Watch the new Jeep Commander/Meridian take on various off-road challenges, showcasing its brilliant capabilities off the tarmac
American UV maker Jeep debuted a new three-row SUV last month, named ‘Commander’. Jeep Commander is essentially an elongated version of the Compass, with updated styling and an extra row of seats. This new SUV will make its way to the Indian market as well, likely around mid-2022, with a new name – Jeep Meridian.
Here, we have a video of the new Jeep Commander, uploaded by YOUCAR, performing various off-road challenges. In it, we first see the SUV drive down a steep slope, and quite easily it seems. After that, we see it perform an axle twister run, which also wasn’t much of a problem for it. Next, the Jeep climbs up a flight of stairs, that too without any hiccup.
Following that, the SUV drives up and down a ditch. Despite the loose ground, the Commander easily manages to negotiate it. Next up, we see the vehicle go on a gravel road, which has a lot of undulations. The Commander easily handles all the challenges at moderately high speeds! The off-road abilities of the new Jeep Commander are indeed impressive, and we can’t wait for it to arrive in India as well.
The Jeep Commander has two engine options on offer in Brazil. The first one is 1.3-litre, turbocharged, inline-4 petrol motor with flex-fuel tech. This engine is rated at peak power and torque of 187 PS and 270 Nm, respectively. It comes mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission, which sends power only to the front wheels. Traction control and drive modes are also available on this FWD version.
The second engine option is a 2.0-litre, turbodiesel, inline-4 unit. This powerplant has 170 PS and 380 Nm on tap, and comes mated to a 9-speed automatic transmission. Power is sent to all four wheels via an all-wheel-drive system, which gets differential lock, Hill Descent Control, and terrain modes (Sand/Mud, Snow, Auto).
In the Indian market, Jeep will likely offer the Meridian/Commander with only the 2.0L diesel engine option, likely with mild-hybrid tech added. It is expected to be more powerful as well, with around 200 PS of peak power. We’ll have to wait till the next year to know for sure though.