Jeep Meridian: Why it doesn’t get a sliding second row

The Jeep Meridian, the three-row Compass-based SUV, has been in the market for over two years and sales have been underwhelming. In the last six months, Meridian wholesales have averaged about 115 units, which is significantly lower than the Toyota Fortuner (3,013 units), and even below the Skoda Kodiaq (140 units) and MG’s Gloster (139 units). Despite its sophisticated feel and feature-rich appeal, one notable absence is a sliding second-row bench seat, a feature its competitors offer.

Autocar India has learnt that that the reason behind this is that the made-in-India Meridian was meant to be exported to the UK. For the UK, Jeep had plans to introduce a plug-in hybrid variant and the space behind the middle row was supposed to house the battery pack.

Consequently, there was no space left to integrate a sliding mechanism for the reclining second row, which does come with 60:40 split-folding and fold-and-tumble functions. With the cancellation of export plans, Jeep missed the chance to add this function, resulting in the launch without this feature.

Jeep is currently working on the Meridian facelift, with a launch slated for this year. While the updated model will likely include ADAS tech, it remains uncertain whether Jeep will incorporate the sliding function.