10 exciting things to look forward to at Auto Expo

1. Maruti-Suzuki Vitara Brezza

It is a compact sub-4m SUV. It will be launched in this fiscal itself and will be positioned against the Ford EcoSport and will be slightly above the Mahindra KUV100. It will fit into the Nexa range of cars and has premium interiors like that in the Baleno with touchscreen, reverse camera and one airbag and ABS as standard on all variants.

Brezza will also be available in three exterior trims – glamourous, sporty and urban, which will be powered by the same 1.3-litre diesel engine with a petrol coming later in the year.

While at the Maruti-Suzuki pavilion also look up the Concept Ignis, a funky, SUV-like small hatch that will make it to production and be launched in India later on in the year.

2. Ford Mustang

At the Ford pavilion is the Mustang, one of the truly iconic cars in the world and also one that will actually be launched in India. Powered by a humungous V8 engine, the car looks very good and drives even better. What's more, it will be available to buy in India in the second half of the year and that too at a fraction of the price of other super cars.

But that does not mean it will be cheap. For supercar enthusiasts there is also the Nissan GT-R, Chevrolet Corvette and Camaro as well as the Audi R8 V10 Plus and BMW i8.

3. The new Bonneville range from Triumph

Classic and yet contemporary, brute but sleek is the new Bonneville range from Triumph, which includes the café racer Thruxton and the Street Twin, a baby Bonneville. All of them have parallel twin engines ranging from 900cc to 1.2-litres. These bikes embody the golden era of biking in the UK and are available in India starting from Rs 6.9 lakh.

4. Mercedes-Benz GLC

Mercedes is making an SUV for every car platform that it has. So there is the GLA based on the A-class, the GLE based on the E-class and the GLS based on the S-class and now for the very first time in India, the GLC, a mid-sized SUV based on the C-class.

The C-class is already the first car in the Mercedes range to get the latest technologies from the S-class and all of them have been passed on to the GLC. Besides, the GLC comes with all of the drive modes found on other Mercedes SUVs and will slot into the gap between the GLA and the GLE very nicely.

Also at the Mercedes stall is the S500 cabriolet, the Maybach S500 Guard as well as the monster G500 – the souped up retro SUV in a florescent green colour.

5. Toyota Mirai

Toyota had already two eco-friendly cars in the country in the Camry Hybrid and the Prius and now it has launched the new Prius. But in additionm, it is also showcasing the Mirai which features a totally different technology as it is powered by hydrogen.

It is a fuel cell vehicle powered by hydrogen taken from on-board tanks and oxygen from the atmosphere. Since there is no internal combustion happening, the vehicle produces no emissions and the only by-product of running the car is pure water. For the tech-inclined and those espousing the cause of the environment, the Mirai may be one of the answers to pollution-free mobility.

6. Honda Navi

Is it a toy or is it a vehicle? Is it a motorcycle or a scooter? Well, this funky vehicle that can be customised and personalised in nearly 20 different ways is actually a motorcycle based on a scooter frame. It is a rear-engine motorcycle, so to speak.

Based on the Honda Activa chassis, it has the same 110cc engine and running gear as well, which includes a CVT for the gearbox. The only part from a bike is actually the front setup – with a telescopic suspension taken from a bike. Some of the concepts though have a typical scooter’s suspension upfront as well. The Navi is already on sale at an ex-showroom price of Rs 39,900.

7. Mahindra XUV Aero and other concepts

The Mahindra Group has bought the Italian company Pininfarina, one of the leading design studios in the world and responsible for designing many of the Ferraris and Maseratis and Alfa Romeos. So when I first saw the XUV Aero, the Mojo and the Mahindra Thar concepts, I thought that Pininfarina has been put to good use.

However, all the design work on the totally new XUV500 Aero has been done in-house in Kandivili at the Mahindra Design Studio and Pininfarina only executed the design and made the show car, which is a cross between an SUV and a coupe based on the XUV 500.

The first such vehicle was the BMW X6 and Mercedes was the second manufacturer to introduce such a vehicle in the country and Mahindra could very well be the third, given the response the Aero has got. The Mahindra Adventure division has been busy as well, turning a Thar into a monster truck with huge wheels and a menacing look.

8. BMW 7-series

Perhaps the most technologically advanced normal car in the world, the new seven-series is the epitome of luxury. You can, at the touch of a button, decide what fragrance there should be – perhaps to suit your mood, set the pillar lights to low intensity at night, let the panoramic sunroof show you the stars if you so choose out of a multitude of embedded patterns and then you can lay back and let the car give you a massage.

If you think that is asking for too much, watch as the car can pull out of its parking slot if the next car has not left enough space for you to get into the car. And if you are at the BMW pavilion then do check out the new X1 and the i8 which though displayed at the last Auto Expo still excites and amazes.

9. Tata Nexon

This surely could not be a Tata, is what I thought when I first looked at the Nexon. From the Bolt and the Zest to the to-be-renamed Zica, Tata Motors is on a roll as far as the design of its cars goes.

An edgy, in your face design was never the Tata thing but with the Nexon, Tata Motors has even taken it a step further. It is a production-ready concept is what the engineers told me.

I am pleasantly surprised by the levels of quality, fit and finish and how the car is put together apart from the design which may be a little loud for my liking, but is surely distinctive.

And while you are there, do check out the huge Hexa, which Tata Motors likes to call its premium lifestyle SUV, but which is actually an Aria MPV given the makeover but with a noticeable upgrade in quality and interiors.

10. Vintage and classic cars

Although most people visit the Auto Expo for brand new cars and cars of the future, tucked away at the far end of the Exposition Grounds, away from the hustle and bustle of the main area is Hall 16 and at its very end are over 20 classic and vintage cars and motorcycles including some cars and bikes that have been used in Bollywood movies like Dhoom and Bobby.

There is the original bug, the Volkswagen Beetle as well as the Volkswagen Bus in the Bollywood collection.