The SUV segment in the Indian car market is flourishing like never before. These beefy, rugged beasts, with their tall stance and capability to handle difficult Indian road conditions , have captured the Indian car buyers’ imagination.
The Toyota Fortuner, since its launch in 2009, has done very well, the competition unable to match up. Toyota even had to put bookings on hold at a point to clear the large backlog of orders. The combination of burly SUV looks, immense road presence, a torquey diesel and Toyota’s efficient after-sales service and dealer network made the Fortuner the success story it is today. Toyota also gave it a facelift this year and plonked a new two-wheel-drive automatic variant into the range.
Another contender in this segment is the rugged Endeavour, based on the Ford Ranger pick-up truck. It doesn’t have the Fortuner’s modern flair in terms of looks and hasn’t been as successful, but it has strong fundamentals that give it a tough, go-anywhere appeal.
The latest addition to this segment comes in the form of the new Rexton, the first product from Mahindra-owned SsangYong to be launched in India. The SsangYong promises a lot; it comes with a much cheaper price tag than the Toyota, this RX7 version comes loaded with features to keep its occupants happy, and this car has some amount of pedigree too – it’s based on the first-generation Mercedes-Benz M-class.
But which is best and will make for the most sensible buy?
Read on to find out more
