Check out our list of the top five things you should know about the upcoming Jeep Meridian (or Commander, for international markets)
Jeep is planning to debut a new 7-seater SUV internationally soon, named ‘Commander’. This new model will make its way to the Indian market as well later, but with a new name – Meridian. This upcoming model has been spied road testing in India a few times, revealing key details, while a few other details have been teased by the manufacturer.
Here, we have listed the five things that we know so far about this upcoming Jeep three-row SUV for the Indian market.
1. Exterior
Jeep Meridian will have a rugged and slightly boxy exterior design. Spy pictures have revealed that it would get the signature seven-slot front grille, a large airdam on the front bumper, and sharp wraparound taillights. The overall styling will draw some inspiration from the Compass, but with its own unique design traits.
2. Interior
The interior of this upcoming SUV will bear a lot of resemblance with the current Compass, as revealed in a teaser video. The dashboard design will be the same, as will be the centre console, but the upholstery will be more premium. The biggest difference, of course, would be the addition of the third row at the back.
3. Features and equipment
The upcoming Jeep Commander/Meridian will get the same 10.1-inch floating-type touchscreen infotainment system, along with the same 10.25-inch fully digital instrument console as the Compass. Other features expected to be available include a panoramic sunroof, dual-zone climate control, multi-function steering wheel, cruise control, electric parking brake, multiple airbags, and even a few autonomous safety features.
4. Powertrain
The upcoming Jeep Meridian will be powered by a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine, the same as the Compass, but tuned to develop more power to compensate for the added weight. Speculations suggest that this powerplant would develop around 200 PS of peak power. In international markets, it will get turbo-petrol engine option(s) as well, but we’re not sure if that would be offered here.
5. Expected launch and rivals
Jeep will globally debut this new three-row SUV in the coming months, and it will go on sale in South America first, as the Commander. We expect this new model to make its way to the Indian market likely around mid-2022, as the Meridian, to rival the likes of Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace, Skoda Kodiaq, Toyota Fortuner, Ford Endeavour, and MG Gloster.