Upcoming launches in the next two weeks: Honda Brio, Mahindra XUV500 and Skoda Lauretta

The upcoming weeks will be exciting as we will have three important launches in the form of the Honda Brio on September 27^th, the much-awaited XUV 500 on September 30^th and the Skoda sedan (Mission L-based sedan) on October 7^th. Here’s what we know and what we can expect about these launches.

Honda Brio

Expected Launch: September 27

Honda’s first true mass market small car, the Brio will be launched on September 28^th. The Brio is surprisingly spacious for a small car and can seat four adults despite its compact dimensions. There have been no major strip-offs in terms of features by Honda in order to cut down production costs, which is a big plus for potential buyers.

What we know about the Brio

The Brio will be powered by a 1.2 litre i-vtec engine (same as the Honda Jazz), mated to a 5-speed gearbox that puts out 87 bhp of power and 109 Nm of torque. The ARAI-certified mileage for the Brio is 18.4 kmpl.

The Honda Brio will have two variants, S and V, the V being the top-end variant. Both the variants will have airbags, ABS and EBD as standard features while the top-end Brio also gets alloy wheels and dual-tone upholstery as exclusive features.

What we expect

Recent speculations suggest that Honda might launch a base variant of the Brio (named Brio E) which will be devoid of airbags, ABS and EBD. If this happens, the base variant could be priced Rs. 45,000 – 60,000 lower than the S variant.

Expected Price: Rs. 4 – 5 lakh

The Brio could be priced starting from as low as Rs. 4 lakh and may go up to Rs. 5 lakh for the top-end variant. The Brio will compete with the likes of the Hyundai i10 (Rs. 3.94 – 5.95 lakh), Maruti Suzuki A-Star (Rs. 3.59 – 4.37 lakh) and Chevrolet Beat (Rs. 3.55 – 4.59 lakh). Read more about the Honda Brio here.

Mahindra XUV 500

Expected Launch: September 30^th

Mahindra will launch its much-awaited world SUV, the XUV 500 on September 28^th in Chakan, Pune followed by an official launch on September 30^th in Delhi. The XUV 500 will mark Mahindra’s foray into the competitive premium SUV segment in India and prices too will be premium.

What we know about the XUV 500

Mahindra’s XUV 500 will be powered by a 2.2-litre m-Hawk engine that will make 138 bhp of max power and will be mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. The all-wheel-drive variant of the SUV will feature a Borg-Warner on-demand 4×4 system. The XUV 500 will be a proper seven-seater SUV and will feature day-time running LED lamps below the twin headlamps, muscular wheel arches, 16 inch wheels, and higher ground clearance.

What we expect

The interiors of the XUV 500 are likely to have leather wrapped four-spoke steering wheel with steering mounted controls. Expect adequate use of chrome on the instrument dials and inside door handles. There are expectations that the upcoming Mahindra SUV will include automatic climate control, turn indicators on external mirrors, ABS, ESP, traction control and airbags.

Expected Price: Rs. 12.5 – 16.5 lakh

Mahindra will likely offer two 4×2 variants, with the base variant priced at about Rs. 12.5 lakh and the mid-variant will be priced at about Rs. 14 lakh. The top-end 4×4 variant will likely be priced at Rs. 16.5 lakh. The XUV 500 will lock horns with established SUVs in the Indian market such as the Ford Endeavour and Toyota Fortuner, as well as recently launched Tata Aria and Skoda Yeti. Read more: XUV 500

Skoda sedan

Expected Launch: October 7^th

Skoda will launch their Mission L based sedan in India on October 7. Skoda has confirmed that their C-segment sedan will resemble the Mission L Concept, which looks stunning.

What we know about the Skoda sedan

The upcoming Skoda saloon will be sold in both diesel and petrol variants. The engines will be the same 1.6-litre petrol and diesel motors that power the Volkswagen Vento.  The petrol engine of the Skoda sedan will belt out around 104 bhp of power and 153 Nm of torque, while the diesel motor will put out 104 bhp of power and 250 Nm of torque.

The Vento petrol has an ARAI certified mileage figure of 15.04 kmpl while the Vento diesel returns 20.54 kmpl. We can expect similar figures from Skoda’s C-segment sedan.

What we expect

Though there were many tentative names earlier such as Rapid and Lauretta, the actual name of the upcoming Skoda car is yet to be officially revealed. The spy photos of the Skoda sedan test mules don’t actually reveal much of the design cues as they were heavily camouflaged.

The upcoming Skoda will likely have the overall structure similar to the Mission L concept, sans fancy elements like the chunky alloy wheels and LED daytime running lights as well as bright tail lamps.

There is no official information about what features the upcoming sedan will sport but we can expect features like rear AC vents, reverse parking sensors and airbags in the top-trim variants.

Expected Price: Rs. 6.5 – 10.5 lakh

Skoda is expected to price this sedan competitively in the range of Rs. 6.5 – 10.5 lakh. It has to be noted that its Volkswagen cousin the Vento starts at Rs. 6.99 lakh. The upcoming sedan from the Czech car maker will make life tough for the Hyundai Verna, Ford Fiesta, Honda City and Maruti Suzuki SX4. Read more: Skoda sedan