Cars are loaded to the brim these days, with convenience, and safety as top priorities. Features like 360 degree camera, touchscreen infotainment systems, and ventilated seats, are all commonplace now. Another emerging feature is the Heads Up Display, or the HUD. While once only seen in luxury cars, this tech is making its way into mass market vehicles too. The Heads-Up Display (HUD) is essentially a transparent glass display that presents crucial data relevant to the driver typically right beneath the windshield on the dashboard.
The information generally provided includes speedometer, navigation, entertainment and more. By displaying this information in their line of sight, drivers can maintain situational awareness without constantly looking down at their instruments such as their speedometer or infotainment system, improving safety and convenience while driving. With so many options to choose from, here is a list of cars with the feature included:
| Car | Price |
| Maruti Suzuki Baleno | ₹6.36 lakh – ₹9.47 lakh |
| Maruti Suzuki Fronx | ₹7.46 lakh – ₹9.66 lakh |
| Maruti Suzuki Brezza | ₹8.29 lakh – ₹10.49 lakh |
| Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara | ₹10.70 lakh – ₹13.99 lakh |
| Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder | ₹10.73 lakh – ₹16.99 lakh |
| Kia Seltos | ₹10.89 lakh – ₹18.45 lakh |
| Volvo XC90 | ₹98.50 lakh |
| Audi A8 | ₹1.34 Cr – ₹1.68 Cr |
Maruti Suzuki Baleno
Maruti Suzuki’s Baleno has been a popular choice among car buyers in India for its reliability, versatility, and features. It comes equipped with a heads-up display in its top spec Alpha trim, making it the only sub-10 lakh rupee car in the country with this feature. The HUD in the Baleno projects essential information like speed and navigation alerts onto the HUD display, providing a seamless driving experience. With its stylish design and advanced features, the Baleno offers a perfect blend of affordability and technology.
- Engine: 1.2L K Series DualJet, Dual VVT
- Power: 88.50 bhp @ 6000 RPM
- Transmission: Manual or Automatic
- Fuel Efficiency: 22.35 kmpl (Petrol) to 30.61 km/kg (CNG)
- Fuel Type: Petrol or CNG
- Seating Capacity: 5
Maruti Suzuki Fronx
Maruti Suzuki has always been at the forefront of innovation; the Fronx is a testament to that. This compact car has a heads-up display, a feature that sets it apart from other vehicles in its class. The HUD in the Fronx provides essential information such as speed and navigation alerts, ensuring that drivers have all the necessary data in their line of sight.
- Engine: 998 cc, 3-cylinder, turbocharged petrol
- Power: 98.69 bhp @ 5,500 RPM
- Transmission: Manual, 5-speed or Automatic, 6-speed
- Fuel Efficiency: 20.01 kmpl (manual) or 22.89 kmpl (automatic)
- Fuel Type: Petrol
- Seating Capacity: 5
Maruti Suzuki Brezza
The Maruti Brezza’s HUD is a glass display placed on the dashboard in front of the driver roughly 1 foot away. The HUD brightness is quite powerful, as even in direct sunshine, the display is bright, crisp, and simple to see. The HUD is available in its top spec This SUV boasts a heads-up display, which is unusual in vehicles at this price point. The HUD appears when you start the car, and you can customise the display choices and location by tapping buttons near the driver’s right knee. The HUD component displays data like RPM, speed, energy flow, fuel efficiency, and other metrics.
- Engine: 1.5L K15B petrol engine
- Power: 103.26 bhp @ 6000 RPM
- Transmission: 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic
- Fuel Efficiency: 17.03 kmpl (manual) or 18.76 kmpl (automatic)
- Fuel Type: Petrol
- Seating Capacity: 5
Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara
The Grand Vitara is another example of Maruti Suzuki’s premium cars. It made a lot of waves when launched because of its advanced hybrid tech. The HUD dispays information related to the battery condition, navigation, power supply (or regeneration), and even A/C functions. The Grand Vitara’s HUD displays key information onto the windscreen, allowing drivers to access important facts like speed and navigation without taking their eyes off the road. The HUD is designed for readability, with changeable brightness and display settings to accommodate varying lighting situations and driver preferences. The information displayed on the HUD is clear, accessible, and simple to comprehend, allowing drivers to absorb it quickly and without effort.
