[Axe77]

Originally Posted by Gsynch

As per my understanding, it is either upfront discount of Rs. 199,800 (some weird number but ok) OR 4.99% ROI on a maximum loan amount of some 25 Lakhs.

Ah. Makes sense - thanks. I misunderstood the deal but regardless its still a much better price. Those on the fence should probably go for it.

[ScorpWarp]

Originally Posted by Axe77

Ah. Makes sense - thanks. I misunderstood the deal but regardless its still a much better price. Those on the fence should probably go for it.

Would you recommend it over the Kodiaq due to the deal?

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by ScorpWarp

Would you recommend it over the Kodiaq due to the deal?

One caveat. I haven’t driven the new Kodiaq yet so will reserve ultimate judgment for once I drive it.

Secondly, I don’t know what the exact price difference (on road) between an L&K and the 4x4 Limited (O). Would you be able to clarify that?

Those two aspects aside, both have their strengths and weaknesses - personally its a tough pick between these two. Two advantages I had perceived at the time of purchase are not so apparent to me now - the diesel FE advantage for Jeep and the reliability factor (where Jeep seems to be as unreliable as Skoda from what I hear from various ownership forums). So the two are reasonably comparable with the Skoda perhaps being a notch above as an overall package. If its within 2-3 lakh price difference one should pick whichever appeals. If its substantially more than that, then its a bit trickier I guess and the Meridian makes a stronger case for itself. At current discounts & increased Kodiaq pricing, I’m guessing the on road price difference may have ballooned to about 5L give or take?

[Machine_Mania]

Originally Posted by ChetanM6

Have you ever got a chance to activate the 4 wheel drive system?

I used 4x4 in a few real-world situations where 4x2 would've probably been sufficient.

But to see everyone's jaws drop on seeing my one wheel up in the air, the ease & confidence with which the AT handled tricky situations, the steep inclines without a mm of roll-back..

What a thrill!

... made me fall in love with the car all over again!

[pankaj@17]

Originally Posted by Gsynch

As per my understanding, it is either upfront discount of Rs. 199,800 (some weird number but ok) OR 4.99% ROI on a maximum loan amount of some 25 Lakhs.

IF both of these are offered together, I will be running towards Landmark with my cheque book in hand to book one

I just had a conversation with the Jeep Landmark Ludhiana SA. He confirmed that either it is an upfront discount of 1,99,800 OR 4.99% ROI on a loan amount of ₹ 25,38,000. Both these offer cannot be clubbed. My apologies for not being very clear on this aspect in my earlier post.

[Gsynch]

Jeep has dispatched 500+ (Vs 400 in Aug) Meridian in September.

Just for the context, Tucson dispatch is 400+ in the same time period. Gloster dispatch is 300 and Kodiaq is in two digits.

Out side of Fortuner, Meridian has been doing reasonably well as against its peers of the segment and if it maintains 400/500 as an average number than we can say it has taken Endeavor's place in the pecking order.

https://www.autopunditz.com/post/ind...september-2022

[soarersc300]

Originally Posted by Gsynch

Jeep has dispatched 500+ (Vs 400 in Aug) Meridian in September.

Just for the context, Tucson dispatch is 400+ in the same time period. Gloster dispatch is 300 and Kodiaq is in two digits.

Out side of Fortuner, Meridian has been doing reasonably well as against its peers of the segment and if it maintains 400/500 as an average number than we can say it has taken Endeavor's place in the pecking order.

https://www.autopunditz.com/post/ind...september-2022

It's very difficult to compare Meridian with anything out there. If we were to describe Meridian it would be a made in India (80% + localisation) monoquoque diesel 7 seater SUV. In terms of size and built quality one could at the most compare it with Kodiaq, although that is Petrol and if I'm not mistaken a CKD. Additionally there are two issues when you compare sales of Meridian with Kodiaq:

(1) Diesels sell 3x or more compared to Petrols in big SUVs. Refer Fortuner split of Petrol vs Diesel.
(2) Kodiaq sales are restricted not by demand but by supply. If you book one now you will get it next year.

Jeep only has itself to blame for its inability to sell 1,000 Meridians a month when there is absolutely no competition. With MG, Mahindra and Tata selling over 10,000 monoquoque 7 seaters with similar engine, all that Jeep had to do was to tune the engine / transmission to get good performance without compromising the fuel efficiency and charge a premium of 10 lacs for the badge, built quality and offroading manners.

It's time Jeep acknowledges the deficiencies and either fixes the performance (more fun to drive) or the fuel efficiency (to justify the diesel), if not both, and releases a facelift which will then set sales chart on fire for sure.

[Gsynch]

Originally Posted by soarersc300

It's very difficult to compare Meridian with anything out there.

