Top five SUV/UVs launching this festive season

This festive season, Indian car buyers will receive more options than ever before. The Indian-bred carmaker Mahindra plans two products by the end of this year. Meanwhile, Maruti Suzuki will be bringing in the new generation of India’s favourite MPV. Honda, on the other hand, doesn’t want to miss out on the SUV pie and will reintroduce its SUV with a diesel heart. The German sports car maker, Porsche, will also indulge the Indian aficionados with its flagship SUV. Read on to find out more about the upcoming SUV/UV to arrive around the Indian festive season.

Mahindra XUV700/G4 Rexton

Mahindra showcased the rebadged new-gen Ssangyong Rexton at the 2018 Auto Expo. Rumoured to be called the XUV700, the new flagship from Mahindra will take on the likes of the Toyota Fortuner, Isuzu MU-X, and Ford Endeavour. The seven-seater will get all the bells and whistles expected from an SUV in its segment, and some more. Powering it will be a 2.2-litre four-pot diesel with 185bhp/420Nm output with automatic transmission and AWD. Pricing is expected to be around Rs 35 lakhs. 

Honda CR-V

The CR-V has been around for a long time now but it never had a diesel engine, until now. The new CR-V also seats seven. The overall design is updated with modern touches all over while the silhouette is unmistakably CR-V. It will be feature loaded on the inside too. Under the hood will be a 1.6-litre, four-cylinder engine with 120bhp and 300Nm mated to a nine-speed transmission with AWD. The CR-V will compete with full-size SUVs like Fortuner, Santa Fe and Endeavour.

Maruti Suzuki Ertiga

The new-gen Suzuki Ertiga broke cover in April this year at the 2018 Indonesia Motor Show. The ASEAN-spec Ertiga will be introduced in the country soon, after which will be built locally. Based on the Heartect platform, the new Ertiga is stylish, feature loaded and will be powered by a new 101bhp 1.5-litre petrol motor. It will also get an automatic transmission for the first time. The interior space has been boosted and it is even lighter than the older model. Pricing will remain on par to the older model. 

Mahindra Marazzo

Mahindra officially christened their new U321 MPV as the Marazzo. The Marazzo is based on an all-new platform and is the first car to be developed at Mahindra’s North American Technical Centre with inputs from Pininfarina. All its design elements are inspired by a shark. The MPV will have monocoque construction with seven and eight seat configuration. Being Mahindra’s all-new product, there will be a long equipment list. No technical details or official images of the car have been revealed officially. 

Porsche Cayenne

Porsche showcased the new-gen Cayenne at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show. And the German marque has brought the new-gen SUV to India as one of the entry-level petrol variants. It gets a 3.0-litre V6 petrol but it will be followed by a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8. A Cayenne Hybrid is also on the cards. The Cayenne diesel is the highest selling variant and should be launched by the end of 2018. The Cayenne has moved to a new platform, but it retains its styling along with its on- and off-road capabilities.