Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2018 i Car India

Audi e-tron AUDI’S FIRST ALL-ELECTRIC PRODUCTION model, the e-tron, is built as an SUV and features distinct styling to denote the electric powertrain. Inside, the lack of a combustion engine and gearbox means there is more room and storage space. The e-tron packs two asynchronous electric motors: one on each axle. The front motor makes 125-kW (170 PS) and 247 Nm, while the rear motor makes 140-kW (190-PS) and 314 Nm. Together, the two motors produce a combined 360 PS and 561 Nm with 0-100 km/h dispatched in a claimed 6.4 seconds. There is also a Boost mode which raises the respective motor outputs by 10 kW/62 Nm and 25 kW/41 Nm to take peak output to 408 PS and 664 Nm, albeit for a few seconds, with 0-100 km/h…

Volvo 360c WITH A VIEW TO ENABLING LONG-DISTANCE TRAVEL WITHOUT the need for airports, Volvo recently introduced their 360c Concept, showcasing what autonomous cars can actually be. Initially, we were introduced to autonomous vehicles where a person sits behind the wheel but not actually driving the vehicle with a surprised look on their faces. Understandably so, but the Volvo 360c Concept is a completely different matter altogether. A futuristic exterior, navigation through GPS, a radar to monitor the distance to other vehicles, and a smart system to communicate with other vehicles are present, while manual controls for a driver to take control are not. That’s right. No manual control. What the car does offer is a whole new concept of commuting and travelling. The Volvo 360c Concept uses a system…

HATCHBACK FOR THE DAUGHTER I'm thinking of buying a small hatchback for my daughter on her birthday. So far, I have been keen on the Maruti Alto or Hyundai Eon. Could you please advise me if any other good options are available in the same category? Her use is basically to and from her place of work and city outings. Thank you very much, Car India. The magazine is as always super! Sachin, Delhi Dear Sachin, In that segment, you may also look at the Renault Kwid as an option. Furthermore, the new Hyundai Santro is expected to arrive in the market on 23 October, should you want a brand-new option in this segment and are willing to wait for a while. LOOKING FOR A GOOD 4X4 I'm looking to…

WOULD HE TRADE THE TRIPLE CROWN FOR A COUPLE MORE TITLES? YES TWO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS AND 32 wins. It was a good knock, but there’s no doubt that Fernando Alonso underachieved in Formula 1. His talent deserved more and he could have won more had he played a better hand out of the car. Make no bones about it: Alonso was one of the best drivers of his generation. But his off-track outbursts and politicking alienated him from the top teams, to the extent that they no longer wanted to employ him. Where did it all go wrong? Alonso had a meteoric rise through Minardi and Renault, culminating in world titles in 2005 and ’06 when he beat Kimi Räikkönen and Michael Schumacher respectively. He also became the darling of…

Lambo’s hypercar just got even more serious and might teach its ex-boss’ Bugatti a thing about corners. The SVJ’s V12 gives a 2.8 seconds 0-100 km/h launch, 219 mph+ (350 km/h+) top speed and a new ’Ring production lap record of six minutes and 44.97seconds. It uses version 2.0 of Lambo’s ALA active aero, rear-wheel steering, and ultra-lightweight aluminium alloys. Copious composites also make for a dry weight of 1,525 kg. The SVJ 63 (right), refers to Lambo’s 1963 founding; only 63 will be built.…

The Lexus name is not new to India. It was very well known in the luxury sphere. Would you say that the response has been more encouraging since the brand’s official arrival? At Lexus, we are building our brand and, as you said, the awareness was quite good before we even came here. The reason was that down south there is a lot of Middle Eastern influence and also a lot of people who go to the US and Canada, so there is a good awareness of the Lexus brand. At the same time, our vision for India is to establish it as a luxury lifestyle brand and also as “responsible luxury”. From that perspective, our media friends are helping us to talk to our customers and telling them our…

WE WERE IN FOR A BIT OF SURPRISE WHEN WE SAW A COMPLETE BATTERY OF PATROLS AWAITING US AS SOON AS WE ENTERED THE DESERT A LONG DRIVE TO THE AIRPORT, A QUICK flight, an even quicker lunch at the hotel, and I find myself feeling the full blast of the afternoon Dubai heat as I leave behind the temperature-controlled lobby and step out into the courtyard. An entire fleet of Nissan’s SUVs were lined up, awaiting our pleasure. The diminutive Kicks — completely different from the model that’s due to be launched here, mind — the Pathfinder, the X-Trail, and the mighty V8 Patrol all stood glistening under the harsh mid-day sun. None of these all-roaders make it to the Nissan India portfolio, so it would be a novel…

