Suzuki Gets Cute With SUV Concept in India
Hashtag: all the cool kids are doing it
Suzuki has previewed a possible future styling direction for the brand’s SUVs at the 2018 Delhi Auto Expo, unveiling the #ConceptFutureS through it’s Maruti Suzuki joint-venture.
Aimed right at the heart of aspirational millenials, the name itself even includes an inbuilt hashtag to ensure that whenever the #ConceptFutureS is talked about, it’s instantly tagged in on social media posts.
The work of Maruti Suzuki’s in-house design studio, the new concept wears unmistakable SUV proportions including an upright glasshouse and chunky bumper details, but cloaks them in a friendly, rounded form offset with a strong shoulder line at the front and rear.
The compact concept is designed to fit with a local market tax regime that favours vehicles with an overall length of less than 4.0 metres.
The Concept Future S (there, that’s better) shows of plenty of upmarket cues in concept form, with a bold white and orange interior, circular central infotainment and instrument cluster combo, and a front bench seat that wraps over the centre console.
While it might be cool in concept form, Future S is expected to evolve into a low-specced, low price SUV conceived specifically for India, like the Renault Kwid. The budget focus of India’s compact segment means interior quality, available technology, and lower safety standards will likely rule the production model out for mature markets like Australia.
Crucially for Maruti Suzuki though, which already enjoys a 51 percent market share in its home market, the Future Concept S has the potential to evolve into a growth opportunity by adding an in-demand compact SUV into a market segment traditionally occupied by passenger hatchbacks.
With the base model Ignis starting from A$9295 the production version of the Concept Future S will be positioned closer to the circa A$5000 mark of cars like the Datsun Go and Hyundai Eon, although Maruti Suzuki is yet to reveal powertrain or specification details for the production version.
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