2022 Jeep Compass vs 2021 Nissan Armada

The 2021 Nissan Armada underwent a significant facelift, aligning its exterior design with Nissan's new signature look. The SUV featured a new grille, front fenders, bumpers, and LED headlights and taillights, giving it a modern appearance while retaining its traditional beefy and athletic body styling. The Armada was available in S, SV, SL, and Platinum grades, with the Midnight Edition Package exclusive to the SL trim. The highest Platinum trim level showcased body-color over fenders, dark-painted roof rails, and an acoustic windshield and front side windows. Depending on the trim, the Armada rode on 18-, 20-, or 22-inch aluminum alloy wheels wrapped in all-season tires.

The 2022 Jeep Compass, despite exterior styling updates and new wheel designs, maintained a look similar to its 2017 redesign. The High Altitude test vehicle featured 19-inch multi-spoke wheels with a dark sparkly finish, giving it an upscale appearance. Inside, the Compass High Altitude impressed with a new dashboard design, updated digital instrumentation, and infotainment systems. Soft-touch surfaces, luxury-grade leather seats, and added sound deadening contributed to a premium feel. The High Altitude trim, the most expensive version, included features like all-wheel drive, the Elite Interior Group, and Driver Assist Group 1 option packages, resulting in a sophisticated and comfortable cabin.

The 2021 Nissan Armada was equipped with a 5.6-liter V8 engine, delivering 400 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque when using premium fuel. Paired with a seven-speed automatic transmission, the Armada offered rear-wheel drive as standard, with automatic four-wheel drive available. Despite its weight of over 6,000 pounds, the Armada was a capable off-roader with a skid plate, double-wishbone suspension, and Hitachi twin-tube shock absorbers. It had a maximum towing capacity of 8,500 pounds. However, its fuel economy was less impressive, with RWD models achieving 14 mpg in the city and 19 mpg on the highway, while 4WD models managed 13 mpg in the city and 18 mpg on the highway.

The 2022 Jeep Compass featured a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, producing 177 horsepower and 172 pound-feet of torque. The engine, paired with a nine-speed automatic transmission for AWD models and a six-speed automatic for FWD models, lacked the power and refinement of its competitors. The transmission aimed to maximize fuel efficiency but resulted in a busy and unrewarding powertrain character. The Compass High Altitude achieved an average of 23.8 mpg in combined driving, slightly below the EPA's estimate of 25 mpg. With 8.1 inches of ground clearance, the Compass was suitable for light off-roading, while the Trailhawk trim offered enhanced off-road capabilities with features like a low range, hill descent control, and skid plates.

The 2021 Nissan Armada, as Nissan's flagship SUV, offered practicality and functionality for families. The interior featured a new 12.3-inch touchscreen, but the broad dashboard made some controls difficult to reach. First- and second-row occupants enjoyed comfortable seating, with power-adjustable front seats and optional second-row captain's chairs. The third row was less comfortable for adults due to limited legroom. Cargo space included 16.5 cubic feet behind the third row, 49.9 cubic feet behind the second row, and 95.4 cubic feet with both rows folded. However, the high load floor made loading and unloading challenging for petite individuals.

The 2022 Jeep Compass provided enough space for four adults and their luggage. The High Altitude trim featured eight-way power-adjustable front seats with heating and ventilation, a heated steering wheel, and heated rear seats. The cabin included a dual-pane panoramic sunroof, a redesigned dashboard with a new Uconnect 5 infotainment screen, and premium leather upholstery. The Compass offered 27.2 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seat and 59.8 cubic feet with the rear seat folded, exceeding the cargo capacity of the more expensive Cherokee model.

The 2021 Nissan Armada boasted a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen, the largest in its class, with features like navigation, a six-speaker stereo, satellite radio, Bluetooth, USB ports, a WiFi hotspot, and wireless Apple CarPlay. Higher trims offered a wireless charging pad, a 13-speaker Bose audio system, a rearview camera mirror, and a second-row entertainment system. The Armada Platinum included these features as standard.

The 2022 Jeep Compass introduced the Uconnect 5 infotainment system, which was five times faster than the previous version. An 8.4-inch touchscreen was standard, with a 10.1-inch touchscreen available. The system supported wireless Apple CarPlay, wireless Android Auto, Amazon Alexa, satellite radio, and voice text-to-reply. Additional features included a navigation system, connected services, a WiFi hotspot, and a wireless charging pad. The Compass also offered a nine-speaker Alpine premium sound system.

The 2021 Nissan Armada came with Nissan Safety Shield 360, which included automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind-spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert, lane departure warning, automatic high beams, and rear automatic braking. Additional safety features included adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, blind-spot monitoring, and rear door alert. However, the Armada lacked advanced driving assist technologies like Nissan ProPilot Assist. The NHTSA gave the Armada a three-star rollover rating due to its 23.7-percent rollover risk.

The 2022 Jeep Compass improved its safety features, offering forward-collision warning with pedestrian and cyclist detection, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assistance, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert as standard. The Compass was set to add Highway Assist later in the model year, combining adaptive cruise control and lane-centering assistance for highway driving. Additional features included a parallel and perpendicular parking assistance system and a 360-degree surround-view camera system. The NHTSA carried over the previous three-star rollover resistance rating, and the IIHS scores indicated a need for improved headlight performance.