Tata’s second major bid at the premium car space will come in the form of the long-overdue Hexa crossover – the first was the Aria. Although the Hexa, Tata’s flagship model, shares its mechanicals with the Aria, the carmaker has given this seven-seater butch styling cues, like body cladding and the massive 19-inch wheels with low-profile, 235-section tyres, to keep it from looking like an MPV. To justify its ‘premium’ positioning, the Hexa comes loaded with features too.
Tata Hexa price and rivals
Tata is likely keep the Hexa competitively priced, after the company burnt its fingers with the Aria’s high prices. Expect the range to start at about Rs 12.5 lakh (ex-showroom). Despite being an out-and-out MPV, the Toyota Innova will rival the Hexa in terms of both price and size, as will Mahindra’s SUV, the XUV500.
Tata Hexa engine details
The Hexa will be powered by Tata’s 2.2-litre Varicor 400 diesel engine. It makes 156hp and a healthy 400Nm of torque, and is the same unit that was introduced in the Safari Storme earlier in 2016. The engine will get the option of new six-speed manual and automatic gearboxes.
Tata Hexa equipment
Tata has left no stone unturned to pack the Hexa with features. The cabin is available in both six- and seven-seat configurations and gets up to six airbags and a five-inch touchscreen, which comes paired to a 10-speaker audio system from JBL. There’s also a 3.5-inch TFT colour display in the instrument binnacle which gives readouts for the drive-modes and trip-computer data.
The highlight here is the rotary multi-drive mode selector that will be offered on both, all-wheel-drive and rear-wheel-drive variants. Similar to the Terrain Response system seen on Land Rover SUVs, Tata’s system allows the driver to alter engine, ABS, ESP and AWD settings.
Tata Hexa expected launch
The Hexa is slated for launch sometime around the festive season this year, so expect it to hit the roads very soon.