5 new Mahindra XUV500-challenging SUVs coming soon to India

Mahindra XUV500 has remained the undisputed king of the D-Segment. Even though there are quite a few number of vehicles to challenge the flagship Mahindra in India, none could displace the best seller from its position. Here are five more upcoming SUVs that will challenge the Mahindra XUV 500 in coming times.

Renault Captur

Renault will launch its new flagship SUV on 9th November. The Captur will sit above the Renault Duster in the market and will compete directly with the XUV 500. Even though the Captur only gets five-seats as compared to the seven-seats of the XUV 500, the price of the Captur will be in the similar range.

The Captur will be powered by both petrol and diesel engine options. There will be 1.5-litre petrol and diesel engine options that power the Renault Duster. The petrol engine churns out 105 Bhp – 142 Nm while the diesel counterpart develops 108 Bhp – 248 Nm. Both the engines only offer manual transmission options.

Tata Q501

Tata is working to launch two new SUVs codenamed as Q501 and Q502. While the Q502 will be the new flagship of Tata product portfolio in India, the Q501 will compete with the XUV 500 in the market.

The Q501 gets many structural components from the Land Rover Discovery Sport, and the vehicle has been already caught testing with the Discovery Sport shell too. The car will share the LR550 platform and the suspension components with the Land Rover’s SUV. Tata will most likely power the upcoming SUV with 2.0-litre Multijet engine from Fiat that develops a maximum of 170 Bhp – 350 Nm. Tata is expected to showcase the vehicle at 2018 Auto Expo with a subsequent launch date.

Skoda Karoq

After the launch of the Kodiaq in India, Skoda is now looking to enter the sub 20 lakh SUV segment. Skoda plans to launch the Karoq in India, and the Czech manufacturer has already imported two units of the Karoq to India. The Karoq is based on the MQB platform will get a lot of premium features like a 9.2-inch infotainment system with gesture control.

The Karoq will also get digital instrument cluster, wireless phone charging, LED ambient lighting, WiFi hotspot enabled infotainment and more. The Karoq is expected to be powered by a 2.0-litre turbo diesel engine. The petrol engine is expected to be a 1.5-litre turbocharged unit, but that has not been confirmed yet. The car will be launched in India by mid-2018.

Maruti Vitara

Maruti will bring the Grand Vitara in an all-new avatar next year. Maruti will launch the Vitara to take on the XUV 500 in India. Maruti discontinued the Grand Vitara due to the poor response from the market, but now that the market has matured a lot and has shifted focus to the SUV segment, Maruti is considering to bring back the flagship.

The SUV will sit above the S-Cross in the Maruti’s line-up. Maruti only sold the petrol version of the Vitara earlier. This time around, the brand will also bring a diesel powered option. Maruti will most likely plonk the 2.0-litre Multijet diesel engine from Fiat.

Peugeot 3008

Peugeot will make a comeback to the Indian market soon, and their product portfolio will also have two SUVs. One of them will be the 3008, which will be a rival of Mahindra XUV 500 in India. The 3008 is available in the European market and will be launched in India by 2020.

Currently, the car is powered 1.2-litre petrol engine and a 1.6-litre diesel engine that comes in various power tuning. There is also an option of automatic transmissions with the 3008. Peugeot will invest 700 crores to set-up a new factory near Chennai in collaboration with Hindustan Motors, and the 3008 will be made or assembled in the same plant.