Everything we know so far about the Toyota Fortuner rival

Jeep India is all set to launch its three-row SUV, Meridian in the Indian market tomorrow. The bookings of the SUV are already open. It will sit above the Compass and will be going against the MG Gloster and the Toyota Fortuner. Our review of the Jeep Meridian is already out and the SUV has now started reaching dealerships. Today, we list down all the things that we know about the Jeep Meridian.

Exterior

Despite being based on the same platform as the Compass, the Meridian gets a slightly different styling which is enough for it to make stand out on the road. The front-end is similar to the Compass as it gets similar sleek pair of LED headlamps. There is Jeep’s 7 slat grille which is on every Jeep SUV. The bumper is different on the Meridian. It looks aggressive because of the wide air dam but gets chrome slats for a premium look.

On the sides, there are 18-inch alloy wheels which are larger than what you get on the Compass. They also look quite good. The major difference you would notice from the B-pillar, the Meridian gets a larger rear door that also has a wider opening for occupants to get in or out easily. Jeep said that only the front windshield, front seat frame and some small parts of the instrument cluster are identical to the Compass, the rest of everything is new for the Meridian. The SUV gets an entirely new rear-end with a flat tailgate and new slim LED tail lamps.

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Interior

The cabin layout of the Meridian is identical to the Compass but it gets better materials throughout the cabin. The interior is now finished in a black and brown theme instead of pure black. The seats now get different stitching but things like the infotainment system, digital instrument cluster etc are taken from the Compass. Because the Meridian has a longer wheelbase there is more legroom for the rear occupants. Having said that, the rear bench seat is only comfortable for two occupants. Also, Jeep is not offering a captain’s chair option for now.

Engine and gearbox

The engine of the Meridian is the same one as the Compass. So, it is a 2.0-litre Multijet diesel unit that we have also seen on the MG Hector Twins, Tata Safari and Tata Harrier. But then Jeep has retuned the engine because the Meridian weighs 110 kgs more. The diesel engine still produces 170 Ps of max power and 350 Nm of peak torque. The gearbox options include a 6-speed manual or a 9-speed automatic.

Capable off-road

Being a Jeep means that it comes with some off-road equipment as well. There are multiple driving modes, Sand/Mud, Auto and Snow. You will be able to get it with a 4×4 system too. There would be Hill Start Assist, and Hill Hold Control along with other features too.

Features

Jeep Meridian comes with a decent feature list. It has a 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system that supports wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, a digital instrument cluster, electronic parking brake, rear AC vents, cruise control, charging ports, panoramic sunroof, 360-degree camera and much more. However, it still misses out on ADAS, ventilated seats and front parking sensors.

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