[Axe77]

Originally Posted by ScorpWarp

Happy mile munching.
I am closely following this thread What's your opinion now about the gearbox response during quick overtaking maneuvers? Have you got used to it ? Do you use the trick mentioned in other threads to release the gas pedal momentarily and then push again for the kick down?

Hey there. I think it helps a 'little bit', in 'some situations' but ultimately there is no escaping the fact that you won't get pedal to metal thrills and grins on this. Quick overtaking manoeuvres are indeed one place where the Jeep's gearbox can frustrate at times. I can also add that I rarely find it underwhelming at city speeds - its always got the grunt to go. Its on highways that this issue feels pronounced in more situations where the speeds where you might require or demand kickdown are typically faster.

If you decide to buy this car, this is something you really need to wrap your head around - be prepared that there will be moments when it frustrates you on this account. I've reconciled to cruising peacefully for most part when I'm driving the Jeep but that's not necessarily what every owner would want to do.

Originally Posted by d3mon

Do you use the parking brake or the foot brake to hold the car stationary? If so, please try putting it into neutral when you're going to be stationary for more than 10 seconds to take the strain off the engine and get better fuel economy. Worth trying out to see if you can get better than 6-7kmpl in such a commute.

Will give this a shot as well, thanks!

[Axe77]

Wife and I decided to follow a morning school drop for the kid with a longer drive for the two of us across the Worli sea-link. Headed to one of my favourite coffee and breakfast places - Breve at Bandra.

Easy cruising on an early morning with a beautiful Mumbai monsoon skyline, the ever fantastic Sea-Link route and a nice collection of Buena Vista Social Club playing in the backdrop. Can’t get a better start to a day.

Easy cruising across the sea link. I actually am quite a sedate driver at the wheel of the Meridian. Just enjoy my time at the wheel taking it easy.


Early morning means you get to park right outside the door. Super convenient!


The bistro itself with its unique indoor cycle stand means its a popular haunt with the pedal pushers, on weekdays and weekends alike.

[viky_s]

Hi Axe99
Hope you are enjoying your Meridian.
Have you considered remapping the meridian ?
I think remap can make the engine/gearbox more responsive.
If yes what are the options one can opt for
eg. superchips/ code6 etc.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by viky_s

Hi Axe99
Hope you are enjoying your Meridian.
Have you considered remapping the meridian ?
.

No mid year promotion for me please. I remain Axe77.

The kind of horror stories I’ve heard on Jeep reliability issues, no way I’d be doing a remap or anything similar which might void my extended warranty or cause any other issues. Heck, I’ve not even opened the dash which is required to disable the 80/120 beep - don’t want anything to cause rattles where I’m not sure if its Jeep issue or aftermarket chap’s issue. Same for external chrome being repainted to black - don't want anyone to open up stuff needlessly for now - although this I may consider maybe a year down.

Coming back to remap - not sure I even care for one too much as of now. The car is reasonably quick in most situations and I quite enjoy the calm, smooth and fast cruising that it offers. For pedal to metal thrills I still have my GT and I’m hopeful whatever replaces it when the time comes will provide these thrills as well.

[viky_s]

Originally Posted by Axe77

No mid year promotion for me please. I remain Axe77.
.

Oops Sorry for the 99 Axe77. Took a long TD of Meridian today and you are right, the car is reasonably quick and it’s definitely not a deal breaker. I tried the double tap method and it helped a little. The car can overtake easily once it has gained momentum but around 40-70kmh is where i felt some issues while overtaking.
Loved the handling and the ride quality.

Saw the new Tucson also today, dropped it from my choice as its lacks the finesse and the space / roominess. Also 42lacs just for Adas is too much as per my thinking.

I have zeroed in on the Meridian and Kodiaq.
Will wait for the TD of Kodiaq to be available and then take a call.
The Jeep sales person was saying Meridian has better built quality , independent FSD suspension and multi abs controller as compared to Kodiaq . But the big factor is Diesel/ Petrol he says.
For me Diesel/Petrol is not a very big factor as i do max 10k kms per year.

Looking forward to driving the Kodiaq.

[itwasntme]

Axexx, in similar circumstances as you.

Have a 330i with laughable boot space and desperately need a second (90% chauffeured vehicle) for a family of 2 teen humans (well!) and 2 teen doggies. Hence, need 3 rows! Wifey needs to go to office in it as well so 'premium-ness' is assured.

Second row ride quality and comfort is paramount. Narrowing in on the Kodiaq, Meridian, XUV700 and Safari in that order.

No urgency in buying but following your thread closely.

[ChetanM6]

Originally Posted by viky_s

Saw the new Tucson also today, dropped it from my choice as its lacks the finesse and the space / roominess.

If you don’t mind where was the lack of space in the Tucson compared to Meridian? Was it on the rear bench ?

[anandhsub]

I too am in a similar boat but confused whether the premium over XUV700 is justified for the Jeep Meridian.

I haven't taken a TD of either yet given I am in the market only in late 2023 ( by when the facelifted Safari might also join the shortlist) but so far on paper XUV700 seems to be winning the battle especially given I actually need a 6 seater for intra city rides and the XUV700 third row seems far more usable for short adults.

[viky_s]

Originally Posted by ChetanM6

If you don’t mind where was the lack of space in the Tucson compared to Meridian? Was it on the rear bench ?

The overall car doesn’t feel airy and the 2nd row is smaller than the Kodiaq/Meridian.
The Shoulder width is less.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Have a 330i with laughable boot space and desperately need a second (90% chauffeured vehicle) for a family of 2 teen humans (well!) and 2 teen doggies. Hence, need 3 rows! Wifey needs to go to office in it as well so 'premium-ness' is assured.

