Top 5 Car News Of The Week: BMW’s Flagship X7 And 7 Series Launched, 7-seater Hector Revealed, Maruti XL6 Spied, Kia Seltos Variants Leaked And More

SUVs dominated the news last seven days and by SUVs, we mean the whole bunch. Right from the flagship BMW X7 to the upcoming Kia Seltos made the headlines. BMW launched two flagships, the X7 and the 7 Series. Maruti Suzuki, on the other end, is readying a 6-seater MPV. MG, meanwhile, is planning to solidify its presence by bringing in the 7-seater Hector, previewed by the Wuling Almaz in Indonesia. And the Hector’s arch rival, the Jeep Compass, is expected to be offered with lower-specced diesel-automatic variants soon. And to top it all off, Kia Seltos’ variant list was leaked, giving us a better idea of what to expect.

BMW’s flagship X7 and 7 Series debuts

BMW pulled the wraps off the X7 and the 7 Series in India. The X7 is available in two trim options: the locally assembled xDrive3od DPE and the xDrive40i which is brought in via the CBU route. Both these trims are priced at Rs 98.98 lakh (ex-showroom, India). The biggest SUV to ever sport a kidney grille, and a massive one too, also packs a lot of kit. The flagship 7 Series sedan comes in six trim options: M760Li xDrive, 740Li DPE Signature, 745Le xDrive, 730Ld DPE, 730Ld DPE Signature, and 730Ld M Sport. It is priced from Rs 1.22 crore to Rs 2.43 crore for the M760 with the 609PS V12 under the hood. There is also a plug-in hybrid version available, about which you can read here.

Maruti Suzuki XL6 6-seater spied

Maruti Suzuki is readying a new premium MPV based on the Ertiga. Dubbed the XL6, the MPV will come with six seats and is expected to rival the Mahindra Marazzo and the Renault Lodgy. It was spotted testing recently without any camouflage. Going by the images, it looks like the front end has been completely revised with new headlamps, grille and bumper. The MPV also comes with black cladding all around and a raised ride height. It is also expected to come with all-black interiors and other feature additions to give it that premium feel. Launch date, engine specifications and expected pricing here.

Hector 7-Seater incoming!

The MG Hector is also known as the Wuling Almaz, Chevrolet Captiva and Baojun 530 in various international markets. The 7-seater version of the Wuling Almaz has been showcased in Indonesia and the same is destined for India by next year. In other news, the Baojun 530 got a mid-life facelift, but whether the same updates will be offered in the Hector remains to be seen. The facelift also gets some dimensional changes, which you can read here. The 7-seater version is expected to carry a premium of around Rs 1 lakh over the 5-seater version, which is priced from Rs 12.18 lakh to Rs 16.68 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

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Kia Seltos variants list leaked

The Seltos is shaking things up in the compact SUV space for all the right reasons. The SUV will be launched on August 22, and according to a leaked document, the Seltos is expected to come in 8 variants-- HT E, HT K, HT K+, HT X, HT X+, GT K, GT X ,and GT X+. The 1.5-litre CRDi diesel and 1.5-litre petrol engines will only be offered with the Tech Line trim. The range-topping 1.4-litre Turbo GDI, meanwhile, will be exclusive to the GT Line trim. The credibility of the leaked document is still under question but if we go by it, the 7-Speed DCT is not offered with the top-spec GT X+ variant. There are various other unexpected feature omissions that you can find out here.

Affordable diesel-automatic Jeep Compass 

Jeep recently launched the Compass Trailhawk with a diesel-automatic transmission but it came with a huge premium. Thankfully, Jeep will be offering the same combination in lower variants. The 2.0-litre Multijet diesel producing 173PS of power and 350Nm of torque will be paired up with the 9-speed ZF automatic gearbox. A Jeep Compass with the same combination was also spotted testing and it came with various other changes like an all-black colour scheme for the doors and other features additions which you can find out here. With this move, the Compass will appeal to a wider audience, helping it stay relevant amongst its new competitors.