight bag just to spruce things up a bit (21L x 12W x 12D).
If I maintain rearward visibility, this is all she wrote: the four biggest bags. The HR-V could actually manage all but the fancy bag while maintaining rearward visibility.
If I go nearly to the roof, I could fit everything but the fancy bag. There is obviously some room leftover for something, though. With great effort, all my bags could fit in the HR-V.
Now, it should now be said that the HR-V did not do particularly well in this test. It is midpack at best, which means the Compass is, um, bottom pack?
The following vehicles could fit just a bit more stuff with better visibility and/or greater ease of loading.
Mazda CX-30 (barely)
The following SUVs could manage definitively more than Compass, sometimes considerably so.
I have not luggage tested a Renegade, but the Compass is at least bigger than the subcompact Hyundai Kona.
One final note: the power liftgate button is inside the cargo area rather than on the door itself, making it hard to access when it’s loaded up. And judging by the amount of space here, that’s more likely to happen than in rival SUVs.
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