Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2019 i Car India

THE NEXT-GENERATION GLS-CLASS MAKES ITS PRESENCE felt as it well should, with all the new competition around. This S-Class of SUVs now has a wheelbase 60 millimetres longer and it’s 77 mm longer overall as well as 22 mm wider. Within its generous proportions, it packs three rows of powered seats, five-zone climate control, and the latest forms of connectivity from Mercedes. The biggest change is the 48-volt architecture that forms the nervous system of the new model, allowing changes to electronics that its predecessor could only imagine. The first of these is E-Active Body Control. The active suspension allows individual wheels to be adaptively damped within milliseconds. This improves on-road dynamics as well as off-road capability. In the new GLS “580”, Mercedes have introduced their first electrified V8 petrol…

THE 2020 NISSAN GT-R 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION MARKS AN IMPORTANT MILESTONE for the legendary name and takes it to a level that was unimaginable when it was first introduced 50 years ago. Nissan’s engineers challenged themselves to find undiscovered potential while still making sure the car could be enjoyed by drivers at any level. Among these enhancements were new turbochargers, which increase low-end response due to an abradable seal for tighter clearances and increased efficiency. The result is even sharper engine response in and out of corners. The exhaust manifolds have optimized turbo flange attachment points for easier servicing and potential tuning without touching the exhaust manifold. The signature exhaust note is thanks to a new titanium muffler, with titanium finishers sporting burnished blue tips. The special-edition GT-R will come…

KIA HAVE REVEALED THEIR HOT, NEW APPROACH TO THEIR idea of how electric vehicles should be. The HabaNiro is fully electric, packs all-wheel drive, and can traverse 480 km on a single charge, while packing in level five autonomous drive capabilities. One of the many highlights is Kia’s new Real-time Emotion Adaptive Driving (R.E.A.D.) system, introduced earlier this year at the Consumer Electronics Show, which is capable of optimizing and personalizing the cabin by analysing the driver’s emotional state in real-time through artificial intelligence-based bio-signal recognition technology.…

THE NEW BMW 1 SERIES HATCHBACK HAS BEEN UNDERGOING EXTENSIVE TESTING AT BMW’s proving ground in Miramas, Southern France. The new front-driven 1 Series features a new suspension set-up and integration of all driving dynamics. It marks the début of BMW’s ARB technology (actuator contiguous wheel-slip limitation), making significant improvements in terms of traction and facilitating faster and more precise control. It is positioned directly in the engine control unit instead of in the control unit for the Dynamic Stability Control. Thus, information is passed on faster. BMW Performance Control (yaw moment distribution) is also standard and additionally increases agility through dynamic brake intervention. The top-of-the-line BMW 1 Series, M135i xDrive, gets the new 2.0-litre, four-cylinder TwinPower Turbo petrol engine which features a reinforced crank drive, new pistons and cod…

ASTON MARTIN HAVE INTRODUCED THE DROP-TOP DBS Superleggera Volante. Still armed with the 5.2-litre twin-turbocharged V12 with all of 725 PS and 900 Nm, the DBS Superleggera should offer a greater aural experience with more exposure to the elements. Furthermore, Aston did one up on the folk at Molsheim, with their Q by Aston Martin exclusive division commissioning not one but 24 special-edition models, called the “DBS 59”. Inspired by their win at the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans, Aston Martin Cambridge has commissioned one for each hour of the legendary 24-hour race, each of which is identified by bespoke design features, hand-crafted interior and graphic elements drawing directly from the DBR1, and the race it so famously conquered. The price? £17.5 million (Rs 157.5 crore approx). Each.…

BMW 530i M Sport BMW have introduced the M Sport trim level for the 530i at Rs 59.20 lakh (ex-showroom), replacing the Sport Line variant. The 530i M Sport gets the same 2.0-litre TwinPower Turbo petrol engine with 252 PS and 350 Nm, paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission driving the rear wheels. The M Sport trim gets adaptive LED headlamps, subtle M badging, a sunroof, and 18-inch M alloy wheels. Inside, there is a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and gesture control, a 360° camera, dual-zone climate control, wireless charging, and, of course, the BMW display key with remote parking functionality. Audi Lifestyle Edition A4 and Q7 Lifestyle Editions of the Audi A4 and the Audi Q7 have been launched at Rs…

