Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2019 i Car India

NASCENT ELECTRIC VEHICLE BRAND, LAURETI, WILL SOON INTRODUCE their flagship SUV, the DionX, in the Indian market. The new full-size E-SUV boasts of the longest range achievable on a single charge, with a claimed 540 kilometres. Laureti are set to demonstrate these figures with an expedition starting from Leh to Kanyakumari. The company plans to undertake this 6,000-km-long journey with just 12 charging cycles, with an average range of 500 km from charging points. The DionX will also pass through seven major cities ― Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai. In addition, Laureti will display live updates such as dashboard data, drive status, and trip highlights on online networks, including purpose-built digital display boards in some cities. Laureti have confirmed that the DionX will be produced at the…

KOREAN CAR-MAKERS KIA MOTORS ARE ON THE VERGE OF entering the Indian market and have taken one step closer to their first launch ― the compact SUV, codenamed SP2i ― with the recent trial production ceremony held at their Anantapur plant, in Andhra Pradesh. Kia expect to launch the SP2i by July this year and the brand is ready to step up the production process now. This new plant in Andhra Pradesh is spread over an area of 536 acres and will offer a production capacity of up to 300,000 units. The trial production ceremony was held in the presence of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu; the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to India, Shin Bongkil; President and CEO of Kia Motors Corporation, Han-Woo Park; and Kookhyun…

STEPPING UP FROM CAR TO SUV I am planning to sell my old car and go in for a big SUV. I find it difficult to choose among the Ford Endeavour, Isuzu mu-X, and Škoda Kodiaq. If I had the money, I would have bought all three, of course. My priorities are refinement, soft off-roading capability, manoeuvrability, and comfort. Please help me make up my mind. Susan Oomen, Tiruvalla Dear Susan, As regards your shortlist, we haven't driven the new mu-X since the latest version of this SUV has not yet been made available for media drives. Therefore, we can't give our opinion on that. Of the remaining two, the Endeavour is the more adventurous, while the Kodiaq is the more comfortable and refined. So, based on your needs, the…

AS A LIFELONG RESIDENT OF THE state of Maharashtra, I’ve been keenly fascinated by the state’s mighty and historic Maratha Empire and the legendary tales of its most prolific monarch, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. So, when I spotted the keys to a tanked-up Škoda Octavia floating about around office, I leapt (proverbially, of course) at the chance to grab them and set out to explore Kolhapur, at one time the stronghold and currently the home town of the latest scion of the vaunted Maratha sovereignty. So off we went, leaving at 5.30 in the AM to try and beat the truck traffic and two-wheeler commuters on NH 48. A pleasant side-effect of leaving early was that we could catch a glorious sunrise on the way, always a great way to start…

MODERN MEDICINE HAS EVOLVED SO MUCH THAT THERE isn’t a healthy person alive today, or so I read somewhere. Evolution does step in strong everywhere and when it comes to cars, the cases are plenty as well. Even in the compact hatch space, there has been quite a big change. The new WagonR, for instance. Always a popular, sensible, and practical car, the WagonR has been called a lot of things, but people still swear by it. And now there’s a new one and it isn’t a case of “small box” any more. It has evolved, too. And by a fair amount. The new “Heartect” platform that underpins the new range of Maruti Suzuki cars, such as the Swift, Dzire, and Ertiga, now makes its presence felt in the new…

IT IS 2019 AND THE GROWTH IN THE POPULARITY OF SUVS AROUND the world still continues to rise. Everyone from mass car-makers to luxury brands and even supercar brands is hopping on this particular bandwagon. This particular global trend has been reflected here on our shores, too, with the Indian market seeing more and more buyers line up to get their hands on these substantial vehicles. It should come as no surprise then that Japanese car-makers, Honda, have brought the latest avatar of their CR-V to Indian shores. While the CR-V has been around since the early 2000s, it has been falling behind the pack a bit in recent times. Other brands have launched more modern SUVs with updated mechanical bits, more tech toys, and multiple engine options, which left…

CAR DESIGNERS HAVE ALWAYS DRAWN inspiration from nature and Mahindra have been doing so since the days of the XUV500. Their latest MPV, the Marazzo, also draws inspiration from the animal kingdom; this time the design cues come from the magnificent sea creature, the shark. The Marazzo is also a big step up in terms of quality and it shows the moment you step inside it. Does it really mark a big leap in terms of overall quality and dynamics for Mahindra? Let us see how different the Marazzo feels. To begin with, the shark-inspired design, which Mahindra have tried to drive home to potential customers, does not really make one see the connection with the shark. My interpretation of a shark-inspired styling will be a sleek, edgy, and aggressive…

