Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2022 i Car India

Volvo’s pure electric performance brand, Polestar, has revealed the new O2 concept car which it hopes will redefine the sport roadster for the electric age. The hard-top convertible is their vision of a car that pairs open-top performance with a thrilling driving experience while combining the benefits of electric mobility. Designed to be light and lively yet strong and confidence-inspiring, the O2 has predictability and playfulness at its core with tight body control, high rigidity, and intuitive dynamics from the bespoke bonded aluminium chassis adapted from the upcoming Polestar 5. With the new modular architecture, Polestar’s evolving design language can be adapted to different body styles while maintaining the strong family resemblance. The low and wide body with an assertive stance, compact cabin, minimal overhangs, and a long wheelbase embody…

IF YOU’RE FROM THE 32-BIT era of Microsoft Windows, one of the few non-NFS arcade games you might have come across would be “Midtown Madness”. The bright yellow Volkswagen Beetle was one of the first vehicles at one’s disposal which could do some insane speeds and had mind-blowing cornering capabilities. When the Taigun 1.5 TSI DSG was given to me for a story, coincidentally on a throwback Thursday, the only thing that came to my mind was the yellow ’bug from the game. So, the enthu-cutlet inside me wondered: what if we recreated the same, with a twist, in one of the busiest cities in the county? Apurva, who happens to be our photographer, said, ‘We’d get hungry, too, while shooting. Why not use food as checkpoints?’ That’s when a…

SOMETIMES, IMPULSIVE, UNPLANNED trips turn out to be the most memorable ones. With a few assignments to cover in Goa, I turned down the flight option and picked up the keys to my trusted Škoda Kushaq long-term car. Driving down from Pune to Goa is rewarding for most parts—from the scenic route dotted with roadside eateries to the lovely winding roads. An announcement of a road trip in the Kushaq was enough to get the family to jump into the fray. Early next morning, I loaded quite a few bags in the SUV’s boot, thanks to you know who (read: wife and an enthusiastic teen). The flat and deep 385-litre boot surprisingly accommodated it all and had room for more. The more time I spent with the Kushaq the more…

THE ŠKODA SLAVIA IS A REFRESHING NEW sedan in a market where the main focus has been SUVs for a while now. Yes, there’s been a fall in the demand for mid-size sedans and SUV sales are surging, but our market can’t be only about one body type and the Slavia hopes to start the three-box revolution. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill sedan, mind you. For starters, the Slavia is based on a robust MQB-A0-IN platform which also underpins the Kushaq, European build quality, and offers SUVlike 179 millimetres of ground clearance. These set the Škoda apart from the average dainty sedans. The handsome front with the new grille design and Škoda’s crystalline LED headlamps look a lot like the new Fabia, hinting at things to come. It has beautiful creases…

Let us be clear about what E28 M5 did not do first. The world’s first super saloon? A Dodge Coronet 426, Mk2 Jag 3.8, and many others would line up to set you straight on that point. BMW M’s first four-door? You could probably argue that the South African 530 MLE homologation special of 1976 nabbed that honour. Neither the MLE nor the German-built 1980 E12 M535i that came later had the M1’s 24-valve straight-six, mind, but the M635 CSi coupé did and it was unveiled almost 18 months before the E28 M5. Nevertheless, there was something special about the original M5, launched in the spring of 1985, and it was not only that it was the second car after the M1 to use the two-digit model code and get…

THERE’S DOWNSIZING and then there’s AMG’s version of downsizing. With the V8s in their bigger models seeing lowered displacement, AMG saw it fit to turn up the insane on the already potent four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine over 10 per cent: from 381 hp to 421! That’s 211 hp/litre from the 1,991-cc in-line four and some absolutely blistering performance. The A 45 S replaces the earlier A 45 (there is a regular A 45 with 387 hp, but not in India) which we never got to sample here (save for the CLA 45 on the same platform). Mercedes-AMG seem to be running wild but the reality is far from it. They have a clear direction and are capitalizing on segments, even creating new niches and establishing themselves with authority. Little wonder then…

