Tata’s Baleno-rival – the 45X hatchback, caught testing in India ahead of launch

Tata’s new age cars have become quite successful in the Indian market. Starting with the Tiago to Nexon, all the new age cars have received a warm response from the market. Keeping up with the new design language, Tata Motors showcased the H5X concept and the 45X concept at the 2018 Auto Expo. While the H5X has been spied on the Indian roads multiple times, the Maruti Baleno and Elite i20 rivalling 45X has been caught testing in India for the first time ever.

The car was caught testing in the outskirts of Thane, Mumbai. The production version of the car is quite different from what Tata showcased as a concept and it is quite understandable as the production version of the cars shed a lot of glam to be cost-effective and viable for production. The heavily camouflaged test car shows a sweeping window line similar to what we saw in the concept model. The rear door handles are integrated to the C-Pillar, which is a new trend in the new Indian cars. There is a sharp edge in the tail lamp too but it is not as sharp as the concept version of the car.

The spy picture also shows a glimpse of the interior. Zooming the picture shows two analogue dials on the instrument cluster of the car and an LCD driver information display in the middle. Reportedly, the car also gets a floating type instrument cluster in the middle, similar to what we see in the Nexon.

This will be Tata’s first-ever premium hatchback in the Indian market and will take on rivals like the Hyundai Elite i20 and the Maruti Suzuki Baleno. Tata will launch the all-new car in 2019 but has not confirmed the details. Under the hood, the car is expected to get a 1.2-litre turbocharged engine and a 1.5-litre turbocharged diesel engine similar to the Nexon line-up. Both the petrol and diesel engine options are expected to get automatic transmissions.

Source: ZigWheels