The bookings for the all-new Jeep Meridian SUV begins from May 1. The price announcement and launch is slotted for the end of May. The Jeep Meridian, which will be diesel-only at launch, shares its underpinnings with the Compass, albeit, designed to accommodate an additional row of seats.
Unlike most three-row derivatives of five-seater SUVs, the Meridian is differentiated enough from the Compass to make it stand out. It is not a mere stretch job as it measures 41mm wider and 48mm taller than the Compass, apart from being 364mm longer in beam, with the wheelbase extended by 146mm.
All body panels on the Meridian are new, and overall, the design has a resemblance with the new Jeep Grand Cherokee L sold overseas. The longer rear overhang and an upright tail section give away the Meridian to be packing a third row of seats.
On the inside, the dashboard layout is similar to the Compass, although it adopts a new brown colour scheme, compared to the Compass’ all-black interior. The leather upholstery in the Meridian features a perforated and quilted pattern.
The Meridian comes equipped with a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, 10.1-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless charging, powered front seats, dual-zone climate control, six airbags, traction control, ESC, hill-start and descent control, 360-degree parking camera and selectable drive modes. It also comes with a powered tail gate function.
At launch, the Meridian will be offered only as a seven-seater – with a bench seat for the middle row – and get one-touch tumble down function for access to the third row. A six-seater variant with captain seats for the middle row is expected to join the line-up later.
The Meridian will be powered by a sole 170hp, 350Nm, 2.0-litre four-cylinder Multijet turbo-diesel engine at launch, which is the same as the Compass.
The engine will come mated to either a 6-speed manual or a 9-speed automatic transmission — manual variants will be FWD only, while automatics will also get the option of AWD. Later, as we have previously reported, a 1.3-litre turbo-petrol engine is also expected to join the line-up.
