Tata Aria facelift coming on March 12

Tata Motors’ Auto Expo debutants, the Zest compact sedan and Bolt hatchback, may be some time away from launch, but the company’s revised product range continues to unfold, and the next candidate for an update is the Tata Aria crossover.

Tata will give the Aria the updated VariCor version of its 2.2-litre turbo-diesel engine, the same one introduced in the Safari Storme, and it will produce 10bhp more in this guise, bringing the new power output to 148bhp from 138bhp. This will likely be accompanied by improvements to fuel consumption as well.

This facelift will also include a few minor cosmetic changes, like a new design for the headlamps and smoked tail-lamps. However, while the Tata Aria is also due for another major update – the addition of an automatic gearbox option, which was previewed at last year’s Geneva motor show – that update is still a while away.

For now though, this minor update to the Tata Aria will be launched at a low-key event in Chennai on March 12, 2014.

Tata Motors will also launch the Movus MUV, which is an updated version of the Sumo Grande at the same event in Chennai.