Tata Motors showcases Tiago, Kite 5 and Hexa Tuff at Geneva Motor Show

After being showcased at the Auto Expo 2016, Tata Motors’ upcoming offerings – the Tiago hatchback, the Kite 5 compact sedan and the Hexa Tuff SUV concept – have made their international debut at the ongoing Geneva Motor Show 2016.

A testament of the Indian carmaker’s refreshed design philosophy, the new models will be launched this year and are set to provide a new charge to Tata Motors in the domestic passenger vehicle market.  

The first among the new launches is the Tiago, which will see a market launch likely this month. The carmaker displayed a slightly customised version of the hatchback at Geneva.

Earlier known as the Zica, the new Tiago hatchback had to be renamed due to the unfortunate coincidence of its name sounding the same as the deadly virus that has recently affected millions in South America. The name Tiago was selected following an online contest where the public could submit their choice of name for the hatchback. The contest resulted in narrowing down on three names – Civet, Adore and Tiago, of which, the Tiago has been finally given the green light.

Dubbed as the successor to the Indica, the Tiago will slot in between the Bolt and the Nano in the toughly contested hatchback segment.

The Kite 5 is a compact sedan derivative based on the same platform as the Tiago and is set to be launched later this year.

The Kite 5, likely to be slotted below the Zest, shares its mechanicals and styling with its hatchback sibling, with the additional boot being the only differentiator. This means that it derives power from the same 1.2-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine and the 1.05-litre, three-cylinder diesel engine offered on the hatchback. Both engines come mated to a five-speed manual transmission, and will be later available with an AMT gearbox.

The Hexa Tuff is a customised version of the upcoming Hexa crossover SUV and is created by Tata Motors’ Personalisation Studio. With a darker, blacked-out exterior theme, the Hexa Tuff is powered by the same 2.2-litre Varicor 400 turbo-diesel engine making 154bhp and 40.79kgm of torque as the standard Hexa. It is equipped with four driving modes – Auto, Comfort, Dynamic and Rough Road – and also gets an AWD system.