Jeep Compass Trailhawk SUV spied in India; Launch soon

Jeep builds an off-road oriented variant of the Compass in India, and exports it to Australia. Called the TrailHawk, the top-end Compass variant will be launched in the Indian market as well, as a range topping variant designed to build off road cred for Jeep in India.

The Compass TrailHawk is likely to be pricey, starting at about 25 lakh rupees, ex-showroom Delhi. This makes it almost as expensive as the entry-level Toyota Fortuner, and to justify the high price tag, Jeep will give the TrailHawk variant enough off road chops and also an automatic gearbox that’s a class leading unit.

Talking of additional off road features, the Compass TrailHawk will get front and rear bumpers designed specifically to improve off road ability of the SUV. With these bumpers, ground clearance will increase by about 20 mm while all three critical bits for obstacle clearing off the road – Approach departure and breakover angles – will also improve.

Jeep will outfit the new flagship Compass with a 9 speed automatic transmission sourced from ZF and manufactured in India. The same gearbox will also be offered on lower, front wheel driven diesel variants. The all wheel drive system will also gain hill descent control and a low range function, both, features meant to get the SUV out of sticky situations.

The redesigned bumpers will also feature tow hooks while the tail gate will get prominent ‘TrailkHawk’ badging. Jeep will use the diesel engine on the TrailHawk owing to the better low end and mid range grunt that the motor has. The 2 liter Fiat Multijet turbocharged diesel engine will continue to make 170 Bhp-350 Nm. Other key changes on the SUV will include all terrain, 17 inch tyres and a blacked out hood to decrease reflection.

Via Rushlane