American SUV maker, Jeep has officially announced that the upcoming three-row SUV will be called the Jeep Commander. The new Jeep SUV, internally called the Project H6, will be produced at FCA’s Ranjangaon plant. This production unit will also serve as a production hub for the right-hand-drive markets.
Jeep Commander Key Details
India Launch – Mid-2022
Competition – Skoda Kodiaq, VW Tiguan AllSpace, Toyota Fortuner, Ford Endeavour
Expected Price – Rs 28 lakh – Rs 35 lakh
Engine – 2.0L turbocharged diesel with 9-speed AT
The new Jeep Commander 3-row SUV will first go on sale in South America. It is expected to make a world premiere in the mid-2021, around July-August. The LHD version will be produced in Brazil. The SUV will be launched in the Indian market in mid-2022. In fact, the SUV has already been caught doing test rounds in India.
The new Jeep H6 will be powered by the same 2.0-litre 4-cylinder, Multijet turbo-diesel engine that also powers the Compass. While powering the Compass, this engine produces 173bhp and 350Nm of torque. For the Commander, the 2.0L engine will be tuned to produce around 200bhp and over 400Nm of torque. A 9-speed torque-convertor automatic gearbox will be offered as standard. Adding to it, the SUV is also likely to get trail-rated version and AWD (All-Wheel-Drive) system.
The Brazilian-spec Commander will also receive a new 1.3-litre 4-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine that powers the international-spec Compass SUV. Both manual and automatic gearbox options will be on offer.
The new Jeep Commander will be based on the FCA’s Small Wide 4×4 platform, which also underpins the Compass SUV. However, Jeep engineers will modify this platform to accommodate a longer wheelbase and bigger SUV. This platform will be stronger and stiffer, and will also be used to develop the second generation Renegade.
The new Jeep Commander will be offered in 6-and 7-seat options. The six-seater will come with captain seats for the second row, while the 7-seater Commander will get bench type seat for the second row. The seats will be flexible, to be folded down to create extra luggage space.
The SUV will share body panels and front design with the Compass; however, designers will give some changes to keep things fresh. The majority of the changes will be made to the side and rear profile. It will have a longer rear doors with elongated body. The SUV will come with completely re-designed rear profile, which is likely to be inspired by the Grand Cherokee L and Grand Wagoneer concept. The spy images reveal that the SUV’s rear profile will have horizontally placed LED tail-lamps. It will have exclusive full-LED headlights with LED DRLs. The DRLs are interconnected by a chrome bar on the bumper.
The Jeep Commander will share the dashboard design with the Compass; however, it will have new premium finish. It will get gold-plated chrome band on the panel, while the central console has soft touch materials. It will get the free-standing touchscreen infotainment system with UConnect 5 software, panoramic sunroof, wireless charging, a digital instrument console, powered front seats and leather upholstery.
