Maruti YTB will likely debut at the 2023 Auto Expo in January before going on sale in February or March
Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) is gearing up to introduce the Grand Vitara in the domestic market next month and only a few days ago, the new generation Alto K10 made its way to India with a starting price of Rs. 3.99 lakh (ex-showroom). The largest car producer in the country is working to further expand its SUV portfolio as a compact SUV coupe is also under development.
Codenamed YTB, the Maruti Suzuki Baleno Cross has already been spotted testing a number of times revealing its exterior details. It is underpinned by the lightweight Heartect platform in a similar fashion to the Baleno. The clear spy image of the rear section of the Maruti Suzuki YTB has now been spied in Gurgaon giving us an in-depth look into what is about to come.
The rear has a wide stance as the Baleno while the coupe-like roofline, heavily raked front windshield, sculpted bootlid, blackened alloy wheels identical to the Baleno, shark fin antenna, a prominent roof integrated spoiler, etc can also be seen in the latest spy image. Up front, it gains LED headlamps and LED Daytime Running Lights almost identical to the soon-launching Grand Vitara midsize SUV.
The inverted trapezoidal front grille adds a unique flavour as well and the Outside Rear View Mirrors have been borrowed from the Baleno along with a number of body panels. The styling of the Maruti Suzuki YTB has been influenced by the Futuro-e concept showcased at the 2020 Auto Expo and the production version will likely debut at the 2023 edition of the same show in January.
The five-seater will be exclusively retailed through the Nexa premium dealerships from February or March 2023 onwards and it will be positioned above the Baleno. It will spawn a Toyota version most likely next year. As for the performance, the 1.0-litre three-cylinder BoosterJet turbocharged petrol engine could be offered.
The same powertrain was previously found in the Baleno RS while the lower variants could use the now-familiar 1.5-litre four-cylinder K15C mild-hybrid petrol engine that develops a maximum power output of around 103 PS and 138 Nm of peak torque.