Upon its launch, it is likely to be priced below Rs 5 lakh and will compete against the likes of Maruti Suzuki Ignis and Mahindra KUV100
Tata Motors has been sailing smoothly in recent times as far as passenger vehicle sales are considered. This has been made possible by offering attractive products at competitive prices, making them a compelling option to be considered. At the start of this year, Tata Motors had two important launches- Altroz iTurbo and all-new Safari.
Both have been received extremely well by the market and Tata wants to continue this trend with more launches later this year. The homegrown automaker’s next big-ticket launch will be the HBX micro SUV which is slated for a launch in India in the second half of 2021. With this launch, Tata aims to increase their PV market share to 10%, from the existing 6-8%.
The mini UV was recently spotted testing in Pune under heavy camouflage. The latest set of spy shots are credited to Omkar and Dr Pranil Jadhav. These spy images some new details about the upcoming crossover.
Rumoured to be called Hornbill or Timero in its production-spec model, HBX made its first public appearance in India as a near production-ready concept at last year’s AutoExpo. It will be slotted as an entry-level UV beneath Nexon, the company’s subcompact SUV offering.
Exterior Styling Details
Most of the details observed in the latest spy shots are in line with the concept showcased at the Auto Expo. This includes a split headlamp setup with projector headlamps at the front bumper and thin LED DRL strips above them just like in Harrier and Safari.
The front face also flaunts signature tri-arrow motifs on the central air dam and Tata’s ‘Humanity Line’ front grille just like Nexon. Overall, it gets a boxy profile with a coupe-like slanting C-Pillar.
The test mule here was riding on 15-inch steel rims while higher trims in its production-spec model will be available with 15-inch dual-tone alloy wheels. The pillars and ORVMs have been blacked-out.
The images also give a sneak peek inside the cabin which reveals a floating touchscreen infotainment unit flanked by rectangular AC vents below it similar to the ones seen in the concept last year.
Expected Dimensions & Powertrain Options
As mentioned in our previous reports, it will be the second car from Tata Motors to be underpinned by the brand’s ALFA modular platform after Altroz and will follow the company’s latest IMPACT 2.0 design philosophy. According to the HBX concept, dimensions of the crossover are said to be 3840mm in length, 1822mm in width and 1635mm in height although these figures might vary slightly in the final production-spec model.
In terms of powertrain, it will derive its energy either from a 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol unit or a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol unit. The former is good enough for 85 bhp and 113 Nm of peak torque while the latter is likely to be tuned to produce 110 bhp and 140 Nm of torque. Transmission options will include a 5-speed manual or a 5-speed AMT.
