What to expect: New Tata Hexa

Following heaps of rumors and speculations the Tata Hexa is finally ready to hit the roads. The much anticipated premium crossover, in fact, will officially go on sale tomorrow. Here’s what you can expect if you have been looking to buy one. 

Butch design 

Tata Motors say they have styled the Hexa using their Impact design language, a name which seems apt considering the vehicle’s tremendous road presence. The Hexa is quite muscular looking for something that’s basically a people carrier. The design highlights on it include the dual colored bumper with honeycomb grille, daytime running lights, smoked projector headlamps, flared wheel arches and 19-inch alloy wheels. 

Loaded interior 

Like all modern Tata models, the top-spec variant of the Hexa is loaded to the boot. The all black cabin includes soft touch materials, textures and grains. Feature wise, you get leather upholstery with contrast stitching, ambient lighting, a 10-speaker JBL audio system, twin pod instrument cluster with a 3.5-inch screen, front, side and curtain airbags and lots more. The Hexa even gets automatic headlights, wipers, hill hold control, hill descent control and traction control.

Engine and gearbox 

The Hexa gets a single engine option - a 2.2-litre VARICOR 400 diesel engine that currently powers the top-spec Safari Storme. Producing 150bhp of power and class-leading 400Nm of torque, this engine can be had with either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic gearbox. The automatic gearbox comes with selectable modes and manual shift option.

Drive modes

The manual gearbox-equipped Hexa comes with what Tata calls Super Drive Modes. This segment-first feature can be engaged using a dash mounted rotary dial. The driving modes include Auto, Comfort, Dynamic and Rough Road. In the Rough Road mode, the Hexa optimizes its adaptive all-wheel drive system.

Competition 

The Tata Hexa is expected to cost between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 18 lakh, depending on the trim. At such prices, it will mainly compete against the Toyota Innova Crysta and the Mahindra XUV 500. 

Click here to read our first drive report of the Tata Hexa