Jeep Compass

Jeep took a really long time to kick off their Indian voyage and after the launch of the Wrangler and the Grand Cherokee, it seems that the American SUV maker has unfurled all its sails. Jeep has declared that an entirely new compact SUV would be assembled and exported from India as a part of the ‘Make in India’ campaign. The compact SUV, codename 551, will be called the Jeep Compass and can be expected to be launched in India by the July 2017.

The Compass has been designed to look like a baby Grand Cherokee with influences from the Jeep Renegade. It gets the typical vertically slatted wide grille, the high mounted headlamps and the macho front bumper with the blacked out bash plate. The side profile gets a prominent shoulder line, squared wheel arches and a thick D-pillar to complete the twin-cab five seater SUV look. The clear lens tail lamps in the back look sporty complementing the decked up tailgate and large bumper.

While the Compass is set to get about 17 powertrain options globally, for India we will have the 170bhp 2.0-litre Multijet II engine from Fiat to power the Jeep. It also has a petrol engine option – the 1.4-litre T-Jet engine from Fiat that develops over 160bhp of power. Both the engines will come mated to a seven-speed automatic gearbox and you can opt for the famed Jeep four-wheel drive system.

We are yet to get a peek into the production-spec interiors but being a premium brand, you can expect the feature-list to be akin to a luxury SUV. As for the safety, the Jeep will get dual-front airbags as standard along with ABS and EBD. The higher-spec trims might get more airbags and the automatic versions will get ESP.

The Jeep Compass is expected to be budget car starting at about Rs 16 lakh, ex-showroom, Delhi and will extend up to Rs 25 lakh for the top-spec Compass. At this price, it goes against the Hyundai Tucson, the Honda CR-V and the Skoda Yeti amongst the five-seater premium SUVs.