Car review: This cheap 2020 Jeep Compass is sure to break your heart

It's always the good-looking ones who disappoint.
We have all dated someone dazzling only to find that they're cruel, or irredeemably dim, or as charming as an effete lemur. It's the feeling I got with the 2020 Jeep Compass crossover.
Since its redesign in 2017, I have been smitten by the second-generation Jeep Compass. Looking very much like the Jeep Grand Cherokee's kid brother, its handsome styling is quite fetching for a compact crossover, and it has the sort of clever detailing we've come to expect from FCA stylists — in this case, a lizard molded into the molding by the driver's side windshield wiper.
The compact Compass slots above the sub-compact Renegade, but below the midsize Cherokee. I have loved its looks, and have been intrigued by what seemed to be a good value. The Compass lineup starts at a reasonable $22,280 for the Sport, followed a step up by the Latitude, and then by the Limited and the Trailhawk. Two special editions are available: the Altitude Appearance Package available on Latitude, and a High Altitude Appearance Package offered on the Limited. All models are available with front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive except the Trailhawk, which gets standard all-wheel drive.

Not surprisingly, it was lavishly equipped with power everything, an 8.4-inch touch screen with FCA's excellent Uconnect infotainment system, power ventilated and heated front seats, leather trim, a sunroof, rain-sensitive wipers, a 4G LTE Wi-Fi hot spot, a power rear liftgate and a number of USB Ports.
Yet my illusions were shattered as soon as I engaged it.
No matter how you dress it up, the Compass comes with one engine and it's not a great one: FCA's unremarkable 2.4-liter Tigershark four-cylinder engine rated at 180 horsepower @6,400 rpm, and 175 pound-feet of torque @3,900 rpm. It mates to a six-speed manual transmission on the Sport and Latitude. A six-speed automatic transmission is optional on front-wheel-drive Sports, and standard on front-wheel-drive Latitude and Limited models. A nine-speed automatic transmission is optional four-wheel-drive Sport and Latitudes, and standard on four-wheel-drive Limited and Trailhawks. As you'd expect, there's a system that offers different driving modes based on road conditions: Auto, Snow, Sport and Sand/Mud. Off-road-oriented Trailhawk models also get a Rock mode and a 20:1 crawl ratio. However, the four-wheel-drive system is an automatic system rather than one of Jeep's true off-road systems.
I didn't take it off road, but neither will most Compass buyers.
On road, the Compass is not an off-road warrior like the Wrangler, nor an urbane sophisticate like the Grand Cherokee. It's just a cheap Jeep.

Fuel economy came in at 22 mpg, which is low. Blame a heavy right foot, and a lot of manual shifting to extract power.
As you'd expect in any vehicle with off-road cred, there is body lean while cornering, but ultimately the Compass feels secure. And it's more agile than you'd expect, with a 22.9-degree breakover angle (24.4 degrees on the Trailhawk). Steering is nicely weighted, and the ratio is apropos for the brand.
The 2020 Jeep Compass could be a wonderful compact crossover if not for what lies under the hood, where its sluggish, lethargic driveline proves to be a wearying, crushing disappointment.
And, with its $38k as tested price, the Cherokee seems a much better value, not to mention far better marriage material.