The SUV segment is growing every year in India. While it is presently at close to 43% of the passenger vehicle market, industry experts are of the view that it will plateau at around 48-49%. In the coming few months, a host of SUVs will be launched. While the country’s largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki India, will introduce the Fronx and the five-door Jimny, Kia India is expected to bring in the Seltos facelift, Honda Cars India its all-new model and Hyundai Motor India the micro-SUV. Let us talk about them in more detail.
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Maruti Suzuki Fronx
The Fronx launch will take place in India in the second week of April. The new model can be a major contender in the compact SUV segment, in which Maruti already has the popular Brezza. The Fronx is expected to be a volume driver for the carmaker’s Nexa channel along with the Baleno.
Maruti has garnered more than 15,500 bookings for the Fronx till now. It is being offered in Sigma, Delta, Delta+, Zeta and Alpha variants. We expect the Fronx price to be between Rs 6.75 lakh and Rs 11 lakh (ex-showroom).
The Fronx has a K12N 1.2-litre Dual-Jet Dual-VVT petrol engine (90PS/113Nm) and a K10C 1.0-litre Turbo Boosterjet petrol engine (100PS/148Nm). The transmission options include 5-speed MT and 5-speed AMT with K12N engine and 5-speed MT and 6-speed AT with K10C engine.
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Maruti Suzuki Jimny
The Jimny will be launched after the Fronx, targeting more lifestyle-oriented buyers. Both SUVs will be sold from Nexa dealerships. It has clocked more than 23,500 bookings. While the Jimny will have only two variants, Zeta and Alpha, the SUV will be priced between Rs 9 lakh and Rs 13 lakh (ex-showroom).
The Jimny employs a 1.5-litre K15B petrol engine, which delivers 103PS of maximum power and 134Nm of peak torque. The transmission options include a 5-speed MT and a 4-speed AT. The SUV gets Suzuki’s ALLGRIP PRO 4WD technology with low-range transfer gear (4L mode) as standard.
Kia Seltos Facelift
Ever since its launch in India in August 2019, the Kia Seltos has been very popular among SUV buyers. This is backed by the high volumes it has posted since its launch.
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As per reports, Kia India will introduce the Seltos facelift later in the year. It will come with a host of cosmetic updates. However, the powertrain options are expected to remain the same. It will get a 1.5-litre petrol engine, a 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine and a 1.5-litre diesel engine with manual, clutchless manual and automatic transmission options.
We expect the Seltos facelift price to be slightly higher than the current pricing of Rs 10.89 lakh to Rs 19.65 lakh (ex-showroom).
New Honda SUV
Honda Cars India will launch its all-new SUV before the beginning of the festive season this year. This will basically be a global SUV with India as the lead country to it.
The Honda SUV has already been spied testing with heavy camouflage. It is expected to come with the same 1.5-litre petrol and strong hybrid engine options, which are available with the Honda City.
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We expect the Honda SUV price to be in the range of Rs 10.50 lakh to Rs 20 lakh (ex-showroom).
Hyundai Micro SUV
Around the festive season this year, another SUV will be launched. This will be a micro SUV from Hyundai Motor India and will sit below the Venue in the company’s SUV line-up.
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The new Hyundai micro SUV will rival the Tata Punch. It will be based on the same platform that underpins the Hyundai Grand i10 Nios and the Hyundai Aura, and possibly share powertrains with them.
Expect the Hyundai micro SUV price to be between Rs 6 lakh and Rs 9.5 lakh (ex-showroom).
