The New Jeep Compass Is Doing The Most To Look Good While Saving You Money

Designing a new Jeep in the past has been fairly straightforward: you make a box fairly off-road capable, put a seven-slot grille on the front, and pretty much call it a day. But science and technology has moved on from the earliest days of Jeep design, and now the automaker is using its latest wind tunnel knowledge to make the new electrified 2026 Jeep Compass the most aerodynamic Jeep ever. Best of all, Jeep did it without making it look like a jellybean; the Compass still retains its signature squared-off styling.

Efficiency In Various Flavors

The all-new Jeep Compass is based on the automaker’s STLA Medium platform, and it’ll be offered in some markets as either a hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or full EV. For now, only the EV is on sale in Europe, but it’s possible the SUV family comes to the US by the end of 2026 in various powertrain configurations. The gas mild-hybrid offers 143 horsepower, the PHEV offers 192 hp, and there are three EV models offering between 211 and 300 hp. All-wheel drive is not offered on the mild hybrid, but it should be there for the PHEV and the higher EV trims (not the base 211-hp configuration, which is FWD only). The most efficient version of the EV is promised to get more than 400 miles of range on a full charge (on the Euro WLTP test cycle).

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To game some of that efficiency, Jeep says it started looking at aero from scratch when designing the new Compass. “With the integration of advanced aerodynamic solutions from the very first sketches, we created a vehicle that delivers significantly reduced drag, increased range, and improved fuel economy across the lineup, while keeping true to the Jeep brand’s DNA,” says Jeep’s Federico De Medio. The new design is chunky and boxy, but clearly smoothed over around its edges, though the devil is not in the details, but in the broader shape that’s adjusted with active and passive tech.

Designed With Air In Mind

That new tech includes active grille shutters up front, which can open and close depending on driving conditions and performance needs. The new Compass also has a completely flat underbody that lets air slip under the vehicle with minimal disturbance or drag. The rugged-looking wheels are also optimized for efficiency, and at the rear, there’s sharp trailing edges, a roof spoiler, and rear arch air curtains to further improve things. Jeep claims all of this accounts for a 10% improvement in the coefficient of drag for the new Compass, at less than 0.29, which is great for an SUV. That being said, the visibly slipperier and much less boxy Tesla Model Y competitor gets that down to around 0.23, but hey, it doesn’t look like a Jeep!

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Take Your Adventure Further

Jeep has an interesting argument for improved efficiency, beyond just saving you money on gas or electricity. Having improved efficiency means more range for all powertrains, so those who do take their Jeep on adventures can also go further than ever before, while saving money. That’s a pretty good deal, so long as they can keep the price of the new Compass affordable, which we’ll just have to wait and see about.