With downsizing and turbocharging the norm, even SUVs are coming up with turbo-petrol engines. Here’s a list of five such upcoming SUVs.
In an automobile market that has predominantly been using diesel for about a decade now, manufacturers are suddenly shifting focus to turbo-petrol engines. Yes, downsizing and turbocharging is the talk of the town and with the transition to BS6 emission norms, a lot of healthy diesel engines saw their demise. What’s surprising that even SUVs which comprised of the diesel flux in India and going down the turbo-petrol engine route. And there are quite a few turbo-petrol SUVs coming up in India very soon.
So here we will look at some upcoming turbo-petrol SUVs. These turbo-petrol engines offer decently better performance and fuel efficiency than their naturally aspirated counterparts. Also, with diesel engines on a retreat from the market, turbo-petrol engines are likely to be the mainstay for a lot of cars in the times to come.
Kia Sonet 1.0L Turbo-Petrol
The Kia Sonet is one of the most hotly anticipated cars that launching this year and it will join the highly competitive sub-compact SUV segment. The Sonet will share its underpinnings with the Hyundai Venue including its powertrains. That includes the 1.0L turbo-petrol engine which produces 120bhp in the Venue. In fact, we have seen the same engine on the Grand i10 Nios and Aura as well, although in a detuned state. The Sonet looks like a very promising product and we can’t wait till it officially debuts in the market.
Mahindra Thar 1.5L Turbo-Petrol
The Mahindra Thar is another very hotly anticipated car that’s launching this year. The Thar is a proper 4×4 and it has always been powered only by a diesel engine. Even though Mahindra will be offering a diesel engine on the new generation Thar, the bigger news is that the Thar will get a brand new 1.5L turbo-petrol engine which will produce about 163 bhp. It would be quite interesting to see how a turbo-petrol engine comes together on a proper off-roader like the Thar. Its launching by June this year.
Renault Duster 1.3L Turbo-petrol
Just like the Mahindra Thar, the Duster too has primarily been loved for its strong diesel engine. However, with the BS6 update, Renault has dropped the 1.5L diesel engine fro the Duster and is currently only offered with a 1.5L petrol engine. However, Renault showcased a brand new 1.3L turbo-petrol engine at the 2020 Auto Expo and they are going to launch it in the Duster very soon. The engine produces 153bhp and with this engine, the Duster will become the most powerful SUV in its segment, more powerful than the Seltos and the Hector.
Skoda Vision IN 1.0L Turbo-Petrol
Skoda debut the Vision IN concept in India earlier this year and it is going to be one of the most stylish looking SUVs we have seen in this segment. The Volkswagen group which includes both Skoda and Volkswagen have decided to drop their diesel engines altogether and the Vision IN will be available as a petrol-only model. The production model of the Vision IN will launch later this year and will be powered by a 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine that will output a maximum of 110 bhp.
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Renault HBC 1.0L turbo-petrol
Here’s another Renault is this list that will slot under the Duster when its launched later in the second half of the year. It will be underpinned by the Compact Modular Family (CMF-A) platform which is the same platform on which the Triber is based. The Renault HBC will likely be powered by Nissan’s ‘HR10’ three-cylinder turbocharged motor, that makes around 100bhp of power. This engine is likely to be reserved for higher variants of the small SUV. We expect Renault to price the HBX sub-compact SUV quite aggressively as the platform it is based on is pretty cost-effective.
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If turbo-petrol engines are well engineered to do away with their turbo-lag, they can be pretty exciting indeed. However, it remains to be seen how a market that has always loved big diesel engines on their SUVs reacts to smaller turbo-petrol engines as their heart. If not anything else, they will atleast be cleaner.
