It’s been an SUV galore lately, with many conventional and electric four-wheeled options making their way to the Indian market. Just in the last six months, we’ve seen some major launches from Jeep, Kia, Maruti-Suzuki and more. If the rumour mill and spy shots are to be believed, the trend will only pick up its pace in the second half of the year. To make things simpler, we’ve compiled a list of the top 7 SUV launches scheduled for the upcoming months.
1) Mahindra Bolero Neo Plus (August)
After the launch of the 2022 Scorpio N, Mahindra might be shifting its focus towards re-introducing the TUV300 to our market. Rumoured to be launched under the ‘Bolero Neo Plus’ badge with a host of cosmetic updates, the SUV may feature a 7-seater or a 9-seater layout. We expect it to be powered by the same 2.2-litre diesel mill, which makes 120PS of power.
2) Mahindra XUV400 Electric (September 2022)
Mahindra will be looking to finally end Tata’s dominance in the electric automobile market, with the XUV400 electric. Based on the same design principle as the XUV300, the XUV400 will take the fight to the Tata Nexon EV and the Nexon EV Max, which claims to have 437km of range. Offered in two variants, the standard Nexon EV makes 129PS of power while the Max makes 143PS of power with a 40.5kWh battery pack. It’ll be interesting to see what Mahindra cooks up at their factory.
3) Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder (Diwali, 2022)
Not even a week ago, Toyota unveiled its new midsized SUV called the ‘Urban Cruiser Hydryder’. While we’ve spoken in detail about the Hyryder in our earlier story, here’s a brief summary of it. It is scheduled to release during this year’s Indian festive season, for an expected price of Rs 10 lakh. It is being developed in collaboration with Maruti Suzuki, who itself is planning to launch an SUV of its own based on the same platform. Toyota will offer it in a “mild-hybrid” and “strong-hybrid” setup, with 102PS of power and 116PS of power available on tap.
4) Maruti Suzuki & Toyota midsize SUV (Diwali, 2022)
Maruti Suzuki’s and Toyota’s collaboration will not end with the Hyryder. As mentioned earlier, the company will be launching its own version of the midsize SUV. And while it’ll share the same platform and powertrain, the Maruti offering will likely be a sportier offering than the Toyota. While things are still kept hush-hush by Maruti, we expect it to come fully equipped with top-shelf bells and whistles. Watch out till the festive season to know more.
5) Hyundai Tuscon facelift (Late 2022)
Despite being out of production globally for two years, the fourth-gen Tucson will be making its way to our shores in the second half of 2022. The much-needed updated model will come with a new design, a longer wheelbase and an updated engine taken from the Hyundai Alcazar. Considering its ICE flagship placement, we also expect Hyundai to pack it with features like sensor-based ADAS technology.
6) Hyundai Creta facelift (early 2023)
Just like the Tuscon, Hyundai will also be updating the Creta this year with a facelift. Following in the same lines as the 2022 Venue, the new Creta will feature a design based on the flagship Tuscon, with some major design changes at the front and the rear. Then there’s the addition of a fully digital instrument console, updated car connect tech and even some version of the ADAS technology. However, reports suggest that it’ll continue to be powered by the same 1.5-litre petrol and diesel motor and the 1.4-litre turbo-petrol mill.
7) Suzuki Jimny (early 2023)
Last but definitely not the least, Suzuki is finally working on bringing the Jimny to India sometime early next year. Recently, a 5-door variant of the SUV was spotted testing in Europe. The same version is expected to grace Indian showrooms soon. Suzuki also sells a 3-door version of the Jimny abroad, which is coincidentally built in India for export. This makes us believe that the 5-door version supposed to arrive here may feature the same interior and 102PS powertrain as the 3-door one. Hey, we’re not complaining!
(Image credits: Carscoop, Mahindra, Toyota, Hyundai, Maruti Suzuki)