THE NEW PORSCHE 911 CARRERA 4S CABRIOLET produces 450 PS and makes 530 Nm from 2,300 revolutions per minute. It can scorch from zero to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds and is capable of a pretty refreshing top speed of 304 km/h. This is all very well, but an almost — almost — equally impressive performance figure is the time it now takes for the fabric roof to go from fully closed to please-pass-the-suncream open — at 12 seconds in either direction, it’s a full two seconds swifter than its predecessor, despite the roof being much the same. Secrets of this extra speed include stronger electric motors and a lighter folding mechanism with reduced moments of inertia. As before, there are compromises: neatly packaging the Z-fold roof below a metal…

PORSCHE 911 CARRERA S In a word? Emphatic PUSH IT AND THE 911 GOES TO ANOTHER LEVEL; ONE THAT, IN THE WORDS OF CARLY SIMON, MAKES YOU FEEL SAD FOR THE REST CLEARLY, MY FRESHLY MINTED ARGUMENT ISN’T going to hold water. After a few hours swapping from low-slung Audi to LMP1-serious McLaren and back again, I’m all set to hop back into the Porsche and declare it lacking as an out-and-out sports car. I mean, do they not have physics or history books in Germany? Haven’t they read about how, some half a century ago, the plucky British popped a ditch-pump in the middle of a single-seater, rather than at the front, and gleefully brought about the mid-engined revolution in Grand Prix racing (after a tease from Auto Union…

SPA WAS RINGED BY PINE TREES, NOT guardrail, when race leader Dick Seaman crashed at 130 mph (209 km/h). Some things don’t change over 80 years. It may have been June and high summer, but Spa was raining. The circuit was soaked and treacherous. HITLER SENT A SIX-FOOT-HIGH WREATH OF WHITE LILIES TO SEAMAN’S FUNERAL His Mercedes W154 drifted too wide on the fast Clubhouse corner, a left-hander just before La Source hairpin (near what is now the Bus Stop chicane). An outside wheel clipped the slippery grass. The Mercedes spun, its left rear wheel hit a stout pine tree, then its right flank hit another tree, hard. Seaman’s right arm was broken and the 26-year-old Englishman, who wasn’t wearing a helmet, was knocked unconscious. The immense impact broke the…

THIS YEAR’S RALLY WAS, PERHAPS, ONE OF the biggest rallies in the world to be organized by women for women. There were almost 130 cars and as many as 600 women involved in this massive event. The rally had a TSD format and was flagged off from Worli in Mumbai. The route saw them visit a few landmarks in the city, namely, Century Bazaar, Siddhivinayak temple, Shivaji Park, Dadar Plaza, Eastern Express Highway, and Vashi before culminating at Aamby Valley. Although it was a TSD rally, the event also had other fun activities that did not involve the pressure of landing a place on the podium. As usual, the ladies decorated their cars along the lines of the theme they had chosen for their teams. Some had done a fabulous…

OF LATE, MY WEEKEND TRIPS TO NEARBY TOWNS have increased substantially, from a dash to Mahabaleshwar to quench our strawberry craving to chauffeuring guests for Mumbai darshan and the customary trips to Lonavala when there’s not much to do on Sunday mornings. A major reason for these many road trips is my long-term Hyundai Creta. The powerful and super-refined 1.6-litre diesel and the widespread torque are temptation enough, but the bigger reasons are the comfortable and supportive seats and the roomy cabin. It’s also reassuring to have six airbags, traction control, and ABS, especially if you’re driving on the highway with your loved ones. There’s a really long list of features such as Android Auto and Apple CarPlay coupled with a good music system which makes long drives even more…