CES ALWAYS HAS A THRILLING array of delectable goodies and, of late, the increasing dependence on electronics in the automotive industry has meant that a lot of relevant tech and prototypes show up there, too. Amidst the 8K folding displays and AMD’s Ryzen 3 news, there were quite a few sets of wheels and technologies that sparked interest. Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Lighting up Sin City was the stylish new Mercedes-Benz CLA compact luxury four-door coupé. The CLA-Class has been a design sensation since it first arrived featuring CLS-inspired styling at a more affordable price point. Being based on the Modular Front Architecture (MFA), the CLA uses a front-wheel-drive layout and has a provision for 4MATIC all-wheel drive. The new CLA is larger than the outgoing car with a wider wheel track…

THE 41ST EDITION OF THE DAKAR was a bit different. This time the racing was limited to one country only, Peru, and the menu had changed. Instead of the usual multi-course meal, the 5,000-kilometre rally was spread over 10 stages of which 70 per cent comprised racing in the deserts of the Latin American country. Yes, the main course was desert. Compared to the previous years, this Dakar was shorter but just as perilous thanks to the vast sandy expanses of Peru. Al-Attiyah began his domination in the first stage itself, finishing ahead of the Spanish duo, Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz, by two minutes. In the second stage, the tables turned and Al-Attiyah slipped down the order and was replaced at the top by his teammates, Giniel de Villiers…

THE MERCEDES-BENZ GLC 220 d HAS BEEN with us in our long-term test fleet since last July and I have driven this car day in and day out for the past seven months. During this period the car was put through the rigours of monsoon when the road condition deteriorates considerably and considerable water-logging due to nonexistent storm water drains. This is the toughest season for cars in India, for you encounter craters that are submerged in water and only realize once the car hits it. The GLC has taken everything that was thrown at it in its stride without the slightest fuss. When the car arrived in July 2018, it had already clocked 27,700 kilometres and now the odometer reads 36,454 km, which means I have clocked 8,754 km…

LAMBORGHINI HAVE UNVEILED THE Huracán Evo with more power and enhanced aerodynamics. The Lamborghini Huracán has been around since 2014 and remains among the few cars that retain purity by continuing with a 5.2-litre naturally aspirated V10. That V10 now delivers a Performante-level 640 PS and 600 Nm, sent to all four wheels through the seven-speed dual-clutch auto. The Huracán Evo’s dry weight stays at 1,422 kg despite the changes. It can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.9 seconds with 0-200 dispatched in 9.0 seconds and a top speed of over 325 km/h. The Huracán Evo features rear-wheel steering and torque vectoring working on all four wheels. Lamborghini Dinamica Veicolo Integrata (LDVI), a central processing unit, controls every aspect of the car’s dynamic behaviour and integrates the car’s…

HYUNDAI MOTORS HAVE INTRODUCED A NEW AIRBAG TECHNOLOGY which protects drivers and passengers during secondary impacts. This new state-of-the-art system will be seen in future Hyundai and Kia models. The new multi-collision airbag system was developed by the Korean automobile giant due to the need for protection during accidents that involve secondary collisions. Statistically, this happens 30 per cent of the time and often leads to serious or fatal injuries. Current airbag systems get deployed during the first impact and are redundant thereafter. However, their new system will cause airbags to deploy for a second time after calibrating the status of the vehicle and occupants. This is done by detecting passenger whereabouts inside the car after the first impact and deploying the airbags again if needed, and at faster speeds…

AS PART OF THE INDIA 2.0 PROJECT, VOLKSWAGEN GROUP AND ŠKODA AUTO HAVE invested over Rs 2,000 crore in research and development. Under this initiative, Škoda will develop the MQB-A0 IN platform and lead the Volkswagen Group’s model campaign in the country. Almost 250 new jobs have been created to develop cars that specifically cater to the requirements of the customers in the country. In addition to the MQB-A0 IN, they will also focus on localizing the platform’s components to the tune of up to 95 per cent. This means that most of their cars’ components will now be easily available at more affordable rates. The first product from this project will be a mid-size SUV that is expected to be launched in 2020. Škoda and Volkswagen claim that the…

