It’s a fine display, but still right in line with what you’d expect from a utility vehicle that is toeing the line of luxury at $30,000. The Jeep Compass Limited has an 8.4-inch capacitive touchscreen display, which FCA calls its Uconnect 8.4 NAV display. But they’re at least familiar enough to make navigating your vehicle’s display a whole lot easier while you’re navigating the roads. That doesn’t mean CarPlay and Android Auto are perfect they still have their own weird limitations. The Uconnect in the 2017 Jeep Compass now officially supports these, and to no one’s surprise, they improve the in-car experience. But this particular version of Uconnect, available now in several other new FCA cars, is boosted by one big feature: Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. In fact, it might almost be too basic, with relatively unsophisticated voice control and limitations around what you can see on its main media screen. Uconnect is one of the simpler, intuitive new car systems I’ve tried. I’ve test-driven new vehicles with dashboards so complicated it might as well be a spaceship. But just because a car has new tech in it doesn’t mean that tech is intuitive.

Of course it’s an upgrade from your current ride, you might think. When FCA offered a brand-new Jeep Compass Limited to test-drive, I decided to find out what I was missing out on. In Jeeps, that’s Uconnect, the system developed internally by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Also, a CD player! Needless to say, if there’s one thing that might convince me to upgrade, it’s the tech inside the vehicle, not the vehicle itself. It does have an aftermarket Bluetooth stereo that works approximately 60 percent of the time, so there’s that. Just kidding: it doesn’t have either of these things. The problem with an old Jeep, though (aside from that whole recall fiasco), is that its Bluetooth connectivity and touchscreen display are a little outdated. Impractical temptations elude me, even when surrounded by some of the most amazing and tech-forward cars in the world right here in Silicon Valley. I bought it in 2007, and I plan to run it into the ground. Cars have become expensive, rolling gadgets that are full of screens, speakers, and sensors - but are they actually good gadgets? In our new series, ScreenDrive, we'll review cars just like any other device, starting with the basics of what they’re like to use.

Uconnect jeep compatible phones