Jeep Compass Sport 9AT diesel launched at ₹21.99 lakh: the cheapest automatic Compass yet

Jeep India has launched the Compass Sport 9AT, bringing a 9-speed automatic transmission to the entry-level Sport trim of the Compass for the first time. Announced on 26 October 2026 and priced at ₹21.99 lakh ex-showroom, it is now the most affordable way to get an automatic Jeep Compass in India. Customer deliveries begin in the second week of November 2026, through Jeep dealerships and Stellantis Brand Houses.

What happened

Until now, buyers who wanted an automatic Compass had to step up from the base Sport trim into a higher variant to get the 9-speed gearbox. The Compass Sport AT removes that trade-off: it pairs Jeep's proven 2.0-litre MultiJet II turbo-diesel engine — 170 HP and 350 Nm of torque — with the 9-speed automatic on the entry Sport specification, in front-wheel-drive form.

Being based on the Sport trim, the car keeps that variant's existing kit: LED headlamps with daytime running lights, chrome window surrounds, 17-inch silver-finished alloy wheels, black ORVM housings with integrated turn indicators, a rear spoiler and a shark-fin antenna. Over the manual Sport, the AT version adds a specific set of convenience and safety features: 6 airbags, Auto Hold and cruise control, alongside the 21.3cm Uconnect touchscreen with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay that the Sport trim already carries. The Compass's Frequency Selective Damping (FSD) suspension and Dynamic Steering Torque (DST) system, both tuned for Indian road conditions, continue unchanged.

Jeep is also offering an optional accessory pack for ₹29,900, which bundles ambient lighting, a dashcam with predictive safety features, a "Swoosh" decal for the rear pillars and shoulder line, all-weather floor mats and mud flaps. Kumar Priyesh, Business Head and Director, Automotive Brands at Stellantis India, framed the launch as part of a push to make the Compass's "authentic Jeep capability, distinctive design and confident driving experience" more accessible, timing it deliberately ahead of the Diwali buying season.

The launch is also a small data point in Stellantis's wider India plan: the company announced in mid-October a fresh ₹4,000 crore investment and a roadmap for 12 new Jeep and Citroën products by 2029, taking its cumulative India commitment to ₹15,000 crore. The Compass Sport AT is a trim-level addition within the existing line-up rather than part of that new-product pipeline, but it signals the kind of incremental, demand-led changes Jeep is making to the Compass while those bigger launches are still some years out.

What it means for an Indian buyer

The practical change is simple: an automatic diesel Compass no longer requires paying for a mid-or-top variant's extra equipment you may not want. Jeep's own range starts the Compass Sport manual at ₹18.29 lakh ex-showroom; the AT version at ₹21.99 lakh is a ₹3.7 lakh premium for the gearbox and the handful of features bundled with it — broadly in line with what automatic transmissions cost elsewhere in the segment, and noticeably cheaper than moving up to a higher Compass trim with the automatic.

That matters most for buyers who do a lot of stop-start city driving — exactly the use case where a torque-converter automatic earns its keep over a manual diesel — but who were put off by the cost of climbing the Compass ladder just to get it. It also widens the Compass's competitive set: at just under ₹22 lakh, it now sits closer to automatic diesel versions of the Hyundai Creta, Tata Harrier and (within the same Stellantis stable) the automatic diesel Citroën C3 Aircross, rather than only competing on price with Compass variants above it.

Two things worth checking before booking. First, Jeep has not revised the manual Sport's price, so the ₹3.7 lakh gap is the AT premium in isolation — confirm the on-road figure at your dealer, since Compass road tax in Telangana and other states is charged as a percentage of a comparatively high ex-showroom price, and that gap will widen further on-road. Second, deliveries start only from the second week of November, so anyone booking now ahead of Dhanteras or Diwali should ask the dealer for a realistic delivery date rather than assuming festive-season stock is available immediately.

The Auto Grid angle

The Compass brings a specific set of paint and trim challenges into our Kondapur bay: its tall, flat bonnet and upright grille take the brunt of highway stone chips, while the Sport trim's silver 17-inch alloys and black ORVM housings show swirl marks and kerb scuffs quickly against the body colour. A diesel automatic bought for city use — which is exactly who this variant targets — also tends to spend more time in stop-start traffic and valet parking, where door edges and bumper corners pick up the bulk of their damage. For a Compass Sport AT headed into daily city use, our standard recommendation is front-end PPF plus the door edges and bumper corners, done before the first proper commute rather than after the first scuff shows up.

What comes next

Jeep has not announced similar automatic additions to other trims or signalled a change to the 2.0-litre petrol Compass line-up. We will update this story if Jeep issues a variant-wise on-road price list or if the Compass Sport AT is added to the configurator on Jeep India's website, which at the time of writing still lists the Sport trim starting from ₹17.99 lakh for the base manual.