American SUV maker, Jeep has recently unveiled the new Commander 7-seater SUV in Brazil. The new model will also be launched in India, but with a different name. Rumoured to be called the Jeep Meridian, the new 3-row SUV is scheduled to be launched in our market in the first half of 2022. In India, it will rival the likes of the Toyota Fortuner, Ford Endeavour, Skoda Kodiaq and the VW Tiguan AllSpace.
The 2021 Jeep Meridian 7-seater SUV has been spotted testing in Ladakh. The spotted model shows big body and has dominating road presence. The spotted vehicle was covered with double camouflage, which hasn’t reveal much about the design elements. It is expected that the India-spec model will look largely identical to the Brazilian-spec model. However, Jeep could make small changes to suit Indian buyers tastes and preferences.
The Jeep Meridian or Commander is basically the longer, more spacious and premium version of the Compass SUV. It is based on the modified Small Wide 4×4 platform, which also underpins the Compass and the Renegade. The SUV shares styling cues from the bigger Jeep SUVs including the Grand Cherokee L. Design highlights include signature slat grille, rectangular full LED headlamps and tail-lamps, a newly designed bumper, large faux vents with LED DRLs and fog lamps with a chrome strip running across the front.
The new Jeep Meridian sits on a 2,794mm long wheelbase, which is around 158mm longer than the 5-seater Compass. It measures 4769mm in length, 1859mm in width and 1682mm in height, which makes it 364mm longer, 41mm wider and 42mm taller than the Compass. The cabin of the SUV is shared with the Compass SUV; however, the quality of materials are improved.
The new Meridian is likely to be offered with 6-and 7-seat options. While the six-seater will get captain seats in the second-row, the 7-seater will get bench-type seats. The third-row will have USB charging ports and blower speed adjustments. The second row seats have a split ratio of 60:40. It gets a 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system and 10.25-inch digital instrument console. The infotainment system will be compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. It will also get connected car tech.
The SUV come with features like panoramic sunroof, wireless charging, Alexa functionals, Harman sourced 10-speaker sound system, seven airbags, park assist, and adaptive cruise control. It will also get ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) with features like blind spot detection, automatic emergency braking, lane assist, etc.
The Brazilian-spec Commander 7-seat is offered with two engine options – a 185PS, 1.3L turbocharged petrol with 6-speed AT and a 170PS, 2.0L turbo-diesel with a 9-speed automatic gearbox. Diesel variant also gets a 4WD system as optional. The India-spec Jeep Meridian is most likely to use the twin-turbocharged version of the 2.0L diesel engine, which should produce around 200bhp and over 400Nm of torque.
