In 2016, Jeep launched two of its models in India – the Wrangler Unlimited and the Grand Cherokee. Even though the buyers from India finally had a chance to purchase these two vehicles, they were too expensive, as Wrangler cost 72 lakhs ($107,765) while the starting price of the Cherokee reached 92 lakhs ($140,693). Because of these extremely high price tags, only the wealthy ones were able to get a hold of these cars, meaning that there is still room for this brand to develop in that market. Thus, Jeep has planned to introduce Jeep Compass which will be affordable for the majority people there, and the company expects good sale figures when it comes to this model. The 2017 Jeep Compass is going to be produced at the Ranjangoan factory near Pune, Maharashtra in which Jeep invested about $280 million.
2017 Jeep Compass Engine
Jeep Compass and Jeep Cherokee have almost identical exterior and engines. For the Indian market, Jeep will offer 2.0-liter Tigershark Petrol unit that will produce 160 bhp and 145 Nm of torque. Moreover, the Compass will be equipped with a 2.0-liter Multijet 2 Diesel that delivers 170 bhp and 350 Nm of torque.
Both engine options will be paired with a nine-speed automatic transmission, but the manual gearbox will be offered as well. The version with the nine-speed automatic gearbox returns 25 km per liter, while the fuel economy of the one with the manual transmission is rated at 22 km/l. The Compass will come with both 4×2 and 4×4 configuration and the drivers will have a choice between different driving modes due to the company’s Select Terrain feature.
2017 Jeep Compass Exterior
Jeep Compass will be offered in Sport, Longitude and Variant trims and all of those versions have the similar rugged exterior, characteristic for the vehicles coming out of Jeep’s plants. The front grille is horizontal and made of chrome, while there are powerful headlamps with projector lights, LED designed daytime running lights, fog lamps with chrome enclosure and very wide front bumper. Moving back to the rear end, we can see that the Canvas is equipped with horizontal LED taillights and chrome-finished twin exhaust pipes, while on the top there are roof rails with chrome lining.
The length of the 2017 Jeep Compass is close to 4.4 meters, while the width and the height of the vehicle are 1.8 and 1.7 meters respectively. The ground clearance is 205 mm, whereas the wheelbase is 2.6 meters long resulting in a lot of space inside the cabin.
2017 Jeep Compass Interior
In the cabin of the 2017 Jeep Compass, we can see some parts and features from the old Cherokee model and some from the next-gen Jeeps. There are a premium quality material and two tone finish. Some of the features you can find inside are the 8.4-inch touchscreen infotainment system, large TFT display, automatic climate control and premium leather seats.
Among other features, you get a multi-functional steering wheel, keyless start and stop button and a 9-speaker Beats audio system with subwoofer intended for passengers enjoyment. Furthermore, there is a 7-inch information display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, while some upper trims will receive panoramic sunroof and power tailgate. There is an abundance of safety features as well including cruise control and lane keep assist to name a few.
Price, Release Date and Competition
Considering that the new Jeep’s model will be assembled at a factory in India, the expected price is between 20 and 25 lakhs ($29,840 – $37,300) making this car the cheapest Jeep SUV for that market. The Jeep Compass will go against some affordable SUVs such as Toyota Fortuner, Hyundai Tuscon, Honda CR-V and Ford Endeavour. After the previous announcement, we knew that this model would go on sale in India sometime in the middle of 2017 and now we can say with confidence that it will be the August this year.
With the new version, Jeep’s sales in India are likely to grow, and the big advantage is that they are assembling the car in the local facility. The good news is that a really affordable SUV from Jeep is finally going to be available.
