Indian Autos blog

Though the variants they are talking about is still under study, the first vehicle to roll out of their under-construction Chennai plant will be a hatchback (Micra/March) and immediately followed by a sedan based on it.

At present, Nissan sells the Teana and the X-Trail which are fully imported vehicles that bumps up its prices. On the 16th of this month, revamped versions of both these cars will be launched in a bid to improve on the 120 vehicles they sold last year.

In our view, the rest of the variants could be hatchbacks and sedans – cars like the Versa could fit the bill, but only after detailed study can the demand for equipment, engines and features be understood.

On an unknown stretch of road in our neighboring country China, a lensman captured the upcoming Suzuki Kizashi clocking valuable test miles.

The Kizashi, according to magazines in India, will arrive here next year contradicting Maruti Suzuki’s earlier claims of taking appropriate decisions on the same only in 2011.

The new mid-size sedan is pitched at the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord league, which these days is topped by the Skoda Superb in India.

The Kizashi is a non-fuss D-Segment car that’s got the muscle, skin and detail of a luxury sedan. Ashley (China Car Times’ editor) claims it will be launched in their country with a 2.4-liter liter 4-cylinder engine. We expect the same motor in our country, though a smaller 2.0-liter is also in the works, which would be more suitable for our mileage-conscious country.

Maruti Suzuki has managed to sell a lakh of Swift Dzires just 18 months after its launch in India. MSIL launched the vehicle with the same petrol-diesel combination as the Swift and priced it between Rs 4.49 lakh and Rs 6.70 lakh rupees.

The company also said that it boosted production of Dzire from 4,000 units initially to 7,000 units a month now after people were getting tired of the 6 month waiting period that existing not very long ago.

After my harrowing experience with the Tata Indigo DICOR, I decided to try other Tata products including the Sumo Grande and the Indica DICOR to see what else could make me giggle.

I’ll speak about the Indica and Sumo some other time as what I commuted in today is nothing short of its mountain’s king.

The Tata Indica Vista was my official car for the whole of today. When I waved good bye, close to a 100 kms was clocked on it, mostly through the expressways and the rest in the congested, confused and complicated Chennai city traffic.

We were the first ones to bring a full pictorial review of the Indica Vista to the internet. I remember that day vividly. Back then we were not allowed to take it out for a spin since the official launch was not done. It should have been a few days before the launch and that was enough to get us excited.

It was I and Harish Kumar (a.k.a. Harry) who experienced the truly jaw-dropping Tata. It was not an Indica in any aspect. Gaps were tightened, surfaces were softened, levers and knobs were fine-tuned and the steering wheel was not the diameter of a well anymore.

We had begun blogging back then. To see a car that was yet to be launched right in front of our eyes was not a daily event. We were carried away. We wrote the plastics were in reach of international standards. Yes, it was a stupid comment.

How was the Indica Vista today?

Believe it or not, I never knew I was driving a diesel variant until the accompanying person informed me after I complained about its slightly noisy character past the 3.5k RPM mark.

No, I’m not making this up.

With that said, let me split up the review into different parts so that we cover the basics.

click on the post title to read the rest of the entry

During its Ad filming, the new S60 sporting Volvo’s new design language was scooped. It looks fabulous. It’s going to kill a BMW, Audi and Mercedes if Volvo takes care of marketing it properly and supporting its buyers well when it lands in India next year.

You’ve likely seen the concept which it is based on. Worry not if you haven’t – the production car spotted has very little separating it from its origin.

The new S60 comes from a company named Volvo – synonymous with safety. It will adopt technology that saves the Mercedes Benz S500 piloted by an inattentive driver, from ramming into the car in front – ‘Collision Warning with Full Auto Brake’ they call it. It can even apply the brakes if your collider is human.

The pillars have been put on a diet, while it is the opposite with other car makers – aiding visibility and reducing weight. However the materials in application is not verified, so we’ll not comment any further.

With the Frankfurt debut ruled out, the car could make an appearance later on this year at another international auto show. It’s coming to India next year for sure. No word on the pricing yet, its looks and features are under the spotlight for now.

Based closely on the Hyundai Sonata YF, this 2011 Hyundai Elantra was caught testing in the Nevada desert by the boys over at Edmunds.

The exterior (look at the roofline) is very close to the Sonata YF, I thought they mistook it for a new car and only upon closer inspection did the boot and wheelbase give away this new car.

The central console, speedo and tacho dials and even the steering wheel is inspired from the flagship model.

Powertrain options and information on variants are not available at this point. As this car is now out in the open, a lot more information is expected to follow.

if you can’t see the slideshow above, view all the images directly at the New Ford Endeavour Interior Image Gallery

if you can’t see the slideshow above, view all the images directly at the New Ford Endeavour Exterior Image Gallery