Best New Cars Launched In 2016 — Significant Impact In Indian Auto Industry

Toyota Innova Crysta

Toyota launched the Innova Crysta in May 2016 with the intention to up the styling quotient, performance, features and the grandeur of the Innova MPV. The Japanese automaker backed it up with some of the best innovations in the next-generation Innova Crysta. Since the launch, Toyota has sold nearly 50,000 units of the Innova Crysta in India.

Among the new features, the Innova Crysta is offered with an automatic trim, driving capabilities such as Vehicle Stability Control and Hill Start Assist Control along with ABS with EBD, and Brake Assist. The Innova Crysta is powered with the choice of a 2.4- and the 2.8-litre diesel engines, while the petrol unit is a 2.7-litre mill.

Both the petrol and the diesel units come paired with the 5-speed manual or the 6-speed automatic gearbox. The petrol model is powered by 2,694cc engine producing 163.7bhp and 245Nm of torque. As for the diesel units, the 2393cc engine develops 147.8bhp and 343Nm of torque and the powerful 2,755cc engine produces 171.5bhp and 360Nm of torque.

Price: Rs 13.85 lakh to Rs 20.77 lakh ex-showroom (Delhi)

Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza

The crossover SUVs and the compact SUVs were certainly the trend in 2016 globally. India was not behind with the trend picking up in the form sub-four meter compact SUV. India's largest automaker Maruti Suzuki might have been late to join the segment with the Vitara Brezza, but it went to garner 83,000 units since its launch in March 2016.

With its unique approach to the Indian automobile industry, Maruti Suzuki introduced a well proportioned and a well-packaged sub-compact SUV in the form of Vitara Brezza. The Brezza features standard fitment of ABS with EBD, driver side airbag, along with projector headlamps, cruise control, auto headlights and rain sensing wipers.

The Vitara Brezza is powered by a 1.3-litre DDiS diesel unit producing 89bhp and 200Nm of peak torque and is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. Maruti Suzuki claims the Vitara Brezza can sprint for 0-100km/h in 13.3 seconds.

Price: Rs 7.19 lakh to Rs 9.66 lakh ex-showroom (Delhi)

Tata Tiago

Tata Motors banked on the Tiago to take the automaker among the top manufacturers in India. The Tiago launched was launched in April 2016 and broke into the top 10 selling cars list in India. The Tiago contributes nearly 47 percent of sales to Tata Motors making it the best-selling car for the company in 2016.

The Tiago was featured with some of the best and new fitments, this included dual airbags, ABS with EBD, Corner Stability Control, Juke app with Harman music system and the smartphone-enabled turn by turn navigation system.

Tata Motors offers the Tiago with both the diesel and petrol models. While the petrol unit is a 1.2-litre Revotron mill producing 84bhp and 114Nm of torque, the diesel model is powered by a 1.05-litre Revotorq engine developing 69bhp and 140Nm of torque. Both the engine is offered with the 5-speed manual gearbox.

Price: Rs 3.20 lakh to Rs 5.71 lakh ex-showroom (Delhi)

Volkswagen Ameo

The sub-four meter compact sedan segment is one of the mostsought after segments in the Indian automobile market. Top manufacturers in India have one model in this segment. Volkswagen's ‘Make-in-India' campaign was to develop a sub-four-metre sedan and it did so with some the best features. The German carmaker launched the Ameo in June 2016 with the intention to break the dominance of the Maruti Suzuki DZire.

The Ameo boasts some of the first-in-segment features such as cruise control, rain sensing wipers, anti-pinch windows, rear view camera with parking sensors, infotainment system with iPod connectivity, cooled glovebox, and rear AC vents. Also, standard fitment of dual airbags and ABS across variants.

Volkswagen offers the Ameo currently in the petrol and diesel engines. A 1.2-litre MPI petrol engine churns out 74bhp and 110Nm of peak torque and is mated to a 5-speed gearbox, while the diesel unit is a 1.5-litre TDI developing 108.6bhp and 250Nm of torque and comes mated to either with the 7-speed DSG automatic gearbox or the 5-speed manual gearbox.

Price: Rs 5.24 lakh to Rs 9.32 lakh ex-showroom (Delhi)

Renault Kwid AMT

The Renault Kwid Automatic Manual Transmission (AMT) might be a variant in this list of top car launches of 2016 in India; however, it has created an atmosphere of excitement in the entry-level AMT car segment. Renault backing on the success of the manual variant of the Kwidlaunched the AMT variant in November 2016.

The Kwid AMT featured a rotary dial as the gear selector of the AMT gearbox, which the French company developed the technology along with its knowledge of F1 expertise. The Renault Kwid AMT features driver side airbag, touchscreen infotainment system and segment first seatbelt pre-tensioners with load limiters.

Renault has powered the Kwid with a 1.0-litre petrol engine which produces 67bhp and 91Nm of torque and paired with the AMT gearbox and is available only as the top-of-the-variant model.

Price: Rs 4.25 lakh ex-showroom (Delhi)

Toyota Fortuner

The much awaited next-generation Fortuner SUV from Toyota was launched in November 2016 featuring a new bold design along with two new engine options. Since the first Fortuner was launched in India, Toyota has sold 1 lakh units of the SUV. Built on the Toyota New Generation Architecture platform, the new Fortuner is lighter than the previous generation.

