Tata Hexa To Rival Mahindra XUV500 In India

Tata Hexa, the soon-to-be-launched premium SUV from the home-grown auto maker is set to be launched in India in next few weeks. Being a key product for Tata Motors, the carmaker has left no stone unturned to get the SUV completely ready for the big launch later this year. Not so long ago, three test mules of the SUV were spotted in Pune and all of them were heavily camouflaged but what we can say is that they were production-ready.

Tata Motors first showcased the Hexa SUV as a concept at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show followed by its first appearance in India at the 2016 Auto Expo in a more production-ready guise. We got to see most of the design elements at the Auto Expo and it's good to see how the production variant changed a lot from the concept version seen last year. Tata is expected to lunch the SUV later this year in India and it will go up against the likes of Mahindra XUV500.

Under the hood, the SUV will come mated to a 2.2-litre four-cylinder VARICOR diesel motor that does duty in the new Safari Storme as well. The engine is claimed to be capable of producing 154bhp and develop 400Nm of torque. Sending power to the rear wheels will be a 6-speed manual gearbox, while AWD will be offered as an option. There will also be an automatic on offer, which will be an interesting offer. However, Tata isn't sourcing it from Aisin like Mahindra and the company will actually source it from GM.

Tata Hexa Will Replace the Aria as the New Premium SUV

Based on the company's premium SUV, Aria, the new Hexa rings in a new design language which is why you can see that it is more muscular and stylish. The flared wheel arches and lines on the bonnet, bring out those muscles and the 'smart' aspect of the car is brought out by the projector headlamps, LED DRLs. To bring out its SUV DNA, Tata has even added features like plastic wheel cladding, sporty alloy wheels, and long roof rails, which were seen in the models displayed at the Auto Expo. Dimensionally the Hexa measures 4764mm in length, 1895mm in width and 1780mm in height, with a wheelbase of 2850mm and this gives us an understanding that the car will be spacious.

Being a 7-seater SUV, the Hexa comes with a spacious cabin equipped with a range of creature comforts and equipment. Based on Tata's latest styling options, the cabin will see a three-spoke steering wheel (similar to what we've seen on the Zest), a touch screen infotainment system, and electronically adjustable driver seats among others.

Tata Hexa Cabin

In fact, the SUV also features a Terrain Management System similar to the one seen on Land Rover SUVs. We've also heard that the company has worked closely with Land Rover to get inputs on how the SUV should shape up.

Tata will price the Hexa in India in the range of Rs. 13 lakh to Rs. 18 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) making it the carmaker's flag ship SUV.

You might also be interested to see the price of the best cars in India:
Renault Kwid, Honda City, Maruti Swift, Hyundai Elite i20, Maruti Baleno, Alto 800, Renault Duster, Maruti Wagon R, Maruti Swift Dzire, Mahindra Scorpio, Mahindra XUV500

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