I am an old patron of your magazine and love the work you people do. This is the first letter I am writing to you and I would appreciate your advice. I need an everyday hatchback but with a bit of room, one that I would use mainly in the city with a few weekend excursions thrown in. I do like a driver's car, something with a little performance, hence I have been looking at the Volkswagen Polo and Maruti Baleno RS. However, I have also been advised to also look at the Maruti Swift and Hyundai i20. Could you please advise me? Sumit, Mumbai Hello, Sumit, We are heartened to read that you enjoy our work. As for your query, if you want an out-and-out driver's car and one…

IF YOU GO DOWN TO THE WOODS TODAY, YOU’RE SURE OF A big surprise. Creeping through the Douglas firs, Rocky Mountain junipers, Lodgepole pines and the dwarf birches of Teton County, Wyoming, is a bright blue Rolls-Royce. And on board is a silver-maned and finely groomed German in a bright orange jacket with a big steel Rolex on his wrist. Rolls-Royces are very rare in Wyoming. It’s more likely that you would see the Queen driving her Defender to Tesco than you would a Roller in this part of America. The usual auto fare here are big GMC and RAM pick-ups, often double-cab, V8s burbling loudly (although local resident Harrison Ford is apparently frequently spotted in his Aston DB11). Rolls CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös has never been to Wyoming before. There’s…

Why haven’t Toyota gone from 12-volt to 48-volt hybrids when everybody else is going that way? Of course, in the diversification of the powertrain unit, hybrid system is quite focused on a brand. However, as I explained today, typical combustion engine, 2.5 TNGA, also continues to develop as well as pure electric vehicle and fuel cell, so that type of higher voltage system is also simultaneously developing. But today we decided that, for the 48-volt system, it is not the right time for us, especially for mass-production vehicles. That is why we decided to introduce our original Toyota hybrid system, a new-generation version, globally, via our Camry and Corolla global, mass-production vehicles and additional coming new products. And second. Why aren’t you giving plug-in hybrids? For Camry, we don’t have.…

“LUXURY” IS A TERM THROWN AROUND A LOT THESE DAYS and many are in debate about where to draw the line. There is a difference between something premium and something luxurious and in that area are many that not just fit in, but have carved a fair bit of space for themselves. Luxury doesn’t always mean large, but more of a scaled down form of something with no compromise on quality — remember the Aston Martin Cygnet? It may have been tiny, but everything you could see, touch, feel, and experience felt high quality and that set it apart. The crossover, then, has become the darling of many a carmaker, if not every carmaker — after Rolls-Royce and Lamborghini, even Lotus and Ferrari are joining the battlefield, thanks to an…

THE MARUTI SUZUKI ERTIGA COULD NEVER BE CALLED remarkable0, but the fact that it performed its MPV duties extremely well, and at a reasonable cost, has contributed to its success in the market. Few other seven-seaters have offered the practicality, accessibility, and user-friendly nature of the Ertiga and, backed by Maruti’s legendary service network, sales have flourished. Six years after its original launch, Maruti Suzuki have given the utilitarian Ertiga a comprehensive update and the second-generation car promises to add doses of excitement and comfort to the somewhat basic package, while still maintaining its aggressive pricing. Maruti have also incorporated a Smart Hybrid system that includes an electric motor, powered by a lithium-ion battery pack under the front passenger’s seat, designed to boost low-end torque. Visually a lot has changed.…

GERMAN AUTOMOTIVE technology major, Continental AG, have announced that they will be setting up a plant at Talegaon, near Pune. The new plant will be a greenfield project and is being set up at an outlay of Rs 240 crore until 2020. The company also announced that its primary focus would be on developing and manufacturing components for the upcoming transition to BS-VI. The plant is already under construction and is expected to become operational by early 2020. Once functional, it will produce components such as engine management systems, sensors, actuators, and parts for fuel and exhaust management systems. These products will cater to passenger cars, two-wheelers, and commercial vehicles. Prashanth Doreswamy, Market Head, Continental India, and Managing Director, Continental Automotive India, said, ‘This investment reinforces our commitment to the…

