As SUVs are dominating every segment currently, some customers who want a luxury limo are switching towards buying the SUV version of the sedan that the same brands sell and slowly and gradually, we are seeing them dominating the sale charts of the luxury car market as well because last year the best selling luxury car in India was the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the second best selling luxury car was an SUV from BMW the X1. And that’s why brands get motivated and produce more SUVs which help them introduce new models to the public. And in August 2023, 3 important luxury brands are coming up with their 3 individual important offerings, listed here.
Mercedes GLC 2023
At the start of August 2023, on the 8th of August, the first offering will be from Mercedes-Benz India in the form of the updated version of their best-selling SUV, the GLC, which will get a new front facia with a bigger front grill, updated headlamps and taillamps, silhouette remains pretty much similar to the outgoing GLC, as it is the SUV version of the C-Class, the interior layout of the 2023 GLC is similar to the new C-Class, with a portrait infotainment screen and a 12.3″ instrument cluster, but as an SUV it also features several off-road modes as well. Mercedes-Benz India can offer a 220hp 2.0L diesel and a 281hp 2.0L petrol with the 2023 GLC, and it will rival the likes of Audi Q5, Volvo XC 60, BMW X3 and the Porsche Macan.
Audi Q8 e-tron and Q8 e-tron Sportback
The 2nd launch of August month will be from another German manufacturer, Audi, who are coming up with their facelifted version of their e-tron SUV on the 18th of August 2023 in India, which they now call the Q8 e-tron, which will also be offered in Sportback avatar, and as the name says Q8 e-tron, it is nothing to do with the ICE Q8, but a facelift of the outgoing e-tron SUV, which gets a new front facia with the new 2D Audi logo and new style grill with updated front bumper, and the q8 e-tron now sits on new 20″ alloy wheels, rest all it similar to the pre-facelift e-tron SUV, instead of the Q8 badge at the back. From the interior as well it looks pretty much identical to the outgoing e-tron SUV, but the main change is in the powertrain options and the range, where the base Q8 e-tron 50 will be offered with a 95kWh battery pack and the top Q8 e-tron 55 trim will be offered with 114kWh battery pack with the WLTP claimed range of 485km to 600km on a single charge.
Volvo C40 Recharge
In 2022, the Volvo XC40 Recharge blew everybody’s mind because, for 57 Lakhs (ex-showroom), you get a 78kWh battery with dual motor setup with a range of 418km on a single charge, which was decent for the price of the XC40 Recharge, with that it was able to put out 402hp and 660Nm of peak torque, and has the potential to do 0-100km in just 4.9 seconds, but recently Volvo has also revealed the C40 Recharge in India, which is the Coupe version of the XC40 Recharge but, unlike the XC40 Recharge which also comes in the ICE form, the C40 Recharge is a pure EV from the start, no ICE derivative of the C40 is available globally or in India. The C40 Recharge will be powered with the same 78kWh battery with the dual-motor setup with the same power output but can do 0-100 in just 4.7 seconds, which is 0.2 seconds quicker than the XC40 Recharge and will provide a WLTP claimed range of 550km, which is 132km more than the XC40 Recharge and is likely to be priced around 60 Lakhs (ex-showroom).