Second row ride quality and comfort is paramount. Narrowing in on the Kodiaq, Meridian, XUV700 and Safari in that order.

I haven’t actively considered the 7OO and the Safari so will comment on Kodiaq vs Meridian. At the time of purchase, two key pull factors (amongst some other) of the Meridian over the Kodiaq were the ones listed in my quoted extract below - diesel vs petrol; and reliability.

Since my purchase, it is imminently clear to me that on the FE front, there really is nothing much to separate these two (at least based on my FE stats until now). I’d in a heartbeat trade petrol refinement (and of course the superior driving experience) for any nominal fuel cost difference between these two. The other bigger factor was my nervousness about VAG (un)reliability. Based on joining various Jeep forums (over mobile / facebook etc) it is pretty clear that Jeep is right up there with Skoda on its level of reliability (i.e. lack of) and niggles and issues. No issues I’ve faced personally but user experiences are just too many and definitely of concern.

If this was as apparent to me at the point of purchase, it definitely would have been a much closer contest between these two and I daresay the Kodiaq may even have edged the Meridian out from my wallet space. Having said that, there was anyway no line of sight to Kodiaq sales at the time, I wasn’t in any mood to wait until 2023 and the fact that the Kodiaq has seen yet another massive price jump - I don’t know, it once again swings the ball towards the Meridian on pure purchase cost. I think the delta between top of line Meridian and the L&K would be a clean 3-4 lakh now I’m guessing (maybe more?) - I haven’t checked on road numbers since Skoda’s price announcement on the day of the Tucson launch.

I’d say since you’re not in a tearing rush, the Kodiaq really ought to be on top of your list along with the Meridian. Ultimately go with the one that appeals to you more. The Skoda certainly makes a really strong case for itself although it keeps queering the pitch with its continuous price hikes.

Finally, since this is predominantly chauffeur driven, my recall is that the second row experience is better in the Meridian compared to the Kodiaq but that’s again something you may want to independently ascertain. One thing is for sure - both cars will go toe to toe in the premium-ness factor, which you mentioned is important to you folks from your daily drive perspective. I’d also reckon you might feel a little more confident treading off the beaten path in the Jeep for adventurous driving holidays with the 6 of you on board. The Jeep definitely scores a few extra points there.

Please feel free to ask here if you have any other specific questions. Happy to answer anything that I can from my Meridian ownership experiences. Will be as objective as possible, sans any ownership bias.

Originally Posted by Axe77

OPTIONS CONSIDERED

1. Skoda Kodiaq
This is literally the closest possible competitor to the Meridian. “Many” (not all) things that are important to me which the Meridian does well, the Kodiaq does as well at least, if not better. MOST importantly, the engine and drive experience are a notch above with its sophisticated DSG and petrol refinement. This would have been the single biggest pull factor for the Kodiaq.

So what went against it?
# Petrol vs Diesel:
While petrol vs diesel is not an outright deal breaker, it is still a minor negative. I wanted this to be the workhorse taking higher kms load going forward.
.
.
# Reliability:
This is a big one. I want a car that occupies minimal mind space 365 days a year. Even if I allocate a pre-set monetary budget for unforeseen issues, I simply don’t have the time or the mental bandwidth to deal with service stations on out of ordinary issues. This continues to play on my mind every time there is a VAG car under consideration. I am keeping my fingers crossed that Jeep will not disappoint on this front, although their reputation is also a mixed bag - this is a calibrated call I’ve taken against the almost certain screw-over that brand VAG promises.

[sunilch]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Axexx, in similar circumstances as you.

Have a 330i with laughable boot space and desperately need a second (90% chauffeured vehicle) for a family of 2 teen humans (well!) and 2 teen doggies. Hence, need 3 rows! Wifey needs to go to office in it as well so 'premium-ness' is assured.

Second row ride quality and comfort is paramount. Narrowing in on the Kodiaq, Meridian, XUV700 and Safari in that order.

No urgency in buying but following your thread closely.

Wonder why Carnival is not in the list. It is a Van but a comfortable and feature loaded one. Unless you want the SUV look only, Carnival should be considered I believe.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by sunilch

Wonder why Carnival is not in the list. It is a Van but a comfortable and feature loaded one. Unless you want the SUV look only, Carnival should be considered I believe.

Too big and van-like. Intention is that we will take it to hilly / adventurous drives 2/3 times a year (hopefully!). That is why the Crysta or the C5 is not on our list either. Too MUV types.

[Axe77]

My car is a little past 3000 kms (3004 kms to be specific) and that’s when the DEF level has come to just under half. I was in the vicinity of the Andheri service centre so decided to drop in and buy it from their store itself. Was also a good opportunity to meet some of the key SAs face to face.

Bought a 5 ltr can and topped it up - it left it just a shade shy of 100% - I’m guessing it could have taken 1-1.5 litres more maybe. I decided to buy another 5 litre can and keep it at home for the next time I need to top up. I’ll do it when its just above the 50% mark so it tops up to closer 100%.

The DEF level at about 3004 kms of driving. The car was delivered to me with the level showing 100%.



Above and below. The 5 litre can front and back with all the specs. Can easily be purchased at any petrol bunk too. 5 litres retailed at approximately 550 Rs., give or take.





Filling in process with the tube that comes with the can itself. Should be done with care as the liquid is corrosive and can damage surfaces and also must be kept absolutely free from contamination. The SA was categoric that one MUST ensure the car is completely switched off when DEF filling is being undertaken.


The DEF level showing just under 100%, post topping up with 5 litres.

[Cresterk]

550rs is surprisingly cheap for AdBlue from an authorised service center. I would have expected them to mark it up 2x at least.

[sharMax]

Very good review. With Meridian the Toyota Fortuner now have a good competition. All in all a good thing for the SUV market.