10 Cars Sold Globally, we wish would make it to India

There are a lot of interesting cars that exist beyond the subcontinent which are made by the same manufacturers as present in our country. From lifestyle pick-up trucks to Hot-hatches, we Indians are missing out on a lot of action. Some of these cars, though are not in India but have a significant hype amongst petrol heads in the country. These are the ones who are the potential market for these cars in India and have been drooling from a distance for quite some time, waiting for the day manufacturers will bring them down to India.

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Here’s a list of 10 such cars we would love to see manufacturers bring to India.

1. Honda Civic Type-R

   

   The Civic, ever since its launch back in 2006 has had an exclusive fanbase. Honda Civic is still one of the most popular cars on Indian roads despite the old generation been discontinued in 2013. You can see a lot of tasteful examples of a custom Honda Civic(s) to date. Most of these modified Civics are attempts to match the looks and performance of the regular Civic with the Type-R standards. There are numerous Honda Civics (both new and old) with slap-on body kits and performance upgrades which are pretty close to the Civic Type-R (8th gen).

   This goes to show that the potential for a factory-made Civic Type-R in India is good enough for Honda to consider launching it in India. The current generation Honda Civic Type-R is in an FWD hatchback configuration. The car makes 306HP and 296 lb-ft of torque. It is one of the fastest FWD cars in the world. If Honda decides to launch it in India at a competitive price point, the Civic Type-R will be simply hard to resist.

2. Suzuki Swift Sports

   

   With over 2 million cars sold, Maruti Swift is the most iconic hatchback on sale in India. This makes it difficult to fathom as to why Maruti hasn’t borrowed the Swift sports from Suzuki for India. Swift is another car in India which people like to tinker with. There are various examples of a stock Swift tuned extensively to go faster.

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   Hence, there is a great chance that customers in India will be down for buying a factory-fitted, performance-oriented Swift. The Suzuki Swift sports in the international markets comes with a 1.4 Booster-jet Engine, producing 138HP and 230Nm of torque mated to a 6-speed manual transmission. That’s some serious numbers for a Swift rolling out of a factory line. We wish Maruti can encounter the right circumstances to bring this hot-hatch to India in the future.

3. Ford Ranger

   

   The popularity of lifestyle pick-up trucks in on the upwards trajectory, thanks to the ISUZU D-max V-cross. It has definitely instigated the trend for chunky lifestyle pick-up trucks in India. One such sweet monster from Ford in America is the Ford Ranger, it is the downsized version of the famous Ford Raptor. Ford Ranger comes with a 2.3L engine producing 270HP and 310Nm of torque in America. Its got extreme off-road capabilities thanks to the various tech it comes loaded with and also has a great payload capacity for hauling some cargo around.

   The Ranger is based on the platform of the Ford Everest(Ford Endeavour in India). Hence when the hype for Pick-up trucks shoots up in our country, Ford India can definitely make the Ranger happen in India.

4. Ford Focus ST

   

   This car though is a Ford, is one of the most popular cars from the United Kingdom. Ford Focus ST has been around for years in the UK and has set a benchmark for Performance Hatchbacks. The Current gen Focus ST comes with a 2.3 Litre EcoBoost engine producing 280PS of power and a whopping 420Nm of torque mated to a 6-speed manual and a 7-speed auto box. 0-100 km/h in the Focus ST comes in under 6 seconds. It also comes loaded with features like driving modes, controlled damping, launch control and much more.

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   In a more appropriate atmosphere, the Focus ST could have some potential in the Indian market and will be one hell of a performance car for the road.

5. Honda NSX

   

   It is the Ferrari killing machine from Japan. This will be a good fantasy launch. Just imagine Honda Cars India launching a high-performance sports car. The NSX comes 3.5 Litre V6 engine which produced 500HP and 406 lb-ft of torque. The NSX would be a nice option to consider for someone looking to buy a sports car against all the European offerings.

6. Hyundai i30 N

   

   Now, this is one international car which recently hit the Indian soil as it was on display at the 2020 Auto Expo. Hyundai is the second most selling Auto brand in India. With such a reputation in the market, they probably can afford to gamble with the performance hatchback segment in India. The i30 N comes with a 2.0 Litre T-GDi engine producing 254PS of power and 353Nm of torque. These figures make for a seriously fast hatchback which is something the new-age Indian market would definitely like to place their bets on.

7. Toyota Hilux

   

   This is yet another internationally acclaimed Lifestyle pick-up truck. The Hilux being a Toyota holds a reputation for being super reliable and a highly capable vehicle. The Hilux is the No. 1 selling vehicle in the Australian market. Toyota Hilux comes with a 2.8 Litre diesel engine producing 174HP and 450Nm of torque.

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   The Hilux is a very capable off-roader and is highly suitable for the Indian Market.

8. Toyota RAV 4

   

   The Crossover SUV segment is the hot-selling segment in India and if Toyota lands a new product in this segment, there are some serious odds that it will outsell a number of existing contenders. In the international markets, Toyota has one such car in its line-up which has been around for quite some time, The Toyota RAV4. It comes equipped with a 2.5 Litre, four-cylinder engine producing 203HP and 184 lb-ft of torque. The car also has the proportions of a typical crossover SUV that an Indian buyer tends to admire. Hence, the RAV4 can be a very successful model for Toyota in India.

9. Volkswagen Golf GTi

   

   Volkswagen India earlier experimented with the Polo GTi in the performance hatch segment but bagged some unfortunate results. However, if VW decides to bring one of their most popular cars, the Golf to India, they might have a chance to turn things around this time.

   The Golf GTi comes with a 2.0 Litre turbo engine which makes 228HP and 258 lb-ft of torque which is a package if priced correctly, could attract a significant amount of customers.

10. Tesla Motors

    

    While interacting with an IIT madras student last year, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk gave a hint of Tesla being introduced in India in 2020. But as uncertain as this year has been, the chances of seeing Tesla cars moving running on Indian roads any time soon are questionable. However, once everything gets back on track and the auxiliary network for electric cars in India gets further developed, then Tesla can very much be the next big revolution for the Indian Auto industry as it has been for the American market. Especially cars like the Model X, Model 3 and Model Y could be a perfect fit for the Indian markets.

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