Our friends at Overdrive magazine have Tweeted the image of an extended wheelbase, super sized Indica, or the Indica XL. Remember the Indigo XL, the car which Tata said had more legroom than an S-class? Just snip off the boot from the sedan, and you’ll have the car in a hatchback avatar. The vehicle was apparently spotted near Pune, the testing grounds for all Tata vehicles.
The big news about the Indica XL isn’t really its long wheelbase or the generous leg room though. From what the grapevine suggests, Tata Motors are planning to create a new segment in hatchbacks with the Indica XL, with an innovative seating layout. They want to utilize the space within the cabin to the max by employing a three-row seating arrangement. Now, whether this arrangement would be with passengers facing each other in the second and third rows, or one row behind other is still unknown. The Concept may just work for the taxi market, where the seating arrangement would allow tour operators to carry more people without having to pay too much extra.
The XL is expected to be powered by a 1.4 liter diesel with 70 horses and 140 Nm of torque on tap. Expect a price hike of Rs 60,000 to 1 lakh over the standard Indica, if and when the car makes it to production. Stay tuned for more updates on this unique beast.
Source: OD on twitter