The month of February in 2018 promises exciting times for auto lovers in the country, with the biennial celebration in the automotive world — Auto Expo 2018 — slated to take place.
The country's biggest auto carnival in its 14th edition will kick off in the first week of February in Greater Noida.
Auto Expo 2018 has been scheduled to take place on February 9-14, the Components Show will be held on February 8-11. Even as carmakers prepare to reveal their final line-ups for Auto Expo 2018, we take a look at the expected models from the country's largest carmaker: Maruti Suzuki.
2018 Maruti Suzuki Swift
The new avatar of Maruti's popular hatchback Swift is expected to be one of the main attractions of the event Auto Expo next year. The much-awaited new Swift is expected to make its debut at the Auto Expo 2018 with a launch expected later in the year.
The Swift, in its third generation, is based on the light and rigid new-generation platform Heartect. For now, the India-spec new Swift is rumoured to continue with the 1.2-litre petrol and 1.3-litre diesel engines. Both mills are expected to be offered with the choice of manual and automatic transmission.
New Suzuki Swift Sport
It is now rumoured that the new Suzuki Swift Sport, which made its public debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show 2017 on September 12, will also be unveiled in India in 2018.
The third-generation Swift Sport features an exclusive frontal design with the front grille and the bumper projecting the nose beyond that of the standard Swift.
At the heart of the new Swift Sport is a 1.4-litre BoosterJet four-cylinder turbo engine, producing 138 bhp of power and 230 Nm of peak torque. Power is sent to the front wheels via six-speed manual transmission.
New Suzuki Swift hybrid
The popular Swift compact car equipped with a hybrid system could also be part of the biennial event in 2018. It comes with a 1.2-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, which makes 83bhp at 6,000 rpm and 115 Nm at 4,000 rpm in tandem with a 10-kW electric motor and five-speed automated manual transmission (AMT).
A prototype of the Swift Hybrid was spotted recently on Indian shores, suggesting this could well be on its way to the market.
Maruti Suzuki is likely to schedule the launch of the Swift variants later in 2018.
2018 Maruti Suzuki Ciaz facelift
The Ciaz — the premium sedan being sold through the Nexa dealerships of the company — is also up for a facelift. The model has been on test in the country and a public debut is expected at the Auto Expo in February next year.
The India-spec Ciaz would get changes in line with the Chinese model that was updated recently. The changes are expected on the front and rear of the car.
It is expected that the new single-piece front grille and round-shaped fog lamp in a black enclosure along with tweaked front bumper could also make it to the new Ciaz.
The side profile of the car is likely to be unchanged, except for the new alloy wheels and the rear tail lamps. Inside the cabin, the car is likely to remain untouched.
So far, there is no news on the powertrain of the new Ciaz in India. It now comes with the option of 1,373cc petrol and a 1,248cc diesel mills in the country.
The current petrol unit develops 91bhp at 6,000rpm and 130Nm of torque at 4,000rpm mated to five-speed manual transmission and the diesel unit comes equipped with a small hybrid system which produces 89bhp at 4,000rpm and 200Nm of torque at 1,750rpm.
2018 Maruti Suzuki Ertiga facelift
Maruti Suzuki is expected to launch the new Ertiga in India in the second half 2018, with the unveiling likely to be at the Auto Expo.
Its spy images indicate that new Ertiga has grown bigger with changes in the front and rear. It is rumoured to be based on the Heartect platform that also underpins the new Dzire and the next-gen Maruti Suzuki Swift.
It is being said the new Ertiga could be the first model to get the company's indigenous 1.5-litre four-cylinder diesel engine under the hood. The engine is likely to replace the 1.3-litre mill in the current model.
The current multi-jet diesel engine develops 89bhp of power and 200Nm of torque; it also gets the SHVS small hybrid system.
The Ertiga is now also available with a 1.4-litre K Series petrol engine that produces 94bhp and 130Nm mated to five-speed transmission.
Maruti Suzuki cross-over utility vehicle, premium SUV
Reports suggest that Maruti Suzuki' Auto Expo pavilion may also have the concept models of its upcoming crossover UV, which will be a derivative of its Ertiga platform and internally codenamed the YHB. It will be a three-row utility vehicle with sporty design in line with Honda BRV.
There could also be a premium SUV, which will be pitted against Tata Hexa and Mahindra XUV500 when launched. The new SUV under development could be based on the fifth-generation C Platform and is scheduled to go into production in 2020.
