Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2016 i Car India

FOUR-CYLINDER ENGINES. Downsizing. Turbocharging. Direct injection. Run-of-the-mill stuff today. It’s what automakers need to do to get by in a market vastly governed by purchase decisions of masses that do not delve into things such as injection or boost pressure and tolerances of the cylinders. They go by different numbers and manufacturers must cater to this audience: a significant piece of the pie. “If I can have 205 PS at 4,000 rpm together with a 10-inch touchscreen, why choose a car that has 181 PS at 4,250 rpm and only an eight-inch screen?” Sometimes the building blocks of logic are hard to come by. Even lesser chance there is of finding the sense that keeps them held together. Clearly, it’s difficult times we live in. Now you know why we…

IN INDIA, WHEN YOU THINK CAVES, you either think Ali Baba or Ajanta and Ellora. Pretty much anyone I've ever met has at least heard of them, many of whom have been to visit. I, on the other hand, despite living in Maharashtra for all of my nearly 28 years, was yet to visit one of the state's, and the country's, most iconic historic destinations. Well, there is no better time than now, so I decided to rectify this particular oversight and leave the heady lights of tech-savvy Pune behind and visit these rustic stone structures from deep within the annals of India's past. A round trip of over 600 kilometres and one day to do it — I needed a car that could cover the distance rather quickly, keep…

ŠKODA RAPID 1.6 MPI STYLE PRICE Rs 10.25 lakh (ex-Pune) ENGINE 1,598 cc, in-line four, petrol MAX POWER 105 PS @ 5,200-5,250 rpm MAX TORQUE 153 Nm @ 1,500-2,500 rpm TRANSMISSION Five-speed, manual, front-wheel drive WEIGHT 1,137 kg THE DIESEL VARIANT OF THE RAPID IS probably the one that will do well on the sales chart. However, if you are a petrol-head and need to get a gasoline-powered car, then the trusty old 1.6-litre MPI motor is still available. We drove the car with this engine and found out that the petrol variant of the Rapid is not really meant for the hills. I mean, the 1,598-cc in-line four-cylinder motor has decent refinement and smoothness but, up in the hills, it runs out of breath pretty quickly. The decent output…

Buying or selling a pre-owned vehicle can be a big hassle, especially when it comes to the pricing. Whether a buyer or a seller, most of us fail to understand the fair market value of a used vehicle. In this case, it becomes very important to consult experts or trusted sources who could suggest the accurate price of any used vehicle. But what if consumers could get a fair price of a vehicle within 10 seconds, right at their fingertips? And this is where Orange Book Value (OBV) by Droom, India’s pioneering online automobile transactional marketplace, comes in. Orange Book Value is an initiative which was highly needed in the rapidly growing used-vehicle market in India. It has brought transparency between buyers and sellers, and along with that, OBV has…

THAT TWO OF THE WORLD’S FINEST creators of naturally aspirated motors (we’re thinking the peerless S70/2 in the McLaren F1 and the mesmeric F140 V12) have had to resort to the dirty tricks of turbocharging is a reflection on our time, but neither car is any less tantalising as a result. The 488 in GTB form has silenced any doubts about Maranello’s second turbo era, adding performance and a little more flexibility over and above the 458 Italia’s sublime chassis and beautiful balance. Its ability to ghost over surface irregularities whilst keeping the driver keyed in to every nuance is nothing short of remarkable. Joining us in fresh Spider form, the 488 should deliver more on the aural front too, but with the potential trade-off of a reduction in stiffness…

THIS WAS THE MOST OPEN SPORTS CAR Giant Test in memory. None of our judges picked the same winner: a sign of the quality of the contenders and of the subtle differences in our priorities, perceptions and prejudices. The criterion was simple: which is the most enjoyable car to drive on great driving roads, such as those we experienced on the Scottish Borders, where much of our test was conducted? Price was irrelevant. How to compare a £285,000 (Rs 2.57 crore) McLaren with a £31,000 (Rs 28 lakh) Focus? The BMW M4 GTS finished 10th. Loved by some, for most it was unnecessarily hardcore — less settled over the variable camber and bumpy B-roads than the (faster) McLaren or Ferrari, less composed than either Porsche. Racer James Taylor commented on…

THIS NOVEMBER WE WITNESSED THE grand finale of the JK Tyre National Racing Championship (JKNRC) which was held at India’s finest racetrack, the Buddh International Circuit (BIC). Racers across three classes took to the tarmac to settle old scores in the final round of this year’s racing season, with the Euro JK 16 Formula 2 as well as the LGB Formula 4 titles still up for grabs. In the JK Touring Car class, Ashish Ramaswamy of Red Rooster Racing has outclassed all of his rivals this season, winning every single championship race so far to set himself up with an unassailable lead going into the final round; although he has already clinched the top spot, we did expect to see a fight for second place over the weekend, between Radha…