THICK AND DEEP MUD CAUSED MOST OF US TO GET STUCK AND BE IN NEED OF RESCUE, WHICH THE MAHINDRA TEAM HANDLED IN A SUPERB MANNER MAHINDRA ADVENTURE’S GREAT ESCAPE, SAKLESHPUR, WAS AN absolutely brilliant experience this year. The two-day event was held at the beautiful Kadamane Tea Estate, located about 20 kilometres away from Sakleshpur. Kadamane Tea Estate is enormous; we were told that it spans nearly 10,000 acres. A small part of it is set aside for tea and a lot of it is inaccessible. The forest covers a large swathe of the rolling hills, which are part of the beautiful Western Ghats of India. This is prime off-roading territory and touché to the superb Mahindra Adventure team, who really did make the experience something to write home…

Pebble Beach had it all — hypercars, sports car, concepts, and even a record-breaking auction. Here’s a glimpse of the action (in alphabetical order) Acura NSX Stiffer chassis components, revised tyres, and software tuning have made the 2019 NSX two seconds faster around Suzuka, with its V6 573-PS powertrain intact. New Thermal Orange paint option and standard four-way powered sports seats are also part of the kit. Audi PB18 e-tron Concept Audi’s vision of the high-performance sports car of tomorrow is inspired by the wind-tunnel and the racetrack. Low, wide and built from a mix of carbon, aluminium, and multi-material composites, the PB18 also uses a state-of-the-art solid-state battery pack which, Audi say, will make it tip the scales at just 1,550 kg. A 150-kW (204-PS) e-motor drives the front,…

I am a long-time reader of your magazine and, of course, a petrolhead. My 11-year-old son, Arun, is following in his father's footsteps and has shown a flair for driving whenever we visit the karting track (which is quite often). I wonder which of the racing schools you would recommend for him so that he may get professional training and try and turn this passion into something more. We live in the city of Pune and money is not a constraint so long as he is happy. Are there any good schools nearby? Which one would you recommend? Piyush Patil, Pune Hello, Piyush, It is great to read that you are so interested in cars and that little Arun is also a chip off the old block. We are also…

AS WE WALKED AROUND THE TEMPLE, WE REALIZED THAT ALL THE EFFORT TO REACH THIS HIDDEN GEM IN THE NORTH-EAST WAS ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT LITTLE DID I KNOW THAT I’D SEEK tranquillity in Shree Govindji temple, which is partly archaeological, mostly architectural, and, surprisingly, houses no deity. Yet the terracotta temple exudes such calmness that the intriguing silence all around will leave you awestruck. Read our enigmatic experience as we drive to one of India’s most unique temples situated in the mystical north-east. In this sixth and final edition of Architectural Gems of India, our destination was the Shree Govindji temple in the heart of Imphal, Manipur. We drove the rugged Hyundai i20 Active cross-hatch which, with its spirited engine and good ground clearance, was a perfect fit in this…

THE HIMALAYAS ARE MAGICAL, MYSTICAL, mountainous, and magnificent. Towering above the rest of the world, with hidden wonders buried deep within their valleys and roads that are rarely traversed by man or machine. The latter is, of course, unless you’re going to Manali, one of the oldest and most prominently visited abodes nestled within these mighty mountains. A hill-station with a history that extends beyond the chronicles of man and into the transcendent pages of lore, the town is often draped in fog and always draped in a layer of spiritual mystique. And this was to be the destination on the third leg of our Trailblazing Terrain series, but every destination needs to have a point of origin and our journey originated in India’s capital: Delhi. We commenced our sojourn…

THE MAHINDRA MARAZZO LOOKS QUITE DIFFERENT FROM ITS SIBLINGS AND credit for this has to be given to Mahindra-owned Pininfarina SpA. The sharper, shark-like silhouette of this MPV has been developed with inputs from the renowned Italian car design house, just like several other bits that make it look refreshingly new in the Mahindra line-up. The front design is narrow and sleek and helps form an aerodynamic shape. It still has a familiar chrome-toothed grille and the Mahindra logo, which are flanked by projector headlamps equipped with LED daytime running lights. The bonnet has a couple of prominent creases which try to imitate a shark’s fin. The side profile is the usual multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) number with a stretched wheelbase and elongated stance. The A-pillar has been stretched and brought…

