Upcoming SUV in India in 2022

SUV sales in India are set to overtake the sales of hatchbacks and sedans completely in 2022 if the current fiscal results are anything to go by, with the SUV segment already commanding nearly 50% market share, the demand for SUVs will reach an all-time high and car-makers in the country are ready to fuel that fire by launching new and updated cars in the SUV segment next year.

Here are the upcoming SUV in India in 2022:

• Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza (Expected Price- Rs. 10-15 Lakhs)

The Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza continues to bring in the sales numbers for Maruti but it is now facing stiff competition from the rivals which have upgraded and are now more value for money buys, also considering the fact that the Vitara Brezza received a mid-life facelift in 2020 which was required but apart from the switch from diesel to petrol and a few cosmetic updates in the front, everything else was retained.Now, seeing that the competition is offering feature rich cars compared to its Brezza, Maruti Suzuki is ready to launch the all-new Brezza in 2022 which will be a new generation and a huge leap from the current model. The spy-shots of the New Brezza are doing the rounds on the internet and by the looks of it we can easily tell that Maruti is going all out with it.

First and fore-most the new Vitara Brezza may drop the Vitara moniker from its name going by the spy-shots. The car will continue to carry the boxy, SUV stance that is liked in the current model, the front will sport a new grill which neatly integrates in the headlamps which do have a new set of LED DRLs, also the fog lamp housing is new with black cladding on the bumper, there will be new alloy designs and bigger plastic cladding on the sides, coming to the rear, it will have new split tail lamp design with the Brezza name across the boot. A new larger, integrated roof spoiler with shark fin antenna and functional roof rails will be offered too.

For the first time Maruti will offer sun-roof in its car with the new Brezza coming with a sun-roof. The same story continues in the inside too, with an all-new, bigger and free-standing infotainment screen (possibly 10-inches), new dashboard layout and a new instrument cluster with a bigger and colourful MID and a heads-up display (exclusive news from carbike360 sources). The spy-shots also revealed a new steering wheel design like the one found in the Swift and paddle shifters on offer too. Going by all this info we can clearly assume that the new Brezza will be more premium and thus will become more-pricey with the expected price to between INR 8-13 lakhs.

• Maruti Suzuki Jimny 5-Door (Expected Price- Rs. 10-13 Lakhs)

One of the highly anticipated launches of next year is the Maruti Suzuki Jimny, which will be offered in 5-door version and Maruti is testing it for the launch next year. The two-door version of the Jimny are already exported overseas by Maruti and with the 5-door version being a more sensible offering for the Indian market we can see it being offered as a direct rival to the Mahindra Thar.The Jimny will be offered with the same engine as the Vitara Brezza and a turbo petrol version is also in the news.

The Jimny is a very popular model for Suzuki overseas due to it being a budget 4X4 off-roader which is nice to drive in the city traffic too. The Jimny can be an option for those looking to buy a lifestyle SUV in a budget, but only have the Mahindra Thar as an option, for which, there is a huge waiting period of nearly a year, with Mahindra struggling to complete the deliveries due to the chip shortage.

• Mahindra Scorpio (Expected Price- Rs. 11-19 Lakhs)

Mahindra is buoyed by the response it received for its last two launches the Thar and the XUV700, with it struggling to complete deliveries. The auto-major is ready to launch another of its mega successful SUV, the Scorpio in an all-new avatar with it getting the updated ladder-frame chassis seen on the second-gen Mahindra Thar. The Scorpio is highly popular due to its butch and boxy design which the new version will carry forward but in a bigger and better way.

The SUV will get Mahindra’s new SUV logo on the new and larger 7-slat grille with new sleeker twin LED projector headlamps and new bumper design and LED DRLs in the new fog lamp housing. From the sides is where the new SUV’s huge size is revealed with it being longer than the current model, good news for the third-row passengers. On the inside is where the SUV will see a jump in class with all-new dual-tone interiors, vertically placed AC vents, a much larger touchscreen, flat-bottomed steering wheel with mounted controls, part digital colour instrument cluster and roof-mounted speakers and more premium features like an electric sunroof, tyre pressure monitoring system, leather upholstery, and automatic climate control.

The engines are expected to be same as the Mahindra Thar albeit in different state of tunes, also, there are reports that the company will update the current Scorpio as well and retail both the models as the new version of the SUV will cater to customers wanting premium features while the current version will be sold as the rugged no-nonsense SUV that it is.

• Mahindra Thar 5-Door (Expected Price- Rs. 13-15 Lakhs)

The huge success of the second-generation Mahindra Thar has not made Mahindra complacent as it is looking to gain momentum in the ever-growing SUV space with the launch of the 5-door version of the Thar. The current 3-door Thar despite being a beast off-road and comfortable on road unlike its previous gen version, doesn’t appeal to families because of its 3-door layout and the fact that it has limited space in the back seat.