WALES RALLY GB TURNED out to be the venue where Volkswagen Motorsport’s Sébastien Ogier drove exceptionally well, claiming victory in this loose-surface rally that allowed Volkswagen Motorsport to claim their fourth consecutive manufacturers’ title. It was during the opening stages of the rally that Ogier slipped into the lead on day one itself by winning five of the eight stages. Ott Tänak of DMACK World Rally Team was right on Ogier’s tail at the start of the rally but the Estonian rally driver wasn’t able to catch up with the French ace. Ogier concluded day one with a lead of 37.3 seconds. Ott was second, followed by Hyundai Motorsport’s Thierry Neuville who was 31.7 seconds behind Ott. At the start of day two it seemed like Ogier would have to…

LAST MONTH DURING THE Diwali week I decided to take a break and go down south over the long weekend. Even though I drive and test cars day in and day out I like to drive to the destination rather than fly and then get driven in some stinky cab driven by somebody who can’t drive to save his own life. But there is one condition to my driving: the car has to be very good. Like most of the time the press department at Audi came to my rescue and lent me an Audi A6 for the drive. Whenever I do a long drive I like to leave home very early to avoid the local traffic that one encounters up to Kolhapur. After setting the alarm for 2.00…

THE RENAULT KWID HAS BEEN a surprise package. No one expected a small car from a European automobile maker to be such a huge success in India, giving stiff competition to the mighty Maruti Alto. It must have been a pleasant surprise to the French company, too, for the Kwid hugely contributed in helping the company breach the one lakh sales mark earlier this year. There were a few more surprises in store for us as we drove the new Renault Kwid Easy R recently. Since it comes with an automated manual transmission (AMT), we weren’t really expecting a clutch pedal... so no surprises there. But Renault have done away with the gear-stick completely, replacing it with a bottle holder, making the centre console unusually spacious. And to select from…

TUCSON, ARIZONA, MAY NOT BE A city well known in India, save for a few followers of a certain wrestling franchise that went from city to city around the US of A, or for a history buff looking at the Spanish connection in the El Presidio San Agustin del Tucson, a fort that dates back to AD 1775. However, many a non-millennial will be familiar with a rather ahead-of-its-time compact SUV of the same name that Hyundai brought in 11 years ago. It was the first-generation model and it, too, had a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, albeit with 112 PS and 245 Nm. Skipping one generation was, perhaps, an interesting move. Look what we have now. With a Fluidic 2.0 sculpted and LED treated exterior, the new Tucson (pronounced ‘too-sawn’)…

THE DESIGN LANGUAGE AT AUDI is changing for all their cars — from rounded lines they are now going for the sharp chiselled look, starting with the new Q7, the TT, and now the R8. The new R8 is 36 millimetres wider than its predecessor and this extra width is underscored by the horizontal lines at both the front and the rear. The wide single-frame honeycomb grille is set low and is flanked by large air intakes with vertical bars. The wedge-shaped laser headlamps together with the wide grille and the large air intakes give the Spyder a very sharp and aggressive look. Its forward cabin with a minimal overhang and the new side-blades give the R8 a distinctive look from the side. Trapezoidal glossy black exhaust tailpipes flank the…

THEIR ARCHITECTURES AND philosophies could scarcely be more different but impeccable ancestry makes this pair two of the most eagerly anticipated performance cars of 2016. And by design both also offer the most accessible day-to-day performance here. The M2 is the least expensive M car on sale and, recent experience would suggest, the best. Perhaps, the hardcore M4 GTS will change that… The M2 succeeds where the most recent M3 and M4 fail because of its superior agility and its all-round driving élan. It’s the best handling M. Being the smallest and lightest M car helps, of course, a return to the wieldy agility that made the first M3 so special. The NSX also seeks to emulate the feats of a distinguished predecessor. So that means fabulous performance — but…

WEIGHT OF EXPECTATION HANGS heavy here. Porsche’s long-brilliant mid-engined Cayman has lost its flat-six and, some say, its soul. Alfa’s glorious name can only live so long without a brilliant modern car to burnish it — is the 307-km/h Giulia that car? And the 675LT Spider? In coupé form it might have snatched last year’s Sports Car Giant Test from the 911 GT3 RS. Certainly it was running right up there until sidelined with a ‘powertrain issue’. Sound familiar, Jenson? But just as there’s much to prove, so there’s cause for optimism. You fancy the great Alfas for the way they look, begin to fall in love for the way they sound and pledge to spend the rest of your life with them for the way they drive, and the…