ACCEPT IT: “ELECTRIC CARS” AND “SUSTAINABILITY” DON’T NECESSARILY FIT into the same sentence. There is the matter of overall emissions and carbon footprint, even before you consider where your electricity and batteries are coming from. Moreover, each car is different. What works for one country may not work for another. The US of A was a land of 6.5-, 8.0- and even 9.4-litre “Big Block” V8s that actually returned efficiency figures of litres per kilometre and not the other way round. When a 3.5-litre V6 came in — let alone the Toyota Prius with its hybrid driveline backed by a 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine — it was definitive downsizing of the first order. And then there’s us. With most mass-market cars in India displacing 0.8 to 1.5 litres (800 cc to…

ROUND 13: BELGIUM VETTEL SHINES AT SPA A crucial pass from Sebastian Vettel at the outset saw him stay ahead of his championship rival and win another one for the Scuderia ROUND 14: ITALY HAMILTON UPSETS THE ITALIANS Kimi Raikkonen had pole, but a spin on the opening lap resulting from contact between Vettel and Hamilton, and a good drive from the Brit saw him take the lead and the win ROUND 15: SINGAPORE HAMILTON LIGHTS UP THE NIGHT Following a dominant pole position in qualifying, Lewis Hamilton drove a flawless race to take his seventh win of the season and extend the gap to Vettel DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP Lewis Hamilton 281 Sebastian Vettel 241 Kimi Raikkonen 174 CONSTRUCTORS’ CHAMPIONSHIP Mercedes-AMG 452 Ferrari 415 Red Bull Racing 274 F1 NEWS LECLERC…

WHEN THE FIRST ROUND drew to a close, a few familiar names had collected some crucial points that would go a long way in their 2018 campaign. In addition to the pressure of maintaining their hold on the points table, these gentlemen also had to worry about rivals who were only a few points behind them; rivals who were determined to close the gap quickly. The man to beat in Euro JK 18 was Ashwin Datta (Tamil Nadu) and he was holding on to a feeble one-point lead. In the smaller LGB Formula 4 Class, Vishnu Prasad (MSport) also faced similar pressure because only a point separated him from his teammate. A few newcomers were thrown into this drama. The second round marked the beginning of a new class, called…

THE NEW MERCEDES-BENZ EQC WAS REVEALED TO THE WORLD AS THE EQC 400 4MATIC packing an all-electric set-up capable of delivering a peak power of 300 kW (408 PS) and a range of over 450 km. Built to be a mid-size SUV, the EQC electric sport utility vehicle measures 4,761 millimetres long, 1,884 mm wide, 1,624 mm high, and runs a wheelbase of 2,873 mm; slotting it between the GLC and GLE size-wise. The unique styling, however, ensures it looks like nothing else out there. The sweeping front end is highlighted by a black panel between the MultiBeam headlamps that infuses a torch-like optical fibre light band. The split single-slat grille looks purposeful and adds to the butch look. The profile looks familiar but is new upon closer inspection. The…

Datsun redi-GO Limited Edition 2018 Datsun are preparing for the festive season with the arrival of the redi-GO Limited Edition 2018, priced at Rs 3.58 lakh for the 800-cc motor with manual transmission and Rs 3.85 lakh for the 1.0-litre motor, both prices ex-showroom. The redi-GO Limited Edition boasts of some added visual flair, with a roof wrap, body graphics, and front and rear bumper under-covers. Inside, there is new red and black leather upholstery, with Rear Parking Assist Sensors (RPAS), chrome door-handles, and carpet mats rounding off the additions. Hyundai Verna Anniversary Edition Hyundai have commemorated a successful year of the new Verna with the introduction of a special Anniversary Edition, priced between Rs 11.69 lakh and Rs 13.03 lakh (ex-showroom). Only 1,000 units will be built. The Anniversary…

THE JOY OF BEING LIMITLESS AND THEN CONQUERING the extreme is a euphoric feeling and we recently experienced it firsthand when we took Maruti Suzuki’s superb hot hatch, the Swift, from the national capital to the wettest place on Earth. During our journey, we drove on the super-fast expressways of Uttar Pradesh and then on some really smooth highways in Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam before entering the enigmatic state of Meghalaya. A mesmerising experience, it became even more so since we were doing it in the Maruti Suzuki Swift. Here is how we conquered the extreme with the Swift by our side. We kicked off our journey from Delhi, heading eastwards to Uttar Pradesh. The Maruti Suzuki Swift was excellent on the smooth roads of the capital and the…

