Designed with suggestion from Land Rover, Tata Hexa is likely to give the rugged Mahindra XUV500 a really tough competition
Tata Motors launched the Aria in 2010 at the New Delhi Auto Expo, which didn’t fetch the company desired sales result. In an attempt to rebuild the car, Tata Motors unveiled the Hexa concept, which later paved the way for Tata Hexa production model. The car was displayed at the 2016 New Delhi Auto Expo and it looked much more stylish, aggressive and appealing compared to the Aria. Also it will be the most premium product Tata Motors has ever launched in the Indian market till date.
The bookings for Hexa had begun in November and it would directly take on the likes of Mahindra XUV500, which is the flagship SUV from the stable of India’s largest SUV maker. The domestic market being very fond of SUVs, has given the XUV500 quite a special place. This car has become pretty popular locally as well as overseas markets.
While the Mahindra XUV500 is a true blue SUV, the Tata Hexa looks like part SUV, part MPV. Interestingly, the Tata Motors’ crossover will take on the Toyota Innova Crysta also. As the Tata Hexa and Mahindra XUV500 will make for tasty battle, here we take a look at the spec sheet based comparison between these two butch looking models:
Tata Hexa vs Mahindra XUV500 Exterior and Dimension
Despite being derived from the Aria, the Tata Hexa looks way much different and distinctive than its predecessor. The car has been designed to impress the new age customers and to do that Tata Motors has taken suggestion from the British marquee Land Rover. The Hexa clearly comes bearing subtle inputs from land Rover, which is visible at the exterior of the car.
The Hexa has been designed by the same team, which designed the Tata Tiago, and with the expertise from Indian and overseas design teams, the car truly comes sporting an international design. Featuring the Tata Motors’ new IMPACT design language, the front fascia of the car looks really aggressive and stylish at the same time with the sharply design wrap around headlamp clusters featuring projector units, piano black finished radiator grille.
The front grille also sports a sleek chrome trim touching both the headlamp clusters. While the front bumper gets a dual tone finish and features air intake with honeycomb mesh, aluminium skid plate, while the unusual shaped fog lamps are positioned at both sides complemented by large secondary air dams.
The side profile features 19 inch alloy wheels, side body cladding, turn indicators integrated ORVM, body coloured door handles, Hexa badged C pillar. At the rear profile the Tata Hexa sports a roof spoiler, wrap around LED taillights, thick chrome bar joining the two taillights clusters, aluminium skid plate and twin squarish exhaust pipes. So far, the car looks premium with its entire appearance, and no wonder it looks very impressive.
On the other hand, the Mahindra XUV500 looks rugged and muscular; and honestly much more aggressive than the Tata Hexa. It features a vertically slated menacing looking front complemented by wide headlamp clusters sporting projector units and integrated waterfall designed LED daytime running lights. The fog lamps come uniquely design and the front bumper sports a beefy appearance with skid plate and the air intake.
At the side profile the car features crisp character lines, flared wheel arches, alloy wheels, side body cladding, turn indicator integrated ORVMs, blackened glass area, and roof spoiler positioned on a sloping roof. The rear fascia gets vertically stacked taillights, high mounted stop lamp, chrome finished tailgate handle bar and a muscular rear bumper also. The rear pillar comes in an all black look, which makes the car appear like with a full glass area.
Dimensionally, the Tata Hexa measures 4,764 mm in length, 1,895 mm in width and 1,780 mm in height and comes with a wheelbase of 2,850 mm. On the other hand, the Mahindra XUV500 sports 4,585 mm of length, 1,890 mm of width, 1,785 mm of height, and 2,700 mm of wheelbase. The Tata Hexa is clearly longer and wider compared to Mahindra XUV500, and the wheelbase too comes larger; while the XUV500 comes taller than Hexa. Tata Hexa stands with 190 mm of ground clearance but the Mahindra XUV500 comes with 200 mm ground clearance.
Tata Hexa vs Mahindra XUV500 Interior and Features
Tata Hexa sports a truly impressive interior, which looks stuffed with features and premium in quality. No wonder, the influence of Land Rover is subtly visible inside the cabin at the dashboard, centre console etc. Apart from the leather wrapped three spoke multifunction steering wheel, dual pod instrument cluster with a 3.5 inch TFT multi info colour display, the interior also sports a 5 inch touchscreen infotainment system at centre console developed by Harman.