(1) Diesels sell 3x or more compared to Petrols in big SUVs. Refer Fortuner split of Petrol vs Diesel.
(2) Kodiaq sales are restricted not by demand but by supply. If you book one now you will get it next year.

It wasn't my intention to compare Kodiaq or Tucson with Meridian, but to put the things in perspective where the top end of all these 4 models are jostling for space in 40-50 Lakhs OTR price band.

Fortuner is a leader and league ahead in numbers and the challenger has been Endeavour. Looks like Meridian is filling that space now but Tucson and Gloster are not far behind.

Kodiaq is available in Petrol only but let us not forget that Meridian is also a Diesel only option which puts in out of contention space as far as NCR is concerned (due to 10 year diesel restrictions and NCR is the biggest market in terms of numbers).

Considering all the above factors (And assuming that Meridian averages 400-500 copies a month), it is not in a bad space. You are right on your part where you have suggested that if Jeep reworks few of the areas, it may do better than that in the 40 Lakhs+ premium 7 seater SUV segment.

[soarersc300]

Originally Posted by Gsynch

It wasn't my intention to compare Kodiaq or Tucson with Meridian, but to put the things in perspective where the top end of all these 4 models are jostling for space in 40-50 Lakhs OTR price band.

Fortuner is a leader and league ahead in numbers and the challenger has been Endeavour. Looks like Meridian is filling that space now but Tucson and Gloster are not far behind.

Kodiaq is available in Petrol only but let us not forget that Meridian is also a Diesel only option which puts in out of contention space as far as NCR is concerned (due to 10 year diesel restrictions and NCR is the biggest market in terms of numbers).

Considering all the above factors (And assuming that Meridian averages 400-500 copies a month), it is not in a bad space. You are right on your part where you have suggested that if Jeep reworks few of the areas, it may do better than that in the 40 Lakhs+ premium 7 seater SUV segment.

Agreed on the "challenger" bit but still the reference / perspective should be correct. If you look at the figures in 2019 (when Endeavour was selling and there was no impact of the pandemic) you will find that XUV 500 and Fortuner were selling monthly average of 1500 copies and Endeavour was selling about half of that.

In 2022, Fortuner is selling close to 3,000 monthly average copies whereas XUV 700 is selling 6,000. The dynamics have changed. If Endeavour was there and selling half the numbers of Fortuner then it would be selling around 1,500 per month today.

At this time selling 400 / 500, that too with steep discounts and ready availability does indicate that the product market fit isn't achieved. There is a product market fit and 30 lacs (XUV 700) as well as at 50 lacs (Fortuner). There is an untapped opportunity at 40 lacs but the product (Meridian) has not achieved the market fit. Almost a decade old model in not so favourable body type is doing close to 300 copies a month with 2 month waiting (Carnival) at similar price point. One has to concede that something has gone seriously wrong with Meridian.

All said and done there are tremendous positives in the Meridian - offroading, spacious for 5 people, badge value, etc. People will continue to buy for these reasons. However if Jeep could fix some seemingly obvious issues there isn't a reason why Meridian can't attract a much larger pool of prospective customers, including yours truly.

[ChetanM6]

In a strange turn of events, I bit the bullet and booked a velvet red Meridian 4x4 and cancelled my Tiguan booking. Back to FCA/Stellantis family!
For those who have recently received the car, usually how much time does it take from booking to delivery?

[viky_s]

Originally Posted by ChetanM6

In a strange turn of events, I bit the bullet and booked a velvet red Meridian 4x4 and cancelled my Tiguan booking. Back to FCA/Stellantis family!
For those who have recently received the car, usually how much time does it take from booking to delivery?

Congratulations Chetan for the Meridian 4x4.
For me it took just 5 days 😃

[ChetanM6]

Originally Posted by viky_s

Congratulations Chetan for the Meridian 4x4.
For me it took just 5 days 😃

Lucky you. It seems my car got billed today and SA says it takes usually 4-5 days for the transit from Pune.

[ChetanM6]

My car is in transit. I am going for some amount of loan from SBI. Now SBI is going to increase the interest rate by 0.50% in 2 more days. I have an option to take the disbursement in this 2 days and save on interest and pay the remaining after I do PDI.Any suggestions how I should proceed?

[itwasntme]

Handsome vehicles both. Quintessential Jeep looks!



Some more pictures to show the relative length etc:

[pankaj@17]

I couldn't help but notice that there is not much discussion about the manual variant of Meridian. This is especially surprising since most of the members have expressed their disappointment over the performance of the automatic gearbox. FE numbers are also not really very good for the automatic.

I am seriously considering Jeep Meridian Limited Optional Manual. Any specific cons for choosing a manual over a 4X2 automatic? My usage is mainly long distance. Thanks.