Maruti Kizashi and Hyundai Avante, a luxury tussle

One is a small car market leader in India with its roots spread deep in the Indian soil and the other is a Korean car genius popular for its technology genius, looks and knack of giving the word 'interesting' to its cars. Maruti Suzuki, the unquestioned leader in India and Hyundai Motors only second to the leader with its strong and appealing cars and excellent after sales service are gearing for a battle, this time in the premium segment and the weapons of this battle are Maruti Kizashi and Hyundai Avante

Maruti is a green horn in the luxury segment and has so far just concentrated in the small cars. With Maruti Kizashi, it has set out to change the small car maker tag associated to it and prove that it can offer much more than just cheap and reliable cars. The luxury saloon on which the company's fate now lies is slated for a launch on the 2nd Feb this year. Though an experiment, Maruti Kizashi has been a result of careful planning by the company to see how the company fares in an unknown segment; moreover how Indian buyers react to it. Originally priced between 18 to 20 lac, it is expected that by the time it hits India, the prices would slash down too, maybe to 16 lac. The car would come as a Completely Built Unit (CBU) initially and might witness a domestic production depending on the demand for the saloon.

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Speaking of Hyundai Motors, it is not alien to the word luxury. Its new offering, Hyundai Avante will see the light of the day in the first quarter of this year. The company has received appreciation for its premium sedan Hyundai Verna and now wants to take things up a notch. Hyundai Avante will come powered with a 1.6 L petrol engine which explains the level of power. The company is known for bringing an excellent mix of technology, features and looks in its cars which gets it brownie points compared to other car makers.

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Moving back to the tussle. It could get tricky for Maruti to create a niche in the premium car segment as it has been over time shunned for its boring looks, lack of features and finesse whereas luxury cars shout the two out. Hyundai on the other hand might have an upper hand considering its practice in the premium segment and its constant effort in bringing cars that match different lifestyles. Nonetheless, the Indian auto market is both unpredictable and inviting. A little wait and we would find out who at last comes out victorious.

Meanwhile other cars that one should look forward this year include Volvo S60, Honda Brio, Toyota Etios Liva and Nissan Sunny, all belonging to different car categories.