We all know Tata Motors is an Asian automaker out of Mumbai, India. A manufacturer of passenger cars, commercial vehicles and heavy-duty trucks, the company owns Jaguar Land Rover and has a distributor in the Philippines. And if you’ve only ever been exposed to the brand’s Manza sedan, Xenon pickup and Ace truck, it’s easy to dismiss the firm as just a purveyor of no-frills budget transporters.

That perception could change as soon as you finish reading this article. Pictured above is an SUV concept by Tata called H5X, one of two design studies just unleashed by the company to a frankly surprised motoring world.

The H5X is admittedly Land Rover-esque, but with some tweaks here and there. Measuring 4,575mm long, 1,960mm wide and 1,686mm tall, it’s about the size of the current Honda CR-V. The styling resemblance to its British cousin is understandable, given that this vehicle has been developed using Land Rover’s D8 architecture as base. If and when it reaches the assembly line, it will be powered by a diesel engine.

The second concept car is the 45X, a dynamic-looking hatchback you’d expect from a European carmaker, not Tata. It measures 4,253mm long, 1,850mm wide and 1,451mm tall, putting it in the same size category as the Mazda 3 hatch (although the latter is longer). And if you’re already impressed with the exterior, check out the futuristic interior. We doubt Tata will offer such a high-tech cabin in a production model anytime soon, but it’s nevertheless entertaining to see.

With these two concept cars, Tata is putting us on notice that it is getting ready to overhaul its design language. We like this pair. They do sport familiar lines and curves, but Tata was able to put together the elements quite nicely. It will take more than just this styling exercise to transform the way we view Tata as a passenger car brand, but it’s a start. And it sure won’t hurt to see the often-ridiculed badge on a couple of gorgeous vehicles.