Is Tata Motors working on Hexa SUV based pick-up?

Pick-up has not lived up to its name in terms of sales in India. The main players in the category include Mahindra Scorpio Getaway, Tata Xenon and Izuzu D-Max V-Cross of late. The main buyers of pick-ups are predominantly from hilly regions and off-road junkies. However, the dull prospects did not stop Tata Motors from coming up with yet another pick-up truck.

Also read: Tata Hexa test drive review: Fitting flagship with a pinch of style

A report in Gaadiwaadi claims Tata Motors is currently working on a pick-up model based on the recently launched Hexa SUV. The publication says the purported model in concept avatar may debut at the forthcoming Auto Expo 2018 in February. Tata Motors may seek response from public at the show and the decision on production version will be taken according to the feedback.

Tata Motors' current pick up model, the Xenon is not as features-packed as the Isuzu D-Max V-Cross. In January, the company revamped Xenon range to launch it as Xenon Yodha. The improvements were mainly on the safety front without much feature additions. Hence, Xenon Yodha did not pose a challenge to Isuzu D-Max V-Cross as a lifestyle pick up.

The feature-rich Hexa based pick-up is likely to be positioned above Xenon Yodha. The pick-up might boast of the same underpinnings of Hexa.

Hexa is powered by a 2.2-litre Varicor engine that develops 148bhp in the base trim and 154bhp in its variants. A five-speed manual gearbox is offered in the base variant of Hexa, while the six-speed manual and six-speed automatic gearbox are offered in other variants. It remains to be seen which combination Tata Motors will go for. We expect four drive modes — Auto, Comfort, Dynamic and Rough Road in the new pick up, just like Hexa.