So, a friends son has a really nice 4-door Wrangler. Its Trail Rated and has a badge. He does not have locking differentials. Today we stopped at a Jeep dealer, we couldn't believe how many Jeeps they had in stock. I would say close to 100 different models. That and the RAM trucks where they must have had at least 250 different spec'd out models. We were just astonished at how well thought out the current Wrangler is.

So, question for everyone. The Trail Rated badge, is it the real deal? Just marketing?

I have solid (no axle pun) respect for Jeep now, however its hard to believe that the Jeep Compass is all that Trail Rated.

 

OK....as I understand it, to officially get a TR badge, the vehicle has to be tested and certified by Jeep engineers on California's notoriously tough Rubicon Trail. That's why TR-rated Jeeps usually come with different specs and standard/options equipment that those without the rating. Jeep started that when changing trends in the SUV market had fewer and fewer owners actually buying their vehicles to be used as mountain-goats, and the majority of them simply became all-weather suburban station-wagons.

Like you, though, I have never thought much of the Jeep Compass, a rather unrefined vehicle inside and out, with so-so-fit/finish, tinny construction, and dime-store-grade hardware. It is not a true Jeep at all (or anywhere near to it), but a restyled Dodge Caliber FWD unibody compact car, designed primarily for conventional paved roads. How it managed to run the Rubicon Trail in one piece, even with the optional hardware on it, and get the rating, beats me.

 

Only newer(like 2010+) Jeeps I'd trust on a trail would be the Wrangler and maybe certain 4wd trim levels of the Grand Cherokee that have factory 16-17" wheels where you can fit some mud tires on them. All those stupid car based "cheap Jeeps" as I call them, Compass, Patriot, Liberty, Renegade, they can all burn in hell for all I care, they aren't real Jeeps IMO.

 

To get the Trail Rated badge, it has to SOMEHOW traverse the Rubicon Trail under its own power. When the old Liberty replaced the original Cherokee, rumors were that there were multiple axles and suspension components replaced on the trail, but it did eventually make the trip. I assume there's a similar story for the Compass.

 

As others have noted, it's trim dependent for many models, so they aren't just willing to slap it on everything. I think that gives them more credibility that most. They're not as trim/badge happy as "SS" got back at Chevy for a while. Remember the Malibu Maxx SS? Haha. I think Jeep is also doing a great job with the Trailhawk sub-brand, a lot of good visual and equipment differences. Similar to the success that Denali has had for the GM line. Denali trims hold a strong resale premium, more than just the extra features and content would typically suggest.

 

As others have noted, it's trim dependent for many models, so they aren't just willing to slap it on everything. I think that gives them more credibility that most. They're not as trim/badge happy as "SS" got back at Chevy for a while. Remember the Malibu Maxx SS? Haha. I think Jeep is also doing a great job with the Trailhawk sub-brand, a lot of good visual and equipment differences. Similar to the success that Denali has had for the GM line. Denali trims hold a strong resale premium, more than just the extra features and content would typically suggest.

 

I can't imagine that a Trail Rated Compass is really going to pass through the Rubicon. Perhaps. I did read this morning the Toyota 4Runner Trd Pro was successful.

 

The difference, though, was that the Liberty was intended to be a true Jeep in the first-place, with decent off-road capability, if not quite as much of a Mountain-Goat as the Wrangler. Can't say that for the Compass, though, which, mechanically, is a Dodge Caliber FWD compact-car platform with a restyled body. Jeep did make some changes on it for the TR-rated version, but, like you, I find it interesting that it was apparently) able to do the Rubicon Trail in one piece.

 

4Runners are designed, from the ground up, for off-roading. The off-road FJ Cruiser, for instance, was simply a 4Runner with a different body and interior.

 

That's cool that there's something behind the badge. I had wanted to get a Grand Cherokee 5 years ago, but wife didn't go for it. I admit the cargo area was really small, maybe smaller than a CR-V.

 

The JGC is very pleasant to drive, though...IMO Jeep's best all-around product (and arguably one of FCA's best).

Jeep probably saves money and materials by making only some only some of their products off-road-rated instead of all of them, as was once the case. With the exception of the Wrangler, on average, only about 5% or so of today's SUV owners actually do any hard-core stuff off-road.