Jeep India will reveal the price list of the Meridian SUV on May 19, and deliveries are expected to commence next month
Back in February 2022, Jeep Meridian was officially unveiled in India, and bookings for it had commenced earlier this month. Now, the SUV’s official launch date has been confirmed by the manufacturer – 19 May 2022. Jeep Meridian is based on the same architecture as Jeep Compass, with many similarities as well as differences between the two.
The platform has been altered to accommodate an extra row of seats on Meridian, and although its dashboard design is the same as Compass, the interior colour theme and upholstery are different. Also, Jeep has made major changes to the exterior design, to ensure that the upcoming Meridian won’t feel like a Compass clone.
Under the hood, this forthcoming Jeep SUV will have a 2.0-litre, turbocharged, inline-4 diesel engine (which is also available on Compass). This powerplant generates a maximum power of 170 PS and a peak torque of 350 Nm. Buyers would be able to choose between a 6-speed manual gearbox and a 9-speed torque-converter automatic transmission.
As standard, Jeep Meridian will be available in a front-wheel-drive configuration. The top-spec diesel-automatic trims will get an all-wheel-drive option as well, which is great news for off-road enthusiasts. The off-road capabilities of Meridian are expected to be in the same ballpark as Compass, courtesy of the shared platform.
Jeep India will offer a lot of equipment on Meridian, including a 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system (with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay), connected car tech, multi-zone climate control, panoramic sunroof, all-LED exterior lights, 18-inch machine-cut alloy wheels, ventilated first-row seats, and more.
Jeep Meridian will also get lots of safety features, including six airbags, tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), electronic stability control (ESC), 360-degree camera, etc. There will be five paint options available on the SUV – Brilliant Black, Grigio Magnesio, Velvet Red, Techno Green, and Pearl White.
We expect Jeep Meridian to have a starting price of around Rs. 30 lakh (ex-showroom). Upon arrival, it will be a rival to Skoda Kodiaq, Toyota Fortuner, MG Gloster, and Mahindra Alturas G4.