WHILE WE HAD MENTIONED SOME YEARS AGO THAT THERE would be a mini G-Wagen, called the GLB, it has turned out into somewhat of an evolution. Aimed at the outdoors, the close-to-production GLB-Class will bring in compact dimensions with all-road and even off-road capabilities. The GLB will be positioned above the GLA and seem more rough-road oriented than the larger GLC. The concept GLB measures 4,634 mm long, 1,890 mm wide, and 1,900 mm tall with the roof box. Its long 2,829-mm wheelbase points to a big change inside: room for up to seven occupants. The Concept GLB is powered by the “M260” four-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine, also seen in the new A- and CLA-Class cars, with 224 PS and 350 Nm. An eight-speed dual-clutch automatic drives the front-biased 4MATIC all-wheel-drive…

AUDI’S NEW CONCEPT, the AI:ME, certainly looks good but is not just an eye candy. The name implies the AI making a connection with the user, capable of learning and thinking as well as being proactive and personal. The compact car has a futuristic interior and is capable of level four autonomous driving as well. This 4.3-metre-long compact car also features a host of communication and entertainment options that will let users make the most of their time while the car drives itself to the destination. The drive unit, a 125-kW (170-PS) motor, is positioned in the rear axle.…

AUDI HAVE INTRODUCED THE NEW S5, S5 Sportback, S6 Saloon, S6 Avant, and S7 Sportback with their high-performance biturbo V6 diesel engine, inspired by the SQ5 TDI ― the one that started it all. The big change is the adoption of the 48-volt electrical system, which enables the use of an electrically powered compressor (EPC) to eliminate turbo-lag ― a feature earlier seen on the SQ7 TDI. The EPC can respond in 250 milliseconds and spin up to 70,000 rpm. According to Audi’s official communication, the 3.0-litre V6 biturbo unit makes 347 PS at 3,850 rpm and a peak 700 Nm between 2,500 and 3,100 rpm in the S5 models. In the S6 and S7 models, it makes 349 PS at the same rpm with an identical torque output. In…

THE NEW RENAULT TRIBER, NAME INSPIRED BY “TRIBE”, IS being marketed as a car that is spacious and has flexible seating and will also start a new sub-segment of cars in India. The Triber has been designed and developed for India and will be launched in the second half of 2019. Renault talk about the car’s virtues of ferrying a group of people around and the fact that it hopes to kick-start a new segment of cars in India. It has been designed to cater to the needs of the Indian car-buyers and possesses unique features and size. The new Triber will be based on the Renault Kwid platform (CMF-A) and will come with a slightly more powerful version of the 1.0-litre petrol engine. It won’t be a stretched Kwid…

THERE IS NO DENYING THAT BEING A CEO OR A top business executive involves more than simply sipping coffee while gazing wistfully out of the window of a high-rise corner building. It is the same for Natasha who is the CEO and co-founder of a design studio, Bent Chair, and the co-creator of India’s most Instagrammable restaurant, Plum By Bent Chair. To know what makes a good CEO and what is a day like in the life of that CEO, we decided to meet Natasha in her various life roles. Since we are conducting this series in association with Hyundai Motor India, who support lady drivers across the globe, we zeroed in on the Hyundai Creta Sport in the beautiful Marina Blue shade that went well with a high-profile personality.…

NEED TO DO A LITTLE LIGHT off-roading if the occasion demands? Don’t fancy an SUV? Volvo would like to usher you into the plush cabin of this new, raised-up variant of their mid-sized V60 estate. Same engines and interior as the regular car but a 60-millimetre ride-height increase, a more comfort-orientated suspension set-up and all-wheel drive (regular V60s are front-drive), and Hill Descent Control fitted as standard. The Cross Country wears extra body cladding in charcoal-coloured hard-wearing plastic for a more macho, outdoorsy image. It looks the part against the snowy backdrop of rural Sweden where this test took place. That snow means it’s difficult to arrive at definite conclusions about the CC’s driving dynamics but they’re largely as you’d expect — like a normal V60 with an extra dose…

