Jeep unveils the Meridian for India – To take on Fortuner, MG Gloster and the Mahindra Alturas G4

Jeep has finally unveiled the Meridian in India and we now know how the Indian spec model looks via official images. The car will be locally produced at Jeep’s Ranjangaon plant in Maharashtra, and the pricing announcement is expected by May with deliveries beginning in June.

Essentially the Jeep Commander but with a different nametag, the Meridian is built on the same platform as the Compass but has the obvious length increase and a few more design cues to differentiate it from the Compass. For all other intents and purposes, it is the same as the Compass, however, there is talk of a variant with captain seats being added into the line-up in addition to the 7-seater version launching this year. If anything, this one does have a more commanding road presence than the Compass which is a mandatory requirement given its target market is occupied by the Toyota Fortuner.

On the inside as well, most of the feature list is shared with the Compass such as the pair of 10″ screens used in the instrument cluster and infotainment system respectively, a sunroof, and a whole host of other comforts which include wireless charging, 6 airbags, Hill Hold and Hill Start assists, climate control and more.

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As for the power, Jeep’s familiar 2.0L diesel engine will be doing duties here and will be mated to either a 6-speed manual or a 9-speed automatic. 0-100 takes about 11 seconds and there will also be an AWD version on offer. It will take on the likes of the popular Toyota Fortuner, as it asserts its off-road prowess on the tough Indian terrain. Jeep actually took it all across India and made a video about it about 2 months ago, more on which you can read here.

All in all, the Meridian wants to add the much needed big American off-roader tag to Jeep’s brand name in India. The Meridian will have the same dimensions as the Commander which makes it 26mm shorter, 4mm wider and 153mm lower in height than the Toyota Fortuner. This height difference could against it because the market wants a high sitting SUV with some presence. This does have presence and offers MUCH better interiors, features and off-road capability than the Fortuner so let us wait and watch this fight!