10 most popular car launches of 2012

2012 was undoubtedly a year of shocks and surprises for the automobile industry of India. While on one hand, the industry was seen at the peak of its gloom owing to the ever-dropping sales curves, which even the festive season of Diwali failed to lift, on the other hand, it seemed like a never ending gala, with one enthralling ride after another making its way to the launch stage.

We, however, choose to leave the depressing sales figures behind and bring our readers the cars which went on to become extremely popular among Indian buyers.

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Maruti Ertiga

Launched: April 12, 2012

Titled as a Life Utility Vehicle, Maruti Ertiga is the first ever venture of India's leading hatchback maker, Maruti Suzuki India, in the realms of MPVs, and some venture it has been!

Clocking an outstanding 32,000+ bookings in the very first month after it hit the stores, the LUV has proven to be a huge success for its creators.

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Its price (ex-showroom, Delhi), which is believed to have contributed majorly to its splendid sales record, starts at Rs 592,000 for the petrol variant and Rs 733,000 for the diesel model.

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Audi Q3

Launched: June 6, 2012

Audi Q3, the youngest of the dashing Q siblings, is the maiden ride of the German manufacturer in the compact luxury SUV segment of India.

Rolled out in just two variants, the base grade and the high grade, the opulent sports utility gets powered by a mighty 2.0-litre, 174bhp, 4-cylinder, TDI engine.

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As far as price is concerned, the Q3 base grade is available for Rs 26.71 lakh while the high grade variant costs Rs 32.10 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

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Renault Duster

Launched: July 4, 2012

Renault Duster, which was not just the most awaited but also one of the most successful launches of 2012, has brought success to its manufacturers like they have never seen before in India.

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Credited widely for popularising the concept of compact SUVs in the country, the dashing Duster comes tagged with Rs 749,000 for the base petrol and Rs 839,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the base diesel variant.

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Renault Scala

Launched: September 7, 2012

Heavily inspired by Nissan's popular 'caaaar', Sunny, Renault's stunning compact sedan Scala made its debut last year amidst a lot of hue and cry.

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With its petrol versions (starting at Rs 699,000) housing 1.5-litre 97bhp XH2 engines, and their diesel counterparts (starting at Rs 869,000) being driven by 1.5-litre 84bhp K9K mills, the car is the only one in the entire A3 segment to come with the CVT feature aimed at enhancing fuel efficiency.

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Mahindra Quanto

Launched: September 20, 2012

The biggest existing rival of Renault Duster in the present day market, Mahindra Quanto, is the first SUV to feature dimensions of a sub-4-metre and offer seating space for 7.

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Not only that, the 1.5-litre, 3-cylinder, twin-turbocharged CRDi diesel mill, named as mCR100, that sits under the hood of this compact is the smallest of its kind on the planet and accounts for the car's fabulous on-road performance.

Available only as an oil-burner, Quanto's price starts at Rs 600,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi).

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Nissan Evalia

Launched: September 25, 2012

Categorised by its creators as an urban class utility vehicle, Nissan Evalia arrived in India last year after proving to be a great success in several parts of the world under various names.

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Starting at a price of Rs 849,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi), the oil-burner derives its power from a proficient 1.5-litre K9K diesel mill of Nissan's own make.

With the immense spaciousness of an MPV and refinement of a sedan, Evalia is truly a class apart.

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Ford Figo Facelift

Launched: October 15, 2012

Blessed with nothing less than a 100 upgrades, 10 of which have been effected by the styling department of Ford India, the 2012 facelift of Figo came with two new and lively additions to its paint palette as well in the form of Kinetic Blue and Bright Yellow.

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Ford Figo's petrol range starts at Rs 385,000 while the diesel one costs a minimum of Rs 482,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi).

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Maruti Alto 800

Launched: October 16, 2012

Tagged as the next 'People's Car of India' after the unshakeable Maruti 800 went into retirement, the all new Maruti Alto 800 broke every record in sales and bookings last year, crossing the 20,000 mark in bookings in just a week after it was launched.

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Besides offering the best-in-class mileage of 22.7kmpl for petrol and 30.4km/kg for CNG models, the car has an affordable price range as well, which starts at Rs 241,000 for the petrol variants and Rs 293,000 for the CNG ones (ex-showroom, Delhi).

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Mahindra Ssangyong Rexton

Launched: October 17, 2012

The very first offspring of the Mahindra-Ssangyong partnership, the intimidating SUV Rexton, comes with a 2.7-litre, in-line, 5-cylinder, turbo diesel engine that gets assembled at the Mercedes Benz factory.

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With its 165bhp power-house synchronised with a 5-speed automatic transmission gearbox, the car has already proven its mettle in 66 countries across the globe, and comes priced at a minimum of Rs 17.75 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) in India.

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Tata Safari Storme

Launched: October 17, 2012

Sharing its platform with Tata Aria, driven by a 2.2-litre, 16-valve, DiCOR diesel mill, and placed right above the previous generation of Safari, Tata Motors launched the new Safari Storme to complete with the likes of Renault Duster, Mahindra Scorpio and even Mahindra XUV500.

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Offering the sole fuel option of diesel, this sturdy SUV costs at least Rs 995,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi).

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