Should Jeep Build A Fastback Crossover?

Dec. 04, 2018 6:04 AM ET by Noah Joseph / 19 Comments

After the Wrangler-based Gladiator convertible pickup, we suppose anything's possible.

Crossover coupes – the ones with four doors (not two) and a sloping roofline – are rapidly gaining traction, so to speak, in the automotive marketplace. BMW (which arguably pioneered the segment) makes several, and its rivals have eagerly followed its lead. So which automaker might be next?

Bereft as we are of a crystal ball, we couldn't say for sure. But here's one idea. It's a Jeep Compass that's been rendered by Kleber Silva with a fastback roofline. And while we don't expect it to be put into production, we wouldn't rule it entirely outside the realm of possibility, either.

Slotting in between the Renegade and the Cherokee, the Compass is Jeep's midsize model, riding on an enlarged version of the same platform that underpins the Renegade (and Fiat 500X). Though engine options vary from market to market, it only comes in one body-style. These renderings speculate on another, evidently borrowing heavily from the Fastback concept that Jeep's sister brand Fiat revealed in Brazil less than a month ago, but with the Compass' nose plastered on. The question is, would there be a business case for Fiat Chrysler to build such a vehicle?

FCA

Based on BMW's upscale success, slanting the roof on the Grand Cherokee might make more sense. Meanwhile a Compass-based fastback would more directly compete with the C-HR, of which Toyota sold over 25,000 in the US last year. That barely amounts to an eighth of RAV4 (or less than a third of Jeep Compass) sales over the same period. But it's more than three times as many 500Xs as Fiat sold here in 2017, and almost as much as that entire brand. Food for thought, this is, then – especially in the wake of the Wrangler-based Gladiator convertible pickup.

FCA

Should Jeep Build A Fastback Crossover?

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Should Jeep Build A Fastback Crossover?

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