Photo: Jeep
Not to be confused with the Grand Commander sold in the People’s Republic of China, the Commander is a three-row sport utility vehicle that premiered in August 2021 for the Brazilian market. Manufactured at the Goiana Pernambuco plant, the family-sized SUV flaunts a rebadged cousin in India – the Meridian – produced in Ranjangaon.
The Republic of India drives on the other side of the road, better known as the correct side by those peeps whose ancestors lived under the British yoke. As a result, Ranjangaon has been selected to produce the Commander for Japan. Jeep Japan has a landing page for the newcomer, listing fall 2022 as the debut date and “three major attractions” that aren’t remotely interesting.
In addition to seating for seven souls, the American automaker waxes lyrical about a four-cylinder 2.0L turbo diesel. The third major attraction comes in the guise of standard advanced safety and driver-assist systems, which include adaptive cruise control with stop & go, active lane management, highway assist, surround view camera, blind spot monitoring, and so on.
Similar to the Brazilian Commander, the Indian Meridian on which the Japanese Commander is based comes with both manual and automatic transmissions. Front- and all-wheel drive also need to be mentioned, with FWD models boasting the C635 manual and AWD models rocking the 948TE auto. The Multijet II of the Meridian packs 172 ps (168 horsepower) and 350 Nm (258 pound-foot), which is good enough for an SUV of this footprint.
Japan’s new Commander is a very different animal from the Commander that was sold in the Land of the Rising Sun from 2006 to 2009. Internally referred to as the XK and XH for the diesel-engined export model, the original is based on the WK Grand Cherokee developed with the help of the Daimler Group.
Although not a body-on-frame design, the unibody Commander is more than capable off the beaten path thanks to the Quadra-Trac II and Quadra-Trac III four-wheel-drive systems that feature a two-speed transfer case.
In addition to seating for seven souls, the American automaker waxes lyrical about a four-cylinder 2.0L turbo diesel. The third major attraction comes in the guise of standard advanced safety and driver-assist systems, which include adaptive cruise control with stop & go, active lane management, highway assist, surround view camera, blind spot monitoring, and so on.
Similar to the Brazilian Commander, the Indian Meridian on which the Japanese Commander is based comes with both manual and automatic transmissions. Front- and all-wheel drive also need to be mentioned, with FWD models boasting the C635 manual and AWD models rocking the 948TE auto. The Multijet II of the Meridian packs 172 ps (168 horsepower) and 350 Nm (258 pound-foot), which is good enough for an SUV of this footprint.
Japan’s new Commander is a very different animal from the Commander that was sold in the Land of the Rising Sun from 2006 to 2009. Internally referred to as the XK and XH for the diesel-engined export model, the original is based on the WK Grand Cherokee developed with the help of the Daimler Group.
Although not a body-on-frame design, the unibody Commander is more than capable off the beaten path thanks to the Quadra-Trac II and Quadra-Trac III four-wheel-drive systems that feature a two-speed transfer case.
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