HOW BIG IS BIG? AND HOW USABLE IS A GIANT, swoopy form that is two metres wide and five metres long? Yes, it’s prestigious and the road presence is like few others’ — BMW X6 M, Range Rover Sport SVR, Porsche Cayenne Coupé, Lamborghini Urus, and Audi RS Q8 — but there’s no denying it is one massive thing. The plop of a multi-tier cake batter that was shaped and crafted before being given some after-treatment to ensure it satisfies everyone. With every element imaginable, it does appeal to everyone in some way or other. Some love the coupé form, some don’t. Some love the big 22-inch wheels with smears of rubber. Some think it’s pointless. Some, ahem, love that big 612-hp V8 engine. Some think it’s obscene in this…

THE OPENING DAY IN Sweden saw the lead of the rally change hands many times. Ott Tänak (Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team) led after the opening stage, but he had to retire later in the afternoon when a warning popped up on his car’s hybrid unit. Esapekka Lappi (Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team) also had a great Friday for a while because he was in the lead after two stages but slid down the order and was not able to find grip later in the race. He had to settle for finishing 1.4 seconds behind Elfyn Evans (Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team). Evans struggled with his car’s handling but made up for it by winning the opening stage in the afternoon. However, his pace dropped later in…

THE “T” BADGE HAS BEEN SYNONYMOUS FOR REPRESENTING A dynamic form of driving from Porsche since the 1960s. The “T”, which stands for “Touring”, was offered only on the two-door 911 and 718 models. Now the Macan T becomes the first four-door model to be added to this unique range. The Macan T has the front elements, wing-mirrors, side blades, roof-spoiler, and logos on the rear finished in Agate Grey Metallic. Sporty tail-pipes and side window trims in high-gloss black are standard, as are 20-inch Macan S wheels in dark titanium. The interior has the black leather package on the standard eight-way-adjustable heated sports seats with contrasting silver stitching on the seats, head-rests, and steering wheel, which, thanks to the Sport Chrono Package, has the mode switch and Sport response…

THE 2022 MARUTI SUZUKI WAGONR IS HERE. This is the first update for the new-generation model which was introduced in 2019. While Maruti Suzuki have kept the styling alterations to the minimum, the most significant change is the addition of two new engines to the tall and efficient hatchback as well as the option of CNG for some trim levels. Let’s first look back at the origin of the WagonR. Since 1999, Maruti Suzuki have developed and sold the WagonR as a city car, particularly tailored for the Indian market. It was first introduced in India on 18 December 1999 and has subsequently received multiple updates. Despite certain differences, the second-generation WagonR model and style were shared with its counterparts in the international market. Design Since its launch in 2019…

REVEALED TO THE world at its birthplace in Chakan, near Pune, India, the all-new Volkswagen Virtus sedan is built on the MQB-A0-IN platform, which also underpins the Taigun. The all-new Virtus is a handsome sedan. At 4,561 millimetres long with a 2,651 mm wheelbase, it is longer than even the A5-generation Jetta premium sedan that VW had on sale earlier. With a width of 1,752 mm, it is the longest and widest sedan in its segment. Another kicker is the generous 521-litre boot volume. With LED lights all around, a sharp profile and aggressive contours, the Virtus certainly looks the part. The GT models get a blacked-out treatment and a boot-lip spoiler for a proper sporty effect. The new Virtus will be offered with a pair of petrol engines, A…

The 3.0 CSL and its contemporary, the 2002 Turbo, laid the foundations for BMW’s “ultimate driving machine” adventure. Along with their less powerful but still charming siblings, they pointed the way to BMW’s modern car-making template: mixing the excitement and drama of the better Italian sports saloons and coupés with the reliability and quality of a German car. It has been paying dividends ever since. The CSL was the ultimate manifestation of the E9 CS coupé. It was a homologation racing special (the “L” was for leicht or light) built to put extra sporting sparkle into BMW’s burgeoning reputation. As Board Member Bob Lutz noted around the time of the CSL’s launch in 1972, a car company is like a human being. ‘As long as it goes in for sport,…

