Toyota Hilux vs Jeep Meridian vs Jeep Compass

I'm smitten by pickup trucks and their versatility. So, there's no second guessing what I chose when the Toyota Hilux made it to the line-up of the fourth edition of CarWale's annual off-road day. In fact, it was the only massive pickup amongst SUVs here. To cope with the bulk, it has a 2.8-litre turbo diesel engine producing 200bhp and 500Nm of torque. All this power is routed through a six-speed torque converter automatic to the four-wheel-drive system. The latter gets High (H4) and Low (L4) range paired with electronic 2WD/4WD control. Despite the length, it has good approach (29.22degree) and departure (26.36degree) angles and runs on stock Bridgestone tyres (265/60 R18). Let's see how it performed.

Last month, Jeep India introduced two new special-edition models of the Meridian SUV, dubbed Meridian X and Meridian Upland. The Meridian X is based on the Limited Plus variant, while the Meridian Upland is based on the Limited(O) trim. The special edition Meridians get a distinct look that make them stand out and are capable both on off-road trails as well as the urban jungle. We have seen both these SUVs in person and here is everything you need to know about it.

We have driven and tested two very important MPVs along with a bunch of SUV/crossovers from this year so far and here’s our list of top six that we prefer for various reasons.