Tata Curvv to expand diesel midsize SUV segment beyond Creta, Seltos

The Tata Curvv recently made its debut in production guise at the Bharat Mobility Show, and confirming our previous report, Tata Motors showcased the Curvv with the 1.5-litre diesel engine carried over from the Nexon.

The Curvv is Tata Motors' answer to the Creta/Seltos, Grand Vitara/Hyryder, Kushaq/Taigun and Astor, but while most contenders in this segment never came with a diesel engine, the Curvv will crucially widen the choices for diesel, which is currently limited to just two. Apart from the distinct coupe-SUV design, therefore, the diesel engine will also be a major differentiating factor for the Curvv.

Tata Curvv diesel: how does it stack up?

The duo of Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos are currently the only models that offer a diesel powertrain – it’s a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder unit that produces 116hp and 250Nm of torque. The Curvv’s diesel engine will also be a 1.5-litre unit with near-identical power figure, but torque will be marginally up by 10Nm.

As for gearboxes, the show car came equipped with a 6-speed manual transmission, but while there’s no word on the auto box yet, one can expect the 6-speed AMT to be carried over from the Nexon as well. In comparison, the Creta and Seltos also get 6-speed manuals, but the automatics are more sophisticated torque converter units. The latter will clearly have an advantage over the Curvv’s AMT with a much nicer driving experience unless Tata Motors introduces a new gearbox with the diesel engine.

Do note that at 4.3 metres, the Curvv is larger and heavier than the Nexon, but the engine specifications remain unchanged. That’s because with the BS6.2 update that this 1.5-litre engine received earlier last year, it just about clears the emissions norms using the cost-effective passive SCR emissions control system. A bump in outputs could either require more expensive emissions hardware, or it wouldn’t meet them at all.

Diesel makes for healthy numbers in midsize SUVs

Although the market has increasingly been inclining towards petrol, diesel still makes up healthy numbers in the two models they are offered in. Kia recently surpassed 1 lakh bookings for the facelifted Seltos, and 42 percent buyers opted for the diesel variants. And while Hyundai hasn’t yet revealed the split between petrol and diesel sales for the Creta facelift yet, diesels consistently comprised over 40 percent sales for the pre-facelift model. Both these models sell over 10,000 units on average per month, so that turns out to be a fair chunk of diesels.

Apart from diesel, the Curvv will also get petrol and electric powertrains, and could even be offered with CNG. The multi-powertrain strategy should, therefore, give the Curvv a competitive edge in the segment, just as it has done for the Nexon.