The infotainment system comes with provision for rear camera display, voice recognition and navigation, while the interior also features ambient mood lighting, plush leather upholstery, auto dimming, and JBL audio system with 10 speakers. The cabin features captain seats which gives it more upmarket feel, alongside the superior quality materials used inside.
The cabin of Tata Hexa also sports several safety features like six airbags, ABS, EBD, ESP, traction control, vehicle dynamic control, brake assist, anti theft alarm, engine drag control, engine immobilizer, while the rear parking sensors and camera delivers convenient parking experience. So far, it looks like the most premium Tata Motors’ vehicle till date. Other notable features are Juke Car App, Tata Smart Remote and Smart Manual providing interactive digital manual, Emergency assist and service booking through Service Connect, 10-speaker JBL audio system with 320 Watt DSP amplifier and subwoofer, etc.
Mahindra XUV 500 on the other hand doesn’t look as much appealing as the Hexa is. Mahindra’s flagship SUV comes sporting a dual tone interior finish, multifunction steering wheel with silver accent, dual pod instrument cluster which comes with an unique design. The centre console gets a touchscreen infotainment system, which works as the display of reverse parking camera with guidelines.
The XUV500 comes with three row seating arrangements, automatic climate control, second row AC vents, while the safety features include six airbags, ABS, EBD, push button engine start/stop, cruise control, seat belt warning, brake assist, ESP, hill hold control, traction control, hill decent control etc. Both models are feature packed but Hexa is going to have an advantage over its main rival.
Tata Hexa vs Mahindra XUV500 Engine and Performance
Tata Hexa draws power from the same 2.2 litre four cylinder VARICOR 400 diesel engine which is available under the hood of Tata Safari Storme Varicor as well. This engine churns out 154.2 bhp at 4,000 rpm and 400 Nm of peak torque between 1,700 rpm to 2,700 rpm, with the fuel economy standing at 13 kmpl. Transmission options include a six speed manual gearbox as standard, while there is an optional six speed automatic too on offer; and also the car gets an optional 4WD drivetrain as well.
Mahindra XUV500’s power source on the other hand is a 2.2 litre mHawk diesel engine, which kicks out 140 bhp of peak power and 330 Nm of peak torque, with a fuel economy of 16 kmpl. Transmission options include both a six speed manual and a six sped automatic gearbox. While the car comes with two wheel drive as standard, there is an AWD drivetrain on offer as well. So far, the Tata Hexa is much more powerful compared to the Mahindra XUV500, and the latter one delivers a bit of extra mileage.
Tata Hexa vs Mahindra XUV500 Price
Once launched, the Tata Hexa will lock horn with the rivals like Toyota Innova Crysta, Mahindra XUV500 and Hyundai Creta in Indian market. Expect the upcoming Tata Motors car to come priced between Rs. 12.9 lakhs to 19 lakhs (ex showroom) price range. The Mahindra XUV500 on the other hand is priced between Rs. 12.09 lakhs to Rs. 18.03 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi). Both the models are closely matched in price, but by being the latest product Hexa could be having an edge.
Tata Hexa vs Mahindra XUV500 Comparison Verdict:
Both the Tata Hexa and the Mahindra XUV500 sit among the sub-20 lakh pricing range, and both the cars are quite impressive. The Tata Hexa looks much more boxy and beefy, while the Mahindra XUV500 comes donning a very aggressive stance. The Hexa with its influenced design from land Rover and the new IMPACT design language surely stands to grab eyeballs, while Mahindra prowess in the SUV manufacturing makes the XUV500 a strong rival against the upcoming car.
So far, Hexa looks promising and with its design inside and out; and also the features it comes with compared to its rivals. The car delivers a tough and muscular SUV like stance, while the space on offer is like a MPV, which can definitely become an USP for the Hexa; while on the other hand the Mahindra XUV500 with its true blue SUV image also is pretty much capable to challenge the upcoming car. The competitive pricing of these two vehicles makes the fight even fiercer.
Mahindra XUV500 has already established itself as a strong player in the Indian market, and it is not an easy task for a new entrant to take on an already established car. Therefore, the Tata Hexa has lot of tough tasks ahead!