TWO DOORS EQUAL SPORTS CAR. THAT HOLDS TRUE FOR MANY. If it’s red in colour, it furthers that cause. Add four tail-pipes and a sonorous soundtrack and it ticks all the boxes. The Mercedes C-Class was always a four-door luxury saloon of choice. Its playful side, however, was something we’d only heard of and experienced in the AMG 43 and the madder 63 S guise. Now, however, with a hard-top sloping roof and no rear doors, the C 43 Coupé ups the excitement and brings in more power than the erstwhile C 43 saloon; a car I adored, personally, as a proper everyday all-rounder. The Mercedes-AMG C 43 4MATIC Coupé, then, is the new kid on the block, both in the market and in Merc’s ever-increasing line-up. The MultiBeam LED…

THE SUN SHONE ON SOME SLEEK bodywork as a bunch of us stepped inside the Paddock Club area of the Buddh International Circuit. The Porsche World Road Show had come to India and there was a petrolhead buffet of sorts. A series of very fortunate events, so to speak. The new 992 generation Porsche 911 was officially launched, with the Carrera S and its Cabriolet counterpart being the first to arrive in India. Literally minutes after the launch, no time was wasted jumping in. With the drive experience and the participants each divided into four, the first section was the track driving experience. The convoy consisted of the new 911 and both 718 GTS models. FIRST OFF, I LIKE HOW THE 992 CARRERA IS VASTLY DIFFERENT visually from the 991.II…

THE FINAL SECTION HAD US TAKE THE Cayenne Turbo out to a specifically laid-out course that would showcase what the big Porsche can really handle. The first thing to do was to switch to the Terrain mode and then the Rocks mode for maximum ride height. The Cayenne raised itself about a couple of inches, to 245 mm, and seemed ready with its wider approach, ramp, and departure angles. The course was testing indeed. First came the rough road and undulations, followed by a huge ditch that saw it almost on its side. A climb and drop were next, the former had us test the hill-hold mode by stopping just before the crest. Quite a sweat-inducing few seconds those were. The Cayenne Turbo never broke traction, though, and then, building…

EVEN WITH THE CONTINUING dominance of the Mercedes-AMG team, the Bahrain GP had another story that used a fair bit of ink. That would be about Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, the Prancing Horse’s youngest ever F1 pole-sitter. Tipped for the win on that Sunday, Leclerc started well and was well on his way to the top step of the podium. Then tragedy struck as his Ferrari lost a cylinder, which saw Lewis Hamilton make up the 30-second deficit and pass by with a wave. Soon after, Valtteri Bottas passed him too, but not without a fight. Leclerc continued the struggle which turned out to be somewhat of a reward when Renault’s double disaster saw both Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo retiring at the same corner. The race ended under the Safety…

The Jeep Compass is one of the most popular compact SUVs available today and living with it has given us a keen insight into why this is the case. The seats are comfortable, keeping fatigue at bay even over long distances. The cabin is quiet, too, eliminating most of the ambient noise from outside. The ride on the Compass is plush and takes bumps in its stride, the infotainment system is clever and easy to use, and ample boot space is available. Apart from all of these, it is quite a looker, too, turning heads wherever we go, particularly in this shade of paint. The Compass doesn’t suffer from many drawbacks either; you have to shift down for urgent acceleration and there is a bit of body-roll in corners, but…

NEW THIS MONTH BMW Z4 The latest-generation BMW Z4 roadster has gone on sales and it's available with a choice of engines for the first time. Yours from Rs 64.90 lakh (ex) PORSCHE 911 CARRERA S 992 The iconic Porsche 911 has been introduced in its eighth-generation, only in Carrera S guise for now, from Rs 1.82 crore (base, 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 BMW BMW FERRARI FIAT HONDA HONDA JAGUAR JAGUAR LEXUS LEXUS MARUTI SUZUKI MARUTI SUZUKI MERCEDES-BENZ MERCEDES MINI MITSUBISHI RENAULT ROLLS-ROYCE TOYOTA TATA VOLKSWAGEN VOLKSWAGEN VOLVO…

