Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2017 i Car India

McLAREN SPECIAL OPERATIONS (MSO) HAVE CREATED THE unique MSO R Coupé and Spider for one customer. The two cars, called the MSO R Coupé and MSO R Spider, are the latest Personal Commission McLarens produced, a service that sees the customer working closely with MSO to agree on the direction, scope, and specification of a project. Both have the same external, internal and mechanical specifications, and are finished in a striking Liquid Silver ― the Coupé in satin and the Spider in gloss finish ― with a carbon-fibre central stripe. They also feature advanced aerodynamics with front dive planes and a twin-element rear wing, as well as a striking exterior design and livery, together with a bespoke interior. The twin-turbo V8 engine has been blueprinted and the heads and exhaust…

KEEPING THE BUZZ ALIVE FOR THE KUV100, which started a whole new segment last year, Mahindra have updated it, adding more zing to the overall package. With the humble KUV100 becoming KUV100 NXT, the changes on the new model are more cosmetic than technical. The company is offering the new KUV100 NXT in five variants: K2, K2+, K4+, K6+, and K8. We recently drove the K8 diesel variant at the company’s Chakan facility, which is also the birth place of the KUV100 NXT, and this is what we have to say. To start with, the KUV gets a bold new fascia that features a redesigned grille wherein the angled slats now extend to the top of the front bumper, which has also received aesthetic changes. It is more angular and…

THE NEW POLO IS, IN ESSENCE, a slightly smaller and more affordable Golf. Although it isn’t offered with the bigger engines, hybrid powertrain or electric motor available with the current Golf, the new Polo adopts its DNA. It’s a proper Volkswagen, solid and competent, made to last and fail-safe, a little bland but a great all-rounder. Globally, the Polo is VW’s bestseller. It’s strong in Europe, big in South America and huge in China. The sixth-generation model aims to consolidate or even extend this lead. To do so, the ancient PQ platform has been replaced by the stiffer and trimmer modular MQB architecture. Although the MQB upgrade hits VW to the tune of €400-€500 (Rs 30,000-37,500) per car, most costs should be absorbed via enhanced synergies and bigger volumes. While…

“KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD, YOUR HAND upon the wheel.” Eyes filled with shades of baby blue, got me thinking about ‘Roadhouse Blues’ and Jim Morrison’s voice echoed in my head as I made my way through morning traffic in Mumbai, in search for some scenery. Everyone’s going about their routine, some trying harder than others to get somewhere quicker, but to no avail. People tend to lose focus on what’s really important. Priorities. A reality check — that’s the only solution. However, sometimes the focus of others helps you get some perspective of your own. You don’t have to do everything. It’s not easy, let alone possible. You just have to do something well. So, then. A track-ready, family sedan may sound like a stretch but, if there…

WE’RE JUST BACK FROM A ROAD TRIP TO RAJASTHAN — THE Abode of the Rajas — our senses still tingling with the sights and sounds of the royal state. There isn’t another region which can come close to the mythical land of fairytales — everything from palaces, forts, and rich and powerful kings to surreal experiences with elephants, horses and camels. Sadly, there aren’t any snake charmers or flying carpets to take us to the palaces. However, we got ourselves something even better: the new Audi A6 luxury sedan which took us around the royal state in absolute comfort and speed. Our drive began from one of the most spectacular forts in our country which has been converted into a luxury resort. Alila Fort is situated in Bishangarh, about 70…

Malaysia: Red Bulls Outpace Prancing Horses; Silver Arrows Next Best Japan: Hamilton Reigns in Suzuka; Extends Advantage USA: Hamilton Bolts Ahead; Vettel Closes In DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP Lewis Hamilton 331 Sebastian Vettel 265 Valtteri Bottas 244 CONSTRUCTORS’ CHAMPIONSHIP Mercedes-AMG 575 Ferrari 428 Red Bull Racing 315 BLANCPAIN GT SERIES OD RACING END SEASON WITH DOUBLE WIN The OD Racing duo of Audi India racer Aditya Patel and Malaysian team-mate Mitch Gilbert ended both races of the final round of the Blancpain GT Series in Zhejiang with wins and ended up second in the championship by just one point. The duo, at the wheel of the Audi R8 LMS GT3, ended qualifying second and first for either race. In race one, Aditya stretched away in wet conditions and, after a…