THE DIVO IS LIGHTER, GRIPPIER, AND PROMISES A MORE ENGAGING DRIVE THAN THE CHIRON UNVEILING THE DIVO AT THE QUAIL, AN EVENT HELD during the Monterey Car Week that values pedigree and history above all else, was no coincidence. After all, Bugatti’s new hypercar is based on the already legendary Chiron and named after 1920s Bugatti racer, Albert Divo. But it breaks new ground for the French marque by focusing more intently on dynamics than top speed. Costing £4.4 million (Rs 40 crore) and limited to 40 units, it also marks the first chapter of Stephan Winkelmann’s (former Lamborghini and Audi Sport boss) at Bugatti. ‘The Divo was a decision we took internally, without comparing us to anybody else,’ says Winkelmann. ‘We want to set the pace and I think…

IF EVER THERE WAS A BOOK ON CAR BUILDING, ITS COVER would be something sharp and exciting to catch the eye of anyone’s field of vision it enters. Yet, if that book was sold today, the insides would be all about responsible and clean mobility. Never have I seen a car look so dramatically exciting, yet pack an interior that is completely relaxing, with a drivetrain to complement its intentions. The Lexus ES 300h is that car. As the wraps came off in Beijing earlier this year, the new, seventh-generation Lexus ES arrived, making a statement in many minds with its bold new styling. It may be larger, but, in a bid to replace both the ES and GS, the new ES sports some thoroughly alluring styling reminiscent of the…

THERE IS NOWHERE LIKE LAGUNA SECA. FIRST, YOU ARE IN California. A pile of contradictions: desert and verdant, rich and poor, large and empty or small and crowded, depending on where you look. Laguna itself lives in a dry lake atop a scrub-covered mountain, perched in the hills of Monterey county, 120 miles (193 km) south of San Francisco. On a clear day, the place feels like a sandy snow globe, the ocean shimmering in the distance. And in the middle, there is tarmac. Laguna is a microcosm of California’s variance: alternately fast and slow, pretty and ugly, forgiving and not. So, naturally, when I go there to race a 424-PS 1975 Group 4 BMW 3.0 CSL works car, at the 2018 running of the Monterey Rolex Motorsports Reunion, America’s…

WHO DOESN’T WANT A LARGER PIECE OF THE PIE? HONDA HAVE always been a popular name in the sedan space and then tried carving for themselves a piece of the MPV and compact SUV pie. Yet, in the background, there was always one name. One very refined mid-size SUV that could give many far more expensive, premium, petrol SUVs a run for their money. The CR-V. While it soldiered on with double-digit sales each month for many years, and with the crossover SUV segment growing ever stronger, Honda have now given it its due focus. The CR-V first arrived in India in 2001, in its second-gen avatar. Its outstanding qualities then were its refinement and car-like handling. Four generations later, the new car has come to take the badge even…

WRC RETURNED TO TURKEY AFTER EIGHT LONG YEARS AND IT WAS Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Estonian rally ace, Ott Tänak, who emerged victorious as mighty heroes like Thierry Neuville of Hyundai and Sebastien Ogier fell in the gravel early in this event. The first 10 stages were full of excitement as the lead kept changing several times before Andrea Mikkelsen of Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT took it on SS4 and continued in that position for the next three stages. However, on stage seven, Mikkelsen’s teammate and championship leader, Thierry Neuville, took the lead on the last stage on Friday. Unfortunately, Neuville’s Hyundai i20 suffered from broken suspension in the opening stage on Saturday, which forced the Belgian out. This gave Ogier the opportunity to slip into the lead on SS8. By…

NEW THIS MONTH MAHINDRA MARAZZO New entrant in the MPV space packs a powerful diesel and a choice of either seven or eight seats. From Rs 9.99 lakh (ex) MERCEDES-BENZ C-CLASS The bestseller returns with more tech and a choice of 220 d and more powerful 300 d diesel engines, from Rs 40 lakh (ex) 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 BMW FERRARI FIAT HONDA HONDA ISUZU JAGUAR LAND ROVER LAND ROVER MARUTISUZUKI MARUTI SUZUKI MERCEDES-BENZ MERCEDES-BENZ MINI MITSUBISHI RENAULT RENAULT TATA TATA VOLKSWAGEN VOLKSWAGEN VOLVO…