Jeep is planning to launch a new three-row SUV in our market soon, and its road testing has already begun in India
American UV manufacturer Jeep is set to globally unveil the new Commander SUV soon. This new SUV is based on the Jeep Compass, and it is slated to arrive in the Indian market as well. However, the Indian version will have a different name, as Mahindra & Mahindra holds the trademark for the ‘Commander’ name in our country.
Jeep has commenced the road testing of this 7-seater SUV in India, and test models were recently spied on the outskirts of Pune. As per speculations, the India-spec version (codenamed H6) will be powered by the same 2.0-litre, turbocharged, inline-4 diesel engine as the Compass, but tuned to generate more power. It is expected to come mated to a 9-speed automatic transmission, with AWD available on top variants. We’re not sure if a petrol engine would be offered in our market.
Apart from sharing its platform with the Compass, the upcoming Jeep ‘H6’ will also share a lot of body panels with it. However, despite the similarities, the overall design will be fairly unique, as previously stated by the manufacturer. The exterior styling might take inspiration from other models in Jeep’s global lineup, like the Grand Cherokee L or Grand Commander.
To accommodate the extra seats, the Jeep H6 will be longer in dimensions than the Compass. In the spy pictures, it can be seen that the upcoming SUV will have longer rear doors as well, to provide better ingress and egress into the third row. The interior design of the vehicle is expected to bear resemblance to the Compass, but with more focus on luxury and premium-ness.
We expect the features and equipment available on Jeep Compass to be offered on this upcoming SUV as well. These include a fully digital TFT instrument console, a new 10-inch infotainment system (with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity), wireless smartphone charging, 360-degree camera, power-operated tailgate, electrically adjustable driver seat, panoramic sunroof, and connected car tech.
The upcoming Jeep H6 will likely be offered in both 6- and 7- seat configurations, with the former offering captain seats in the second row. The SUV is expected to launch in India around mid-2022, and upon arrival, it will rival the likes of Volkswagen Tiguan AllSpace, Toyota Fortuner, Ford Endeavour, etc.