Both BMW and Mercedes change their torch-bearer luxury sedans, Audi updates their SUV range; Maruti gives its a best seller a makeover and Tata continues its revival. And a few surprises from Jeep, Ford and Volkswagen as well
As with all odd-numbered years of late, there will be no major auto show in India in the coming year. But the lack of a large platform for carmakers to showcase their wares doesn’t mean that the year will be short of launches. 2016 was dominated by the launch of the Vitara Brezza, which has sold an astounding 85,000 units so far. Hyundai had a quieter year with the Tucson being the only major launch but Tata Motors brought out leo Messi as their global brand ambassador with the new Tiago. There was also the long-overdue second-generation launches of the Toyota Innova and Fortuner, as well as the iconic Ford Mustang and several launches from the German luxury brands — new variants of the MINI, the new A4 as well as some very sporty AMG models from Mercedes. Volvo launched the brilliant new S90 sedan and Maserati relaunched in India.
But what do the carmakers have in store for 2017IJ Quite a lot it seems, indeed if most of the launches go ahead, 2017 could be the most exciting year for new car launches in quite a while.
Up first we have the Suzuki Ignis, this already has a launch date — January 13 in case you were wondering and Maruti has said that they will do an innovative direct-to-customer launch with a concert by Axwell. The Ignis is being marketed to a younger audience, and the design elements both inside and outside are indications of this.
But Maruti-Suzuki doesn’t rest and launches the Baleno RS by late-February or early-March as production bottlenecks get removed. This car features the first new engine in the Maruti small-car line-up since the K-series was introduced. The ‘Boosterjet’ engine will produce 125 horsepower and could make this the first affordable ‘hot hatchback’ — unless you have 25 lakhs for a Polo GTI.
But the Ignis and Baleno RS will bookend, in terms of market segments, Maruti’s most important launch of 2017 which will be the third-generation Swift. This car which was showcased just recently in japan maintains the overall ‘look and feel’ of the original Swift which rebooted the Indo-Japanese carmakers’ fortunes. Also expect the third-generation Swift D’zire which can easily be expected to become an Ola/Uber favourite.
And it isn’t just Maruti that will making launch season exciting; Hyundai will be launching the next-generation Hyundai Verna, which we’re sure will take tips from the new Elantra and Tucson and feature Hyundai’s much improved interiors and newer engines.
Tata Motors will finally launch their refreshed and renamed MPV into the market as the Hexa. But more importantly, it will take the Tiago platform further - first a Tiago based sedan which is currently known as the ‘Kite 5’ and even a Tiago based compact SUV which could become the Nexon.
Ford will be giving the car that revitalised them in India, the EcoSport a refresh this year. And while the car will lose the rear-mounted spare, at least the picture we have seen indicate that, the interiors are being given a major overhaul to catch up with Maruti and Hyundai. And the possibility of a new petrol engine also exists.
Volkswagen has assured us that they will finally be launching the new Tiguan this year. This sub-compact SUV designed to take on the Tucson and CR-V might face some competition from the SUV’s that stablemate Audi is looking to launch, the small Q2 and the second-generation Q5 as well as the overdue refresh of the A3.
But it isn’t the Audi SUV’s that we are really looking forward to, it is the ‘Made-In-India’ Jeep Compass that the American brand believes will help them conquer the Indian market.
BMW and Mercedes-Benz will be going head with their launches of their next-generation executive sedans. 2017 will see both the new BMW 5-series and the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class enter the market. We can’t wait to drive them both!