Rumour - Maruti Suzuki Working On Baleno-Based Tata Punch Rival | V3Cars

Oct 13, 2021, 12:18 PM IST
By Mahesh Yadav
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A recent report claims to have knowledge of Maruti Suzuki’s plans to bring a smaller SUV to compete directly with the Tata Punch. The news comes after Tata Motors unveiled the Punch mini SUV. It must have received extremely positive customer feedback for Maruti Suzuki to consider entering this mini SUV space.

The Tata Punch borrows the ALFA architecture from the Altroz, Tata’s premium hatchback. According to the report, Maruti Suzuki will also do the same and use their Heartect platform from the Baleno and modify it to accommodate the SUV body style on top of it. It’s reportedly given an internal code name YTB.

Also Read: October 2021 - Tata Punch Petrol Variants Explained - Which One To Book?

As expected, the new SUV will sit between the S-Presso and the Vitara Brezza, where Maruti Suzuki have a lot of white space to fill in the SUV/crossover segment. The report claims that the carmaker will showcase the model in 2022. We can expect to have it land in the showrooms sometime in 2023. While it seems like an eternity, the 2-year period for a new car development in the auto sector is considered a fast turnaround time considering that they’re starting from scratch. Tata showcased their near-production Punch in Feb 2020 and it took them almost 1.5 years to bring it to market.

The Maruti Suzuki YTB could use the 1.2-litre petrol engine but with a slight power bump compared to the Baleno 1.2L petrol. This means the YTM may get the same 1.2L mild-hybrid petrol engine, which is available in the Dzire. This engine makes 90PS of power while the Baleno makes 83PS of power. Both engines make the same 113Nm of torque but the hybrid engine adds some off-peak electric torque to offer better drivability at low RPMs.

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