SUVs at all price points are one of the most sought after body styles currently, not just in the Indian market, but globally as well. This is thanks to their commanding driving position, good ground clearance and a more practical body style, making them ideal for short and long distance runs. We’ve compiled a list of all upcoming SUV launching in India this year from April 2023 onwards.
Maruti Suzuki Fronx
Earlier known as the Maruti YTB, the Fronx made its debut at the Auto Expo and will go on sale in early April via Maruti's Nexa outlets. This coupe SUV is actually based on the Baleno, but gets unique front and rear fascia, more ground clearance and some rugged bits to give it an SUV look. Its front fascia is similar to the Grand Vitara, with a split headlamp set-up and a coupe-like roofline. The Fronx will come with a BS6-compliant 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine, originally seen on the Baleno RS, and is expected to come with mild-hybrid technology.
Coming: April 2023
Engines: 1.0-litre turbo-petrol, 1.2-litre petrol
Expected price: Rs 7 lakh-11 lakh
Maruti Suzuki Jimny
The Jimny 5-door, just like the Fronx, made its debut at the Auto Expo. Bookings for the Jimny currently stand at around 23,000 units, and a market launch is expected around May. Deliveries, too, are expected to start later that month, according to dealer sources. The Jimny in its 5-door avatar is a shade under four metres long, but, since it comes with a 1.5-litre petrol engine, it will not be eligible for the excise benefits offered by the government. The Jimny will come with mild-hybrid tech as standard, and be mated to either a five-speed manual or six-speed automatic. Four-wheel drive gear will be standard on all variants along with low ratio.
Coming: May 2023
Engine: 1.5-litre petrol
Expected price: Rs 10 lakh-15 lakh
Kia Seltos facelift
The Seltos facelift will get major updates to its front styling, including the bonnet, grille and headlamps. Fresh alloy wheel design and tweaked side cladding will be seen along with a bunch of styling tweaks at the back, which include updated tail-lamps and a new bumper replete with a faux skid plate. It will also come with a newly designed bonnet and headlamps. On the inside, the updated Seltos will get new upholstery and cosmetic updates to the dashboard as well as some new features like ADAS that will be tuned for India. Kia will also offer a new infotainment system with a redesigned control panel for the air conditioning. Under the hood, the Seltos will come with a new 160hp, 1.5-litre petrol engine instead of the 1.4 turbo. The 1.5 diesel and the 1.5 NA petrol will continue with the latest RDE upates.
Coming: Mid 2023
Engines: 1.5-litre turbo-petrol, 1.5-litre petrol, 1.5-litre diesel
Expected price: Rs 12 lakh-20 lakh
Honda midsize SUV
Honda is finally taking a plunge into the midsize SUV market with a product that’s aimed squarely at market leader, Hyundai Creta. This new SUV is currently being tested on the outskirts of Mumbai, and going by what’s visible, it seems to be a grounds up new SUV and not the HR-V or WR-V that's sold abroad. The new SUV will be around 4.2m long and will have seating for five along with a fairly large boot. Honda’s expertise in packaging will ensure it's high on space.
It is expected to get a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine as well as a 1.5-litre petrol hybrid. It is certain that this new SUV will not have a diesel powertrain as Honda stopped producing diesel engines in February 2023 due to the new emissions regulations. While details are scant, Honda is likely to add the latest on-board tech in its new midsize SUV, and it is expected to get the next-generation touchscreen infotainment system.
Coming: Mid 2023 (global debut)
Engine: 1.5-litre petrol
Expected price: Rs 16 lakh-18 lakh
Mercedes-Benz GLC
The second generation of the GLC is now marginally larger than its predecessor, and key exterior highlights include a larger grille, new headlamp design and slimmer tail-lamps. The interior design has been borrowed heavily from the new C-Class, and includes a 12.3-inch digital cluster, a portrait-style 11.9-inch centre screen, newly styled air vents as well as higher quality materials. It also gets a new head-up display unit, panoramic sunroof and a 710W Burmester sound system with 15 speakers.
Globally, the GLC gets two petrol and one diesel engine – GLC200, GLC300 and GLC220d, respectively – and all of them come with a 48V mild-hybrid system with an integrated starter motor. Alternatively, these engines are also available as plug-in hybrids in the GLC300e, GLC400e and GLC300de variants with a pure electric range of up to 120km.