The ‘Styleback’ from Tata is the newest member of our fleet and quite the looker. Unlike some of its rivals, this car does not look like an elongated hatchback (the Tiago, for instance). The sub-four-metre compact sedan exudes its own appeal with the fastback-like styling and smoked projector headlamps. I have already charted a weekend trip to Mahabaleshwar and I am quite curious to see how the 1.05-litre Revotorq diesel will handle over poor roads and inclines. The car comes equipped with ‘Eco’ and ‘City’ modes, and I am eager to see if that makes a difference to the fuel economy. During the first drive, we were very impressed by the Tigor’s ride quality. Let’s see if it’ll continue to deliver in the long run. Tata claim that they are…

ICONIC BRITISH SPORT-LUXURY CAR makers Aston Martin have introduced a drop-top version of the DB11 GT car, and it packs a twin-turbo V8. The ‘DB’ line of cars has long been among the most exemplary examples of luxurious yet exciting motoring, not to mention among the most beautiful automobiles. The latest in this long illustrious line is the DB11 ― the first to sport a twin-turbo V12, then a twin-turbo V8, the latter from Mercedes-AMG, no less. As only is fair, the Volante iteration of the DB11 has just been revealed and it’s stunning. ‘Volante’ means ‘flying’ in Italian, and has been a term exclusively used by Aston Martin for their convertible models. The DB11 Volante is the first of a new breed; offering open-air driving pleasure with the sound…

INDIAN CRICkET ICON, YUVRAJ SINGH, TOOk up the role of ambassador for Laureus Sport for Good. Aided by Mercedes-Benz India, Laureus Sport for Good now funds the Naz foundation, Slum Soccer, OSCAR and YUWA. Currently in the second year of their association with the German automobile giant, they will continue to harness the power of sport to support young people around the world in their crusade against violence, discrimination, and disadvantage.…

Audi A5, A5 Cabriolet, and S5 Audi India have given the country its first diesel-powered convertible as well as its sporty four-door sibling, the A5 2.0 TDI Cabriolet and the Sportback, priced at Rs 67.51 lakh and Rs 54.02 lakh (ex-showroom) respectively. Audi India have also brought in new S5 Sportback for Rs 70.60 lakh (ex-showroom). The A5 Sportback is the more sensible and stylish four-door family sport tourer with a frugal diesel engine. The two-door A5 Cabriolet is the sportier drop-top. The 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel with 190 PS and 400 Nm does duty, paired to the S tronic seven-speed twin-clutch automatic. The Sportback is front-wheel-drive, whereas the Cabriolet gets the quattro all-wheel-drive system. The S5 Sportback replaces the existing model, packing a reworked 3.0-litre V6 turbo-petrol engine delivering 354…

THE IDEA OF REPLACING THE CHAUFFEUR WITH A smartphone doesn’t seem too far-fetched now. With the new Audi A8 equipped with every thinkable new-age feature, this is the car of the future and the future of cars. We got a chance to drive this luxury limousine and also an opportunity to enjoy the experience in the back seat recently in Valencia, Spain. Incidentally, it was also my first experience of what autonomous driving would feel like in an actual production car. ‘Amazing’ sounds like an understatement. Audi, I’m sure with a little help from Hogwarts, have packed the A8 with magical features. Open the door and the air suspension raises the car by 40 millimetres, which makes ingress and egress easier. Colour changing LED light up almost every panel to…

The Audi A5 Sportback stands out in a crowd of sedans with its flowing coupé-like roofline and sporty hunchback stance WE MET AUDI INDIA’S NEW TOP BOSS, RAHIL ANSARI, RECENTLY and he revealed the luxury car-makers’ plan. One of the things he said was that the company is set to expand the SUV range, focus on alternative powertrains and would also introduce new body designs. The last point is of great relevance here, because we’ve just driven the stylish new Audi A5 Sportback range. It really stands out in a crowd of sedans with its flowing coupé-like roofline and sporty hunchback stance. Unlike the previous generation, the new A5 is completely new and is based on Volkswagen Group’s MLB platform which also underpins the A4 sedan. The Sportback looks simply…

