The production version of Tata H5X is built on the L550 architecture of Land Rover Discovery Sport and boasts Impact 2.0 design language
Tata Motors’ upcoming SUV has repeatedly been spied testing in India and is expected to come in five-seat and seven-seat configurations to appeal for two different set of customers. The former is expected to be priced from Rs. 9.5 lakh to Rs. 14 lakh and the latter could cost Rs. 15 lakh-18 lakh (ex-showroom prices).
Having debuted as the H5X concept at the 2018 Auto Expo in February, Tata’s design head Pratap Bose once stated that the production version will have 85 percent of what has been seen in the concept. It kept everyone on the toes as the concept was a radical departure from what has been perceived as a Tata SUV in general with overall silhouette drawing inspiration from Land Rover Discovery Sport.
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Based on the spy shots, we have come up with digital rendering of the H5X SUV. It is the first model to adorn the evolutionary Impact 2.0 design language. The side profile comprises of squarish wheel arches and large multi-spoke alloy wheels while the sloping roofline and prominent creases enhance the overall stance of the model.
The front end boasts sharp chrome-treated headlamp assembly with Tata’s signature badge residing in the middle of the black hexagonal grille. The bumper section is also busy with large air intake and vertical fog lamp housing. The black skid plate under-body protection emphasises the high ground clearance and off-roading nature of the H5X as it is based on the L550 platform of Land Rover Discovery Sport.
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Tata has made changes to the architecture and replaced expensive aluminium components with steel elements to enable reduced production cost. It could use an independent suspension setup on all four wheels along with having wheelbase of 2,741 mm – similar to the Discovery Sport.
A hybrid powertrain appears to be in the works and it could be introduced at a later time. The regular H5X uses Fiat-sourced 2.0-litre Multijet diesel unit that also powers the Jeep Compass. It will develop a maximum power of 140 hp in the five-seat version and the seven-seater will make 160 hp. A ZF-sourced nine-speed automatic transmission is expected to transfer power to all wheels in the high-end variants.
As in the latest crop of Tatas, the premium SUV will also get multiple driving modes such as Auto, Comfort, Dynamic and Rough Road as in the Hexa in the six-speed manual trim while there could be more modes in the top-of-the-line automatic models. The five-seat H5X will rival Hyundai Creta and the seven-seater will compete against Jeep Compass and Mahindra XUV500.