Jeep India has been on a seesaw in the Indian market for quite some time. Even though it has good products on sale in India, the premium positioning and high pricing seem to be dragging it down, where sales are concerned. The company is strengthening its portfolio in India by adding more features and safety tech to better position their products in the market.
Automotive enthusiast Deepak Rasquinha spotted the 2024 Jeep Meridian testing ADAS suite in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The test mules don temporary registration plates from Maharashtra state, probably rolled out of FCA’s Ranjangaon plant. Usually, Jeep test mules are spotted around Pune or Mumbai.
The reason for spotting a Jeep test mule in Silicon City is down to the extensive number of component manufacturers based out of Bengaluru. This particular Jeep Meridian test mule is testing for particular components too. On the camouflage, we can see a pronounced sticker reading ‘Bosch Test Vehicle’.
The stickers also had camera and microphone symbols on them. On closer inspection, we could see two radars (likely to be millimetre wave modules) and multiple cameras in the lower bumper. ORVMs had blind spot monitoring indications as well. Jeep is testing its ADAS suite tailor made for Indian market.
For starters, MY2024 Jeep Compass and its 3-row counterpart, MY2024 Jeep Meridian, will get a host of new safety tech that are not on offer with current models. We are talking about Jeep’s own ADAS suite along with a 360-degree camera feature that is being developed in conjunction with Bosch.
We can see a few feature additions here and there to increase the appeal of both Compass and Meridian. Jeep is rumoured to be testing the 1.3L GSE T4 turbo petrol engine that could establish a lower price point with base models. This engine generates 150 bhp of peak power and 250 Nm of peak torque.
Jeep’s 4X4 system is less likely to be coupled with the new turbo petrol engine, though. The other powertrain is a 2.0L turbo diesel that also does duties in Tata Harrier and Safari along with MG Hector and Hector Plus. This engine has 170 PS of power and 350 Nm of torque, mated to either a 6-speed manual or 6-speed torque converter.
It is yet to be seen if there will be any design changes with 2024 Jeep Meridian and 2024 Compass. There are no design changes visible on this particular test mule that was found testing ADAS suite and a 360-degree camera.
Jeep might see significantly more success with a price revision because Compass is hardly a couple of centimetres bigger than the current crop of compact SUVs. But the price point is almost double with base models. Same can be said about Meridian too when compared to mid-size SUVs like Mahindra XUV700.