Tata has been developing a product codenamed Tata Q501/Q502, which it deems could turn out to be its flagship product and easily the most expecting upcoming Car in 2018. It gets based on the Land Rover platform. Rendering of this product are available in various sites and its called as the next generation Tata Safari.
Rendered images floating in internet has taken the design traits of the Tata Hexa, Tata Safari and the Land Rover Discovery Sport. It fused the cues of these three models to render the 2018 model. However, it is also said that Tata wants to give the SUV its own identity as a complete Tata product.
The 2018 SUV is likely to be powered by the Fiat sourced 2.0-litre MultiJet II diesel engine, which will be tuned to make 170 bhp and get mated to a 6-speed manual and 6-speed automatic gearbox as options.
The American-born Jeep, owned by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, will also use the same engine to power its C-Segment SUV, which has been codenamed Jeep 551. It will likely be the first Jeep SUV to get a full Indian manufacture beginning from 2017.
Now as the Jeep is priced steep due to CBU (Completely Built Units) imports, the American carmaker will bring down the price significantly for the new model by manufacturing the SUV in India. Tata Motors will also likely go for an aggressive pricing of the 2018 SUV, despite it being a premium SUV.
Both the launch and the sale of the 2018 Land Rover-based SUV will take place beginning from 2018. While Tata Motors has so far been catering to the mid-range SUV space, Tata’s steps towards developing a premium SUV is highly anticipated. When launched, it will compete with the Toyota Fortuner, Hyundai Santa Fe and the Ford Endeavour.
