Best of 2016: Top sedans and compact sedans launched in India

Sedans are one of the traditional car segments in India with consistent number of buyers. After hatchback, customers now look in to compact SUVs and bigger cars, though the demand for sedan is not affected. In fact the sedan segment also got a refresh with the birth of compact sedan segment. In 2016, starting from compact sedan to luxury sedan, there have been many new launches from carmakers such as Volkswagen, Hyundai, Skoda, Volvo and others. We have compiled a list of sedan cars that entered the Indian car market in 2016

New Skoda Rapid

Skoda India launched new Rapid sedan on November 3 for a starting price of Rs 8.34 lakh (ex-showroom Maharashtra). The face of the Rapid has been heavily reworked and now sports a signature butterfly grille with chrome surrounding, newly designed front bumper with a honeycomb grille, new projector headlights, new Rear bumper, C-shaped smoked tail lights and rear spoiler. Inside the cabin, the Skoda Rapid hosts features such as dual-tone interiors, premium leather seats and door arm rest, 6.5-inch touchscreen infotainment system with mirrorlink connectivity, height and length adjustable steering wheels, intelligent rain sensing wipers and cruise control.

The sedan is powered by 1.6-litre MPI naturally aspirated petrol engine that develops 104bhp and 153Nm of torque mated to the choice of five-speed manual and six-speed automatic transmission. The diesel mill is 1.5-litre unit that develops 108bhp and 250Nm of torque mated to five-speed manual or seven-speed DSG gearbox.

Volkswagen Ameo

German car maker launched its first made-for-India car, the Ameo compact sedan, at Rs 5.13 lakh in June. Initially it was available only with 1.2-litre three-cylinder MPI petrol engine mated to five-speed manual gearbox. Later in September, the company added diesel variants priced from Rs 6.33 lakh, ex-showroom Delhi. The Ameo diesel is powered by 1.5-litre four-cylinder mill tuned to dish out 108bhp at 4,000rpm and 25Nm of torque at 1,500-3,000rpm. The engine comes mated in two transmission options- seven-speed DSG and five-speed manual.

New Hyundai Elantra

The Korean car maker launched sixth generation of the Elantra sedan with price in the range of Rs 12.99 lakh to Rs 17.99 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) in August. Based on the new Fluidic 2.0 design language, the new car flaunts signature chrome hexagonal grille along with HID headlamps and LED tail lamps.

The new Elantra is launched with the choice of 2.0-litre Dual VTVT petrol and 1.6 CRDi diesel engines. The petrol engine develops 150bhp and 196Nm of torque, while the diesel unit will belt out 126bhp and 265Nm of torque. Both the engines come coupled with the choice of manual and automatic transmission options.

Volvo S60 Cross Country

Swedish car-maker Volvo launched the S60 Cross Country at Rs 38.9 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai) in March. The off-road biased sedan is powered by a 2.4-litre five-cylinder diesel engine that can churn out 188bhp at 4,000rpm and 420Nm of torque at 1,500rpm to 3,000rpm. The Volvo S60 Cross Country, which is based on the company's S60 sedan, comes with all-wheel drive (AWD) and measures 4,638mm in length, 1899mm in width and 1,539mm in height. It gets an increase in ride height of 65mm.

Jaguar XE

Jaguar Land Rover India launched the XE sedan at the Auto Expo 2016 in February for a price range of Rs. 39.9 lakh and Rs. 47.99 lakh, ex-showroom, Mumbai. The XE is powered by 2.0-litre petrol mill that develops 197bhp of power at 5,500rpm and 320Nm of torque at 1,750rpm mated to eight-speed automatic transmission. The XE Portfolio's 2.0-litre engine develops 237bhp and 348Nm of torque. Jaguar XE goes up against the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and the Audi A4 sedans.

New Skoda Superb

Skoda India launched the updated 2016 Superb sedan priced at Rs 22.68 lakh for the base variant, ex-showroom Mumbai in February. Based on the VW Group's MQB platform, the new model is lighter than the predecessor. The new Superb comes with more evolved design highlighted with Bi-xenon headlamp with day time running lamps.

The latest version of Skoda's flagship sedan is offered in petrol and diesel mills. The 1.8-litre TSI unit, which also does duty in the Skoda Octavia, develops 178bhp and 320Nm and it is mated to the choice of six-speed manual and seven speed DSG transmission. The diesel engine is the 2.0-litre TDI turbocharged mill that develop 175bhp and 350Nm available only six-speed automatic transmission.

New Audi A4

Audi India has launched the fifth generation of the A4 sedan in India in September. One of the top-selling sedans of Audi, the new A4 is sold only in petrol variant in two models- Premium Plus (Rs. 38.1 lakh) and Technology (Rs. 41.2 lakh).

The new A4 is based on the MLB Evo platform, the adoption of which has resulted in decrease of about 100 kg as compared to the outgoing model. The face of the new version sports a sharp hexagonal front grille and new headlamps with integrated DRLs. The sculpted bodylines extend an athletic appearance to the sedan. It is powered by an in-line four-cylinder 1395cc turbo-petrol unit develops 148bhp at 5,000rpm and 250Nm of torque at 1,500rpm mated to seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

New Jaguar XF

Jaguar Land Rover India has launched the second generation of the XF sedan at the starting price of Rs 49.50 lakh, ex-showroom, Delhi in September. The XF is based on the new aluminium-intensive iQ platform that uses aluminium. Extensive use of aluminium has resulted in huge weight reduction as compared to the first generation, and the new XF weighs just 1,687kg.

The new version of the XF comes with the new design language of the company that made its debut with the Jaguar XE sedan. The face of the sedan has been reworked with a large mesh grille, bigger air intakes and new LED headlamps with revised LED DRLs. The new Jaguar XF is available in India in the following engines and derivatives: 2.0-litre (177bhp) Diesel Pure priced at Rs 49.50 lakh, 2.0-litre (177bhp) Diesel Prestige priced at Rs 55.90 lakh, 2.0-litre (177bhp) Diesel Portfolio priced at Rs 62.10 lakh, 2.0-litre (237bhp) Petrol Prestige at Rs 55.65 lakh and 2.0-litre (237bhp) Petrol Portfolio at Rs 61.85 lakh, all prices being ex-showroom in Delhi.

Volvo S90

Volvo launched its new flagship sedan, the S90 at Rs 53.5 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) in November. Based on Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) technology, the S90 replaced the ageing S80 sedan in the country. Powering the new Volvo S90 is a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine that is tuned to churn out 190bhp and 400Nm of torque. The engine comes coupled to an 8-speed automatic transmission. The S90 offers three driving modes - Eco, Comfort and Sport. Offered in the Inscription trim, the new S90 will compete against the likes of Mercedes-Benz E-Class, BMW 5 Series, Jaguar XF and Audi A6 in the country.