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This article was first published 10 years ago

These 9 cars to hit Indian roads soon

Last updated on: August 12, 2013 12:41 IST

Image: Fiat Linea (Top) and Maruti A Star.
Photographs: Courtesy, Fiat and Maruti Suzuki

To beat the slowdown, car companies are on a launching spree. Each of them are coming up with one fantastic car after the other. Recently, Honda launch its first diesel car and Ford debuted EcoSport in the country. It may be bad time for auto companies but a good time for consumers!

The price remains competitive, the feature list is enhanced and sometimes the companies lure the consumers towards its models with mouth-watering discounts.

No doubt, the consumer is benefitted but to choose one model seems like an intricate task; with numerous models lined up by the automotive companies to be launched this year, the intricate task will soon become an uphill battle.

The Indian car buyer will have a plethora of models to choose from when looking to buy a passenger vehicle.

Here is a look at the upcoming car launches in 2013 that would make the choice harder or maybe ever so simple given the car of your liking is amidst the new car models in 2013.

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These 9 cars to hit Indian roads soon


Photographs: Courtesy, Maruti Suzuki

Maruti Suzuki A-Star

The only product from the house of Maruti that has not made waves yet, is the A-star. The company has given the product an overhaul literally for its 2013 version.

Displayed at the Chengdu Motor Show in China, the hatch seems to impress in terms of maturity and appeal.

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These 9 cars to hit Indian roads soon

Image: Maruti Suzuki A-Star interior.
Photographs: Courtesy, Maruti Suzuki

The headlamps have grown in size and have gone more curvaceous, that seem to blend with the new grille. The front and the rear bumper have been created new and the changes in the ambience of the hatch are limited to the upholstery.

Power remains unchanged, and the launch seems to be happening in the latter half of the year.

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These 9 cars to hit Indian roads soon


Volkswagen Cross Polo

Compact! This word adorns every segment of the automobile industry. Where SUVs were once big and bulky, the trend seems to have changed now and the 'small is good' sentiment is soaring high.

Joining this bandwagon shortly, will be the new Volkswagen Cross Polo. Though compact, the Cross Polo SUV looks rugged and the appeal oozes from the 17” wheels, neatly finished roof rails and the plastic cladding on the lower portions of the bumpers and door area.

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These 9 cars to hit Indian roads soon


Under the hoods, will be the 1.5L diesel and 1.2L TSI turbo petrol engine mated to a 7-speed automatic DSG gearbox.

The price tag of this compact SUV is expected to be Rs 600,000 - Rs 800,000 to stay competitive in the market with the launch slated to happen at the end of the year in December.

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These 9 cars to hit Indian roads soon


Maruti XA Alpha

The compact SUV bandwagon will now even have a Maruti product, the XA-Alpha, the concept of which was unveiled at the Auto Expo.

To be spawned on the Swift hatchback platform, the SUV concept comes across as a clean cut, to-the-point design which will be rendered with macho SUV elements.

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These 9 cars to hit Indian roads soon


To keep the price aggressive, expect the length to be under sub-four meter; the dashboard appears to have arrived straight from the Swift.

The extremely frugal and acclaimed K-series petrol engine along with1.3L DDiS diesel engine is likely to encompass the variant line-up and the market expects to see a 4WD option also.

Priced around Rs 700,000, the SUV could drive in the Indian market at the end of this year.

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These 9 cars to hit Indian roads soon


Photographs: Courtesy, Nissan

Nissan Terrano

Renault Duster’s game changing success gave its alliance partner Nissan, ideas to build an SUV on the same platform and then began the story of Terrano.

The badge engineered products for both Nissan and Renault are nothing new for the world market; Pulse-Micra, Scala-Sunny being the examples already available in the market.

The basic designing approach of broad shoulders will be adopted; however, the front end will be restyled with chances of a new tailgate and fresh sheet metal.

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These 9 cars to hit Indian roads soon


Photographs: Courtesy, Nissan

The ambiance won’t be much different as pricing is the major factor that needs to be in check.

The engines also remain unaltered but as always Renault Nissan badge-engineered, the second product arrives with a lesser price; so, consider saving a few thousand bucks on this.

Launch is expected around September with the price ranging from Rs 750,000 - Rs 11.5 lakh.

