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Familial territory

Until a few months ago, the options that big families looking to travel together had were the Toyota Innova and Mahindra Xylo; apart from big, hulking SUVs of course.

Family cars, people-movers, multi-purpose vehicles?they go by a number of different names. This new segment is about to explode in India and here?s what?s in store for the next few years

Until a few months ago, the options that big families looking to travel together had were the Toyota Innova and Mahindra Xylo; apart from big, hulking SUVs of course. These cars offer seating comfort, decent luggage space and lots of equipment. Then came the Maruti Ertiga, which offered all this at a lower price, while being very car-like to drive and fuel efficient to boot.

This has opened up a sub-segment of easy-to-drive MPVs and the unprecedented demand for the Ertiga has made other manufacturers sit up and take notice. The market will soon see a flood of these car-like MPVs, whose prices will start from R6 lakh and go upwards of R20 lakh. This also shows the increasing maturity of the Indian car market, where buyers are not drawn just to good looks and specific body styles, but want increasingly more practical cars to suit their needs.

Here are a few MPVs that are going to be launched from July this year:

Nissan Evalia: Just around the corner is the Nissan Evalia, which is being readied for a July launch this year. With the promise of lots of passenger and luggage space, and to be priced under R10 lakh, it can give most MPVs a run for their money.

Chevrolet Enjoy: A car that could give the Maruti Ertiga a headache is the Chevrolet Enjoy. Chevy?s pricing has always been attractive and the Enjoy seven-seater will really hit the mark if priced starting under R6 lakh.

Mercedes-BENZ B-class: At the luxurious end of the family-car market will be the new Mercedes B-class, which will sit under the C-class saloon in the company?s line-up and be priced from R20 lakh. The new-generation car was recently launched in international markets and has the new Merc family look.

Ford B-Max: The Fiesta platform is turning out to be very versatile indeed. Already having spawned a saloon, SUV and hatchback, the next body shape to be developed is the MPV, in the form of the B-Max. It is a five-seater overseas, but Ford may well bring it out in seven-seat form for India, with conventionally hinged second-row doors instead of sliding ones. For this, the car will have to be lengthened and B-pillars added to mount the doors.

Hyundai Hexa space: The Korean manufacturer is working on a global MPV which was showcased in concept form earlier this year. Called the Hexa Space, the concept featured a unique seating layout that could accommodate eight passengers. This was made possible by placing three seats per row in a staggered arrangement with the middle passenger sitting slightly behind. Two rows of staggered seats and two more seats in the last row allowed for the best possible utilisation of space in the cabin. Seats can also be folded flat in different combinations to free up luggage space as required, further aiding practicality. It also boasted sliding doors to aid ingress to the last row.

Honda MPV: Honda has already begun development work on a new seven-seat MPV based on the next-generation Jazz platform. Given the efficient packaging of the current Jazz, expect the new car to have a similarly useful cabin, full of storage spaces.

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First published on: 23-06-2012 at 01:53 IST
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