2022 Hyundai Tucson vs Jeep Compass

What's the difference?

Operating in one of the most hotly-contested segments in the Aussie new car market, the Hyundai Tucson goes up against more than a dozen major mid-size SUV players, the heavyweights being Mazda’s evergreen CX-5, Mitsubishi’s brand-spanking new fourth-gen Outlander, Nissan’s soon to be renewed X-Trail, Subaru’s ever-popular Forester, and Toyota’s category-leading elephant in the room, the RAV4.

The era of automotive electrification continues to progress, but turbo-diesel power remains popular with buyers in this class. So we decided to take a look at this family favourite in diesel guise only.

The Jeep Compass is something of a unicorn among the long list of small SUVs sold in Australia. It is now the only model in either the light or small-SUV category that is available with a diesel engine.

That diesel is found under the bonnet of just one variant – the rugged Trailhawk which is also the flagship of the range.

Aside from Suzuki’s adorable Jimny light SUV, the Compass Trailhawk is the only small SUV with some off-road ability.

After going on sale in Australia in late 2017, the second-generation Compass was overhauled as part of a mid-life update in 2021. Aside from subtle styling tweaks, the biggest change was a new multimedia system.

Has Jeep done enough to lift the Compass from an also-ran to a model that buyers should consider, or was the update too little, too late?