Innehållsförteckning för March 2020 från Car India

MERCEDES-BENZ HAVE LINED UP A TOTAL Of 20 PLUG-IN hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) models that will be introduced in global markets in the very near future. These include everything from compact luxury cars to full-size SUV models. The 20 new PHEVs will pack a larger battery pack, with an energy density of 31.2 kWh. These vehicles all have a target electric range of 100 km. There will also be a provision of a 60-kW DC fast Charging. Mercedes-Benz are no strangers to the concept, with several past models already using the plug-in hybrid powertrain format, and they’ve even going through generations of the technology, from the BlueTEC Hybrid in the previous generation E-Class and the former C- and E-Class, to the wider range at present, which includes the phenomenal C…

VOLVO HAVE INTRODUCED A REfRESHED line-up for the new model year, with a choice of a 48-volt mild-hybrid powertrain now available for every single model. The mild-hybrids offer up to 15 per cent reduction in fuel consumption and emissions in real world driving. The brake-by-wire system interacts with the energy recovery system to recuperate power under braking. Volvo Cars revealed refreshed versions of the S90 sedan as well as the V90 and V90 Cross Country estate models. The changes include new fog-lights, new spoiler design, and a new lower front bumper. The V90 duo get a brand-new rear light design, including full LED-powered signature lighting and a sequential turn indicator. Inside, a comprehensively upgraded Bowers & Wilkins audio system offers a better in-car sound experience. An Advanced Air Cleaner with…

THE POPULAR HYUNDAI ELITE i20 HATCHBACK HAS HAD ITS mid-life facelift and is now due for a replacement. That replacement has been spotted and is now going viral on the interweb. This, then, is the new i20 that will step in all global markets where the South Korean major is present. The low, angular stance looks aggressive and the rising shoulder-line gives it a very dynamic look. A two-tone paint finish is expected as shown and the rear end also receives some lightning-style treatment with a floating rear tail-light bar running across the centre. Expect a selection of Euro 6/BS-VI powertrains, including a 1.0-litre T-GDI three-cylinder turbo-petrol with 100 or 120 hp as well as a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel, tuned down slightly from what the new Creta will offer, with…

THE ICONIC DEfENDER NAME IS BACK IN ITS LATEST GENERATION IN AN ALL-NEW avatar. The all-new Land Rover Defender has been doing the rounds on social media with its larger-than-life advertisements; the latest of which features the SUV flying across landscapes as part of the latest James Bond movie. If the advertisements are anything to go by, then we are looking at what may be the best Defender yet, in terms of tech and capability. After being launched globally in late 2019, the Defender is finally being offered here in India. The Defender will be offered in the legendary 90 and 110 models: three-door short-wheelbase and five-door long wheelbase, respectively. Both will be powered by the P300 2.0-litre, in-line four, turbo-petrol that makes 300 hp and 400 Nm, with an…

Audi A8 The Audi A8 L has landed its opulent self in the country in just one high-end petrol variant, priced from Rs 1.56 crore (ex-showroom). With the “L” standing for “long” (wheelbase), the new A8 L will surely pamper its occupants. This is the fourth-generation of Ingolstadt’s flagship sedan to be sold in the country and Audi have certainly thrown in all the bells and whistles. The car is the benchmark for Audi’s Vorsprung Durch Technik or “advancement through technology” and it features their new design language that makes for an enhanced appeal. The engine should put a smile on anyone in the driver’s seat, too. The 48-volt mild-hybrid 3.0-litre V6 TfSI turbo-petrol puts out 340 hp and 500 Nm and it is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission…

Suggest an Appropriate Car I am looking to buy a car below Rs 10 lakh. The main attributes that I am looking at are a good engine, spacious interior, and a comfortable drive. I prefer a car with a petrol engine and it will be driven both within the city and on the highway. Most importantly, the car should entail a low maintenance cost. Could you suggest a hatchback or a sedan within my budget? Ins Ashok, via social media Dear Ashok, The Hyundai Grand i10 NIOS is the car that fulfils most of your needs and the petrol variants are priced between Rs 5.0 lakh and Rs 7.14 lakh. On the other hand, the Renault Triber is an MPV that offers a lot more than its rivals and, mainly,…

Over the last five years, Bosch have focused on connectivity and electrification and a lot of it has borne fruit. What sort of spread do you see and are there any particular areas that have met or even exceeded targets so far? Over the five years, apart from the focus on the, let’s say, regular legislative impulses coming out for migration from BS-IV to BS-VI. Then we had traction of ABS, ABS in four-wheelers, ESP in four-wheelers, so that’s one part of the traction we have built in the last five years. Mobility is also changing, as you have heard. We don’t look at mobility from the viewpoint of just automotive technology like we have done so far, but look at it more on our experience level as well and…

The Indian car industry is a force to be reckoned with. All the international big names are here or are about to enter and we’ve had two new brands step in this past year alone. From entry-level models to the best premium-class and high-performance examples, the year gone by witnessed some incredible automobiles and some iconic badges being brought into India. The Car India Awards 2020 recognize the best offerings from the Indian automobile industry this year, just as they have been doing for the past 15 years. This year’s gala celebration event had the honour of hosting the biggest names in the automotive fraternity for a memorable evening for many. The Jury Meet The esteemed jury of Car India Awards 2020 diligently test-drove every single four-wheeler contending for the…

