Clocked 4000 km on my Jeep Meridian 4x4: 5 significant observations

The headlight stick is a bit long and hard and it is sometimes difficult to give a dipper at night. Many times I accidentally engage turn indicators while giving the dipper.

BHPian shashankjain16 recently shared this with other enthusiasts,

I completed 4000 kms on my Meridian in just 2.5 months.

To keep it short, I am in absolute love with this car. Never have I felt such an urge to keep on driving. I thought it was initial excitement that would eventually die down. But, I think now I understand what the "driving pleasure" everyone keeps talking about. It's hard to explain in words, only can be felt.

The best thing I like about is the performance of the car on bad roads. The other day I took the car to Smabhar Lake in Rajasthan which went through some really bad patches of village roads. The car absolutely glided over them all, and no vibrations were felt inside the cabin. The gear shifts are smooth and on point, acceleration is smooth and no rattles whatsoever. I am more annoyed by rattles from luggage because the car is otherwise quiet (I can hear minor rattles from the front passenger side sometimes).

Some other observations:

• Headlights I've realised are only useful when it's absolutely dark. If there is even a little bit of light from oncoming traffic, or during dusk/dawn, then lights are of no use. For now, I am sticking to stock headlight as I don't want to introduce unnecessary issues because of upgrades, then go on bashing Jeep.
• There are many times when I go from Park to Drive mode but Electronic Parking Brake is not disengaged. I have yet to figure out what algorithm is followed here.
• The headlight stick is a bit long and hard and it is sometimes difficult to give a dipper at night. Many times I accidentally engage turn indicators while giving the dipper.
• Auto Start/Stop is a nuance. Auto Hold is very useful.
• Cooling has been adequate till now, although it can take some time for the cabin to cool. Yet to test in peak summers when temperatures cross 45 degrees.
• Got first AdBlue refill. Got a 5 ltr bottle for Rs 600 from a local HP Pump. It gobbled up the entire bottle and still, there was around 20% space left. Not sure what is the capacity of the tank.

Also, I encountered my first ripoff - went to get side-steppers installed at the showroom. Didn't bother to ask cost first (my mistake). After installation, I was quoted 28,000 for them (including 5% discount). I was like Be careful with Mopar accessories if you are reading this. (Also bought a car cover worth 5500 from them).