THE NEW HYUNDAI VENUE WAS UNVEILED AMIDST GLOBAL excitement as both India and New York saw the veil being lifted earlier in April. The new Venue will come equipped with 33 smart technologies of which 10 are India-specific features. The Hyundai Venue is a modern, sub-four-metre, compact crossover SUV and the latest addition to Hyundai’s SUV family, set to join the Creta, Tucson, and Santa Fe. The name Venue refers to the “third place” which is inside the car, where people spend most of the time apart from their homes and workplaces. The Venue promises to offer a third space which is trendy, unique, and stylish and gets next-gen connectivity. The new Venue takes inspiration from the Kona, available internationally, and features a new family-face front design akin to the…

IT’S HERE. THE ASTON MARTIN RAPIDE E GETS AN 800-VOLT electrical architecture battery, encased in carbon-fibre and Kevlar casing, with a 65-kWh installed capacity using over 5,600 lithium-ion cells. This bespoke battery-pack lies where the original V12 engine, gearbox, and fuel-tank were located. The 800V system allows for more efficient charging and greatly improved thermal characteristics on existing electrical architectures. This battery powers two rear-mounted electric motors that should produce a combined output of just over 610 PS and 950 Nm. Aston Martin claim the Rapide E’s range to be over 320 km under the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP).…

KIA’S MOST EXCITING DRIVER’S CAR CONTINUES TO THRILL EVEN two years later. The new GTS is a limited-edition model of which only 800 cars will be made. The changes are distinct and aim to further improve driver engagement, key among which is the new D-AWD system which uses a mechanical limited-slip rear differential and a more rear-biased power delivery. The 3.3-litre V6 with 365 PS is now joined by three options of the Drive Mode Select, all re-optimized. “Comfort” sends 60 per cent drive to the rear. “Sport” sends 80 while “Drift”funnels all of the output to the rear and also holds gears and the revs, preventing unnecessary upshifts.…

SALES OF THE ALL-NEW BENTLEY BENTAYGA Hybrid have begun ― but only in Canada and the USA. The rest of the world will see its introduction in a phased manner. The Crewe marque calls it “the world’s first luxury hybrid”. It uses a 3.0-litre V6 turbo-petrol in combination with a 94-kW electric motor and a 17.3-kWh battery pack. The V6 petrol engine, from within the VW Group, makes 340 PS and 450 Nm. The electric motor, or E-Drive, adds up to 128 PS and 350 Nm. The peak combined system output is 449 PS and 700 Nm. An eight-speed automatic transmission handles power delivery duties to the all-wheel-drive system. Although it weighs in at 2,626 kg for the five-seat version, it can achieve 0-100 km/h in a claimed 5.5 seconds…

HYUNDAI MOTOR ARE MAKING HEADWAY IN THE FIELD OF interactive driver experience by upping the ante in terms of tech available in the car’s cockpit. They made their study public by integrating the latest technology in an i30 test car. The highlight of the set-up is that it is highly customizable and can be tailored to suit every driver’s requirements. They moved on from buttons and armed the steering wheel with touch panels briefly before replacing them with displays. Hyundai claim that the displays have haptic feedback and seamlessly allow interaction among the steering wheel, centre, and cluster display. In the latest development, the cluster has two Multi-layer Display (MLD) units stacked one behind the other at a distance of six mm, to allows for visual 3D effects. The set-up…

I own a Honda Brio S MT (2013 model) and I live in Mumbai. I want to change the tubeless tyres now. The tyre size is 175/65 R14. Which brand of tyres should I opt for based on the following parameters? 1. Super silent inside the cabin, just like the iVTEC engine 2. Durable up to three to four years on our roads 3. Fuel efficiency I generally drive on highways or city roads only but still there is feeling of rural areas in some parts of Mumbai due to poor road condition. Please recommend to me a few tyre brands for my Brio based on the aforementioned parameters. Shreyas, via social media Dear Shreyas, Different tyre-makers offer different strengths and we would like to put forth products of two…