Toyota's new Fortuner features 7 airbags, ABS with EBD and Brake Assist, Vehicle Stability Control, and host of off-road capabilities like Downhill Assist Control, Active Traction Control, and Electronic Drive Control.

The new Fortuner is powered by two engines: a 2.7-litre petrol and a 2.8-litre diesel engine.
The 2.7-litre petrol engine produces 164bhp and 245Nm of torque while the 2.8-litre diesel engine produces 177bhp and 360Nm of torque. Both the engines are paired with either a 6-speed automatic or manual gearbox. The diesel model is equipped with the four-wheel drive.

Price: Rs 25.92 lakh to Rs 31.12 lakh ex-showroom (Delhi)

BMW 7 Series

BMW launched the next-generation 7 Series at the 2016 Auto Expo held in February. The luxury sedan was launched by Indian cricket legend, Sachin Tendulkar. The new BMW 7 Series gets a new wider kidney grille with Active Aero function giving the sedan an aggressive look.

The German luxury carmaker's 7 Series boasts of features like Gesture Control, BMW Laserlight, and in addition, with BMW Touch Command, a tablet for controlling key functions has been integrated into the BMW 7 Series.

BMW has powered the new 7 Series with a3-litre, straight-six turbocharged engine producing 265hp and 620Nm of torque. 0-100km/h takes just 6.1 seconds and the top speed is 250km/h. The petrol unit of the new Fortuner is a 4.4-litre twin turbo V8 that produces 450hp and 650 Nm of torque. 0-100km/h takes just 4.4 seconds and the top speed is limited to 250km/h.

Price: Rs 1.14 crore to Rs 1.60 crore ex-showroom (Delhi)

Jeep Grand Cherokee And Wrangler Unlimited

After 75 years in thebusiness of manufacturing some of the best off-road vehicles, Jeep entered India with the launch of the Grand Cherokee and the Wrangler Unlimited in August 2016. The luxurious looking Grand Cherokee and the mean looking Wrangler Unlimited entered the country with a lot of excitementespecially in the luxury vehicle segment.

The Grand Cherokee is available in Limited, Summit and SRT versions. The Grand Cherokee feels luxurious with Nappa leather-trimmed heated seats, terrain traction control, electronic limited-slip differential, Hill Ascent and Descent Control, 7 airbags among others. The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited is a rugged yet refined off-road vehicle with features such as Hill Assists, excellent ground clearance, approach and departure angles to endure years of heavy use.

Both the Limited and the Summit variant of the Grand Cherokee use a 3.0-litre V6 diesel engine producing 240bhp and 570Nm of torque mated to an 8-speed automatic gearbox. The performance-oriented SRT uses a massive 6.4-litre V8 petrol unit churning out 469bhp and 630Nm of torque and is paired to an 8-speed automatic gearbox.

The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited is powered by a 2.8-litre common rail diesel engine that produces 197bhp and 460Nm of torque and comes mated to a 5-speed automatic gearbox that spreads the power and torque across all four wheels.

Price:

Grand Cherokee

Limited - Rs 94 lakh
Summit - Rs 1.04 crore
SRT - Rs 1.12 crore

Wrangler Unlimited - Rs 71.60 lakh

*All Prices are ex-showroom (Delhi)

Ford Mustang

American carmaker Ford launched the iconic Mustang muscle car in India in July 2016 with a shocking price. The Mustanglaunched 52 years ago in the United States finally made its maiden entry into the Indian market.

The Ford Mustang for India features including HID headlights, LED taillights, sequential turn signals, leather upholstery, adaptive cruise control, 19-inch alloy wheels among others. The Mustang in India features the ‘Electronic Line-Lock' which engages the front brakes and the release the rear brake, which helps the driver spin the rear wheel for 15 seconds for a perfect burnout.

Ford has powered the Mustang with a 5.0-litre V8 diesel unit producing 395.5bhp and 515Nm of torque and comes mated to a 6-speed automatic gearbox. The muscle car can sprint from 0-100km/h in 4.8 seconds before it tops out at 250km/h.

Price: Rs 65 lakh ex-showroom (Delhi)

Nissan GTR

Nissan launched its manic GTR - the car known as Godzilla to its fans - in December 2016 in India signifying India as a destination for luxury sports cars. The Nissan GTR might have been launched late in 2016, yet it was one of the much-awaited launches in India's automobile industry.

The GTR employs a special acoustic windscreen that features sound-absorbing technology between the glass layers to help reduce outside noise. The GTR comes with 11-speaker Bose audio system's dual subwoofers sitting between the rear seats, employing the entire boot as a giant bass enclosure. Safety wise, the Mustang for India include 6 airbags, Vehicle Dynamic Control, Traction Control System, ABS with EBD, seatbelt pre-tensioners among others.

The Nissan GTR is powered by a 3.8-litre V6 twin-turbocharged engine churning out 562bhp and 637Nm of torque mated to a 6-speed dual clutch automatic gearbox.

Price: Rs 1.99 crore ex-showroom (Delhi)

Looking back at the year of 2016, the Indian automobile industry witnessed some of the best launches and will beetched the history of the Indian auto industry as well as thrilling every auto enthusiasts in the country. The top car launches in 2016 in India is truly a proud moment for India and the automobile sector.