IT’S DIFFERENT, IT DEFINITELY HAS CHANGED A LOT. I am talking about the new BMW 5 Series, the 520d to be precise. The thing is, BMW have gone soft with this new 5 Series and it shows in its ride quality. The car that was once revered only for its razor-sharp handling has transformed into something that truly surprised me. However, the burning question is: have BMW really compromised handling for ride quality? Well, there is a compromise in there, something that the competition should be worried about. Want to know more? Keep reading to learn what exactly the Bavarians have done to the new 5 Series. This is the seventh-generation 5er and it has evolved quite a lot. The elegance has gone up and so has the style quotient;…

ŠKODA’S LAST SUV IN INDIA, the Yeti, although rather liked by the enthusiast, failed to light up the charts in any meaningful way. The Czech brand are giving it another shot, though, and they seem to have taken the “go big or go home” approach, bringing their first ever seven-seater SUV into our country. Quite the popular segment, though, and one with a few options across a varied price range, so Škoda really do need to push the boat out in order to rack up the sales. The knight in shining armour, or bear in shining fur as it were, is the new Kodiaq. All these bear references are courtesy that name, of course, which is derived from the famous Kodiak brown bear from Alaska. And the car is built…

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER CALL OF the wild. A call you can’t ignore either, and one we answered with a mad scramble to pack bags and nab keys. We headed out of Car India’s home turf of Pune in the wee hours of the morning, making our way towards one of Maharashtra’s most prodigious wildlife sanctuaries: Tadoba. This meant driving towards Aurangabad and beyond, stopping just before we hit Nagpur. The stretch of tarmac linking Pune to Aurangabad is pretty great, and was sparsely populated on the day we drove out. This meant I could exploit the Verna’s four-pot 1.6-litre turbo-diesel unit, and all those 128 horses on tap. Swiftly shifting through the smooth six-speed manual transmission, I soon left the odd truck or tempo that happened to be moving in…

NEW THIS MONTH PORSCHE 911 GT3 Red-hot naturally-aspirated goodness. The 911 race-car for the road is here: in manual or PDK auto, from Rs 2.31 crore ŠKODA KODIAQ Practicality, safety, capability and comfort in one wholesome package. The new Kodiaq has gone on sale from Rs 34.5 lakh LEGENDS PRICES Ex-showroom, Pune (subject to change) BO: Available only by order NA: Price not available FEATURES F: Front only D: Driver airbag only O: Optional equipment ASTON MARTIN BENTLEY BENTLEY FERRARI FIAT GENERAL MOTORS GENERAL MOTORS HYUNDAI HYUNDAI LAMBORGHINI LANDROVER MAHINDRA MAHINDRA MASERATI MASERATI MINI NISSAN RENAULT ROLLS-ROYCE TATA MOTORS TATA VOLKSWAGEN VOLKSWAGEN VOLVO…

FOLLOWING AN INVESTMENT Of €640 MILLION (Rs 4,864 CRORE) IN Polestar by Volvo Car Corporation and Geely Holdings, the high-performance arm has revealed the first car from their portfolio of new hybrid and electric vehicles. The very first model from Volvo Car Corp’s high-performance subsidiary, Polestar, has finally surfaced in the form of a 600-PS performance GT car: Polestar 1. POLESTAR 1 The Polestar 1 is styled heavily on the Volvo Concept Coupé, shown back in 2013. Although it is based on the SPA (Scalable Product Architecture) platform that underpins the new 60 and 90 lines of cars, it is almost 50 per cent new, and rather bespoke, resulting in a cutting-edge two-door, four-seater coupé model. It aims to be a proper driver’s car and the effort gone into development…

THE ALL-NEW PORSCHE 911 GT2 RS HAS CRACkED THE Nürburgring lap record charts with a time of six minutes, 47.250 seconds ― the fastest for a series-production, petrol-powered, rear-wheel-drive car with an automatic transmission. A feat some saw coming from the outset, the announcement from Porsche of the 700-PS GT2 RS put the thought of a new record in the minds of enthusiasts the world over. The previous record for a production car, 6:52.01, held by its distant cousin, the Lamborghini Huracán Performante, has been shattered by almost five seconds. It also beats another record, one held for over half a decade ― the 6:47.5 by the non-road-legal Pagani Zonda R ― by about a quarter-of-a-second. This record was not a one-off: Lars kern from Germany and Nick Tandy from…