The company with the 5-door version want to capture those families who wanted a Thar but couldn’t due to its lack of passenger carrying capacity and that off-road SUV vibe. The 5-door Thar will remain same in terms of design, features and engines with the company only extending its wheelbase to accommodate rear passengers easily.

• Hyundai Tucson (Expected Price- Rs. 24-29 Lakhs)

Hyundai will launch the next-generation Tucson in India next year with it already unveiled globally this year. The Tucson will be Hyundai’s largest and most premium offering in the Indian market, having a radical design language which will be followed on other Hyundai SUVs too.

The front will have Hyundai’s new parametric 3D grille with integrated LED DRLs and turn indicators which integrates with the grille when switched off. The LED projector headlamps are housed in the bumper which looks sportier than before. The sides have squared wheel arches with black cladding and bold, sculpted character lines which along with the sloping roof gives the SUV a sports-back like design. The rear has new LED tiger-fangs like taillamps which are connected by a light bar through the middle of the boot. The rear bumper has jewel like motifs on the plastics and a big silver skid plate.

The interiors of the Tucson will have a premium new design which seamlessly flows into the doors. It will have a 10.25-inch touchscreen and touch sensitive auto climate control along with a 10-inch digital instrument cluster. Other features will include the usual panoramic sunroof, premium speakers, paddle shifters and much more.

• Hyundai Creta Facelift (Expected Price- Rs. 10-17 Lakhs)

Hyundai Creta facelift was revealed in the Indonesian market earlier this year and its test mules have been spied in India too. The biggest change in the facelifted version will be the new front-end styling which will now feature Hyundai’s parametric 3D grille like the one seen on the Hyundai Tucson, also, the rear will be updated with new, sharper looking taillamps and reprofiled boot and bumper.

The Creta will remain mostly unchanged from the current version on the inside with the addition of just the 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster seen on the Alcazar. Other features will include Hyundai’s updated BlueLink connectivity and ADAS features like- lane-keep assist, blind spot monitor and adaptive cruise control. The Creta facelift is expected to launch in the second quarter of 2022.

• Hyundai Venue Facelift (Expected Price- Rs. 7-12 Lakhs)

Hyundai will launch a facelift for another of its popular SUV, the Venue by mid-2022, with the testing on in South Korea. The Venue facelift will only be cosmetic in nature and mechanically the SUV will remain the same, however Hyundai may launch a N-line variant of the Venue. It will feature a heavily redone front-end with new and bolder grille along with reprofiled front and rear bumpers, whereas the rear will get new larger and sleeker looking LED taillamps which will be connected by a light bar just like the Creta.

Other than these changes the car will be same as the current version and will continue to rival other sub-compact SUVs like- Tata Nexon, Mahindra XUV300, Nissan Magnite, Kia Sonet and the new Maruti Suzuki Brezza.

• Kia Seltos Facelift (Expected Price- Rs. 10-17 Lakhs)

Kia will launch the facelifted Seltos in India sometime next year with spy shots of the camouflaged test mule doing the rounds on the internet. The changes on the facelifted Seltos are not expected to be as comprehensive as the new Creta but the details are few so, it cannot be confirmed if the Seltos will have a mild update or a comprehensive one.A few things however will definitely change according to the spy shots which include new and updated headlights and taillights. The SUV will get new DRLs which may be borrowed from the recently unveiled Kia Carens.

It will get a prominent new grille with reprofiled front and rear bumpers. The interiors may remain the same except the option of new colour theme for the upholstery as the current version of the Seltos is already well-equipped with features like 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system, 8-inch heads-up display, ventilated front seats, 360-degree camera etc. It will be interesting to see if Kia offers the digital instrument cluster seen on the Carens in the updated Seltos as it will certainly make the Seltos a more exciting offering.

• Tata Harrier and Safari Petrol (Expected Price- Rs. 15-23 Lakhs)

Tata Motors is ready for a slew of launches next year with it focussing on bolstering its current product portfolio by giving more options to the prospective buyers. The company is already testing the CNG versions of the Tiago, Tigor and the recently launched Punch micro-SUV but they are also readying the Harrier and Safari for launch with a petrol engine.

Both these big SUVs are expected to get Tata’s 1.5L, direct-injection Turbo-petrol engine which is derived from the 1.2L Revotron turbo found in the Tata Nexon. The engine is expected to make more than 150hp and will be offered with both manual and automatic gearboxes.The launch of the petrol variants of these SUVs will definitely help Tata in bringing more customers to its showrooms and diversify its line-up as the petrol model sales are more than the diesel versions for many of the rival SUVs due to the reduced gap between diesel and petrol fuel prices.