MY FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH the Nexon was when I was assigned tracking driver duty during one of our photo shoots. While the photographer shot pictures from the back seat, I was asked to drive uphill as smoothly as possible. Although initially apprehensive, I was pleasantly surprised when the Nexon climbed up the slope in second gear without begging for a downshift. Since then, I have spent many kilometres in the car and even undertaken a few trips to Mumbai. Long drives on the highway never had a dull moment thanks to the eight-speaker-strong infotainment system. Moving on to everyday city use, I was able to switch lanes easily in slow-moving traffic (especially when stuck behind trucks), thanks to the visibility from the cabin, light steering, and the car’s compact dimensions.…

NEW THIS MONTH BMW X4 The smaller sports activity coupé positioned below the body-style defining X6 is now available from Rs 60.60 lakh (ex-showroom) TOYOTA CAMRY HYBRID The latest-generation Camry Hybrid has arrived with more power, tech and equipment, priced from Rs 36.95 lakh (ex-showroom) 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 JAGUAR JAGUAR LAND ROVER MARUTI SUZUKI MERCEDES-BENZ MITSUBISHI RENAULT TATA VOLKSWAGEN VOLVO…

CHANGE IS INEVITABLE AND THE BMW 7 SERIES introduced about four years ago has undergone a facelift and then some. New styling, new features, more safety, and updated engines have made their way on to and into the car which, even then, prepared us for the next coming of the luxury saloon. The new 7 Series intends to once again challenge at the very top of the luxury saloon segment. The large front grille is reminiscent of the one on the X7, but invites opinions from both sides when it comes to appearance. It still features the active vents to facilitate cooling on demand while improving aero efficiency when needed. The construction of the car also retains the CarbonCore tech its G11/G12 predecessors used, with components made from CFRP (carbon-fibre…

ANOTHER OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD TRIM has been introduced by BMW Individual which coincided with the meteor shower that took place early last month when the earth briefly passed through the orbit of the asteroid 2003 EH during which time fragments from it entered the planet’s orbit. Some of these extraterrestrial fragments have now been incorporated into the cabin of the BMW Individual M850i Night Sky. The meteoritic rock adorns the whole of the centre console’s trim plate, the start/stop button for the V8 engine, the selector lever for the eight-speed Steptronic transmission, and the Touch Controller for the iDrive system, creating a visual and tactile effect unparalleled in the automotive sector. Inlays made from meteorite material have also been incorporated into the door sill finishers, together with an illuminated model badge. In…

SEVERAL AUTO MAJORS HAVE REPORTED THEIR BEST-EVER sales in 2018. Among the leading names were Volvo Cars Global and Volvo Auto India with a record 643,243 cars sold globally ― over 70,000 cars more than last year and their first time breaching the 600,000-mark. Their Indian subsidiary also recorded 2,638 retails ― representing a 30 per cent sales growth. Mercedes-Benz also recorded over 2.3 million cars sold, a record, with Mercedes-Benz India also doing their best at 15,538 cars. Porsche also recorded their best global sales ever, with 256,255 cars in 2018 ― a four per cent growth. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars also reported 4,107 cars sold globally ― the highest ever in the marque’s 115-year history. Lotus Cars, too, sold a record 1,630 cars, their highest since 2011.…

BMW X4 The new BMW X4 has been launched in India with three engine choices in the new M Sport X trim, with prices starting from Rs 60.60 lakh (ex-showroom). The ever-growing compact luxury sports activity coupé segment witnessed the arrival of the X4 early last year and it has now come to India for the first time. The X4 is essentially a smaller X6 and brings coupé styling to all-road-ready SUV underpinnings. The design features a sloping roof that tapers sharply towards the rear, mimicking a coupé profile. The X4 packs everything from the BMW Display Key and Gesture Control to the adaptive suspension and drive modes that adapt to the character of the car. Available with two diesel engines and one BS VI-compliant petrol engine, the X4 is…

IF YOU’VE BEEN PAYING ATTENTION, YOU’LL HAVE NOTICED that we visited the Hyundai factory in our previous issue and actually had a hand in building a new Santro. Once it was rolled off the assembly line and all the legal formalities of regulations and registrations had been wrapped up, the compact hatch made its way from Chennai to Pune. Now, I personally hadn’t driven the car until it ended up in the Car India parking lot, so I took it to the nearby hill city of Lavasa from our HQ in Pune just to get familiar with it and see how well it wore that celebrated moniker. It definitely looked the part when I first laid eyes on the new Santro. That signature tallboy design has been paid homage to,…

