Fiat S.p.A., the Italian automobile manufacturer, has plans to roll out its premium Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) Grande Cherokee in the Indian auto market somewhere around the second half of 2013. Fiat manufactures the SUV under the Jeep brand and the news has been confirmed at the ongoing 2012 Paris Motor Show. The Grande Cherokee comes from the stables of the world's oldest All Wheel Drive (AWD) vehicle maker Jeep, which is now a subdivision of Fiat.
Currently, the Italian auto maker offers 6 variants of the Grande Cherokee SUV in the international markets namely Laredo, Laredo X, Limited, Overland, Overland Summit and SRT8. Following the legacy of the great Jeep brand, the Grande Cherokee boasts of enormous power under its hood and delivers gigantic power and torque outputs. Fiat is expected to initially introduce the lower end variants first in the Indian market, while the higher end variants could also mark their presence in the country if the vehicle attracts decent demand from the domestic power hungry SUV lovers.
The yet-to-be launched Grande Cherokee is anticipated to feature a 3.6 litre Pentastar V6 powertrain with overhead camshafts, Variable Valve Timing (VVT) and a five-speed Automatic Transmission (AT) with Electronic Range Select. The mammoth of an engine churns out an unbelievable performance that exceeds 90 percent of peak torque from 1,600 to 6,400 rpm, ensuring a hassle free and responsive driving experience of up to 900 km on one tank of fuel.
Reportedly, Fiat India is expected to retail its cannon of a SUV, the Jeep Grande Cherokee via the Completely Built Unit (CBU) route in the country. The massively built off-roader is expected to fetch a price around Rs. 45 lacs in the country, which could spell doom for the premium SUV players like BMW, Audi, Toyota, Mitsubishi and Land Rover.
The Grande Cherokee has the build, quality, power and the glorious bloodline of Jeep, which entails it to challenge any other SUV in the Indian market. Fiat will be looking to pitch the upcoming SUV directly against the likes of Mitsubishi Pajero SFX, Toyota Land Cruiser Prado and Land Rover Freelander 2. Reportedly, Fiat also has plans to revitalise its sales and service infrastructure in the domestic market before launching the Grande Cherokee. It will be interesting to see how the car fares in its second innings in the Indian market and considering the current shift towards Utility Vehicles (UV), the Grande Cherokee might just change the fortunes of the Italian auto maker on the Indian turf.
