Auto Expo 2020: Top 10 cars you should not miss
Anybody interested in cars should definitely head over to the Auto Expo that opened to the public over this weekend. Team evo India has been pounding the show floors and we bring you the cars you must not miss - from the Tata Sierra concept to the electric Mahindras, the new Creta from Hyundai, new Sonet from Kia and the Maruti Suzuki Jimny that went up on the stand today. You should also check out Great Wall Motors and the Haval SUVs and the two SUVs from Skoda-VW India, the VW Taigun and Skoda Vision IN.
The highlights are below and you can watch/listen to editor Sirish Chandran and editor-at-large Adil Jal Darukhanawala talk through the show highlights in this week’s Thrill of Driving podcast.
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Tata Sierra concept
This was the show stopper of the Auto Expo! Unveiled on day one, the reimagined Tata Sierra is a concept, not a production car, but if past concepts from Tata Motors are anything to go by, expect to see the Sierra go into production within 18 months. The concept is an EV, as design head Pratap Bose says, “it is reimagined for the future but not a slave to the past.” It is based on the Alpha architecture which underpins the Tata Altroz and that makes it very feasible for production. Sized to take on the Creta and Seltos the design has a more edgy representation of the Impact 2.0 design language on the nose but the glasshouse in the profile is a dead ringer for the original, iconic, Sierra. It is a two-door on the right but the left side has a sliding rear door for improved accessibility.
Tata Motors’ global design head Pratap Bose talked to editor Sirish Chandran about the Sierra concept at length, watch the video below:
All-new Hyundai Creta
Hyundai had King Khan Shah Rukh Khan on hand to unveil the all-new Creta that will go head on against the hot-selling Kia Seltos and is based on the same platform as its sister brand. Expect to see it get the same 1.4 turbo petrol engine with the twin-clutch DCT automatic along with the 1.5 diesel and 1.5 naturally-aspirated petrol and with automatic gearboxes on these engines also. It is ready for production and launches in the middle of March. Editor Sirish Chandran braved the crowds that came to see SRK, to get a close look at the new Creta
Kia Sonet
Kia is gunning for big volumes with its Sonet compact SUV that shares its platform with the Hyundai Venue. Dimensions are identical and we can similarly expect the same engines as the Venue. What is new is the iMT Intelligent Manual Transmission that is basically a clutchless manual so you shift gears with your left hand but your left leg remains relaxed with the car operating the clutch automatically. You will, of course, get the twin-clutch automatic on the 1.0 turbo petrol along with a diesel engine. Kia also launched the Carnival at an attractive price starting from Rs 24.95 lakh and goes up to Rs 33.95 lakh (ex-showroom). Principal correspondent Aatish Mishra has videos of both the Sonet and Carnival out here
MG Gloster
Day three of the Auto Expo was marked by MG Motors taking the wraps off its show star, the full-size Gloster SUV. The ladder-frame SUV with 4x4 has the Ford Endeavour and Toyota Fortuner in its sights and will get the 2-litre diesel engine made in India by FCA. It might even get the 9-speed automatic that has been introduced on the Jeep Compass. It launches in India this year and will soon be followed by the MG 10 MPV that goes up against the Innova Crysta and Kia Carnival. Check them out in the video below.Suzuki Jimny
Maruti Suzuki waited until day 4 of the Auto Expo to put up the car that enthusiasts have been absolutely clamouring for. The Suzuki Jimny has drawn massive and positive reactions on our social media and we cannot wait for it to be introduced in India. Of course, there are no plans as of now, especially since the Jimny is based on a completely different ladder-frame architecture that shares nothing with Maruti Suzuki’s current range. However, the 1.5-litre petrol engine seems similar to what is in the Ciaz and the olive green shade of the display vehicle might be there to pique the interest of the Indian armed forces. Check out our correspondent Suvart Kothari’s walk-around video here:
Suzuki Jimny
Maruti Suzuki waited until day 4 of the Auto Expo to put up the car that enthusiasts have been absolutely clamouring for. The Suzuki Jimny has drawn massive and positive reactions on our social media and we cannot wait for it to be introduced in India. Of course, there are no plans as of now, especially since the Jimny is based on a completely different ladder-frame architecture that shares nothing with Maruti Suzuki’s current range. However, the 1.5-litre petrol engine seems similar to what is in the Ciaz and the olive green shade of the display vehicle might be there to pique the interest of the Indian armed forces. Check out our correspondent Suvart Kothari’s walk-around video here:
Great Wall Motors (GWM)
This was the big brand introduction at the Auto Expo and Great Wall Motors really made a splash with its proposed 1 billion US dollar investment plans that includes a full-fledged manufacturing facility (they are buying GM’s Talegaon factory), R&D, sourcing and exports. Two brands will be introduced by GWM. Haval is their SUV brand, in fact it is China’s largest SUV brand, and they had a full line-up of SUVs on their stand. Check out the Tucson/Tiguan-sized F7; something on these lines could be GWM’s first SUV early next year. GWM EV is their electric-only sub-brand also launched at the Auto Expo and the tiny R1 electric car really looked lovely and appealing.
Volkswagen Taigun
VW’s India 2.0 kicks off with the Taigun that will slot in between a compact SUV (like Venue) and mid-size SUV (like Creta) when it goes on sale in 2021. Almost production-ready it is based on the India-specific MQB-A0-IN platform that will make it hugely cost-effective with the targetted 92-95 per cent localisation. And it will be fun to drive with both 1.0 and 1.5 TSI turbo-charged engines, though there are no diesels. Principal correspondent Aatish Mishra has more info in this video.
Skoda Vision IN
The Taigun shares is platform with the Skoda Vision IN -- this is a concept and Skoda’s designers want to get feedback on some of the more edgy styling elements before putting it into production. We say don’t change a thing! It looks really cool and funky, a younger more edgy sister to the more mature and masculine Taigun. Together, Skoda and VW are aiming for a 5 per cent market share and both get launched next year. Aatish Mishra was on hand at the Skoda-Volkswagen India Group night when the wraps were taken off of it.
Mahindra Funster
Mahindra made a big splash with its electric vehicles. The Atom is a last mile connectivity solution that is being used as an internal shuttle at the Expo, the eKUV100 was launched at Rs 8.25 lakh and the eXUV300 was showcased and will be launched in 2021. Taking centre stage though was the Funster, a unique concept with an SUV body that had the top half including the roof chopped off and scissor doors added on. The full-electric has a 0-100kmph claimed time of 5 seconds, top speed of 200kmph and a range of 520km. More info in this highlight package of the Mahindra & Mahindra stand by our correspondent Suvrat Kothari