SWEDISH MAJOR VOLVO HAVE ROLLED OUT their first-ever CkD car in India, marking the start of local operations for the XC90 luxury SUV. The XC90 is the company’s flagship model, contributing in no small measure to the rise in sales, by becoming the spearhead of resurgence for the brand most noted for its incredible attention to safety. Volvo Car Corporation came to an agreement to use Volvo Group India’s facility in Bengaluru to produce their SPA (Scalable Product Architecture) cars. That also means there is scope for the new S90 and all-new XC60 to be assembled here in the future as and when needed ― something that will be required for the company to meet their target of a 10 per cent market share in the luxury segment by the…

LOOKING FORWARD TO A LONG-TERM REPORTA I am looking for affordable performance and I am quite smitten by the Škoda Octavia vRS. However, I am apprehensive of how the car will perform in the long run with respect to maintenance costs. May I expect to see a long-term report by you in one of the forthcoming issues of Car India? I am planning to buy the car in January 2018. Balakrishnan, Thiruvananthapuram Dear Balakrishnan, Whether or not the vRS joins our long-term fleet is entirely dependent on the manufacturer. We were quite impressed by it in our road test which we printed in our October 2017 issue. Do please take a look at it if you want a more in-depth information about the car. ALIEN IN ANOTHER STATE? I…

AUDI ALSO GAVE ME A TASTE OF THEIR NUMEROUS SAFETY features by creating tricky real-life situations in an enclosed area. Among the various artificially created scenarios the most impactful one was the one displaying side impact. The car with its zillions of cameras is constantly scanning the surroundings, and when it detects an unavoidable collision, lifts the suspension (on the side of impact) up by 80 mm in about half a second. The idea is to use the sturdier door sills to reduce the impact and keep the passengers secure. Another rather useful feature for India is the smart door system which monitors the blind spots and delays the door ajar motion by about a second if it detects a cyclist passing by. This delay prevents you from swinging open…

The facelift S-Cross comes with an array of new design features that lend the crossover a more contemporary look MARUTI SUZUKI ANNOUNCED THE ARRIVAL of the latest S-Cross — India’s first true-blue crossover. The facelift S-Cross comes with an array of new design features that lend the crossover a more contemporary look. The most noticeable change is the ultra-wide grille with huge amounts of chrome on it. Maruti Suzuki stressed this aspect of the design a lot for it gives the new S-Cross a distinctive identity. It looks good, but the amount of chrome seems like overkill. Anyway, to add a little class to the exterior, Maruti have equipped the S-Cross with headlights that feature LED projector lamps and daytime running lights (DRL). The black trim and the big fog-lamps…

WHAT JUST HAPPENED? ONE SECOND I’M DOING 60 km/h in traffic, a couple of blinks later, the whole bunch of autos is a distant speck in all of my rear-view mirrors and the needle’s well into triple digits. Looking at the road, there’s absolutely no way of telling how fast you’re going. The 14-way adjustable, ventilated seats have kept me and my cool in harmony, akin to strolling on grass in a park at 1.9 km/h. Glance sideways, and you get clues as to how fast you’re actually going. The trees are whizzing by and the Armco barrier is but a blur, a transmogrifying line of dull grey. The Porsche Panamera Turbo, then, is a seriously incredible car. It will devour miles and glide over all kinds of roads with…

As for off-roading, both are quite capable; they can tackle light off-roading like champs “ I T’S A LUCRATIVE SEGMENT AND WE ARE MISSING FROM it. Okay, then, let’s get into it and show them how it’s done!” There is a lot of optimism in this statement. I guess this might have been the final line in the conversation between VW’s product officials and top bosses when they were planning to try their hand, for a second time, at the highly lucrative SUV segment in India. Hence the Tiguan. It just isn’t another model in the moderate-sized VW portfolio. In fact, it might be just the SUV that would change things for VW. To find out, instead of a simple and straightforward road test review, we thought why not pit…

The favourite contender would have to be 10-time Raid De Himalaya winner Suresh Rana, for team Maruti Suzuki Motorsport THE 19TH EDITION OF THE MARUTI Suzuki Raid De Himalaya saw men, women, and vehicles take a beating as they took on 10 challenging rally stages over six days and drove 1,850 kilometres across some of the most inhospitable terrain in the world. Top rally teams were in attendance, prepared to face the freezing cold and high altitude, with lungs and engines gasping to breathe in the thin mountain air. The favourite contender would have to be 10-time Raid De Himalaya winner Suresh Rana, who, along with his co-driver PVS Murthy, would be taking on the mighty mountains in their Grand Vitara for team Maruti Suzuki Motorsport. Also driving for team…