Tata Peregrin was said to have been in development a while ago. It was supposed to be born in the highly competitive mid-size sedan segment in India but the plans were shelved.
Tata Peregrin was touted to have been a worthy rival to the likes of the Hyundai Verna and Honda City in our market. However, the plans of launching it in our market were shelved due to a variety of aspects. A couple of years ago, Tata Motors was testing the sedan to enter this segment. After the plans not materializing, VW Virtus and Skoda Slavia encashed this opportunity and are reaping the benefits of it by selling in decent numbers. With Honda City and Hyundai Verna being updated now, has Tata Motors missed a great opportunity?
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Tata Peregrin Could’ve Been Hyundai Verna Rival
It was codenamed X452 and was based on the same ALFA (Agile Light Flexible Architecture) platform as the existing Altroz premium hatchback. In addition to that, the award-winning Impact 2.0 design philosophy would’ve ensured that it looked premium and elegant which is needed in order to compete against the established products in the space like the City and Verna. As a matter of fact, it was supposed to share some design cues with the E-Vision concept that was showcased at the Geneva Motor Show in 2018.
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However, the wave of SUVs took over the entire global automobile market which dissuaded Tata Motors from investing time and resources in a sedan in a depleting segment. SUVs took over in the last few years and there are SUVs in all major segments of the Indian market. This includes sub-segments like micro SUVs, compact SUVs, mid-size SUVs, etc. All these segments enhanced the accessibility for people to own an SUV without burning a hole through their pockets as SUVs, traditionally, were large and expensive.
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Specs
Had the Peregrin been launched, we reckon it would’ve come with the 1.2-litre turbo petrol that powers the Nexon making 120 hp and 170 Nm of peak power and torque. There would’ve been options of manual and automatic gearboxes. But since that ship has already sailed, VW and Skoda were quick to provide an alternative to the Verna and City by offering Virtus and Slavia respectively. They are enjoying a healthy market share now.
