Opinion: What’s the next big thing?

What's the next big thing? SUVs? MPVs? Compact MPVs? All will be clear soon as India's - and Asia's - biggest motorshow kicks off in New Delhi on the 5th.

The action however has already started; when Bajaj Auto took the wraps off its much-talked about small car which, as Rajiv Bajaj was at pains to point out, isn't a car. Err? The RE60, Bajaj insists, isn't a Nano rival. It isn't even a car. This is a four-wheeler built by a "two- and three-wheeler company" and then proceeded to brand Bajaj Auto an "anti-car company". An anti-car company?

Needless to say Maruti, or even Tata Motors, aren't going to lose too much sleep over it, nor am I going to be beside myself to get behind the wheel. Compared to the tsunami of news and interest that accompanied the Nano launch, the RE60 will draw modest column inches at best. But what this could potentially be is a true one lakh rupee car (which the Nano patently isn't). Cheap and taking cost cutting to an even more extreme degree than the Nano - so much so that the base version doesn't have windows while the deluxe version has a hinge in the middle of the window and the bottom half folds up. Well it's a step up from no doors at all on three-wheelers...

I'm not its target customer and neither do I think are you but that doesn't take anything away from the huge relevance the RE60 will have in India, as a replacement for the terrifically unsafe and dirty three-wheelers. What disappoints me about the RE60 though is that Bajaj's Auto Expo stand will only have the RE60. No KTMs. No Ninjas. And that - you will agree - is a bummer.

So what am I looking forward to at the Auto Expo? On the bikes front the massively desirable and now (relatively) affordable Ducati 795 Monster and the full range of Triumph bikes that will be launched in India.

As for 'proper' four-wheelers, SUVs will be making a lot of news. Tomorrow afternoon Ford will unveil their SUV based on the Fiesta platform - which will be making its world debut in India. The first Auto Expo press day will kick off with Maruti Suzuki taking the covers off their first SUV concept based on the Swift platform. Hyundai will be next with the HND-7 SUV concept again targeted at India (apart from launching the new Sonata and previewing the new Elantra). Renault will showcase the Duster - an honest, rugged, no-frills and potentially game-changing SUV to kick the Scorpio where it hurts the most. Tata Motors will finally have the new Safari nearly 15 years after it was originally shown. And that's a lot of SUVs to keep you interested over the year.

MPVs - more specifically Compact MPVs - will also make their mark with Maruti launching the Ertiga which will slot in below the Innova. Mahindra is working on a mini-Xylo that should also be there at the Expo. And other manufacturers should follow suit.

Those are the sensible things, things you want to buy. Things to drool over? There will be Formula 1 cars, delicious concepts, racing cars and bikes, dancers, pretty women and maddening crowds. Delhi isn't even as cold as it usually is at this time of the year.

Take out your most comfortable walking shoes then and find your way to the Pragati Maidan - it'll be worth the effort to brave the crowds to glimpse the cars and bikes that you will be driving/riding very soon. And find the time to wander over to the Overdrive stand (opposite Hall 7) where you could win that Ducati Monster.