Jeep has been constantly drip-feeding us information about its much-awaited SUV, the Meridian. As we all know, the Meridian is the 7-seater derivative of the Compass. However, Jeep has gone a long way in ensuring that the Meridian has its own identity. Many dealers across the country have started accepting unofficial bookings for the Meridian for a token amount of ₹50,000. Let’s take a look at everything about it before it goes on sale in May:
Design
The Jeep Meridian is not just a stretched Compass. Jeep has made some changes to the exterior to give its own identity. The Meridian will feature a new face with a redesigned bumper and headlights. It gets bi-function LED projector headlamps that are adaptive as well. The 7-slat grille is familiar to the facelifted Compass. The alloy wheels are also different in design when compared to the Compass.
The rear gets slim LED taillamps which give it a unique identity. The Meridian is 4,769mm long, 1,859mm wide, 1,682mm high, and has a wheelbase of 2,794mm. For reference, the Jeep Compass is 4,405mm long, 1,818mm wide, 1640mm high, and features a wheelbase that is 2,636mm long. Overall, Jeep has made enough changes to differentiate the Meridian from its sibling.
Interior
The Jeep Meridian has good accessibility in the interiors, with one-touch fold & tumble seats in the second row and an 80° door opening angle, offering wider ingress/egress for the passengers. The Meridian has an 840mm couple distance between the first and second row and 780 mm between 2ndand 3rd rows. This makes it the most spacious in the segment according to Jeep. In terms of practicality, it gets features like a 60:40 split seat, one-touch fold & tumble 2nd-row seats, armrest with cup holders, a fold-flat load floor, and all recline-able seats.
The interior remains more or less the same when compared to the facelifted Compass. The overall layout is unchanged including the features list. It gets a new brown interior theme to differentiate it from the Compass. The Meridian shares its features with the facelifted Compass. It gets a 10.1-inch touchscreen with wireless android auto and apple car play, wireless charging, 9-speaker Alpine sound system, electrically operated tailgate, ventilated seats, a fully digital instrument cluster, electrically adjustable seats with memory function, panoramic sunroof, cruise control, and multi-zone climate control to name a few.
Safety
The body of the Meridian is composed of 63% hot stamped parts and high-strength steel that provides higher rigidity, reduced noise & vibration. Some of the safety features include hydraulic brake assist (HBA), fading brake support (FBS), ready alert brake (RAB), rain brake assist (RBA), hill start assist (HAS), automatic vehicle hold(AVH), and 6 airbags.
Powertrain
The Meridian is powered by a 2-liter diesel engine that produces 170hp and 350 nm of torque. Transmission options include a 6-speed manual and a 9-speed automatic. Manual models will come with 4×2 whereas the automatic variant will come with both, 4×2 and 4×4 options. The Meridian can achieve 0-100 km/h in 10.8 seconds and achieve a top speed of 198 km/h.