Compass On Bison Trail

- Aninda Sardar

A pair of angry red eyes set in a massive dark face with a pair of deadly looking curved horns on its head. You’ll be forgiven for thinking you are in front of some demon from the dark depths of Indian mythology. For even when it’s doing nothing but chewing the cud like normal cattle do in a merry farm anywhere in India, the Indian Bison, or Gaur, can be terrifying. Even the fiercest of predators, which means the Bengal Tiger in this case, will baulk at least once before attacking one and will do so only when driven to desperation I am told. Now I don’t know if any back-from-the-dead spy from Bollywood would have been braver than the King of the Jungle, I was certainly no Tiger. I certainly wouldn’t be here, less than 20m away from a magnificent pair of Gaurs in a vehicle that I had been advised to switch off. Unless of course that vehicle happened to be the robust Jeep Compass, that too in range topping Limited Plus trim.

The Limited Plus edition is actually an updated variant of the lovely Compass, with more features added on. First and foremost there’s that magnificent dual pane panoramic sunroof that you simply cannot miss. Then there is a larger 8.4-inch touchscreen infotainment, 8-way electric adjust for the driver seat, auto dimming rear view mirror, auto headlamps, wicked looking 18-inch polished aluminium alloys and six airbags for added safety. So do these make the Compass even more desirable? What better way to find out than a road trip?