After a series of leaked images, the India-bound Jeep Compass SUV has finally been revealed. The Compass is Jeep’s smaller and affordable take on the larger and more expensive Jeep Grand Cherokee, which is already on sale in India.
The Jeep Compass gets more traditional styling like its larger sibling, but does get a few angular bits like the Renegade, making it look more rugged. Key design elements include a wide-shouldered look, a shallow Jeep grille and tapering headlights. As seen on other Jeep SUVs, the Compass too, gets squared-off wheel arches and large alloy wheels. The rear gets horizontally aligned tail-lamps with LED units.
Higher-spec variants are said to come with dual-tone exteriors and plenty of chrome highlights, and are expected to be brought to India as well.
The car’s features are most likely to be similar to those on the more expensive Grand Cherokee. The Compass will be equipped with the U-Connect infotainment system and an 8.0-inch screen, and one can expect features like climate control and push-button start as well. The SUV could get the option of a seven-seat layout for India.
During the unveiling, Jeep had announced that the Compass will be produced with, “17 fuel-efficient powertrain options for consumers in more than 100 countries around the world.” Production for the left-hand-drive Compass has commenced at FCA’s Jeep Assembly Plant in Goiana, Brazil.
For India, the SUV will be fitted with a 172hp 2.0-litre Fiat Multijet II diesel engine that will be localised. The engine will also be seen in Tata's Q501 SUV in the future. Internationally, the SUV will also be offered with a petrol engine alongside the Fiat-sourced 1.6 Multijet II unit. The SUV will also offer a choice of two or four-wheel drive with the latter also featuring low range and a locking differential.
The Compass will be offered in four trims in international markets – Sport, Longitude, Limited and Trailhawk. The Trailhawk will be the serious off-roader of the lot, with 20mm raised ride height, different tyres and additional underbody protection. We had reported long ago that the Jeep Compass Trailhawk will be on offer right from the model’s global unveil.
The Jeep brand officially entered India last month with two models, the Wrangler and the Grand Cherokee and its high-performance SRT variant. While these two mainstream models are completely built units and command steep price-tags, the Jeep Compass is likely to be priced competitively as it will be locally assembled in India at Fiat’s Ranjangaon facility near Pune.
Sources in the company have updated us that prices for this SUV will start around Rs 20 lakh mark for the fairly well-equipped version, which of course, would mean plenty of SUV for your money, after all, the Compass is a full-sized SUV that is larger than the Creta.
Viraaj Bhatnagar
Uday Singh
Suraj Viswanathan
Lenny D'sa
Saptarshi Mondal