For a car that nails the M division brief so perfectly — rear-wheel drive, locking diff, manual gearbox — the 1 Series M Coupé is a surprisingly off-script M car. It is M division gone A-Team, like a crew barricaded themselves in Garching overnight, armed only with angle grinders and welders, then blasted back out the next morning in a car built from gut-feel and stuff they had found lying about inside. The 1M is an unusual M car for several reasons. Its suspension was not evolved from the 135i that sat one step below and nor was it bespoke. Instead, it was nabbed from the E90-era BMW M3. This was born from pragmatism, but it became crucial to the factory hot-rod’s appeal in making the front and rear tracks…

While the Audi and Mercedes were busy kicking each other’s heads in over our long weekend of testing, the BMW got promoted step by step, driver by driver. And it did so because the supposed class benchmarks lost some of their lustre between the glossy brochure and the reality of the winding road. The M240i won in two areas of crucial importance for a roadgoing performance car: ride and handling. The steering is on another level, blending a fluent meatiness with total clarity and exactly the right measure of response. No comments added, no facts suppressed, no cryptic messages or fancy stunts clouding the performance. There is a linearity and honesty to this direction-finder the other two more heavily chip-loaded systems simply cannot match. Everything about it is spot on:…

THE TOYOTA FORTUNER has dominated the market in India and will continue to do so. While some competitors are reducing engine capacity, Toyota have made a positive step forward by delivering a more powerful engine. Toyota launched the Legender variant alongside the 2021 facelift model. The Fortuner facelift, introduced late last year, is a majestic SUV. The only thing it probably missed was a 4x4 version, which Toyota have recently provided and it is the one we have here. The Fortuner Legender has a sporty flair at the front. Except for the logo, the grille is designed differently and the grille appears to be inspired by Toyota’s sister brand, Lexus, with its X-shaped motif. To add to the sportiness, the designers have incorporated various blacked-out pieces upfront. A new headlamp…

MEETING THE DEMANDS OF CAR-BUYERS ISN’T easy because there are so many directions a manufacturer can take. Getting the set-up and combination right is just one of them. But the key is to represent the core values of a brand without diluting it with compromises which may have been suggested by departments other than engineering. The BMW 3 Series Gran Limousine manages to get this combination brilliantly balanced, making it not just good value for money but also extremely usable and practical for the Indian environment: from styling, space, and luxury to sporty dynamics the blue-and-white badge is renowned for. And now the German car-maker has topped it all up with the goodness of the M Sport Kit. Now that’s an offer which is hard to resist. As you know,…

THE FINAL ROUND OF the 2021 JK Tyre National Racing Championship was scheduled to be held in late January 2022, but it got delayed by a month due to a sudden outbreak of COVID-19 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. However, it was well worth the delay because there was enough racing action to watch over the weekend. Following practice and qualifying sessions, the first race took place on Saturday and the LGB Formula 4 class was the one to watch. With almost everything in place to seal the championship without a lot of trouble, things went wrong for the title favourite, Vishnu Prasad, when his car went off course. The rookie driver, Amir Syed, saw an opportunity and lunged for it. He drove a remarkable race and kept the more experienced…

THE ID RANGE HAS SEEN THE badge being used on all Volkswagen pure electric cars. Expanding their line-up of EVs, VW have unveiled the ID.Buzz and ID.Buzz Cargo. These all-electric vans will carry forward the legacy of the iconic Microbus but with zero emissions. Design-wise, the Volkswagen ID.Buzz looks unlike any VW in the market. It gets sleek LED headlamps at the front with a properly boxy body design finished by a neatly laid lightbar for the tail-lamp cluster. The wheels are a set of 18-inch units as standard; however, one can upgrade to wheel sizes as large as 21 inches. Built on Volkswagen’s MEB (Modularer E-Antriebs Baukasten or Modular Electric-drive Matrix), it includes a 77-kWh battery pack that’s mounted in the floor of the ID.Buzz for a lower centre…

THE NEW MORGAN SUPER 3 HAS AS MANY CYLINDERS AS IT DOES WHEELS. WITH MORGAN, 2+1=Super 3. Morgan have reworked their iconic three-wheeler design and added an extra cylinder to make it even more desirable. The previous Three-wheeler, with a typically Morgan retro design, had an S&S 2.0-litre V-twin big bike engine plonked in the front. The Super 3 is different. For starters, Morgan have kept their three-wheeler design philosophy of the 1920s alive that drew inspiration from the cockpits of jet engines. However, it has undergone a fair share of rework. At the front we see neat round headlamps and a tiny bonnet that hides the engine, which was previously exposed. Glance along the side of the car and you’ll see new sideblades that work as chassis reinforcement and…