Coming: Mid 2023
Engines: 2.0-litre petrol, 2.0-litre diesel
Expected price: Rs 64 lakh-70 lakh
Hyundai Ai3 SUV
Hyundai’s Tata Punch rival, the Ai3 SUV has begun testing in India. The SUV will go in series production sometime in July this year followed by a market launch in the subsequent months. This new SUV will be based on the Grand i10 Nios and Aura’s platform and is likely to use the same 1.2-litre petrol engine. Since Hyundai offers CNG versions of its other small cars, there is a chance that the new micro SUV could also get a CNG option. The upcoming entry-level SUV will likely sit between the Grand i10 Nios and Venue in Hyundai’s portfolio.
Coming: August 2023
Engine: 1.2-litre petrol
Expected price: Rs 6 lakh-9 lakh
Citroen C3 Aircross
Citroen is readying an all-new SUV that will be positioned in the midsize SUV segment to take on the likes of the Creta and the Alcazar. This new SUV will take up the Citroen C3 Aircross moniker upon launch later this year, and the brand is also readying a three-row iteration of the same SUV.
Visually, the larger C3 Aircross looks similar to the standard C3 till about the B-pillar. The 7-seater SUV will come with a longer rear overhang, suggesting it may be longer than four metres. The rear quarter panel and glass area also seem to be new for the seven-seater C3. Even on the inside, it has a similar layout, but since the C3 Aircross will be positioned higher, it will get more features as standard.
Under the hood, it is expected to have the same powertrain as the standard C3 – a 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine mated to a 6-speed gearbox. To price it aggressively, Citroen could also give the C3 Aircross a 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine. There are talks of an EV too, along the lines of the recently launched eC3. Read more on that here.
Coming: Late 2023
Engine: 1.2-litre petrol (Turbo and NA)
Expected price: Rs 10 lakh onwards
Force Gurkha 5-door
The 5-door Force Gurkha will share most of its exterior, interior and underpnnings with its three-door sibling. The Gurkha 5-door is expected to come in multiple seating layout options, including a bench or captain’s chairs for the second row and jump seats or captain’s chairs for the third.
The five-door Gurkha will likely use the three-door iteration’s updated C in C platform with a 400mm longer wheelbase. It will also carry over the Mercedes-sourced 2.6-litre diesel engine mated to a 5-speed gearbox, and is expected to come in 4X4 and 4X2 variants, along with locking differentials and a low-range gearbox.
Coming: Mid 2023
Engine: 2.6-litre diesel
Expected price: Rs 15 lakh
Lexus RX
The BMW X5 rival has had a few changes to its dimensions, with the wheelbase increasing by 6mm and the roofline becoming 10mm lower. Its exterior is based on Lexus’ Next Chapter design language. The RX gets a 14-inch touchscreen as standard, wireless charging as well wireless Apple CarPlay, although Android Auto is wired only. Lexus has opted for vegan synthetic leather for the upholstery. India will get the RX 350h variant that is powered by a 250hp, 2.5-litre strong hybrid powertrain, mated to an 18.1kWh battery.
Coming: Mid 2023
Engine: 2.5-litre petrol
Expected price: Rs 1.2 crore
Nissan X-Trail
Nissan sold only the first two generations of the X-Trail in India – the third generation was never available, despite being showcased a few years ago. The latest gen has also received a 5-star Euro NCAP rating. The fourth-generation X-Trail that will be launched in India sports a similar front grille design as the Kicks, and it is flanked by split headlamps. It is available with a five- and seven-seat layout, and is built on Renault-Nissan’s CMF-C platform. On the inside, it gets a 12.3-inch digital cluster, a 12.3-inch touchscreen, ADAS technology and a 360-degree camera.
Nissan will offer the X-Trail with either a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol with mild-hybrid technology or a 1.5-litre e-Power engine with a range extender hybrid technology. The latter is essentially an EV as the wheels are solely powered by an electric motor and the engine acts as a generator to charge the batteries.
Coming: Late 2023
Engine: 1.5-litre petrol
Expected price: Rs 40 lakh
Which SUV launching this year are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments section.
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