Stellantis-owned Jeep has officially announced that the bookings for the all-new Meridian SUV will begin from May 2022 in India. The company is likely to launch it towards the end of May and deliveries will commence from the third week of June.
The Jeep Meridian, which will be diesel-only at launch, has been updated with an additional row of seats that makes it Jeep’s first volume 7 seat offering in the country.
Jeep Meridian: exterior and interior
The new Jeep Meridian has got completely new body panels, and has a design similar with the new Jeep Grand Cherokee L sold overseas. It sports a seven-slot front grille, outlined by chrome elements that connect the slim LED headlamps with the DRLs.
The front bumper has small foglamps with a chrome strip running across and has the ‘Meridian’ badging along the doors as well as chrome window lining, giving it a ‘floating roof’ effect.
The SUV has slim LED tail-lights that are connected via a chrome bar at the rear. The Meridian also sports a chrome piece joining the reflectors and a silver bumper-mounted faux skid plate along with the creases on either side of the tailgate. The SUV sports 18-inch dual-tone alloy wheels, a blacked-out roof, and mirror caps.
The Jeep Meridian’s dashboard layout is mostly similar to that of the Compass. However, it sports a new brown colour scheme instead of an all-black interior. Moreover, the leather upholstery in the Meridian uniquely features a perforated and quilted pattern.
The New Meridian features a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, 10.1-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless charging, a dual-pane panoramic sunroof, multi-zone climate control, six airbags, traction control, ESC, hill-start and descent control, 360-degree parking camera, electronic parking brake and selectable drive mode switch (Sand/Mud, Snow and Auto).
Jeep also offers a memory-powered tailgate that allows the individual to set an exact height for the tailgate to open.
The Meridian will have a one-touch tumble down function for access to the third row in the seven-seater variant. In addition, the middle-row passengers get air vents along with a USB charging port and a 12V charging socket.
A six-seater variant with captain seats for the middle row is expected to join the line-up later.
Engine Details
The SUV will come equipped with the same 2.0-litre four-cylinder Multijet turbo-diesel engine as the Compass, that produces 168 bhp and 350 Nm torque. The engine will come mated to either a 6-speed manual or a 9-speed automatic transmission. The manual variants will be FWD only, while automatics will also get the option of AWD.
The company is also expected to add a 1.3-litre turbo-petrol engine variant later.
Jeep Meridian price and rivals (expected)
The Jeep Meridian is expected to range between the Rs 35 lakh-38 lakh mark (ex-showroom, India). The right-hand drive Meridian will be exclusively manufactured at Jeep’s Ranjangaon factory near Pune. It could rival the likes of Skoda Kodiaq, Toyota Fortuner and MG Gloster in the Indian market.
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