Top 5 Upcoming Cars to Buy This Festive Season - Maruti Suzuki S-Presso, Tata Buzzard and More

As we inch closer to the festive season, manufacturers are expected to launch new models or update the existing ones in the coming months. Apart from the offers and discounts that will be levied soon, here are a few models that one can consider buying this season.

1) Maruti Suzuki S-Presso

Maruti Suzuki will launch the S-Presso mini-hatchback in India on September 30. While we got a glimpse of the car at the 2018 Indian Auto Expo, a recent render showcasing the design tells a different story.

Maruti Suzuki plans to target young professions, college students and first-time buyers looking for a stylish option with the car. They have opted for a bolder SUV-inspired front-end for the same. The car is expected to be equipped with a floating-type touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay along with Suzuki Smart Play system. Safety features likely to be incorporated in the car include dual airbags, rear parking sensors, speed alerts and seatbelts among other features. While the engine details are still unknown, it is likely to get two petrol engine options akin to the Maruti Suzuki WagonR, a 1.0-litre petrol engine and a 1.2-litre version as well.

2) Renault Kwid Facelift

Renault recently launched the Kwid facelift in China at Rs 6.22 lakh. Dubbed as the K-ZE the Chinese model boasted of an electric range of 271km. However, the model that will arrive in India later this year would be powered by the same 1.0-litre engine that powers the current Kwid. What could be positively speculated is that the new Kwid could most likely derive similar design cues from the model that was launched in China.

On the inside, the electric Kwid gets new features including an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system that supports 4G WiFi connectivity, online music and remote vehicle telemetry accessible with a smartphone.

3) MG ZS Electric SUV

MG recently teased the ZS electric SUV on its official Facebook page. The car will be locally built at the company’s plant in Gujarat. While, we are dark on details about the model expected to arrive in India, in China, the production version of the ZS electric SUV ships with a 150-hp electric motor that can reach up to 50kph in 3.1 seconds. As far as electric SUVs go, the ZS electric SUV delivers an impressive range of 335 km in a single charge. However, it’s not clear if the company will introduce the same powertrain in India.

On the inside, we expect the MG ZS electric SUV to boast a large panoramic sunroof and a touchscreen infotainment system. In India, the electric SUV will also get the brand’s iSmart Next-Gen connectivity that we saw in the Hector.

4) Tata Buzzard

Tata Motors will launch the 7-seater version of its Tata Harrier SUV, recently named Buzzard at the Geneva Motor Show. However, in India, the 7-seater SUV will be called 'Cassini'. The car has been completely revealed by the company and is based on the IMPACT Design 2.0 philosophy, engineered on the new generation ‘Optimal Modular Efficient Global Advanced’ Architecture, which is derived from the legendary Land Rover D8 architecture and developed in collaboration with Jaguar Land Rover.

It will be powered by the Harrier’s Kryotec 2.0 diesel engine that produces 140 PS of power and churns out 350 Nm of peak torque. The engine is mated to a 6-speed manual transmission, but Tata may add a 6-speed auto gearbox too. The car gets 3 engine drive modes – Eco, City and Sport that are married to ESP terrain response modes – Normal, Rough and Wet for taking on difficult terrains.

5) Hyundai Elantra Facelift

Hyundai is set to launch the Elantra facelift in October this year. The Korean manufacturer is expected to update the 2.0-litre petrol engine in the new model to make it BS-VI compliant. The 1.6-litre option, on the other hand, is expected to be phased out. This is most likely to be replaced with the 1.5-litre diesel unit from the Kia Seltos a few months down the line.

Other notable changes in the car will come in the form of an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with smartphone integration, wireless charging, blind-spot monitoring system, lane departure warning, active lane control and autonomous braking.