IF YOU WANT TO BE RELEVANT IN THE LUXURY CAR MARKET, then you have to up your game on a regular basis. BMW have just done that with their flagship 7 Series. The 7 was launched in 2015 and, four years later, they have revamped the car. Once again, we were invited by BMW to Faro in Portugal to drive the facelift BMW 7 Series as well as the hybrid 745e. Not that the 7 Series was a bad-looking car back then, but all cars need a mid-life facelift and the 7 has been given just that. Its wheelbase has now increased by 14 millimetres and overall length by 23 mm, to 5,260 mm. Its width and height remain unchanged, though. The extensive design change at the front end starts…

IF YOU WERE TO PROPOSE THE AUTOMOBILE TODAY — A SELFISH, potentially lethal machine capable of distilling speed from old plants, and to be enjoyed with complete autonomy wherever and whenever you wished — you would, quite rightly, be locked up. But were you somehow able, as part of your pitch, to take doubters up the road in the new Bentley Continental Convertible, you’d prompt not screams of terror as their established physical truths — horses are fast, heavy things are slow, and travel is intrinsically tiring — were turned neatly on their head, but a profound sadness. Eventually, you’d stop, they’d step out, and, knowing they would never experience anything like it ever again, they’d wander off to start the rest of their now somehow paler, emptier life. For…

OWNSIZING. THAT’S BEEN A BUZZWORD FOR A while now and, for many a car enthusiast, it’s been a downward spiral with big V12 engines replaced by smaller turbocharged V8s or big V8s replaced by smaller turbo V6s or, worse, turbo fours. While they may match power output and reduce fuel consumption and some gas problems, they tend to take away from the car in some cases. Take away how? Well, some cars are legends and some are new names. The new names are not a problem because many car folk tend to accept some cars for what they are. However, the problem begins when a revered name loses something characteristic — one aspect that played a huge role in making it a revered name in the first place. Most of…

AS WE WHIZZ PAST SLOW-MOVING TRAFFIC, THE BMW X4 in this gleaming blue shade manages to attract a huge number of admirers, even though I’m not the biggest fan of this coupé-ish design. It takes inspiration from the bestial X6 which wasn’t the most appealing BMW concept, but definitely one that awed hugely. What I did admire about the X4 xDrive30d M Sport was its superb straight-six diesel engine and the fab CLAR platform. Driving that diesel engine with the never-ending supply of torque is nothing short of addictive, making it so effortless within the city and a hoot on the highway. This is a big car, stretching for 4.7 metres from its pointy nose to the tip of the boot-lid. The front has the usual BMW flair with an…

NO SURPRISE, I JUMPED into the new 718 Cayman GTS the first chance I got. The Miami Blue example not only looks like nothing else, but feels like a proper compact Porsche sports coupé. The hard-top 718 GTS is loaded with kit and there’s nothing anyone will really miss once they get in. The cabin feels top-notch and, as I got in and closed the door, the excitement seemed to wrap itself around me. The GTS models are tuned-up versions of the S models, which aren’t available here; yet. That means 15 more ponies from the 2.5-litre boxer-four, turbo-petrol engine, and some incredible acceleration times. Porsche claim 0-100 km/h in just 4.1 seconds and a top speed of more than what the back straight of the Buddh International Circuit would…

HE CHINESE GP WAS OFFICIALLY CONSIDERED a milestone race, it being the 1,000th Formula 1 World Championship race, not counting the 11 Indy 500 and 15 Formula 2 races in the 1950s. Valtteri Bottas secured his seventh pole, but it was his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, who took victory. Lewis has now won 75 races, 16 away from equalling the total of F1 legend Michael Schumacher’s all-time record. In addition, the Brit led the race from the outset. The result continued showcasing Mercedes-AMG’s dominance this season with a third consecutive one-two. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel took the final step on the podium, with the other red car of Charles Leclerc managing a fine fifth place behind Max Verstappen. The Dutchman managed fourth place in his Honda-powered Red Bull Racing car, keeping him…