The Jeep Meridian has been facile, and, as Spy had earlier revealed, this brisubtles in design updates along with more features than its predecessor and an ADAS suite. The nis thats is it’ll come in 5-seater and 7-seater forms. Jeep India announced bookings for the refreshed SUV have started at Rs 50,000.
Jeep Meridian facelift gets an altered grille design, the interior gets new trims and upholstery, and the 2.0-litre diesel engine continues to be unchanged.
The Meridian will come in a 5-seater configuration, CarYanams reported in August. The 5-seater Meridian may also help Jeep position the large SUV a bit more competitively – the outgoing model’s starting price was Rs 31.23 lakh (the range tops off at Rs 39.83 lakh). But whether or not the Meridian will be positioned as a key rival to the Compass (Rs 18.99 lakh-32.41 lakh), on which it is based remains to be seen.
Jeep Meridian 5 seater config
The teasers on Jeep India’s website reveal that the Meridian facelift boasts a mildly different grille design – the honeycomb mesh in the seven-slat grille has got chrome studs. It will also come with new alloy wheel designs for the 18-inchers along with other minor changes, seen in the earlier spy images.
The major overhaul on the Meridian facelift will be a Level 2 ADAS suite. Other feature additions include an expanded list of connected car tech.
Jeep Meridian facelift interior
The cabin would include a three-layer dashboard, with a grey finish instead of the outgoing model’s beige. It would also replace the chrome strip of the outgoing model with a copper finish strip. All of these would be retained-from the 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster to the 10.1-inch infotainment touchscreen, including the 9-speaker Alpine audio system, the wireless charger, front ventilated seats, and all sorts of creature comforts and tech.
Jeep India has declared that the facelifted Meridian will be offered with a 9-speed auto option along with 4×2 and 4×4 variants. We expect that of the outgoing model’s 170hp, 350Nm, 2.0-litre diesel to stay. The brand tested the Compass in India with a petrol engine, which might find its way to the Meridian too, though do not expect that at launch.
All prices, ex-showroom, India
What to expect from the Jeep Meridian facelift?
From the images posted, the new Meridian seems to receive more than just cosmetic changes-the new iteration is going to receive functional upgrades as well over the outgoing model.
For starters, whereas the current Meridian comes only with a seven-seat layout, the new iteration will also be available with a five-seat configuration. That should help Jeep price the Meridian quite aggressively. Talking of which, currently, the Meridian ranges between Rs. 31.23 lakh to Rs. 39.83 lakh, ex-showroom.
The 5-seat version of the Meridian will also offer more spacious boots, which have been reported to be 170 litres only with the seven-seat variant. Another major upgrade is coming in the ADAS Level 2 Advanced Driver Assistance System, which would boast features like collision avoidance, automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist, and other advanced features.
Jeep Meridian facelift: Powertrain
The new Meridian will be powered by the same 2.0-litre Multijet diesel, churning out 168 bhp along with 350Nm of peak torque. It’ll feature both a 6-speed manual transmission and a 9-speed torque converter automatic gearbox and will be available in both 4×2 and 4×4 drivetrains.