Reference Auto

Tata Motors had acquired iconic British brands Jaguar as well as Land Rover a few years ago, creating quite a stir in India with luxury car buffs eagerly awaiting the cars, and with the roll out of the Range Rover Evoque Coupé from the Land Rover stable for Rs 72 lakh and five-door SUV for a starting price of Rs 56.91 lakh (Mumbai on road), the nascent luxury SUV segment in India could witness a minor shake up but volume of sales could be low.

The three-door Evoque, that comes in the high-end Dynamic trim version only, has a 2-litre, 237 bhp turbo petrol engine.

The five-door SUV will come in three trims — Pure, Prestige and Dynamic — with a 2.2-litre, 187 bhp common-rail, turbo diesel engine.

The five-door Pure, which is the cheapest offering, will be available for Rs 56.91 lakh and is quite well equipped.

Standard features include Range Rover’s Terrain Response off-road system, cruise control, 17-inch alloy wheels, keyless go, climate control, electrically-adjustable front seats, leather seats, paddle shifters, eight-inch touch screen, Bluetooth connectivity with audio streaming, an 11-speaker Meridian audio system, a fixed panoramic glass roof and Xenon headlamps.

The Prestige version also offers a luxury interior and exterior styling kit, 18-inch alloy wheels, premium leather seats, contrast-painted roof along with keyless entry.

The Dynamic is priced a notch higher (at Rs 64.73 lakh) and has every feature the Pure as well as the Prestige have. Additionally, it comes with a sporty exterior and interior styling kit along with perforated leather seats.

Taking a look at individual models, it can be said that the Pure has an audacious combination of luxury and a sporty look, the Prestige is a top luxury liner when you look at the interior trim and the Dynamic variant is a marvel in styling and wears the sportiest look among the three models.

As per information, The Tatas have no plans to introduce the front-wheel-drive Evoque in the near future but could contemplate such a move only after seeing the response to these SUVs.

Rohit Suri, head of the premier car division, JLR India, which is a division of Tata Motors, said that the company does not have any plan to bring in the Evoque as a completely knocked down or CKD unit now.

He added that Tata Motors is testing the waters in India, and if demand for the cars rolled out is adequate, the company could line up plans to bring in the front-wheel-drive Evoque into India.

But if buzz in the industry is to be believed, the Evoque may be rolled out in a year to 18 months and may come in as a CKD unit.

The Land Rover Freelander 2, another SUV from the JLR stable, witnessed its prices being slashed by Rs 4-6 lakh when it was introduced as a CKD unit.

But the high-end or luxury SUV maker, which is now part of Tata Motors, will be competing in an overcrowded market where there are a litany of players like Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

However, considering the reputation of Range Rover as one of the best SUV brands in the world, it could become one of the top luxury SUV players in India but the volume of sales may not be high enough to give Tata Motors profit in the near to medium term, at least.