RATIONAL. HOW MANY actually think rationally? How many of our decisions are actually influenced more by what others think than what we truly need or desire for ourselves? Countries have fallen into debt vastly because of this very reason. If you think about it, you’re never truly alone and that’s explicitly made clear when on the road. There are billions of people and most of them form what we consider “traffic”. When you’re on the road, you become traffic. The best you can do is move as quickly as possible or permissible and adhere to road safety rules, because, if everyone thinks they’re alone on the road, all hell would break loose; as it clearly has in many of our “modern metros”. Responsibility is not something everything takes seriously —…

IT IS ALMOST ALWAYS THAT THE QUIET, SHY, AND UNDERSTATED types are the ones who prove to be the best in any field and recently we were face to face with such a vehicle that proves its mettle without making any sound. It is called Force Gurkha Xtreme. Yes, it looks old-school and sounds like one, too, but once you get in the driver’s seat, this mighty beast can help you conquer the toughest terrain that stands between you and glory. Read on to see how the Force Gurkha Xtreme stakes a claim to being the best off-roading machine you can buy today. To begin with, it is the sheer size of the Xtreme that intimidates anyone who stands in its way. It reminded me of the erstwhile Mercedes G-Wagon…

FREESTYLING IS AN EXTREMELY SIGNIFICANT FORM OF EXPRESSION in artistic pursuits. Be it out on the football field or basketball court, in the dance halls, or in heat of a rap battle, freestyle embodies a confident, impulsive, and improvisational attempt at elevating said art and wowing the crowds. It is about being in the moment, feeling the burning flames of passion from within, and transforming that passion into something memorable. So, when Ford said their new cross-hatch was going to be called the Freestyle, the implication was that the car embodies the freestyling spirit, too. To find out, we landed up in Navi Mumbai, all ready to pick the car up and drive it back to Pune. In the parking at the Ford service centre, the Freestyle awaited me in…

WHY WOULD BMW ALLOW US TO BRING A Porsche 718 to the launch of the new Z4? Because they love this magazine or because they have a particular fondness for this author? Dream on. They rolled out the red carpet for our white rival from Stuttgart because they’re confident, very confident, that for its third generation, the Z4 has finally evolved into a proper sports car. The first Z4 was an abomination from the Bangle House of Horror. The second-generation car was a pretty yet dynamically flawed retractable hardtop aimed squarely at the Mercedes SLK; hardly the most dynamically sparkling target on which to set your sights. The new Mk3 is a totally different animal. Codenamed G29, it laps the Nordschleife in seven minutes and 55 seconds (faster than the…

HE BMW 850i IS “GOOD, BUT NOT THAT good”. So we declared in 1990 after driving the sporting flagship that cost £60,000 (Rs 55.8 lakh). That initial verdict hit the nail on the head and BMW didn’t replace the high-tech, high-lux 8 Series when it went off-sale nine years and 30,000 sales later. It’s taken two decades for those original E31 models to gain currency as classics, but they’re definitely on the up. So, perhaps, it’s perfect timing for BMW to get their halo coupé back in the game. Only, BMW haven’t really been absent from this market for two decades, because the 8 Series picks up where the last-generation 6 Series left off. The cynic might dismiss it as an attempt to squeeze more money out of the same…

Continental have invested a large amount of money [Rs 2,100 crore] in India. Can you tell us how important India is for the Continental group at the international level? It is already an important market for us considering the potential we see in India for future growth. We have to increase our focus on the Indian market because when you look from a global standpoint, the European markets are flattening out. Considering the opportunities, India is one of the regions where we see a lot of growth in the future and this, of course, means that we need to focus on this market. With the emission norms coming in, this would be the right time to invest in India. Are you happy with the progress you have made in the…

IN INDIA, WE CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF SUVS. AND when the brawny Jeep Compass rolled into the Car India garage, we rejoiced in concert. The tall stance, great all-round visibility, excellent ground clearance, and, not to forget, the powerful diesel engine all make it so desirable. What makes this one special is the Jeep badge on the bonnet; an American name that has been synonymous with adventure, style, and off-road prowess for years now. In fact, most of us grew up calling all SUVs “Jeeps” and many continue to do so even today. This one, in particular, is quite a beast, being the Jeep Compass Limited 4x4 variant, one that knows no boundaries and can literally steamroll over all sorts of terrain. Since it’s just joined the Car India fleet,…