[ScorpWarp]

I wonder if Model S variant is coming in the future with more power and torque, paddle shifters, sports mode, parking sensors, sliding middle row etc?

[achyutaghosh]

Is it me who is the only one terribly disappointed with the Meridian?

It has all the positives from the Compass- sorted ride and handling, offroad prowess, but that was expected. It hardly gets anything extra over the regular Compass!

The 3rd row is a joke. And all the extra width and wheelbase seems to be on paper only- has not created additional space for passengers. Wish it atleast had a more powerful state of tune for the engine. And missing equipment that the review has highlighted. So in effect it is only a Compass with a bigger boot

All though boils down to pricing. If it rivals Fortuner on that (all indicators are looking towards it- look at number of times they say "premium"), it will be a slow seller indeed, even though number of existing Compass owners will upgrade to it in year 1, so sales might be good to start with.

[reppy]

From the reviews, I am gathering that the increase in exterior dimensions has not impacted the interior first 2 rows' dimensions. This is a huge bummer! I was really hoping for a wider and longer alternative to the Jeep Compass, atleast in the first 2 rows!

[TheHelix0202]

Looks rather uninspiring from the front. The rear is a different story. Pretty sure that the Meridian will look outdated soon in a couple of years, and Jeep will delay in getting it a face-lift. Personally, I feel that the XUV 700 has a better design philosophy, though some might argue. Hard pass.

[Newtown]

For the Indian market, the manufacturers setup cars to appeal to the buyer on space, comfort and equipment. The Meridian should have certainly come with another engine option as well. I also expected ADAS to be standard. Jeep has been in India for a while now and I expected that they would have improved their production process to keep costs in check.

For a locally manufactured, it seems that this may be close to CKD pricing which makes me wonder - Are costs that prohibitive in India also or are they making a huge whack on the margin?

Originally Posted by suhaas307

While it is really nice to see its off-roading capabilities, no covers/plates at the bottom would come with disastrous consequences not to mention the dirt and grit that can get in into components.

Originally Posted by solaris007

Jeep is one of the rare cars that has an electrically operated tailgate where the close button is on the inside of the trunk. I cannot fathom how many folks (especially the security at shopping malls) would miss that and try to physically and forcefully close the trunk and damage the motor.

It would do nothing to the motor if operated manually.

Originally Posted by @og_adi

While I understand looks can be subjective, I find the Meridian's rear to be very ugly. Too curvy to call the design SUVish (rear) and I rather find it to look like a Toyota or Honda minivans rear.

Yes the rear does look disproportionate leaning towards mini vans. Also the 3rd row seat window is a touch too small and the additional sheet metal on its sides is what is making it look odd.

[vb-san]

Nice, sweet review of a handsome looking car. The Jeep definitely have huge presence and doesn’t look like an elongated Compass. And even with the length, it doesn’t look like an MPV.

On the negatives, the third row is mostly namesake in its category and hence can be forgiven, but wonder why Jeep decided to keep it basic for India with no paddle shifters, sports mode etc. And fully agree on the generous chrome garnish – the rear especially looks very Chinese with all those shiny bits.

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by reppy

From the reviews, I am gathering that the increase in exterior dimensions has not impacted the interior first 2 rows' dimensions. This is a huge bummer! I was really hoping for a wider and longer alternative to the Jeep Compass, atleast in the first 2 rows!

Really makes you wonder how Kia managed to carve out better 3rd row space in the Carens over the Seltos. That aside, I would also expect Jeep to introduce a power bump to say atleast 200bhp/380Nm if not more. This 170bhp/350NM spec is now beginning to look like another generic Fiat 1.3MJD /Suzuki K12 series powertrain.

[buzzy_boy]

This is the car which the Compass was always supposed to be - a practical 5 seater, that can double up as a 7 seater if required. It can then command a premium over the likes of XUV700.

If Jeep positions this anywhere close to the Fortuner, I know which one I'd buy, and it's definitely not the Jeep.

[cool_dube]

While everything else can be overlooked by someone who wants a good looking (only from the front), well appointed 7-seater (or more aptly, a 5-seater with more hauling capacity than the Compass), the biggest fly in the ointment will be the 2 lit engine with same specs as the Compass. I burnt my fingers once with the Endeavour 2.0 wherein I accepted the mediocre engine as a trade off for other areas where it trumped the Fortuner, but believe me when I say this - there is no substitute for a powerful engine especially when you are paying north of 40 lac for a car - period! Sooner or later, a Meridian owner will feel this pinch! Big mistake from Jeep.

[lordrayden]

Even with the 3rd row seats DOWN, the 7-seater Meridian has 481 litres of boot space. This is lower than other similar D-segment 5-seaters like the Volkswagen Tiguan (520 litres), the Hyundai Tucson (513 litres) or the Citroen C5 (580 litres).

For reference, the Skoda Kodiaq has a 630 litre boot with the 3rd row down.

Not a very spacious car this Meridian.

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by lordrayden

Even with the 3rd row seats DOWN, the 7-seater Meridian has 481 litres of boot space. This is lower than other similar D-segment 5-seaters like the Volkswagen Tiguan (520 litres), the Hyundai Tucson (513 litres) or the Citroen C5 (580 litres).

For reference, the Skoda Kodiaq has a 630 litre boot with the 3rd row down.

Not a very spacious car this Meridian.

The boot space of the Meridian is excluding the Spare wheel (as it is mounted below the car) while that of the Tiguan, Tucson includes the Spare wheel space. The spare wheel well and wheel take up nearly 150L of boot space. So in reality you will get more boot space in the Meridian than the Tiguan / Tucson. I started a thread on this specially where I have measured the boot space personally of many cars and found this variance prevalent with many manufacturers quoted boot space.

[Gsynch]

Thank you for the great review considering the embargo, it is really good to see the T-BHP reviews now on the same day as other outlets publish theirs, helps the early prospective buyers a great deal.

Most of the reviews highlight "above par ride quality" and the ability to absorb the bad roads without much lateral movement for passengers. I guess that's the USP of Meridian with standard Jeep DNA for doing heavy duty off-roading.

Kodiaq L&K is now close 47 lacs on road in Mumbai which is a petrol only option, if Meridian FWD Diesel Auto is priced below 40L OTR Mumbai, it will sell the intended numbers.

[pd1108]

Thanks for the excellent review. In the end, it feels a little underwhelming. It feels more like a stretched Compass and not a different vehicle

[sandeepmdas]

Thanks for the review.

Like many other TBHPians, I am also a bit disappointed by the mini-van/wagon looks of the Meridian. Hopefully the Jeep DNA will do a saving act.

Originally Posted by Gsynch

if Meridian FWD Diesel Auto is priced below 40L OTR Mumbai, it will sell the intended numbers.

Big IF, but that's what they should do. Otherwise, we will have one more car with "Overpriced, underpowered" as standard quick-reference.

[lordrayden]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

The boot space of <..> of the Tiguan, Tucson includes the Spare wheel space. The spare wheel well and wheel take up nearly 150L of boot space. So in reality you will get more boot space in the Meridian than the Tiguan / Tucson.

Wow! This is an eye-opener! It feels like borderline cheating by the manufacturers. Part of the boot space they tell me I have is, for all intents and purposes unusable!

Thanks @Behemoth.