Volvo Cars are testing a new wireless charging technology in a city environment. Over a three-year period, a small fleet of electric XC40 Recharge cars will be used as taxis by Cabonline, the largest taxi operator in the Nordic region, and charged wirelessly at stations in Gothenburg, Sweden. The charging stations are delivered by Momentum Dynamics, a leading provider of wireless electric charging systems. Charging starts automatically when a compatible vehicle parks over a pad embedded in the street, allowing convenient charging without getting out of the car. The charger sends energy through the pad, which is picked up by a receiver unit in the car. For the XC40 Recharge cars, the charging power will be more than 40 kW, about four times faster than a wired 11-kW AC charger.…

REMEMBER THE T.50? A CAR THAT WAS MADE IN THE 21ST CENTURY came with no forced induction, no electric or hybrid support or even an auto ’box? Well, for a lot of the millionaires out there who wanted to get their hands on one, but couldnt because of how manic it was, there’s more where that came from. Gordon Murray, CEO, Gordon Murray Automotive, recently unveiled a “calmer” version of the same platform, named T.33. However, there is a difference of perception between the “calmer” we understand and Gordon Murray does. Allow us to explain: a 3.9-litre naturally aspirated V12, revving up to 11,100 rpm, boasts of 615 hp at 10,500 rpm and 451 Nm at 9,000 rpm, gets a six-speed manual ’box or an IGS system from Xtrac, and…

Market Discrimination Overseas, the Škoda Kodiaq is available with ADAS and more features than the one in India comes equipped with right now, even though it is still quite expensive here. Is it worth the price? Bala J, via social media Dear Bala, We think it is still worth the money because you are buying a car that drives well and has elements of superior quality in the cabin. So, although the list of equipment may not be as long as that in its global variant, the Kodiaq still gives its rivals a tough time. Second Car Choices We want to buy a second car for the family within Rs 15 lakh and we have shortlisted the Honda Amaze, Škoda Slavia, and Volkswagen Virtus. Which one would you recommend? Comfort…

THE MG ASTOR MADE ITS DEBUT IN THE BUSTLING AND extremely popular mid-size SUV segment, long dominated by just a couple of names. Now, however, there are more names tackling the arena and who want a bigger piece of the growing pie. The Astor, then, is the British brand’s first model to include an AI-based personal assistant, Level 2 autonomous technology with ADAS features and comes with a choice of two petrol engine options. While technology is becoming increasingly vital, artificial intelligence (AI) is the most recent development. MG are outfitting the Astor SUV with an AI-powered personal assistant, taking this to new heights. The MG Astor will take full advantage of AI by including a slew of capabilities. The MG Astor, which is essentially a petrol-powered variant of the…

THE MERCEDES ME CONNECT app seamlessly links your Mercedes car to your smartphone, your house, and a variety of useful digital functions and services to make your life easier. You can keep an eye on your Mercedes even if you aren’t near it. Control the vehicle’s operations, check the status, and remain informed. The Mercedes me apps make it easy to connect with your smartphone: simply log in with your Mercedes me ID from anywhere. You may pair your car with your Mercedes me account and personalise your services after logging in. Mercedes me connect allows drivers to communicate with their cars from anywhere in the globe and request assistance with a single press of a button. Connectivity is augmented with the package for navigation. The hard-disc navigation ensures that…

WE’VE SAID IT BEFORE AND WE’LL SAY IT again, “Safety First!” Having a safe environment is crucial for someone to be themselves and let that lighthearted spirit take over. Having a safe space allows one to be happier and more engaged in what they’re doing without having a nagging thought of uncertainty in the back of their mind leeching the grey cells that would otherwise be consumed by joy and focus. In this age of uncertainty, safety plays a key role in a buying decision, more so when it comes to cars, what, with traffic getting noticeably worse by the day. Renault have always delivered dynamically-gifted cars with inherently excellent ride and handling characteristics; across all segments and price ranges. The Kiger is no exception. It combines a strong build…

