The automobile market in India is quite diverse. We have many segments in India that you won’t find in the international markets. However, people want something that stands out on the road, something that is a bit different from everything else that other people owns. They want something that forces people to take a second peek at their car. Here are 3 cars that are currently on sale in the Indian market that do really stand out on the road:-
Mahindra Thar
The Thar has been an off-roading icon of the Indian market. The SUV got an update last year and it got more practical and now can be driven daily now. It has a retro design while offering a lot of modern features. It resembles the old Jeeps that and now the SUV is much bigger than its previous generation. This has increased the road presence of the SUV quite a bit. Mahindra is also offering the Thar with a diesel as well as a petrol engine. Then there is the choice of transmissions, the Thar is now offered with automatic transmissions with both the engines. This has helped in attracting a lot more customers to the vehicle because Thar now comes with the added convenience of automatic clutchless driving. The Mahindra Thar starts from Rs. 12.10 lakhs ex-showroom and goes all the way up to Rs. 14.15 lakhs ex-showroom.
Force Gurkha
The Gurkha is the main rival to the Mahindra Thar. Currently, it is now available because it was not upgraded to the BS6 emission norms but don’t you worry the Gurkha will soon be back with a facelift and it will comply with the BS6 emission norms. It will now come with LED Daytime Running Lamps, snorkel mounted with the A-pillar, roof rails, fog lamps and much more. The rear window is now larger which helps in letting in more light. It also gets 16-inch alloy wheels and the spare wheel is mounted on the rear tailgate. It is expected to come with a 2.6-litre diesel engine that is capable of producing 89 bhp of max power and a peak torque output of 260 Nm. A more powerful 2.6-litre diesel engine might be introduced at a later stage which will produce around 140 bhp and 320 Nm. It is the purpose-built look of the Gurkha that attracts a lot of attention on the roads.
Isuzu D-Max V-Cross
What is special about the D-Max V-Cross is that it is the only pick-up truck that you can buy in the Indian market that can also haul your family around. It can seat four people at once while carrying a lot of luggage in the truck’s bed. It is also the most powerful pick-up truck in India. The sheer size of the D-Max V-Cross makes for its huge road presence on the Indian roads. Isuzu did not upgrade the V-Cross to the BS6 emission norms but they will be doing that soon as the BS6 version of the pick-up truck has already been spied on the Indian roads. It is expected to come with a 1.9-litre diesel engine. The engine produces 150 PS of max power and a peak torque output of 350 Nm. It is expected to come with a 6-speed manual gearbox and a 6-speed torque converter automatic gearbox.
Nissan Kicks
The Kicks is a mid-size SUV from Nissan. It never really sold well against the strong competition from Hyundai Creta and other rivals. But the Kicks is one head turner SUV because not many people know about it. It comes with a decent equipment list and is currently the most powerful mid-size SUV. The 1.3-litre turbocharged petrol engine produces 156 PS of max power and a peak torque output of 254 Nm. It is mated to either a 6-speed manual gearbox or a CVT automatic transmission. There is also a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine which produces a respectable 106 PS of max power and 142 Nm of peak torque. It is offered only with a 5-speed manual gearbox. Nissan Kicks starts from Rs. 9.49 lakhs ex-showroom.
Maruti Suzuki S-Presso
The S-Presso is the vehicle that made the micro-SUV segment. It is essentially a small hatchback that has been jacked-up and has been given some SUV elements. Due to this, the S-Presso does stand out on road. It has one of the best road presences if you are looking for a small hatchback. The S-Presso comes with a 1.0-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine that produces 68 PS of max power and a peak torque output of 90 Nm. It is offered with a 5-speed manual gearbox or a 5-speed AMT. You can also get it with a factory-fitted CNG. When running on CNG, the engine produces 59 PS of max power and a peak torque output of 78 Nm. Maruti Suzuki S-Presso starts from Rs. 3.70 lakhs ex-showroom and goes all the way up to Rs. 5.18 lakhs ex-showroom.