THE ICONIC DEfENDER NAME IS BACK IN ITS LATEST GENERATION IN AN ALL-NEW avatar. The all-new Land Rover Defender has been doing the rounds on social media with its larger-than-life advertisements; the latest of which features the SUV flying across landscapes as part of the latest James Bond movie. If the advertisements are anything to go by, then we are looking at what may be the best Defender yet, in terms of tech and capability. After being launched globally in late 2019, the Defender is finally being offered here in India. The Defender will be offered in the legendary 90 and 110 models: three-door short-wheelbase and five-door long wheelbase, respectively. Both will be powered by the P300 2.0-litre, in-line four, turbo-petrol that makes 300 hp and 400 Nm, with an…

WITH THE INCOMING BS-VI EMISSION NORMS, WE fORMALLY BID adieu to the fIAT (fabbrica Italiano Automobili Torino) brand and their idiosyncratic but engaging offerings, including the Punto Abarth. However, their departure marked another end ― that of the popular MultiJet 1.3 diesel engine. The 1,248-cc, turbo-diesel, four-cylinder engine is nothing less than an icon of frugal performance. In India, it has been under the bonnet of five brands and more than 25 models and many more variants, in both 75-hp and 90-hp guises. These include the fIAT Palio, Punto, Punto Evo, Urban Cross, Avventura, Linea, and the 500; the Tata “Quadrajet”-badged Indica Vista, Indigo Manza, Bolt, and Zest; the Chevrolet “TCDi”-badged Aveo, Sail, Sail U-VA/Hatch, and Enjoy; briefly in the Premier Rio CRDi4; and, of course, the Maruti Suzuki DDiS…

SINCE ITS LAUNCH IN 2016 THE VITARA BREZZA HAS BEEN ONE of my favourite compact SUVs in India. And I am not alone. In less than four years, there have been five lakh of them on the road, making it the segment leader. There were quite a few reasons for its popularity. To begin with, a torquey diesel engine, smart styling, and aggressive pricing. Now the company has given the car a makeover and, interestingly, some of these virtues were not incorporated into the 2020 model. With stricter BS-VI norms kicking in this year, the company has shelved the very popular FIAT-sourced 1.3-litre DDiS diesel engine for a cleaner 1.5-litre K-series petrol unit. Maruti are only looking at petrol engines for their compact car range and, in doing so, miss…

A NEUTRON WALKS INTO A BAR AND ASKS for the day’s special. The bartender hands him a Rusty Nail. ‘How much?’ the neutron asks. The bartender replies, ‘For you, no charge!’ For whatever reason, I wanted to open my first electric car road test with a joke. It’s funny how much one needs to unlearn and relearn when they realize the world basically runs on oil and needs to move on. That, of course, requires a paradigm shift of epic proportions. As slowly as they may be accepted the world over, the electricity-powered car is here to stay. Where that electricity comes from is a different matter altogether: coal-fired thermal plants, hydro/solar/wind energy harnessed to its maximum potential wherever possible, and, of late, the hydrogen fuel cell built into the…

THE WORLD IS ENDING. WHILE THERE ARE MANY REASONS behind that statement, one of them is the blatant continued consumption of fossil fuel and not enough serious attempts to make a move to cleaner and shared mobility. Unless we cut fuel consumption by more than half, nothing is going to change and we need to take some drastic measures to mend our ways. While there are various priorities for everyone, be it reducing the fuel import bill, saving money or, for a few thinking ahead, even saving the environment, the way forward is the same. I’ve been on a sort of a green streak lately. I admit, the effects of a certain young woman striking for climate got my attention. I knew we needed to reduce emissions and be cleaner,…

MAHINDRA ADVENTURE HAVE BEEN IN THE BUSINESS OF adventurous travels and competition for quite a while. From expeditions to Spiti to picturesque tours like the Great Escape in Sakleshpur, there is something for everyone. Mahindra Adventure’s Camp Out is their latest venture wherein owners register to be part of a tented accommodation weekend across the country. We were lucky enough to join them for the Rann of Kutch leg in Gujarat which turned out to be a fairly pleasant weekend with good company. The trip started with all of us meeting at a Mahindra dealership in the town of Bhuj, about 70 kilometres from the famous salt plains. On arrival, we were briefed on the day’s plan of action and then sat down for a hefty vegetarian lunch. Soon after,…

THE PAGANI IMOLA MARKS A MAJOR step forward in the technological and scientific progress of Pagani Automobili. Named after the racetrack on which it was modelled and fine-tuned, the new Pagani Imola is a roadworthy race-ready hypercar. It has been conceived and built with an entirely racing temperament that embodies the maximum expression of Pagani Automobili’s track technology. Some of the new components have already been used in the Huayra Roadster BC and will be a feature of Pagani’s future creations. The Imola uses the active aerodynamics system first seen on the Huayra; also the first road-legal vehicle ever to be equipped with the technology where each of the four mobile winglets behaves according to the driving circumstances in a dynamic and immediate way and even when braking, by generating…

