With BS6 emission norms kicking in mandatorily from April 1,2020, many manufacturers have decided to do away with their diesel powertrains and shift their focus to petrol units. While diesel engines gained immense popularity in the private car market around the start of this decade, the focus has been shifting back to petrol engines since a couple of years now.
This is due to the fact that the difference in cost of the engines with BS6 compliance in relation to their BS4 counterparts is felt much more in case of the diesel units as compared to the petrol units. The difference is felt even more for smaller and medium sized engines.
Therefore makers are replacing their diesel engines with petrol ones but that has its own set of issues. While petrol units do provide enough power, there isn’t enough torque to provide the punch to the car which it would otherwise have gotten in case of a diesel engine. Replacing diesel with larger petrol engines also would not help the makers case as that would still increase the final cost of the product substantially and may lead to ergonomics issues as well.
So makers have turned to the smart way of taking a smaller size petrol engine and employing a turbo-charger to it to enhance the power output and torque. Turbocharged petrol engines not only offer a high performance but also reasonably better fuel mileage than their naturally-aspirated counterparts.
Here are a list of top 5 turbo-petrol engines in India under Rs 15 lakh:
- Kia Seltos
Kia took the mid-size SUV segment by storm when it launched the Seltos last year. In the last two quarters of 2019, Seltos became highest selling SUV in the country, thanks to its extensive feature list and multiple powertrains. The turbocharged petrol engine that is offered with the Seltos is a 1.4-litre T-GDi mill that produces 140 PS power and 242 Nm torque. The engine comes with a choice of a 6-speed MT, or a 7-speed DCT gearbox.
The GT line of Seltos starts at Rs 13.79 lakhs and goes upto Rs 17.29 lakhs(ex-showroom)
Displacement: 1353 cc
Price: Rs 13.79 lakh(ex-showroom)
2. Mahindra XUV300
Mahindra launched the updated BS6 complaint petrol variants of the XUV300 in December 2019. The Mahindra XUV300 comes with a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine that puts out 110 PS power and 200 Nm torque. Sadly, the said powertrain can only be had with a 6-speed manual gearbox. The XUV300 comes loaded with class-leading features including an electric sunroof, first in segment front parking sensors, dual-zone automatic climate control, heated ORVMs, ambient lighting, automatic projector headlamps and more.
Displacement: 1197 cc
Price: Rs 8.3 lakh(ex-showroom)
3. Tata Nexon
The Nexon has been the best car on offer by Tata both in terms of sale and quality since its launch in 2017. The 5-star safety rating at the Global NCAP crash tests has only boosted the sales of this sub-4 metre SUV. Seeing the success, Tata Motors gave the Nexon a major facelift in January this year.
The Tata Nexon is currently the most affordable SUV one can buy in India, that comes with a turbocharged petrol engine. That being said, it gets a 1.2-litre three-cylinder Reveotron engine that puts out 120 PS of maximum power, along with 170 Nm peak torque. The engine can be coupled with either a 6-speed manual transmission or a 6-speed AMT gearbox.
Displacement: 1199 cc
Price: Rs 6.96 lakh(ex-showroom)
4. Hyundai Venue
The Hyundai Venue received the much needed BS6 update in March, this year. Apart from the 1.2 litre naturally aspirated petrol engine, it is also offered with a brand new 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbocharged T-GDi petrol motor that has a maximum power output of 120 PS, and a peak torque rating of 172 Nm. The said engine can be had with either a 6-speed manual, or a 7-speed dual clutch transmission.
While Hyundai retails the Venue from Rs 6.7 lakh, the turbo-petrol trims are offered from Rs 8.46 lakh onward. On the other hand, the top-end SX Plus Turbo trim costs Rs 11.35 lakh (all prices, ex-showroom).
Displacement: 998 cc
Price: Rs 8.46 lakh(ex-showroom)
5. Volkswagen Polo
The Volkswagen Polo is now available with BS6 petrol engines only. As expected, the company has done away with its diesel engine on its most popular family car. There are two petrol units on offer in the new Polo. Apart from 1.0 litre naturally aspirated petrol unit, it also comes with a new, more powerful turbo-charged petrol 1.0 litre tsi unit which churns out 110 ps of maximum power and 175 NM of maximum torque. It comes with a 6-speed manual transmission as standard whereas a 6-speed automatic is optional.
Displacement: 998 cc
Price: Rs 8.86 lakh(ex-showroom)
There are many more such models to come up in the turbo-petrol segment in the above mentioned price brackets in the coming months. Some of them include:
- Mahindra XUV300 Sportz
Mahindra showcased a new variant of the XUV300 named as Sportz at the AutoExpo 2020. It is set to be offered with the all new 1.2 litre turbo-petrol mStallion engine showcased at the Expo by Mahindra and is supposed to churn out a maximum of 130PS of maximum power.
- Mahindra Thar 2020
The Mahindra Thar is about to get a generation change, with which it will come with a more modern platform, fresher styling and new engine options. While the Thar will continue to offer a diesel engine option, which will, basically, impress the proverbial purists, the SUV will be even sold with a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine from the mStallion range that will output 190 PS of power. Launch will likely to take place in June this year.
- Renault Duster 1.3l turbo
Renault India refused to give up on the first-gen Duster as the SUV will now receive a new heart in the form of a powerful turbo-petrol engine. It may be noted that the SUV is no longer available with the trusted K9K diesel engine anymore and the advent of the new turbo-petrol engine should definitely make things a tad more interesting.