The
Maruti XL6 is set to enter the Indonesian market in early 2020 as the Suzuki
XL7. Unlike the model sold in India, it will be a
seven-seater. Indonesian
media has reported in the past about the XL7 launch in January 2020, but that
launch timeline seems unlikely now considering no test mules have been spied
yet. However, the main point of interest regarding this development is that a
7-seat version of the Maruti XL6 is in the making. Everything of the XL7 except
the seating layout should be the same as that of the XL6.
Compared
to the Maruti Ertiga, the Maruti XL6 has like a much bolder styling package. It
has restyled bumpers with faux skid plates, newly designed upper grille,
sharper, LED headlamps, black plastic cladding, black-painted alloy wheels and
LED tail lights.
On
the inside, the XL6 features an all-black colour scheme with silver accents
which makes the interior feel more premium. Unlike the Ertiga which features a
bench seat in the middle row, the XL6 offers captain seats in the second row.
However, the XL7 is again expected to feature the same bench setup in the
second row.
The
Maruti XL6 sources its motive power from a BS-VI compliant 1.5-litre petrol
engine which is rated to deliver a maximum power of 104 PS and a peak torque
of 138 Nm. This engine works in conjunction with Suzuki's Progressive Smart
Hybrid technology and is teamed up with a 5-speed manual transmission or a
4-speed automatic transmission. Suzuki offers the Ertiga with the same engine in
Indonesia, but without the mild-hybrid system. The same can be expected for the
XL7.
The
Suzuki XL7 will be pitted against the Nissan Livina and the Mitsubishi Xpander.
