Indian car market is showering with many car launches in the month of August, there are a few launches slated during the next month as well. Tata Motors also wants to mark its presence and is all set to usher its own challenger in the Indian premium SUV space with the Tata Safari Merlin SUV.
Force Motors launched the Force One SUV recently, which is going to be followed by the launch of Mahindra W201 World SUV shortly. Then next up on the cards is the launch of Tata Motor’s Tata Safari Merlin that is expected to hit the Indian roads by end-September.
However, the Tata Motors intends to drop the ‘Safari’ out of the name to differentiate between the two SUVs in the consumer’s point of view. Tata Motors intends to launch their Tata Merlin SUV to position it as a stiff competitor of Mahindra W201 (World SUV). Apparently, Tata Merlin is going to be an upgraded version of the Tata Safari. The Tata Safari Merlin price is likely to be placed slightly over Rs 10 lakhs.
Drawing inspiration from the Land Rover, the Merlin sports a flatter front end, and a different read without the spare wheel. The engine is the enduring 2.2 litre DICOR turbo diesel unit affording 140 Bhp and 320 Nm. As for the interiors of the Tata Merlin, the SUV is likely to mimic the looks of Tata Aria crossover and believed to be a class apart from the Tata Safari’s interior looks.
The Tata Merlin SUV is expected to come loaded with many additional features to include Airbags, ABS and EBS. The Merlin SUV is expected to be available both in 2 wheel drive and four wheel drive options although an automatic gearbox is still not a part of the equation.
Also see – Spied – 2011 Tata Safari Merlin in Pune