CONTINENTAL HAVE ALWAYS SHOWN THE WAY TO THE future and, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2020, they had another eye-catching innovation. The “transparent hood” function developed by Continental was awarded the CES 2020 Innovation Award and, no, it does not involve a car with a see-through front end. Continental have made use of satellite cameras located at the front of the radiator grille, at the rear, and one each at the bottom of the wing-mirrors. Of course, these cameras independently cannot provide a visual that mimics a see-through front end. The impressive tech here is the Image Processing Algorithm developed by Continental. Data drawn from the sensors and cameras is reconstructed to provide a seamless visual of what lies underneath the car. This feature can be particularly useful while…

ŠKODA HAVE COMMENCED THE RESERVATION window for the high-performance Octavia RS 245 on 1 March 2020 via a centralized platform (www.buyskodaonline.co.in). The car costs Rs 35.99 lakh and can be booked with an amount of Rs 1 lakh. Only 200 units are on offer, sold exclusively through the website. The RS 245 gets the 2.0 TSI turbo-petrol engine with 245 hp and 370 Nm, with the seven-speed DSG (direct-shift gearbox) dual-clutch automatic driving the front wheels. Five colour options are available.…

PART Of THEIR SUVW PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTED BY THE ID.CROZZ electric SUV, Volkswagen will be introducing two new SUV models as soon as this month! The Volkswagen Tiguan range is all set to welcome another model, the seven-seater Tiguan Allspace, all set for launch on 6 March. The Allspace will be powered by a 2.0-litre TSI petrol engine that produces 190 hp and will also feature VW’s 4MOTION all-wheel-drive system. A seven-speed dual-clutch DirectShift Gearbox (DSG) automatic will handle transmission duties. The T-Roc compact SUV is also slated to be launched soon thereafter ― on 18 March, to be more specific. It will draw power from the new 1.5-litre TSI turbo-petrol engine that cranks out 110 hp and a peak torque of 150 Nm and is mated to the seven-speed DSG…

A little of what Car India has to say about the new Amaze: “We often allude to design philosophies followed by manufacturing giants such as Honda when describing what the car looks like and you won’t find a better example than the Amaze when it comes to keeping the familial theme going. “Based as it is on a new platform, this second-gen Amaze has gotten a little roomier than before. You can fit five adults without a fuss and headroom is ample too. “If you are in the market for a compact sedan that is comfortable, reliable and has the convenience of an auto, the Amaze is definitely up there.”…

THE NATION’S CAPITAL MAY BE A THROBBING, pulsating metropolis but it isn’t what you’d call relaxing. With surging traffic and ever-growing jams as people rush about like so many buzzing bees in an overturned hive, there’s hardly a moment’s peace to take a deep breath and unwind. City streets aren’t ideal conditions for the avid petrolhead to satisfy the craving to burn some fuel and cover some miles either. That craving is a strong one in those of us who tend to leave our troubles behind in a swirl of wheel-dust and exhaust smoke, though, and I’m definitely not immune to it. And so, with the call of the adventure growing ever louder and, with it, the need for open roads and fresh air, I set off for Ranthambore. My…

IT’S FUNNY HOW PERCEPTIONS CAN SHAPE YOUR OPINION. When I first heard I was going to the track to drive a car which was coming in via CBU (completely built-up) with an on-road sticker of rupees one crore and had “fire” in its name, I got properly hyped up. The hype in this instance, though, wasn’t real. Turns out the track was a test-track, not a racetrack, the car was actually a van, and the “fire?” Well, this van is also called the Alphard in some markets, so that just seems like a deliberate misdirection. Now I am a proper car guy, so even though the prospect wasn’t as tantalizing as I had built it up to be in my head, I was still looking forward to this drive. That…

VOLKSWAGEN T-ROC R The SUV that satisfies R urges THE CAR MARKET OVER THE LAST couple of decades has been, shall we say, “sector fluid”. With all the platform sharing and niche filling that’s been going on, the product range of every German manufacturer has become as bewildering as a giant chocolate selection box — one offering every conceivable flavour, fused and blended together. Like this car, the new Volkswagen T-Roc R: if it were a chocolate, it would be a strawberry crème bon-bon with a praline filling, coated with chilli chocolate and topped with a jellied banana. As a car, you might describe it as a “Junior 4x4 Suburban Crossover Sports Activity Coupé Hot Hatch”. Or, to put it another way, it’s the new Golf R SUV. The T-Roc…

RALLY SWEDEN TOOK OFF TO A turbulent start as inclement weather forced officials to cut the day short. The racers had to tackle roads that were a mix of ice and gravel for the first day. Elfyn Evans (Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team) set the pace by winning the opening special and was immediately in the cross hairs of Ott Tänak (Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team). After setting another fastest time in the following stage, Evans was the leader for the day because the rest of the stages were cancelled. Right behind the top duo, the teen Toyota driver and Evans’s teammate, Kalle Rovanperä, slotted himself into third place. Saturday’s route was similar to that of the previous day and was spread over a distance of 64 kilometres.…