Tata Hexa

Since the launch of the Zest compact sedan, Tata has not looked back at its old rusty and crude self. The Hexa will certainly benefit with the renewed focus on quality and the new design language – Horizon Next. The latest SUV from Tata is based on the Aria and lends a fresh lease of life to the otherwise not so popular people mover.

The Hexa is a new SUV measuring 4,764mm in length, 1,895mm in length and 1,780mm in height. The vehicle has a long wheelbase of 2,850mm. The car's fascia boasts of newly designed projector headlamps, a honeycomb grille and new bumper with fog lamps. The horizontal chrome slat under the grille extends towards the headlamps and the honeycomb pattern can also be seen on the front chin.

Coming to the sides, the newly designed 19-inch alloy wheels can be seen. Though the overall design is similar to the Aria, the Hexa gets a sporty design language which is continued at the rear as well. The rear bumper, with dual exhaust tips, gets a dual-tone paint scheme with a new shape for the reflectors. The tail lamps are restyled and come with LED units. A new spoiler can also be seen at the back.

Inside the car, Tata has gone all black with silver coloured accents to give the interior a premium feel. It gets automatic climate control with a separate zone AC for the rear and third row passengers. The cabin is roomy and looks like the third row should be able to allow full-size adults to sit comfortably. The top-spec car will get leather upholstery, steering mounted controls for the infotainment system, electrically adjustable and retractable outside rear view mirrors. The audio system gets a display screen and seems to be sourced from the Zest.

On the safety front, it will get two airbags at least along with parking sensors and possibly a rear view camera with guidance. Driver aids like ABS with EBD and ESP will be available. The Hexa also gets driving modes where you can choose between Comfort, Dynamic and Rough Road modes or just leave it in Auto for it to choose the optimum option.

Under the hood, you will have the Varicor 400 – a 2.2-litre turbocharged four cylinder diesel engine – that develops 154bhp of power and 400Nm of torque. The Hexa may well turn out to be the most powerful SUV in its segment and will get a six-speed manual transmission. The Hexa may also get the all-wheel-drive option like the Aria.

While we do not have any details on the variant list and their equipment levels, we know for a fact that the Hexa has been built to compete with the Toyota Innova and the Mahindra XUV500. With the Innova Crysta coming into picture, the dynamics of the segment have taken an interesting turn. We expect Tata to price the Hexa competitively between Rs 13 lakh to Rs 18 lakh.

Expected Launch: September 2016

Expected Price:Rs. 13 - 18L