New cars for 2015: Hatchbacks

You may walk into a dealership and the salesman might just tell you about launches just around the corner, but this is your one stop to get all the dope on hatchbacks that will be making their way into the showrooms in 2015.

TATA NANO TWIST ACTIVE
As we’ve seen in the last few years, Tata has chosen to update the Nano sequentially rather than with one big facelift. And for 2015, it will get one of its most significant updates yet. Dubbed the Twist Active, this version will get a mild facelift, better interiors, and an opening tailgate for much better practicality. It will also get the option of an AMT automatic gearbox, which should do wonders for its appeal as a small, efficient urban runabout. The AMT will be a similar unit to the one in the Zest. Of course, all this will make it more expensive than the standard car, but it’s still likely to be the most affordable automatic car in the world.

Factfile
Coming: 2015
Est price: Rs 2.5 lakh
Engine(s): 0.6 petrol
Rivals: Maruti Alto 800

DATSUN REDI-GO

yes, this is only a concept, but the Datsun Redi-Go looks quite striking for what’s going to be one of the most affordable cars in India, particularly since the production car will at least ape a lot of the styling cues seen here. It was unveiled to the world at the 2014 Auto Expo. This car’s 2,350mm wheelbase points to generous cabin room and its crossover-like appearance will appeal to the SUV-loving Indian masses. The production version of the Datsun Redi-Go will use an all-new platform, Alliance Partner Renault’s new CMF-A, although the French company is bringing out its own car on that platform first. However, what we do know is that the Datsun Redi-Go will be powered by the same three-cylinder, 800cc petrol engine as its Renault counterpart. When it does go on sale in 2016, the car will be very aggressively priced too – in fact, we’re expecting that all variants will be sold for less than Rs 4 lakh, making it an aggressive Maruti Alto 800 competitor.

Factfile
Coming: 2016
Est price: Rs 3-4 lakh
Engine(s): 0.8 petrol
Rivals: Maruti Alto 800, Hyundai Santro

NEW RENAULT SMALL CAR

Renault is also working on a new budget hatchback based on the same platform as Datsun Redi-Go to take on the likes of Maruti and Hyundai at the low-cost, high-volume end of the market. In fact, Renault is the lead brand for this new small platform which is likely to be launched before Alliance partner Nissan comes out with the Datsun Redi-Go.

This baby Renault will use the most affordable version of Renault’s new Common Module Family (CMF) platform, called CMF-A. Though it will share this platform with the Datsun Redi-Go,
the company insists this won’t be another re-badging job like other cars in the Renault-Nissan Alliance, namely the Duster-Terrano, Sunny-Scala or Micra-Pulse. The Renault car will be styled differently too; however, the engine will be common – an-all new 800cc petrol.

Factfile
Coming: Mid-2015
Est price: Rs 3 lakh
Engine(s): 0.8 petrol
Rivals: Maruti Alto 800, Hyundai Eon

TATA KITE

Following the Zest and Bolt is an all-new family of Tata cars codenamed Kite, which is fundamentally an all-new car sitting on a thoroughly re-engineered platform of the original Indica (code: X0). The Kites (coming in hatchback and compact sedan iterations) will sit a rung lower than the Zest and Bolt and fill the gap above the Nano. Going by what we’ve seen in the Zest and the Bolt, there’s a lot to be excited about with the Kites. You can expect a more attractive exterior and interior and a whole lot more equipment. The quality in the cabin should also see a big improvement, and Tata is said to be working on fine-tuning the suspension for better comfort and handling as well. The Kite will likely go head to head with sub-premium hatchbacks like the Chevrolet Beat, Hyundai i10 and Maruti Celerio, but since the basic dimensions of the car are the same as before, you can expect fantastic interior space in the Kite by segment standards.

Factfile
Coming: End 2015
Est price: Rs 4-5 lakh
Engine(s): 1.2 petrol, 1.4 diesel
Rivals: Maruti Celerio, Hyundai i10, Chevrolet Beat

MARUTI CELERIO DIESEL
The Celerio has  roused quite a lot of attention already with its AMT automatic gearbox and there is still a waiting list for the AMT-equipped variant. Maruti believes it has created a revolution with its low-cost, low-tech automatic and is gearing up to kickstart another revolution in the Celerio – with the smallest diesel engine in the Indian market. It’s not the Fiat motor which has powered all Maruti diesels so far, but an 800cc, two-cylinder unit developed inhouse by Maruti itself, and while it won’t be the most powerful around, it does promise to be very affordable to buy and to run.

Factfile
Coming: End 2015
Est price: Rs 4-5 lakh
Engine(s): 0.8 diesel
Rivals: Ford Figo, Chevrolet Beat

NEW FORD FIGO

You’ll see the neat- looking compact sedan called the Figo+ later on in this list, but take away the boot and the ‘+’ symbol from the name and what you have is the replacement for today’s Figo hatchback. Scheduled to be launched after the sedan, what’s immediately clear is that Ford is moving the Figo further upmarket than the last car. While the current Figo is based on the last-gen Fiesta hatchback from Europe, this one is based on the current Fiesta. The styling, though not very dramatic, is in line with the company’s new look. The car has already been launched in Brazil as the Ford Ka, and going by that version, the next Figo should be pretty well-equipped too – it even features the Sync infotainment system. On the powertrain front, Ford will likely stick with its 1.2 petrol and 1.5 diesel engines.

