The company that debuted the last year in August with its Wrangler and Grand Cherokee has now confirmed to let lose the curtains off its budget friendly compact SUV Jeep Compass on 12th April'17. The reason for the economical pricing of Compass is that the company has set up its manufacturing plant in Fiat's Ranjangaon, India plant itself whereas Wrangler and Grand Cherokee were exported in the form of completely built units. Not only this, the Jeep's parent company Fiat will also manufacture units for right-handed driving countries in order to create a balanced import-export flow.
It is expected to be priced around as low as Rs. 16 to 20 lakhs. Being the only one of its kind in the segment when it comes to India, the jeep might face an indirect competition from Tata Hexa, Mahindra XUV500 and Toyota Innova Crysta that are likely to serve the similar purpose as that of Jeep Compass. It shall inherit much of its features from 2016 model of Grand Cherokee.
Talking about the outsides, the SUVish Jeep shall carry LED-DRLs and projector headlamps with dual-reflector units on lower range variants, the out of the league 7-slat jeep grille, large blacked-out bumper cladding, the squared-off wheels arches, compact glasshouse, roof rails and a range of alloy wheel designs ranging from 16-inch to 19-inch depending on the model you choose. At the rear, it carries LED guiding lights in the tail lamp, a short hatch-door and a large bumper with cladding.
Moving inside, it has dual-tone leather upholstery, 5.0 to 8.4-inch touchscreen infotainment system compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, analogue-digital instrument cluster with a 7-inch MID, optional dual-panel sunroof and dual-zone automatic climate control. It can seat 5 passengers comfortably.
The transmission shall be controlled by 5-speed manual, 6-speed manual, 6-speed automatic, 7-speed dual-clutch automatic and 9-speed automatic to 9-speed automatic gearbox, depending on the model you opt for. It shall have engine varieties of petrol (1.4-litre turbocharged, 2.0-litre turbocharged and 2.4-litre turbocharged) and diesel (1.6-litre turbocharged and 2.0-litre turbocharged) units. Trim levels include the base Sport, mid-level Latitude, top-spec Limited and off-road specific Trailhawk.
