After multiple delays, speculation and dreadful wait of four long years the Fiat Chrysler motors have finally announced the launch of Jeep brand in India. Come September and the Jeep will be making its debut into Indian market with launch of Grand Cherokee and Wrangler. Showcased at 2016 Auto Expo, the American SUV manufacture was one of the attractions of the event. Initially, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Wrangler unlimited will go on sale in India while other products will follow later in a phased manner.
Starting with Jeep Wrangler unlimited which is more sort of off road SUV and it will be powered by a brawny 2.8 litre diesel engine that churns out 197bhp power and 460Nm of torque, matched with a 5-speed manual gearbox. The SUV measures 4583mm in length, 1877mm in width, and 1829mm in height. It offers a ground clearance of 238mm and has a wheelbase of 2947mm.
Despite the rugged profile, it comes with practical cabin and features like touchscreen system with USB charging support, cruise control, ABS, 4*4 system, traction control, dual front airbags, post collision system, hill start assist, hill descent control and tyre pressure monitoring system.
The second offering of the brand will be more premium Grand Cherokee which will be offered in three trims- Limited, summit and top spec Cherokee CRT (Street and racing technology). The Limited and Summit trims will draw the power from a 3.0 litre V6 turbocharged diesel engine that delivers 240bhp power and 570Nm of torque, mated to 8-speed automatic gearbox. Whereas the Cherokee CRT will feature strapping 6.0l V8 Hemi petrol engine good for 475PS of max output and 629Nm torque. It is clubbed with 8-speed automatic gearbox and paddle shifters that transmit power to all four wheels via Quadra-Trac four-wheel drive system.
The Standard Grand Cherokee measures 4836mm in length, 1954mm in width, 1749mm in height and has a wheelbase of 2914mm and ground clearance of 210mm. The standard variant is expected to start at Rs. 85 lakh while the CRT variant cost a premium amount of Rs. 1 crore (ex-showroom).
The premium of the lot, Grand Cherokee sports an 8.4 inch touchscreen system, 18 speaker Harmon Kardon audio system, dual zone automatic climate control, 8 way power adjustable front seats with memory function, heated power adjustable multi function steering wheel, ventilated front seats, power sunroof, auto dimming and foldable wing mirrors and much more.
Both the SUVs initially will be brought via CBU route and in future the company might start local assembly by sometime next year. The brand will commence its operations with 5-6 dealerships with an aim to expand more dealerships quickly in near future. Earlier there were reports of Fiat motors making announcement of around 1900 crore to expand company’s Ranjangaon facility for the local assembly of Jeep models.