- Engine: 1.5-litre petrol or CNG/3 cylinder for hybrid, 4 cylinder for NA petro/CNGl
- Power: 92.45 PS petrol, 86.63 PS (CNG) 115 PS
- Transmission: 5-speed manual, 6-speed automatic e-CVT
- Fuel Efficiency: 19.38 to 27.97 kmpl (petrol), 21.11 to 25.27 kmpl (CNG)
- Fuel Type: Petrol, CNG, strong hybrid
- Seating Capacity: 5
Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder
The Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder’s HUD may provide a range of information, such as speed, speed limit, navigation directions, turn signals, cruise control, and audio information. The Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder’s HUD can be customised to display different information. You can, for example, display the speed limit, navigation instructions, or both. You may also choose whether to display the turn signals or the lane departure warning. The HUD in the Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder is controlled via a button on the steering wheel. The button may be used to toggle the HUD on and off as well as transition between different information displays.
- Engine: 1.5-liter petrol engine, 1.5-liter petrol engine, 1.5-liter CNG engine
- Power: 101.64 PS to 115.56 PS
- Transmission: 5-speed manual, 6-speed automatic, e-CVT
- Fuel efficiency: 19.39 to 27.97 kmpl
- Fuel type: Petrol, CNG, Strong Hybrid
- Seating capacity: 5
Kia Seltos
The Seltos’ HUD is a transparent display that is projected onto the glass screen right above the dashboard. It gives critical driving information in a straightforward and effective manner, allowing the driver to focus on the road ahead. To ensure visibility in a variety of lighting circumstances, these attributes are usually shown digitally in bright and high-contrast colours. The Seltos HUD displays an 8-inch graphic on the windscreen, providing information like as speed, remaining distance to empty, cruise control setting, and DRIVE WiSE technology data without requiring the driver to take their eyes off the road. Turn-by-turn navigation information, road signs, a speedometer, cruise control speed, warning lights (low fuel), and AV mode information are all shown on the Kia Seltos HUD.
- Engine: 1.5L Smartstream petrol or 1.5L CRDi Diesel
- Power: 115 PS (Petrol) or 115 PS (Diesel)
- Transmission: 6-speed manual or IVT (intelligent variable transmission)
- Fuel Efficiency: 20.8 kmpl (Petrol) or 21.1 kmpl (Diesel)
- Fuel Type: Petrol or Diesel
- Seating Capacity: 5
Volvo XC90
Volvo is renowned for its commitment to safety and the XC90 is a prime example. Along with its impeccable safety features, the XC90 has a heads-up display that enhances the driving experience. The head-up display displays information from the driver display onto the windscreen in front of the driver. The information is only visible from the driver’s seat. The right-hand keypad on the steering wheel can be used to change the position or brightness. The head-up display shows the projected speed, cruise control, navigation, and other information in a convenient place on the windscreen in the driver’s field of vision. In addition to traffic information, the head-up display may indicate incoming phone calls.
- Engine: 2.0L turbocharged petrol engine
- Power: 455 hp
- Transmission: 8-speed automatic
- Fuel Efficiency: 17.2 km/l
- Fuel Type: Petrol/
- Seating Capacity: 7
Audi A8
The Audi A8 is one of the most exclusive cars in the German brand’s line-up and thus, an HUD is an expected feature for any car in its segment. It is a great addition to the already impressive list of safety and convenience the car has. The driver can manage all settings through the touchscreen and adjust it to his or her liking.
- Engine: 3.0-liter TFSI petrol engine
- Power: 335 bhp @ 5,000-6,400 RPM
- Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
- Fuel efficiency: 11.7 kmpl (ARAI)
- Seating capacity: 5
Conclusion
Heads-Up Display (HUD) technology is slowly and steadily making its way into the mainstream car market. In all, it’s a great feature to have in a car to make it safe, and at the same time more convenient. While once a feature only present in luxury cars, the new technology is now available in sub-10 lakh cars such as the Fronx, Baleno, and Seltos. It’s exciting to see which new cars get this tech in the near future.
