With a number of new competitors all set to hit the roads in coming months, Tata Motors is gearing-up to strengthen its portfolio in the Indian auto market with launching a new Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) in the country soon. The unconfirmed media reports claim that the company is planning to launch new Merlin SUV in the Indian market very soon. The new SUV would be launched in a bid to save the market share of Tata Motors in the SUV segment, and defend it from a number of new entrants like recently launched Force One and upcoming Mahindra World SUV.
The Tata Merlin is featured with a lower front profile, showing similarities with the vehicles of Tata’s British subsidiary Land rover. It is expected to be powered by the same 2.2L Dicor engine of Tata Safari, which is capable of generating a peak power of 140 bhp along with a peak torque of 320 Nm. On the other hand the interior looks somewhat similar to the Tata’s new age MUV Aria.
The new Tata Merlin is expected to be launched in both two wheel (4X2) and four wheel drive (4X4) versions in the Indian market, coupled with a manual transmission. The new age active and passive safety features including antilock braking system (ABS) and electronic break force distribution (EBD) and multiple airbags. The other Tata Motors vehicles in this segment include Tata Sumo, Tata Safari and Tata Aria.
![Tata Safari [2021-2023]](https://imgd-ct.aeplcdn.com/160x89/n/cw/ec/40027/safari-exterior-right-front-three-quarter-2.jpeg?q=80 "Tata Safari [2021-2023]")
