Upcoming Hatchbacks Of 2017

The auto industry has seen a lot of ups and downs in 2016. The year started with the Delhi diesel ban and is ending with the deregistration of 10-year-old diesel vehicles in the national capital region. However, there were lots of upsides too. The hatchbacks segment witnessed lots of new entries; Renault launched the 1.0-litre and the AMT version of the Kwid; Tata won many hearts with its Tiago; Volkswagen made ABS and dual airbags standard on the Polo; and the Maruti premium hatchback – the Baleno – became a blockbuster. Let's see what the coming year has to offer.

Maruti Suzuki Ignis

Maruti Suzuki showcased the production-ready Ignis Concept at the 2016 Indian Auto Expo. The Ignis was supposed to be launched around the festive season this year. However, the launch has been pushed to 2017 and is likely to happen in January. With its smaller proportions and boxy styling, featuring projector headlamps with daytime running LEDs and LED tail lamps, the hatchback will stand out of the crowd. The Ignis will come loaded with features like a seven-inch Suzuki SmartPlay infotainment system with support for both Apple CarPlay and Google Android Auto. It will be powered by the 1.2-litre petrol engine found in the Swift and the Baleno while the diesel variant will feature a 1.3-litre DDiS190 engine. It is expected to be priced around Rs 5 Lakh.

 Hyundai Grand i10 Facelift

Hyundai revealed the Grand i10 facelift in August this year and the hatchback is expected to launch in India as early as January 2017. The facelift features a new 'Cascading' grille and daytime running LEDs. In terms of equipment, the hatchback has a seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system with support for Apple CarPlay as well as Google Android Auto. It is likely to get the same 1.2-litre petrol engine with five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmissions, along with the 1.1-litre diesel coupled to a five-speed manual. The facelift is expected to be priced slightly higher than the current Grand i10 which starts at Rs 4.9 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi).  

Tata Tiago Sport

The Tiago has played a crucial role in uplifting Tata's image in the passenger vehicle segment. It has gained a lot of popularity and the waiting period for the car has shot up to four months for certain variants. Now Tata is expected to launch a performance-spec Tiago in the first half of 2017, which could be named the 'Tiago Sport'. It might feature the same 120PS engine which was showcased in the Bolt Sport at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show or will have a turbocharged and remapped version of the three-cylinder ‘Revotron’ petrol engine currently used in the Tiago. It is likely to be priced between Rs 6 and 7 lakh.      

Baleno RS

The Baleno RS will be the most powerful of Maruti's hatchbacks in the country. To be powered by the Boosterjet series of engines (which will make it the first turbocharged petrol-powered Maruti Suzuki in India), the production-ready concept of the Balneo RS was showcased at the 2016 Auto Expo. It will borrow all the features from the top-spec Baleno and is likely to be priced slightly above the top-end petrol version of the Baleno, which would be around Rs 9 lakh. With several test mules being spotted on many occasions, the hatchback is likely to be launched in the first half of 2017.  

2017 Maruti Suzuki Swift

Spy images of the next-gen Maruti Suzuki Swift have already surfaced on the Internet. The upcoming hatchback has a similar design as compared to the current car, but it looks sharper. It features new alloy wheels, a large hexagonal front grille and a sporty new front bumper. As the leaked images suggest, there are more changes in the interior. It has a new three-spoke, flat-bottomed steering wheel, a new twin-pod instrument cluster, with a digital MID and a touchscreen infotainment system. It will have the same 1.2-litre K-Series petrol and 1.3-litre DDiS diesel engines as in the current hatchback. The global debut of the 2017 Swift is likely to be in the first half of 2017, and the India launch would be soon after that. It is expected to have a starting price tag of Rs 5 lakh.  

2017 Nissan Micra

Nissan showcased the fifth generation Micra at the 2016 Paris Motor Show and the hatchback will go on sale in Europe from March 2017. Although there hasn't been any official statement regarding its launch in India, we can't deny the possibility of its launch by the end of 2017, fingers crossed. If launched, the new Micra would compete with premium hatchbacks like the Baleno and the Jaaz and this could be a game changer for the Japanese manufacturer. The new Micra has a sharper and bolder styling. It has a similar dashboard as the Kicks compact SUV. It features a new flat-bottom steering wheel and a dual-pod with a large MID screen instrument cluster setup. It also has a 7-inch infotainment system with satellite navigation and Apple CarPlay. It is powered by two petrol and one diesel engines, coupled to a 5-speed manual transmission. We can expect it to have a starting price of Rs 5 to 6 lakh.

2017 Chevrolet Beat and Beat Activ

Chevrolet showcased the near production-ready 2017 Beat and Beat Activ at the 2016 Auto Expo. It also released the official images of production-ready versions of both the hatchbacks later. To be clear, the Activ is a more beefed up version of the standard Beat, like a cross hatch. The interiors of the upcoming hatchback have been spied and the pics reveal the new hatch has subtle changes to its interiors. It features Chevrolet's latest MyLink infotainment system with support for both Apple CarPlay and Google Android Auto. It will also have a dual-tone theme – black and beige interiors with silver accents. Details regarding the mechanicals are still unknown. However, Chevrolet is expected to launch it in the second half of 2017. The standard Beat might have a starting price of Rs 4.5 lakh while the Beat Activ would start from Rs 5.5 lakh.