Jeep dealers in India have begun accepting bookings at Rs 50,000 for the upcoming Compass Trailhawk SUV. We spoke to a few of these dealers and found out that the launch is expected to take place sometime in end-June or early July this year.

The Compass Trailhawk is already being manufactured at FCA’s Ranjangaon plant and is currently an export-only model that’s sold in markets like Australia and Japan.

The rugged SUV will be positioned as the top-spec trim in India, just like in the international markets. The export version comes with Jeep’s Active Drive Low-range 4WD tech for serious off-road duties and a new 'Rock mode' for its Selec-Terrain 4WD system. It also sits 20mm higher than the standard variant and gets unique front and rear bumpers, facilitating better approach and departure angles that stand at 30 degree (approach), 24.4 degree (breakover) and 33.6 degrees (departure). The Jeep Compass Trailhawk also gets hill descent control as standard.

However, the big news is that the launch of the Compass Trailhawk will also mark entry of the much-sought after diesel-automatic configuration for the SUV in the Indian market. The Compass Trailhawk will come with the same 170hp, 2.0 litre diesel engine but instead of the manual transmission it will come with a nine-speed automatic.

Compared to the standard variant, the Compass Trailhawk gets different alloy wheels, dual-tone black and silver shade, red recovery hooks, a black painted anti-glare bonnet decal, underbody skid plates and all-weather floor mats.

Dealers are quoting a price hike of around Rs 2.5 lakh for the Compass Trailhawk diesel-automatic over the standard top-spec Jeep Compass.

Read our Jeep Compass Trailhawk review

Watch Jeep Compass Trailhawk video