With the arrival of the Indian festival season, the country’s largest automobile manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki is all pumped to introduce two new SUVs in the Indian market having staggered launches across the coming months.
Maruti Suzuki Set To Launch Two New SUVs
Scheduled to come first, a five-seater midsize SUV will lead the pack having scheduled launch on September 3 before the arrival of the e Vitara.
This will be placed below the Grand Vitara in Maruti Suzuki’s domestic portfolio and will be packed with features.
Moving ahead, Maruti Suzuki will be selling the new midsize SUV through its Arena dealership chain unlike the Grand Vitara which is retailed via the Nexa outlets.
We can expect this new SUV to be slightly longer than the Grand Vitara as per the earlier indications.
Besides this, it could come with the ICE-powered model which is expected to be more mass market oriented due to its Arena presence and its prices will reflect that strategy.
The car maker has created a clear sales and segment distinction between the two products.
This strategy would definitely help in avoiding overlap for the brand while parallely targeting a wider customer base.
Maruti Suzuki Escudo Expected Features and Specifications
It appears that the Maruti Suzuki will use its tried-and-tested powertrain strategy for the Escudo as it will feature the same 1.5-litre mild hybrid and 1.5L strong hybrid petrol engines.
This is already found in the Grand Vitara while a CNG variant cannot be ruled out.
The company will bring both manual and automatic transmissions on sale and the pricing is expected to fall in the Rs. 11 lakh to Rs. 16 lakh range (ex-showroom).
Carmakers this approach could ensure both cost efficiency and smoother production ramp up.
It is said that the shared mechanicals should also aid in maintaining a familiar ownership and service experience.
This upcoming launch is expected to compete in a tightly contested segment as its sibling.
After its launch, the Maruti Suzuki Escudo will take on Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Mahindra Scorpio N, Toyota Hyryder, Honda Elevate, etc.
The SUV will draw design cues from both the e Vitara and the Grand Vitara and the interior will be spacious as well as practical courtesy of a large boot as per the indications from the test mules.
When it comes to the features, a nine-inch touchscreen infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, six airbags as standard, wireless smartphone charger, a semi-digital instrument console, a flat-bottom steering wheel, drive modes, etc will be offered.