GAURAV GILL’S REGULAR co-driver, Australian Glenn Macneall, was back for the penultimate rally on the APRC calendar and, following another resounding victory, Gill is now two-time champion in Asia’s most coveted rally competition. This first-place finish for Gill also marked the victory of the team and manufacturer titles for Team MRF Škoda for the 2016 competition. Team-mate Fabian Kreim finished third overall as a gearbox issue forced him to retire early on day one, meaning Gill has amassed an unassailable 42-point advantage and also clinched the mantle of champion. Speaking after the race, an understandably jubilant Gill said, “Although we won comfortably in the end, it was hard work. At the Rally Malaysia, you don’t just fight it out with the other teams; you fight it out with the difficult…

#USGP After a disappointing few races, it was Lewis Hamilton on pole and in control at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas. After a good start, it was Lewis ahead with Ricciardo muscling his way past Rosberg, leaving the German championship leader looking for a way past. Verstappen suffered a blow when he came into the pits uninvited and then suffered a gearbox problem only three laps later. This brought out the Virtual Safety Car, allowing Mercedes to get a clean pit-stop with Rosberg and gaining an advantage over Ricciardo. #MexicoGP The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City came alive with two home drivers, Perez and Gutierrez, both eyeing good finishes in front of their fans. However, even though Hamilton took a back-to-back victory and Jolyon Palmer drove his…

A GLOBAL COMPACT SUV FROM Toyota? The C-HR Concept, which stands for Coupé High Rider, combines a coupé-like upper body with the underpinnings of an SUV. First unveiled at the 2014 Paris Motor Show, Toyota have followed up with gusto and revealed the production model at the 2016 Los Angeles Motor Show. The C-HR styling is based on what Toyota call “Sensual Speed-Cross”. It features a diamond architectural design with wheel-arches projecting prominently at all four corners, emphasising strength and rigidity. The front of the C-HR represents a development of Toyota’s design identity: the upper grille flows from the Toyota badge into the wing extremities of the headlamp clusters and wraps fully around the front corners of the vehicle. Toyota claim the shoulder axis that runs through to the front…

AUDI RS 7 PERFORMANCE Audi have introduced the ultimate RS 7, priced at Rs 1.59 crore (ex-showroom, Delhi). The RS 7 performance is an even more mental version of the high-performance RS 7. The four-door Sportback model retains almost all of the sport-luxury kit as RS 7, but the steering wheel gets the ‘drive select’ button on the right side, allowing the driver to switch between drive modes. The biggest change is the engine under the bonnet. The 4.0-litre TFSI twin-turbo V8 now develops 605 PS with an overboost peak torque of 750 Nm. Driving the quattro intelligent all-wheel-drive system is an eight-speed automatic transmission. Claimed performance is 0-100 km/h in 3.7 seconds with the top speed limited to 250 km/h. MERCEDES-BENZ C 300 CABRIOLET AND S 500 CABRIOLET Mercedes-Benz…

Q. As an interior design guru what is your definition of a bold and defiant design? A: Design which has striking features yet looks very elegant. It should be unique but not overly done. Q. Tell us more about your personal design language and how you incorporate it into the masterpieces you create? A: I am fascinated by European Classic designs. The Furniture Library is all about heirloom designs and classic pieces that have timeless appeal. It can be used for generations to come yet the pieces will not go out of fashion. Q. What do you think about the bold and chic design of the Maruti Suzuki Baleno? A: The Maruti Suzuki Baleno is a perfect example of how form meets practicality. The bold lines perfectly accentuate the highlighting…

SO YOU’VE ARRIVED IN LIFE. You like doing things with certain flair. Then you are in the right lane if you are behind the wheels of the new Mercedes-Benz C 300 Cabriolet. Only a handful of cars can make an impression like this convertible, for the price, that is. What could be better than driving around in a luxury convertible on a sunny winter afternoon, the roof dropped down, sunlight reflecting off the Gucci shades and your well-conditioned locks blowing in the wind (Well, I didn’t have to worry about my locks here, though). And if you don’t like the Medusa hair-do, then you’ll be thrilled to know that the C 300 Cabriolet comes with an AIRCAP feature that uses a wind louvre on the windscreen in combination with draught-stop…

FIVE YEARS AGO, THE ŠKODA RAPID was born and, honestly, at the beginning of its life, it was a good-looking car that did manage to turn heads. With the passage of time its family members such as the Yeti, Superb, and Octavia received major updates but the Rapid stayed pretty much the same. It felt old and looked out of place among the spanking new Škoda family. Presumably, this made the engineers at Škoda think of giving the Rapid the much-deserved modern treatment. The Škoda Rapid has been revamped and it now looks quite impressive in the Škoda line-up in India. Was half a decade’s wait really worth it? We headed to Dehradun to find out how hip this newest Škoda is. To start with, the Rapid has always been…

