Jeep Likely To Introduce More Affordable Compass Diesel-Automatic Soon

• Expected to get the same BS6 2.0-litre Multijet diesel engine as the Trailhawk.
• Limited 4x4 variant with the diesel automatic powertrain has been spied on test.
• The test mule had features from the Trailhawk like a bigger MID, bigger touchscreen, etc.

During the first drive of the Compass Trailhawk, Jeep had revealed its plans to introduce the diesel-auto powertrain in lower variants of the popular SUV as well. We’ve even spotted a Compass Limited variant with the said drivetrain in the past. This suggests that the manufacturer is planning to launch the diesel-auto combo in lower variants sooner than expected. And if various reports are to believed, this could happen as soon as Diwali this year.

The Compass’ 2.0-litre diesel engine is offered with both a manual as well as an automatic transmission. But the latter option comes with a BS6 compliant version of the engine. The cleaner fumes are a result of an adBlue tank which treats the exhaust gases. The 2.0-litre Multijet diesel produces 173PS of power and 350Nm of torque. The automatic transmission is a 9-speed ZF unit which is also seen in cars like the Honda CR-V.

The test mule was also seen with various feature upgrades compared to its manual counterpart. For starters, the black-beige colour scheme on the door pads and dashboard has been replaced by an all-black colour scheme. The touchscreen has also been updated to an 8.4-inch system and the MID too is now a 7-inch coloured unit. Other feature updates include the addition of cruise control. It remains to be seen if these features will be carried over to the Limited manual variants as well.

Apart from that, the Compass Limited variant gets a dual-zone climate control system, steering mounted controls, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and Jeep’s Active Drive With Selec-Terrain. It also comes with safety features like two airbags (six on the AWD variants), ABS with EBD, rear parking sensors with camera, driver and co-driver seatbelt warning, ESP, electric parking brake and hill-start assist.

The Compass Trailhawk gets an eye watering price tag of Rs 26.8 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). This makes it Rs 3.7 lakh more expensive than the Limited Plus Diesel AWD variant. But with the introduction of this powertrain in lower variants, Jeep could make the diesel-auto combo a lot more accessible for the masses.

Image Source - Rushlane.com