The Compass’ pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Trax doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.
For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Jeep Compass are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Chevrolet Trax doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.
The Jeep Compass has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Trax doesn’t offer knee airbags.
The Compass has standard Active Head Restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Head Restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Trax doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
The Compass has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Trax doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Compass Trailhawk’s standard Hill-descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Trax doesn’t offer Hill-descent Control.
The Compass Latitude/Trailhawk/Limited offers an optional Surround View Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Trax only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.
The Compass has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Trax’s blind spot costs extra.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Compass has standard Rear Cross Path Detection, helping the driver avoid collisions. Chevrolet charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Trax.
The Compass’ driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Trax doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Compass and the Trax have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems and rearview cameras.
The Jeep Compass weighs 551 pounds more than the Chevrolet Trax. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts. Crosswinds also affect lighter cars more.