Hyundai India have also introduced a petrol-powered Tucson, available in just two variants: a base manual, priced at Rs 19.90 lakh, and a GL automatic, priced at Rs 22.82 lakh (ex-showroom, Pune). The petrol model is styled and equipped identical to the diesel but, with no GLS top-spec trim on offer, loses out on the double-barrel LED headlamps, front and rear skid-plates, twin-chrome exhaust header, electric parking brake, power tailgate, and other equipment mostly under the safety umbrella. The ‘Nu’ 2.0-litre petrol engine produces slightly more power in the Tucson, with a peak 155 PS and 192 Nm. A six-speed manual transmission or a six-speed automatic are available, both driving the front wheels.…

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO TURN ONE’S fortunes around? Courage? Determination? Perseverance? Timing? Maybe, a combination of them all. Plus-size cars somehow always seem to have potential in India. They always have. Yet the aftermath of reliability, service and spares tends to blow up in a manufacturer’s face soon after, especially if everything was turned and tuned just as it should have been. That’s where Toyota have got it so right. Consistency. That’s the missing piece of the puzzle for many. Consistency in performance and the inputs of external factors that directly or indirectly have an impact on performance are what determine how well a vehicle will do in the market. You can’t have an impeccable product with abysmal after-sales that can’t get it back into an expected – and…

WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THESE three for a while. In the case of the Ford it’s been no less than 14 years. For all front-wheel-drive’s added lightness you always felt that, on the first two cars to wear the badge, the Focus RS’ rear axle was idle because finance won out over engineering. But thanks to compact all-wheel drive on the Mk3, torque-steer is out. Freed of traction limitations, power and torque are up to 350 PS and 440 Nm. Less than five seconds to 100 km/h for £31k (Rs 28 lakh)? Incredible, and the RS is much, much more than a numbers product — earlier this year we placed it ahead of both the BMW M2 and the Porsche 718 Cayman… The wait for the LP 580-2 Huracán hasn’t…

THE 911R FLASHES A ‘PRESS CLUTCH’ reminder. I’m trying to start it with a foot on the brake, forgetting that Porsche have appropriately swerved dual-clutch technology for a manual in this heritage-laden flagship. Moments ago, in the hybrid Honda NSX, I switched from the otherworldly ferocity of Track mode to Quiet in deference to the early hour, and hummed through a village on electricity alone. Welcome to the Sports Car Giant Test 2016, with diversity to shame a BBC board meeting. Exceptional cars demand exceptional roads and the Scottish Borders have those in abundance, the tarmac around Kielder Forest flowing fast through towering evergreens like white water, and coiling sinuously where steep slopes and wild moorland won’t allow straight lines — ‘It’s like Eau Rouge up there,’ beams art director…

Ford Focus RS ‘A great hot hatch but can I say I prefer the less hardcore Fiesta ST?’ Gavin Green ‘Quicker than the supercars in the wet. No other hatch feels this rear-biased (that’s a good thing by the way)’ Ben Barry ‘If you’re thinking about an RS, buy one’ Ben Miller ‘Amazing steering, shame about the high chairs’ James Taylor BMW M4 GTS ‘More tactile than an M4, wilder than the M2, less friendly than the old M3 GTS’ Ben Barry ‘How can a car on such sticky tyres have such little traction?’ James Taylor ‘Silly, from the price to the wheels, the noise to the paucity of traction, but can I keep it?’ Ben Miller ‘The M4 is too soft, the GTS too wild. An M4 GT sounds…

EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD Harrison Newey blew competition away at the season opener of the MRF Challenge 2016 held in Bahrain on 18 November. The young man owned the day right from qualifying and carried the momentum into the race as well. Harrison is the son of the legendary Formula One designer Adrian Newey. Joey Mawson was the leader for a good half of the session until Newey blew everyone away with a stellar lap time of 2:00.316. It is the fastest time any MRF F2000 car has ever set on that track. That sealed the pole position for Newey. Mawson claimed the second place on the grid after he posted a lap-time of 2:00.628. Immediately behind the race leaders were Ralf Aron, Mick Schumacher and Van Kalmthout. The race didn’t start well…

NEW THIS MONTH HYUNDAI TUCSON A name not seen for a while, the new Tucson looks every bit the cutting-edge modern mid-size crossover it is TOYOTA FORTUNER New styling and a new heart with the same proven approach raise the level of the challenge from Toyota's popular big SUV LEGENDS PRICES On the road, Pune (subject to change) BO: Available only By Order * : Ex-showroom price listed NA: Price not available FEATURES F: Front only D: Driver airbag only O: Optional equipment…