The New Santro?
Its a good day when one gets to see something unusual. Similar thing happened recently on a normal morning drive when one of us spotted a Hyundai test mule.
From what we know and have seen from past spy shots, the car we had spotted under covers was Hyundai’s new hatchback and potential rebirth of their legendary Santro.
Hyundai’s new hatchback does get a high roof, further fuelling speculations that this could very well be the next Santro. The car will carry Hyundai’s latest design language, going by the silhouette of the headlamps.
From what we can make out from the size of the test mule, it might be a replacement for the Eon. Or Hyundai could launch it as a different brand.
The design (from whatever little we saw) borrows from the i10 Grand. According to Autocar India, Hyundai may use a differently tuned version of the Santro’s Epsilon petrol engine.
Tata’s Premium Hatchback
Another car that has been spotted testing recently is Tata’s new hatchback based on the 45X concept.
The 45X was first seen at the 2018 Auto Expo and looking at the test mule, the production car might just be very close to the concept design.
Nothing can be made out about the name or the engine options that might be available for this hatchback. What we know is that this will go into direct competition with the Maruti Suzuki Baleno and the Hyundai i20, and it will be launched this financial year.
Mahindra’s Compact SUV
Spy images for the Mahindra S201 compact SUV have also started doing the rounds. Based on the Ssangyong Tivoli, the S201 carries a boxy design.
The test mule also had a rear spoiler and a wraparound taillamp design with the rear fog lamps integrated in the rear bumper.
Being developed at Mahindra’s Research Valley in Chennai, the S201 SUV will be available in both petrol and diesel options and will carry a new-gen 1.5-litre and 1.6-litre petrol engine being developed by SsangYong and Mahindra, according to Overdrive. It will be a direct competitor to the Ford Ecosport and Maruti Vitara Brezza.
Next-Gen Maruti Suzuki Ciaz
One of the more obvious and most anticipated launches this year will also be the upgraded Ciaz which has been spied with and without covers in the past. The most recent being of it parked uncovered somewhere in a Maruti Suzuki facility.
The car has got a refreshed modern look. The car will feature new LED headlamps. The front bumper has also been redone with the chrome outlines for the fog lamps.
On the inside as well, the new Ciaz will get Maruti Suzuki’s new infotainment system. The dashboard also looks refreshed with a wooden strip running all throughout the length of the dash.
With this, the Ciaz will get an update for the first time since its launch in 2014. The facelift is expected to go on sale before the 2018 festive season.
TATA’s Premium SUV
Rushlane, a website that very often posts spy shots of test mules, had spotted the TATA H5X based SUV, codenamed the Q502 for the first time in February.
The Q502’s butch looks say that it is expected to be a premium SUV, to compete against the likes of the Jeep Compass and the Hyundai Tuscon. According to Rushlane, the car will come in two variants - a five seater and a seven seater. The five seater will be a competitor to the likes of the Hyundai Creta and the Renault Captur.
The H5X based SUV has a platform borrowed from Jaguar LandRover. It is expected to go into production by December this year.
(With inputs from Autocar India, Overdrive, AutoX and Rushlane.com)
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