Times are changing and so are our cars. Our beloved SUVs are also now available in different forms. SUVs, till now were the big muscular cars with beefy tires, squared-off wheel arches, and a massive road presence. But now with changing times Automobile manufacturers are also redefining the word SUV by launching a completely new offering, a micro SUV. The segment is expected to take off soon. Mahindra KUV100 was one of the first micro SUVs to hit the Indian market but the product did not get attention as Mahindra had expected.
Now, as the times are changing other manufacturers are also gearing up to enter the segment with their unique offerings. Tata Motors has revealed the Tata Punch and Hyundai recently revealed the Hyundai Casper in South Korea, which is also expected to launch in India by early next year. Other players in the segment will be the KUV100 Nxt and Maruti Suzuki Ignis.
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Tata Punch
Tata Motors had first introduced the micro SUV Punch as a concept HBX. Last month, the company revealed the production-ready unit. The car is expected to be available during the festive season in September or October. In terms of design, the Tata Punch maintained a lot of the elements similar to the concept vehicle.
Inspired by its much bigger siblings, Tata Harrier and Tata Safari, the frontal looks are quite dominating. The car uses the same platform as the premium hatchback Altroz. Punch is also expected to come with segment-first features such as terrain-specific driving modes, hill-hold, and hill descent control. These features will further justify its micro SUV status.
Hyundai Casper
Hyundai launched Casper, a micro SUV in South Korea and the car will go on sale in the country very soon. The Casper micro SUV has similarities in look with Maruti Suzuki Ignis. TO become fit to be called a micro SUV, Casper gets squared-off wheel arches, strong shoulder lined, and a high stance.
The car dimensions will be similar to many premium hatchbacks in the sub-4m segment. The micro SUV with a naturally aspirated 1.0 MPI engine or a 1.0 T-GDI turbo motor.
Mahindra KUV Nxt
The Mahindra KUV100 NXT is a next-generation version of the KUV100, the micro SUV. It was launched in this avatar in 2017 and is available variants. It comes with only one engine option and eight color options which includes two dual-tone schemes.
Maruti Suzuki Ignis
Maruti Suzuki Ignis is a popular name in the micro SUV car segment in the country. The Indian car manufacturer in 2020 introduced the updated model with a set of new safety features. The car now comes with a reverse parking assist system, co-driver seat belt reminder, and a high-speed alert system. The higher variants – Zeta and Alpha, also come with roof nails.