THERE ARE MORE REASONS THAN ONE that make the Baleno Nexa’s top-selling model. So, while updating the premium hatchback, Maruti Suzuki didn’t just reinforce its virtues but also strengthened its weaker aspects and, although this is a facelift, the changes are quite significant. The essential design remains the same with its smooth, flowing lines and an easily recognisable silhouette. What immediately grabs the attention are the new projector headlamps with attractive new arrow-head-inspired LED daytime running lights (DRL). Even the front grille is wider now with a ripple-like effect and a sleek chrome garnish. There’s a new front bumper with a bolder fog-lamp housing and a wider air dam with a couple of horizontal slats. In effect, the new model now looks wider and squatter. Overall, the car is shorter…

Step One of raising your profile as a car brand: build a supercar. And since you are BMW Motorsport GmbH (the snappy one-letter nickname is not official until 1991), best make one that is a racing car as well as a road car. Step Two: DM for collab. Giorgetto Giugiaro knows a thing or two about shaping supercars, Giampaolo Dallara knows how to develop them (he did the Miura and one or two successful racing cars, after all), Lamborghini know about building them. The brief: Lambo to create the chassis, build the prototypes, and, in turn, the production car. Giugiaro gets busy on the design, taking inspiration from Paul Bracq’s stunning 1972 BMW Turbo concept car. So far, so good. But then, with a handful of prototypes racking up (fast)…

When, finally, the sun sets on the combustion-engine car, the sky shifting first to a (lightly smog-smudged) orange before fading to black, the ’80s will surely go down as the type’s golden age. The combustion engine has evolved since, of course, becoming smoother, cleaner, more powerful, and tougher. But for the car itself, the machine that has capitalized on the engine’s outrageously high specific output and curious hold over the human imagination more successfully than any other, the ’80s were as good as it got. Highly evolved mechanically but relatively uncorrupted digitally and electronically, the cars of the ’80s stand in starker relief with every passing year; products of a Venn-diagram sweet spot. When, in 2020, we gathered together seven of the best cars we had ever driven for a…

In many ways the M Coupé is the odd one out in this group of BMW icons. It has no motor sport pedigree, production was short-lived, and objectively it was neither a commercial nor even critical success. So, why is it here? Because, above all, this car is a brilliant demonstration of the M division’s vision and craft, transforming unpromising base material into something arresting, unique, and — as time goes on — highly sought after. The so-so starting point was the Z3 M Roadster, into which was shoehorned the E36 M3’s 3.2-litre straight-six. The Coupé required greater structural rigidity to improve the droptop’s sloppy dynamics, so the chassis was stiffened and the roof-line stretched all the way over squat rear haunches to meet a puckering tail. These days, you…

The 2010s ring in with change for M — hello turbocharging and SUVs; goodbye V10 madness. The mothership enters the decade fresh out of F1 and into electrification projects with the i3 and, more pertinently, i8 hybrid supercar. There is even talk of people not driving future BMWs. Blimey. The M3 GTS is a fantastic V8 auf wiedersehen, the 1M and M2 are turbocharged peaches, and the brilliant new M5 proves that four-wheel drive can let us have our doughnuts and eat them. But the 2014 M3 and M4 miss the target and the M8 does not quite do the business either in competition or on the road. Musical chairs at the top makes M management anonymous, in contrast to Tobias Moers at AMG, which goes one better than Audi…

TELL ME, DO YOU EVER actually stage a pedal-to-the-metal 0-100 km/h run? It is a figure quoted all the time and taken very seriously in certain circles. If you regard it as the hot hatch holy grail, then the test ends here for you: Audi claims a sprint time of 3.8 seconds for the RS 3, the Mercedes-AMG A 45 S in its slipstream can do the job in 3.9 seconds, while the BMW is another four-tenths behind at 4.3 seconds. Half a second between the first and the last. But that dragstrip exercise is in reality only a fragment of the bigger picture. Neither the RS 3 nor the A 45 feels as quick off the mark as a PDK-equipped Cayman GT4, for instance. The Porsche crosses the line…