5 HOT, new Renault & Nissan SUVs heading to India

India is a market where there is immense craze for SUVs. Renault knows that fact very well. It was the Duster that brought them recognition in the Indian market. For Nissan, the Terrano is now its best seller.  Keeping this in mind, the Renault-Nissan group is planning to bring in a few SUVs into the Indian market. Here are those five.

Nissan X-Trail

Expected launch: September-October 2016

Nissan showcased the X-Trail at the 2016 Auto Expo with the promise of launching the vehicle later in the year. What’s interesting though is that the X-Trail, when launched will be the first hybrid SUV in that segment. Powering it will be a 2.0 liter petrol engine coupled with an electric motor that makes 185 Bhp. It will be mated to a CVT. The X-Trail will be a CBU, which means that it will be priced at the higher end of the segment (Rs 30 lakh mark). The car has already been spotted on the road a few times without camouflage which only indicates that its launch is not very far away.

Datsun Go Cross

Expected launch: Mid 2017

Datsun has completed its 3 years-3 vehicles plan for the Indian market. Now, its focus has shifted to the SUV market. The Go-Cross concept that was showcased at the 2016 Delhi Auto Expo will be Datsun’s latest SUV for India. The vehicle generated positive response at the Expo and has made the automaker accelerate its development, so that it can be ready in 2017. This vehicle, unlike the current Datsuns in the market, is expected to have a larger appeal due to its more upmarket feel. The Go-Cross is most likely to sit in the sub-4 meter bracket as well, which means that it will be priced very competitively. It may even end up being the cheapest sub-4 meter SUV in the country.

Renault Kaptur

Expected launch: Mid 2017

Renault India has imported a Kaptur to India for testing purposes. If reports are to be believed, the car will be launched by mid next year. Since the Kaptur is based on the Duster platform, it will be easy to localize the Kaptur to a higher extent. This should allow Renault to price the Kaptur more competitively. Where the SUV will be positioned remains unknown for now. Globally, the Kaptur comes with a 1.6 liter and 2.0 liter engines. India is most likely to get the tried and tested engines that do duty on the Duster though (1.5 liter K9K and 1.6 liter petrol).

Renault Duster 7 seater

Expected launch: 2018

The next generation Duster is going to be larger than the outgoing one. Reports are even suggesting that the new vehicle will come with an option of 7 seats. The new Duster will be based on an all-new platform, and will be longer than outgoing version. This makes us believe that the vehicle will come with the 7 seat option. This option will make it a very desirable option. The 7 seat Duster will take on the BR-V. Why, even the XUV500 may come under attack from this new Renault. Expect a marginal increase in price compared to the current version.

Nissan Kicks

Expected launch: 2018

The Nissan Kicks was globally revealed just more than a month back. The compact SUV is scheduled to go on sale in the Brazilian market in August this year and will then be followed by launches in 80 other countries (including India). The Kicks is 4.2 meters long, which means that it’s compact enough for Nissan to tweak into a sub-4 meter product. The Kicks in Brazil gets a 1.6 liter flex-fuel engine whose details haven’t been disclosed yet though. We expect the Kicks to make its Indian debut somewhere in 2018.

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