Maruti XL6 Facelift: Launch date revealed

Maruti Suzuki will be updating a lot of its vehicles this year. One such vehicle is the XL6. According to Carwale, Maruti will be launching the XL6 Facelift on April 21st. There have been some spy shots of the XL6 Facelift being tested on our Indian roads.

The test mule that was spotted was fully camouflaged. We are expecting it to get Nexa’s new grille that we saw on the Baleno. It would get a new set of alloy wheels. We might also get redesigned headlamps and tail lamps which will still stay LED units.

The interior has not yet been spotted of the XL6 Facelift. But we are expecting it to get a new upholstery design and new materials. The dashboard could also be redesigned considering there would be a new 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system that we have seen on the Baleno. The instrument console can get revised graphics and there could be a new steering wheel too.

Also read: 2022 Maruti Suzuki XL6 MPV spotted testing with heavy camouflage

The feature list will remain more or less the same. There would be cruise control, multi-function steering wheel, multi-information display, push button to start/stop the engine, keyless entry, idle engine start/stop and much more. We hope that Maruti Suzuki also adds a 360-degree parking camera and heads-up display to the XL6 Facelift considering that now Baleno also gets it.

As of now, the XL6 is only sold as a 6-seater which means it comes with captain seats for the second row. This gives a sense of airiness to the cabin. According to some media rumours, Maruti Suzuki might also offer a 7-seater version of the XL6 this time in the Indian market. Suzuki is already offering a 7-seater version of XL6 in the foreign markets, they call it XL7.

The engine will stay the same so it will be a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder unit that produces 105 PS of max power and 138 Nm of peak torque.

If the exterior is not revised significantly, then it will be the gearbox that will be the biggest change that XL6 will see. It is now expected that Maruti Suzuki will finally replace the ageing 4-speed torque converter automatic transmission with a new 6-speed torque converter automatic transmission. The new gearbox has more gears which means better fuel economy because the revs will be lower at triple-digit speeds. The current 4-speed Auto is quite old as it debuted with the Grand Vitara XL7 in 2003. The current transmission also does not get a sports or manual mode.

It is quite understandable why Maruti Suzuki opted for a torque converter over other types of automatic gearboxes. The reason is that the torque converter is the oldest form of an automatic transmission, which means it is the most reliable. Suzuki themselves are known for reliability and it is unlikely that something would go wrong with the new 6-speed torque converter unit.

The new gearbox would shift faster and will also respond faster than the current transmission. Having said that the current 4-speed auto is one of the smoothest automatic gearboxes in the segment, where it lacks is the number of gears and a few features. Moreover, the new gearbox might also help the manufacturer in meeting the new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE 2) rules that will come into effect from April 2022.

Via Carwale

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