| utomotive world is somewhat obsessed with | | | | technologies. |
| producing cars that run efficiently and on the smallest | | | | However, some brands are manning up and getting |
| amount of fuel possible. From one point of view this is | | | | into the spirit of things, despite their reputation. One |
| to do with the credit crunch, and the fact that with | | | | such company is Jeep, who is going against the peer |
| rising fuel costs the general public simply won’t | | | | pressure from other 4x4 companies, and seeing if |
| be able to keep being able to afford to drive wherever | | | | they can create an off-roading high performance |
| they want to. From the more eco-friendly point of | | | | vehicle that still manages to save the drive money and |
| view the less fuel we use, the better not only for the | | | | fuel. They way they are going, and the results they are |
| ozone layer, but for the conservation of the | | | | delivering, it may well be the case that the only |
| world’s resources. We simply can’t | | | | notoriously uneconomical Jeeps in future will be the |
| keep using fuel at the same rate we are now, or we | | | | ones relegate to the used Jeep dealerships, not the |
| will run out very soon indeed. | | | | new ones. |
| Whilst lots of car manufacturers are responding to this | | | | The first Jeeps to enter the realms of the eco-friendly |
| situation with tiny engines and hybrid power, this | | | | are the Compass and the Patriot. These cars have |
| approach doesn’t suit everyone. After all, | | | | actually beaten fuel economy records, even though |
| hydrogen fuels cells are still their infancy, and electric | | | | they are chunky SUVs with 2.0 litre engines. To really |
| cars constantly need to be recharged. Even smaller | | | | drive the point home (pun completely intended) Jeep |
| engines don’t suit everyone, as you still need to | | | | sent two intrepid explorers (who also happened to be |
| be able to generate a reasonable level of power and | | | | fuel economy experts) on a trip from London to Berlin |
| speed in certain cars and for certain situations. This | | | | – a journey that covers 658 miles. The Jeep |
| means that there are certain brands that you simply | | | | Compass achieved a fuel economy of 66.76 MPG, |
| wouldn’t expect to see producing any sort of | | | | whilst the Patriot beat even that, scoring in at 67.46 |
| economical green cars, because they are well-known | | | | MPG. These would be great results for any modern |
| for their large engines. When that power and | | | | car, but they are even more remarkable when you |
| performance is what the brand is all about, it makes it | | | | consider that these are SUVs, known for their large |
| difficult to conform to an automotive trend that goes | | | | size, copious amounts of space, and complete lack of |
| completely against the grain, and against their current | | | | sensitivity to the world around them. |