Factfile
Coming: End 2015
Est price: Rs 4.5-6.5 lakh
Engine(s): 1.2 petrol, 1.5 diesel
Rivals: Hyundai Grand i10, Maruti Swift

TATA BOLT

At this stage, there’s probably little you don’t know about the Tata Bolt. Unveiled alongside its compact sedan counterpart, the Zest, at the Auto Expo in Feb this year, the Bolt is a very thorough reimagining of the Indica Vista. It shares its chassis, its basic shape and a few other bits with the old car, but like the Zest, it’s been re-engineered enough to credibly be considered a new car. Apart from the jazzy new styling — most notably the more conventional tail-lamps that replace Tata’s characteristic ‘christmas tree’ units — you can also expect a lot more equipment in the Bolt, better ride and handling, and also better fit and finish inside the cabin. As for what’s under the hood, the 74bhp Quadrajet diesel will return, and Tata is likely to use the same 1.2-litre ‘Revotron’ turbo-petrol engine from the Zest in this car as well. The diesel AMT version, however, is unlikely to make it to the hatchback at launch.

Factfile
Coming: Late 2014
Est price:Rs 5-6 lakh
Engine(s): 1.2 petrol, 1.3 diesel
Rivals: Hyundai Grand i10, Maruti Swift

FIAT PUNTO EVO ABARTH

The Punto has just been facelifted and one of our biggest criticisms of it is its weak range of engines, which lets its strong chassis down. If you feel that way too, you won’t have to worry for too long, as Fiat will launch a high-performance Abarth version. It will most likely use the 1.4-litre T-jet motor from the Linea, with the power pumped up to around 140bhp, which is hot hatch territory. Fiat could also give it stiffer springs, dampers and anti-roll bars, while still keeping it suitable for Indian conditions. But the best bit is it will be assembled here, and so won’t cost a fortune.

Factfile
Coming: 2015
Est price: Rs 9.5 lakh
Engine(s): 1.4 turbo-petrol
Rivals: Ford EcoSport EcoBoost, VW Polo GT

FIAT 500 ABARTH

The three very fashionable ‘retro’ hatches will all be back in new forms in the coming year, starting with the relaunch of Fiat’s 500 hatchback. When launched a few years ago, the 500 wasn’t as big a hit as it could’ve been, despite being cheaper than the VW Beetle in the market at the time. That’s partly because the 500 isn’t as well known here as the Beetle or the Mini, but also as it was only available with a 1.3-litre Multijet diesel engine. The new car, however, will be coming in all guns blazing as the 165bhp 500 Abarth, and in doing so, will also introduce Fiat’s high-performance brand here. If Fiat manages to price this version competitively, it should be a lot more popular than the last model.

Factfile
Coming: Oct 2014
Est price: Rs 25 lakh
Engine(s): 1.4 turbo petrol
Rivals: Mini Cooper S, Volkswagen Beetle

NEW VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE

After a bit of a gap, VW will likely be bringing its iconic Beetle back to India. While the previous car’s cutesy looks limited its appeal somewhat, the new car’s design has the intention of reaching out to a wider audience. There are some harder edges in the styling, evident mainly in the nose, and on the inside, the air-con vents on the centre console ape the horizontal slats from the old car. And, for a change, this visually appealing car is supposedly fun to drive too. With a pair of powerful TSI engines running the show, it’s likely to have quite a bit of poke as well. But expect pricing to be on the expensive side – in the region of Rs 28 lakh – as VW will bring in the Beetle as a full import. 

Factfile
Coming: 2015
Est price: Rs 28 lakh
Engine(s): 1.4 turbo petrol, 2.0 turbo petrol
Rivals: Mini Cooper, Fiat 500 Abarth

NEW HONDA JAZZ

The recently launched Hyundai i20 may have set the bar on interior space for hatchbacks, but we have a feeling it’s going to face some stiff competition from Honda’s brand new Jazz. The Jazz has always been famous for packing in a lot of interior space, and with this latest model, you can expect even more of the same. Honda is determined not to make the mistakes it did with the last car, so the new one will likely be priced a lot more competitively from the get go (thanks mainly to greater localisation of parts), and in addition to the rev-happy 1.2 i-VTEC petrol engine, it will get Honda’s 99bhp 1.5-litre diesel as well. After the Brio, Amaze, City and Mobilio, the Jazz will round off Honda’s range of cars in the all-important sub-Rs 10 lakh segment in India. For now.

Factfile
Coming: March 2015
Est price: Rs 6-8 lakh
Engine(s): 1.2 petrol, 1.5 diesel
Rivals: Hyundai i20, Volkswagen Polo GT