New Three-row Jeep Meridian SUV Revealed

It will be made in India with over 80 per cent of localisation

• Upcoming Jeep Meridian seven-seater to begin production in May.

• It made its global debut as the Jeep Commander in Brazil.

• The Meridian will be offered with three diesel-only powertrain options initially and choice of 2WD and 4WD.

• It will be a feature-rich offering with a dashboard similar to the Compass.

• Likely to be priced from around Rs 30 lakh to rival the likes of Toyota Fortuner, Skoda Kodiaq and MG Gloster.

A locally-made Jeep three-row SUV for India was first announced in 2019. It is finally ready to enter the market in the premium full-size SUV segment as the Jeep Meridian. The launch date is yet to be confirmed but production is slated to begin in May.

The Meridian will be manufactured at Jeep’s Ranjangaon facility with over 80 percent of the components being locally sourced. While the Meridian is the made-for-India version, the SUV made its global premiere in Latin America as the Jeep Commander. It features styling cues from other Jeep models like the Compass and Grand Cherokee.

Jeep has not revealed all details of the India-spec three-row SUV but has disclosed that it will be offered with the choice of three diesel-powered powertrains. The Meridian is said to offer best-in-class acceleration so expect the engine to offer plenty of performance. The likely engine on offer will be retuned version of the Compass’ 2-litre diesel with manual and automatic transmissions.

The Meridian will be a seven-seater offering that could get a six-seater layout as well. As a premium Jeep offering, it will be feature-loaded of course. Based on the Brazil-spec Commander, we expect the Meridian to offer some ADAS (Advanced Driver Assist Systems), a 10.25-inch digital driver’s display, 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system with connected car tech and a panoramic sunroof. 

As a Jeep, it will be offered with 2WD and 4WD diesel-only drivetrains initially. The Meridian will likely be equipped with the carmaker’s renowned off-roading tech to be a capable Jeep SUV.

The locally-made Jeep Meridian is expected to be priced from Rs 30 lakh onwards. It will be taking on the likes of the Toyota Fortuner, MG Gloster and Skoda Kodiaq.