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These 9 cars to hit Indian roads soon


Photographs: Courtesy, Fiat

Fiat Punto Abarth

Fiat and Tata’s alliance is now broken, and Fiat has established its own dealerships with the about-to-launch version of Punto hatch, Abarth.

The hot-hatch version of the Punto called 'Abarth' is one of the much awaited vehicles from Fiat in India, which is being sold in several international markets already.

With newfangled front fascia that includes refreshed bumper, restyled grille and redesigned headlamps, the Punto Abarth is surely a great looking hatch.

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These 9 cars to hit Indian roads soon


Photographs: Courtesy, Fiat

The taillights have been reworked to grace the rear end and the overall appeal of the hatch now appear different from the current version running on roads.

The European version of the Fiat Punto Abarth gets a refreshed dashboard but whether it will feature in Indian sibling is still uncertain.

To be rolled out in the market with a market value of Rs 500,000 - 750,000, the launch of the Fiat Punto Abarth is on the cards for this festive season.

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These 9 cars to hit Indian roads soon


Photographs: Courtesy, Jeep

Jeep Grand Cherokee

The SUV market in India has grown by leaps and bounds and has made every auto major join the fray despite the increased excise duty.

Jeep could no longer resist the urge to take the plunge and is ready to do so with the Grand Cherokee.

The ethos of the basic SUV styling has been kept at the forefront and ruggedness oozes out from the exteriors with huge carriage capacity in the cabin area.

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These 9 cars to hit Indian roads soon


Photographs: Courtesy, Jeep

The 3.0-litre common-rail V6 diesel engine churns the wheel of this SUV with shift gears coming from eight-speed automatic gearbox.

To tackle any sort of terrain, expect Jeep’s Selec-Terrain off-road electronic gadgetry on board and on-road dynamics are good with the monocoque chassis.

Pricing will be high and the Grand Cherokee will shell out Rs 40 lakh from your pocket and expect the SUV to land on Indian shores in December 2013.

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These 9 cars to hit Indian roads soon


Photographs: Courtesy, Fiat

Fiat Linea Facelift

Expected to be launched around the golden period in the Indian market, Diwali, the refreshed version of Fiat Linea is embellished with new grille, front bumper and the chrome renderings, which appeals the Indian audience.

The rear area is altered with repositioning of the number plate from bumper to the bootlid and thick chrome strip has been added.

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These 9 cars to hit Indian roads soon


Photographs: Courtesy, Fiat

This mid-life facelift of the sedan also comes with refreshed dashboard in the world market, but an unlikely feature to be seen in the Indian version as the pricing would go a lot higher.

With no change in ergonomics, expect the Linea to drive in with price ranging from Rs 750,000 to Rs 10 lakh.

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These 9 cars to hit Indian roads soon


Photographs: Courtesy, Skoda

Skoda Octavia

Skoda Octavia was the first product that the company introduced in the Indian market, the proud possession with which the company began its innings, was taken off the market to be introduced as Skoda Laura.

Now Skoda is reshuffling the things and will bring back Octavia which is likely to go on sale in late 2013.

Spawned on the Volkswagen Group’s flexible MQB platform, the new version of Octavia has gone higher in dimensions and decreased in terms of weight ratio than the current-gen model, which is sold in India as the Laura.

….

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These 9 cars to hit Indian roads soon


Photographs: Courtesy, Skoda

Skoda Octavia variant line-up gets fire-power from new engines but the old 2.0-litre diesel and 1.8-litre turbo-petrol dragons are expected to fuel the power.

Skoda Laura in India is still a strong seller after years of its launch; what positioning the company will give to the new Octavia is boggling the mind of the auto enthusiasts as well as analysts.

Launching around late 2013, the sedan will extract Rs 16 lakh - Rs 20 lakh from Skoda fans.

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These 9 cars to hit Indian roads soon


Force Viano MPV

Bigger than the current available MPVs in the segment, this unchristened model will be an eight seater.

Power will be derived from the Mercedes-Benz-licensed OM611 2.2-litre diesel engine, and the power output is tagged at 139bhp; the engine is already doing duty under Force ONE SUV.

While price card is still a mystery, the market estimates that Force Motors will launch this MPV with a price in the Rs 10 lakh - Rs 15 lakh band and will launch the MPV around this festive season.

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