Jeep India has finally announced the pricing for its 7-seater SUV, the Meridian. The Jeep Meridian SUV, which was unveiled two months ago, is available in five variants priced starting from Rs 29.90 lakh (all prices, ex-showroom).

As we mentioned in our earlier report, the all-new Jeep Meridian is based on the Compass’ platform, but in XL size. Design-wise, the Jeep Meridian borrows elements from the bigger Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Jeep Compass, and this includes the seven-slat grille and the sleek headlamp design seen on the latter. 

What’s different here is the 7-seater’s footprint. Compared to the Compass, the Meridian gets an extended wheelbase of 2794mm to accommodate the extra row, making it one of the most spacious SUV offerings in the country. It’s practicality is something we’ll know for sure once we put the car through its paces.

Jeep hasn’t cut corners when it comes to the Meridian’s feature list. The SUV comes with all that you get on the top-shelf Compass, and this means the multiple driving modes (sand/mud, snow & auto), a 360-degree camera, and a 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay along with a 10.25-inch digital driver’s display. 

Additional features include dual-zone climate control, ventilated front seats, a powered tailgate, a panoramic sunroof and electrically adjustable driver and passenger seats. Safety is taken care of by six airbags, traction control ABS, adaptive cruise control and electronic stability control. 

Under the hood, the 7-seater SUV packs a 170hp, 2.0-litre diesel, four-cylinder diesel engine mated to either a 6-speed manual or a 9-speed automatic transmission. Jeep will offer the SUV in both 4×4 and 4×2 versions. The Jeep Meridian is claimed to cover 0-100kph in 10.8 seconds and can record a top speed of 198kph. 

The Jeep Meridian SUV will compete against the Toyota Fortuner, Skoda Kodiaq, and the MG Gloster.

( Image credits: Jeep India )