[TusharK]

Last month, Jeep India discontinued the petrol variants of the Compass. This meant the end of the road for the 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine. The latest reports suggest that the carmaker could introduce a replacement turbo-petrol unit in the future.



It has been reported that Jeep has green-lit a new 1.3-litre 4-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine for India. It is expected to take at least 18-24 months for the calibration, validation and homologation process before being introduced in the market around 2025.

The 2018 Jeep Renegade first used this 1.3-litre turbo-petrol engine. It comes in two states of tune: the 128 BHP version is mated to a 6-speed manual, while the 148 BHP version gets a 6-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

It is said that the petrol variants accounted for almost 50% of Compass' total sales. Since the discontinuation of the 1.4-litre petrol engine, Compass sales have dropped from 550-650 units per month to 250-300 units.

Jeep India has neither confirmed nor denied these reports. That being said, the company said that it was evaluating what its customers want.

Source: Autocar India

[prajwalmr62]

Jeep is competing with Suzuki on who can sell oldest models. Are they expecting to sell same Jeep Compass at same/higher price, with smaller engine 2-3 years from now?

But I don't know the market. If BMW can sell X1 with 3-cyl engine, probably Jeep can pull it off.

[lordrayden]

More than the engine, the problem with the earlier powertrain was the dim-witted 7-speed DCT gearbox that operated on a geological timescale (I know some don't agree with this). If this (new?) 6-speed DCT unit is tuned better than the outgoing gearbox, it might improve driveability vastly even though the engine is down 12 HP.

[Quoter]

The 1.3L engine with E20 compatibility is what they should have introduced with the 2021 facelift. 2025 is when they need to move to Hybrids and by 2030 they should already be selling electric only variants. 1.3L in 2025 would be awfully outdated.

[GTO]

Too slow, too slow. Terrible state of affairs at Jeep India. They are the only ones to discontinue a petrol variant, at a time when the market is moving to petrols in such a big way! The competition is rolling out EVs & Hybrids, and here, Jeep is struggling to offer a typical ICE petrol engine.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by TusharK

It is expected to take at least 18-24 months for the calibration, validation and homologation process before being introduced in the market around 2025.

By that time B-schools would already be conducting case studies on Jeep's exit from India

[vinodvaddi]

Originally Posted by lordrayden

More than the engine, the problem with the earlier powertrain was the dim-witted 7-speed DCT gearbox that operated on a geological timescale (I know some don't agree with this). If this (new?) 6-speed DCT unit is tuned better than the outgoing gearbox, it might improve driveability vastly even though the engine is down 12 HP.

This engine and gearbox combo which was introduced in Europe in 2020 is definitely a step up over the model that we had here in India. The gearbox has a sports mode and the engine produce 50NM more.Together, this should have a better throttle response.

Ideally, they should consider the plug in hybrid 4xe, but as with every other manufacturer, we won't get their best offerings.

[sizz28]

Sometimes I just wish that they wind up from India asap and spare us the heartache of will they, won't they.

[Gurudatt28227]

They need a strong turbo Petrol and a good automatic gearbox in the compass portfolio ASAP if they want to improve their dwindling sales. Their India head recently did an interview with Autocar and he was completely dismissive when asked about not having a Petrol option in their portfolio.

[wheelguy]

Meridian could also get the same engine

That is quite a stretch to use the same engine in Meridian too, given the price segment it operates in India. It is a big joke on the Indian market.

[bullitt1]

Instead of downgrading the power figures, they should bring the 200bhp 2litre petrol which they introduced internationally. Why introduce an older engine and take the pain of homologation.

[Shreyans_Jain]

I’ll take this report with a bucketload of salt. Even Jeep knows that an everyone found the old 1.4 turbo petrol to be underpowered. Replacing it with an even smaller engine is plain stupid. It is more likely that they are working on getting the new 2.0 turbo petrol here. That is a good fit for the Compass as well as Meridian.

[dipen]

On a lighter note, Jeep can forge friendship with Mahindra now that the Mahindra has changed the look of the Roxor completely from the front and borrow the brilliant 2.0 petrol from the XUV700. The Compass chassis surely can accommodate and handle the same considering there is already a 2.0 diesel currently.

On another note, cant Jeep borrow the newly developed Tata TGDI engines considering they did share the 2.0 diesel for the Harrier.

[abaliga]

Either Jeep doesn't want volumes and wants to play the 'iconic off road luxury brand' tag and remain exclusive or they have no clue on what is to be offered in our market, I recently saw Hormazd from Autocar interview the new Jeep India head and that discussion says it all, there is no commitment or vision on new product launches or on offering new powertrains despite Hornazd pressing him, all that he spoke about was increasing desirability of the brand, not sure how one can do that without having respectable volumes for any of their products.

All products offered here are overpriced, Jeep Compass Petrol with the 1.4 DCT retailed at 33 lakhs on road in Bangalore before it was discontinued, one could get a Skoda Octavia Style at that price with a significantly better powertrain, Grand Cherokee could have been a nice alternative to German SUVs, but is offerred only with a 4 cylinder motor, clearly Jeep India needs to introspect and engage a better team for market research.

[jsl]

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

I’ll take this report with a bucketload of salt. Even Jeep knows that an everyone found the old 1.4 turbo petrol to be underpowered. Replacing it with an even smaller engine is plain stupid. It is more likely that they are working on getting the new 2.0 turbo petrol here. That is a good fit for the Compass as well as Meridian.

I don’t think they will bring the 2L turbo petrol in the compass and meridian because then how will they justify the same engine in the Cherokee and Wrangler which is almost twice the price of meridian. Even if they will detune the engine it will drive up the price of the already expensive compass and meridian. It is best they source engine from some other OEM or develop a new engine for Indian markets which is very unlikely. They can also source Tata’s new petrol engine they are planning to launch in the Harrier and Safari.