Honda Accord hybrid
The ever popular Honda Accord is set for its India comeback, albeit with a twist. The ninth generation of the car will be launched as a hybrid just a few days before Diwali. The new Accord is powered by a 2.0-litre petrol engine which is paired to an electric motor. The Accord hybrid will be imported as a CBU and will therefore miss out on some of the government’s initiatives for hybrid cars. We hope Honda can still price it well to take on the car’s main rival, the Toyota Camry Hybrid which gets these benefits.
Kwid 1.0
One of the first launches this festive season was the new Renault Kwid.Renault’s most successful car in India now has a more powerful 1.0 litre engine called the 1.0L SCe. The two variants of the car are priced at Rs 3,82,776 and Rs 3,95,776 respectively. That makes it just Rs 22,000 more than the 0.8L version. The car also features new Speed –Sport designer graphics on the doors and two-tone gloss grey ORVMs, enhancing its style quotient.
Toyota Fortuner
One of the most awaited cars this year will come early next month. Japanese car maker Toyota is set to launch a new generation of the Fortuner on 7 November. The car shares the same platform as the Innova Crysta and most likely will also be powered by the same 2.8-litre diesel and 2.7-litre petrol engines that power the Innova. The car will be available in both manual and automatic gearboxes along with an all-wheel drive option to showcase its off-road capabilities. It will primarily take on the now popular Ford Endeavour in the market.
Ameo Diesel
Volkswagen has launched the much awaited diesel variant of the Ameo, its compact sedan, just at the onset of the festive season. The Ameo diesel range comes equipped with a 1.5L 4-cylinder diesel engine delivering 110PS of maximum power. The car is offered with first in segment 7-Speed automatic DSG gear box in addition to a 5-speed manual gear box. The Ameo Diesel starts at a price of Rs 6.27 lakh (ex-Mumbai) and the 7-speed DSG comes at a starting price of Rs 8.41 lakh.
Terrano AMT
Nissan’s popular SUV the Terrano has got an important upgrade right at the onset of the festive season. Targeting a specific set of buyers, the Japanese car maker has added an AMT gearbox to the Terrano. The company has already started taking bookings for the car with an initial payment Rs 25,000. The six-speed AMT model is priced at Rs 13.75 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi)
Hyundai Tucson
Another much awaited car in the country is the Hyundai Tucson. The third generation of the SUV follows the company’s famed Fluidic Sculpture 2.0 design language and will share styling cues with the larger Santa Fe. The new Tucson will be available in both petrol and diesel engine variants and will have manual as well as automatic gearbox options. Price wise, the car will sit right between the popular Creta and the flagship Santa Fe. The launch will happen just after Diwali.
Volvo S90
Swedish car maker Volvo finally has a replacement for the S80 sedan. The new Volvo S90 is ready to hit the Indian roads to take on the likes of Audi A6, BMW 5-series and the Mercedes E-class. The car is powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder unit. With the S90 Volvo will also debut some of Volvo’s radar-based safety systems in India. As expected from a Volvo, the car will be loaded with a lot of safety features. The car will come as a CBU and could be priced around Rs 55 lakh (ex-showroom).
Ecosport Signature
American car maker Ford has given its popular SUV the Ecosport a special edition treatment. The new Signature edition of the car gets stylish body graphics, new LED daytime running lamps along with front and rear bumper appliqués. The Black Signature Edition has all-black exteriors including Black Grille, Alloy Wheels, Fog lamps, Black-out moulded headlamps and more. The titanium variant of EcoSport with Signature Edition range of accessories will be available starting Rs 9.26 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). Engine options and interior features remain the same.
Honda Brio
Honda has launched a facelift of its most affordable car, the Brio, in the market. The Brio has been given a new look with a High-Gloss Black and Chrome finish Front Grille and a redesigned Front Bumper. At the rear, the car now gets a new tail lamp along with an all new Tailgate Spoiler with LED High mount Stop-Lamp. The interiors have an all new Instrument Panel with Carbon Finish and Silver Accents and smoothly Integrated Air Vents. The car still runs on the same 4-cylinder 1.2-litre petrol engine that delivers maximum output of 88 PS and comes in both Manual and Automatic options. Prices of the new Brio start at Rs 4.69 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).
F-Pace
Finally, of the most spectacular launches seen in India in recent times, British luxury car maker Jaguar has launched its first ever performance SUV, the F-PACE. The F-PACE will be available in India in two engine options, the 132 kW 2.0 litre diesel and the 221 kW 3.0 litre diesel. Unique features of the SUV include Activity Key and tablet style touch-screen. F-TYPE derived chassis technologies like Torque Vectoring and Adaptive Dynamics have been introduced on the SUV. The F-PACE starts from Rs 68.40 lakh (ex-showroom) and goes upto Rs 1.12 crore for the top first edition.
(Shams Raza Naqvi is an anchor/producer for the NewsX motor show Living Cars)