2021 Jeep Compass gets a price hike as its loses its manual transmission
It's a bad week for the few car shoppers who still want to give a shift. Shortly after Honda announced plans to stop offering a stick on the Accord, Jeep confirmed the Compass will enter the 2021 model year without a six-speed manual transmission. Going automatic-only is inevitably making the crossover more expensive.
Jeep confirmed the manual's demise to CarsDirect. "There wasn't much of a demand for a manual transmission," company spokesperson Amy Grundman told the publication. Sales figures aren't available, but keep in mind new electric cars outsold stick-shifted vehicles in the United States in 2019; they represented 1.6% and 1.1% of the market, respectively. We wouldn't be surprised to see the manual drop below the 1% threshold in 2020.
Giving buyers what they want means making the Compass more expensive for 2021. The entry-level Sport model carries a base price of $25,390 including destination, a figure that represents a $1,615 increase over a comparable 2020 model. Jeep previously charged $1,500 for the six-speed automatic, so pricing has really only gone up by $115. Pricing information for the rest of the range hasn't been released, but the Sport was the only trim available with the stick. Other variants got either the aforementioned six-speed automatic, or a nine-speed unit.
Motorists who want a Jeep with a manual transmission aren't entirely out of luck. Most of the firm's range is automatic-only, but the Wrangler and the Gladiator still come standard with a six-speed stick. And, while the number of new cars available with three pedals in the United States continues to shrink, Ford's hotly-anticipated 2021 Bronco will be available with a seven-speed manual when it reaches showrooms in the coming months.
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