Test driving a vehicle before finalizing or buying it is part of the process of purchasing a new or used car. Almost every car dealership offers this facility. Some of them even deliver the car to the customer’s place for test drives. However, not all test drives go as planned. There have been cases in the past where inexperienced drivers who took a car for a test drive have often crashed it. One such incident was reported from the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, where a Jeep Meridian test drive vehicle was crashed by the customer at high speed.
The video has been shared by Prateek Singh on his YouTube channel. It is not clear whether the vlogger found the video online or if it was shared with him by one of his subscribers. According to the video, the car was being driven by a customer who was interested in the vehicle. As usual, the customer, along with a dealership staff member, took the car for a spin, and for some reason, the driver lost control and crashed the SUV into the divider. The exact reason behind the crash is not mentioned clearly in the video. We do not know if an animal or another vehicle caused the accident.
From the pictures and videos available online, it is evident that the road was wet when the accident took place, and this could be a contributing factor. The slippery road surface might have caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle. The traction control on the vehicle might have been turned off. There are even suggestions that the SUV was being driven at high speed on wet roads, which may have caused the accident. Whatever the reason may be, the car is completely damaged in the accident. It is reported that the car crashed into the divider and also knocked down two street light poles.
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The lower part of the car is heavily damaged. Both the front and rear wheels on the right side of the SUV are broken and are lying away from the car. The front bumper, grille, and headlamps are all missing. The bonnet and the driver’s side door are also damaged. The rear bumper and the left side front alloy wheels and tires are also damaged. All the airbags, including the curtain airbags, deployed on time. The exact details of the occupants in the car are not known; however, it is expected that they all escaped without major injuries.
One should always try to drive the car within the speed limits, especially when taking a test drive for a new vehicle. You don’t know the potential of the new car, and it is very easy to lose control over such cars if you underestimate them. Most test drive cars are insured, and any damage to them is covered under the same. There have been cases where dealerships have asked customers to pay for damages in the past. We hope nothing like that has happened in this case.
Jeep launched the Meridian SUV in the market last year. It is actually an extended or seven-seater version of the Jeep Compass, which was their first “made in India” product. It is the most affordable Jeep product, which is why it has garnered a lot of attention from buyers. The Jeep Meridian is powered by the same 2.0-liter turbocharged diesel engine as the Jeep Compass, generating 170 PS and 350 Nm of peak torque. Currently, it is only available with a diesel engine, offered with a 6-speed manual or a 9-speed automatic transmission. The price for the Jeep Meridian starts at Rs 33.41 lakh, ex-showroom, and goes up to Rs 38.61 lakh, ex-showroom.
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The post Test drive gone wrong: Jeep Meridian SUV crashed at high speed by customer [Video] first appeared on Cartoq.