Will be manufactured in India.
The Jeep Patriot and Jeep Compass will be replaced by a new single crossover this year. The successor, internally known under the codename 'Jeep 551', has been spied testing on many locations and should be in the final stage of its development. Early prototypes were being tested with a modified Jeep Renegade body.
According to a report from Car And Driver, the Jeep Patriot/Jeep Compass successor will have its world debut at the 2016 New York International Auto Show in March. Some reports also say that the world debut will be held at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show instead, probably supported by the speculation that this model will be aggressively targeted at markets outside North America too. Irrespective of the motor show Jeep chooses, the public debut of the Jeep 551 will happen in March this year.
Reports say that the Jeep 551, also referred to as 'Jeep C-SUV', will be based on a modified version of the Fiat 500X and Jeep Renegade's platform. This means that Jeep 551 will have a car-like unibody construction like the Jeep Patriot and Jeep Compass which are essentially mechanical twins with different styling, targeted at different set of buyers. The new crossover will likely have front-wheel drive standard, with all-wheel drive being available moving up the range.
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Two engine choices could be offered: a 164 hp 2.0-liter Tigershark petrol and a 170 hp 2.0-liter MultiJet II diesel. Power would be sent to the wheels via a 6-speed manual or a 9-speed automatic transmission depending on the configuration chosen.
With global expansion in mind, Jeep will offer the compact crossover in both left-hand drive and right-hand drive versions. The latter will likely be made in India at the Tata-FIAT JV plant in Ranjangaon in Maharashtra.
[Source: Car And Driver]
