Jeep Compass to have manual gearbox

Jeep has positioned itself in India as a premium manufacturer with both the Wrangler and the Grand Cherokee priced in the upper echelons of the car market. The Compass is the new entrant in the Jeep line-up globally and will be the first Jeep to be built in India. While we all expected it to be priced up there as well, the latest reports suggest otherwise.

FCA’s strategy seems to be about positioning the Jeep brand high up there to give it aspirational touch and then get into the volume games with the Compass. And we can say that because Kevin Flynn, CEO FCA India, said that the Jeep Compass will also have automatic options. Which means, the Compass range will start with manual gearbox options and as we move up the trims, will get automatic options as well.

The Jeep Compass is a compact SUV, comparable to the Hyundai Tucson and that is where we think FCA would position the Compass as well. Under 4.5 metres in length, the Jeep Compass might start near the Rs 20 lakh mark for the manual rear-wheel drive setup while the top-spec four-wheel drive with automatic gearbox option might go well up to Rs 30 lakh.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee shows us how comfortable Jeeps can be and the Compass would certainly take cues from the bigger Jeep. It also gets the terrain response wizardry from the bigger Jeeps and hence it might turn out to be the most capable off-roader in that price bracket. To be launched before the festive season in 2017, more details about the Jeep Compass will be revealed. Stay tuned for more.