The highly anticipated next generation Suzuki Swift has been unveiled and specs have been revealed officially. The 2011 Suzuki Swift which doesn’t drastically look different from its predecessor. The headlamps and tail lamps look sharper and edgy now.
Though the visual changes are very mild and seem to carry over the cheeky styling of the out-going Swift, the car is all new. The Swift has grown bigger in every aspect 90mm longer, 5 mm wider, 10mm taller. The wheelbase has been stretched by 50mm. The roof of the car is not as sloping as the previous gen Swift and hence would create more head room for passengers at the back.
The interiors of the 2011 Swift is a big leap ahead of its predecessor, the new interiors look classy and have an excellent finish. The chunky steering wheel looks more like a BMW’s. The design of the dashboard is typically European. The dials look very sporty and the instrumentations and switch gear looks like its been taken off a more expensive car. The only similarities you can find between the interiors of the old and new Swift are the gear knob and the Suzuki badge.
The 2011 Suzuki Swift would come with two engines, a 1.2 liter Dual VVT petrol engine which produces 93 bhp and returns around 20 kmpl and the 1.3 liter DDiS diesel engine which produces 75 bhp and returns around 24 kmpl (international fuel economy figures). A four-speed automatic transmission would be offered only on the petrol variant.
For India the base version of the next gen Swift could come with the new 1.2 l K-series engine which produces 84 bhp. Maruti Suzuki could be bringing the 2011 Swift by the first quarter of 2011. The new Swift would be replacing the existing one soon and could cost marginally higher.
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Business Standard reported last week that one of Renault’s five models to India over the next few years will be the Kangoo MPV which will be localized vigorously to take on the likes of the Maruti Eeco and Tata Venture.
The second generation Renault Kangoo (dubbed Kangoo Evolution) was introduced back in 2008. Termed “Leisure activity vehicle” in Europe, the vehicle measures a little over 4m in length with a wheelbase of about 2.7m.
It doesn’t take research to predict that Renault will offer this model not only to families, but stripped-down versions will reach cab operators for a bargain. Renault has presented plenty of powertrain options including electric, plug-in hybrid and engines that can run on CNG/LPG. The obvious choice, by the look of things would be the 1.5-liter CRDI engine that will also power the Micra family of vehicles.
The Kangoo looks better and should feel better than vehicles like Venture, which are based on platforms primarily meant for commercial vehicles. If the Kangoo has to benefit from lower excise duties, the short wheelbase variant is the vehicle in question.
The Ultra Low Cost (ULC) car project involving Bajaj and Renault – Nissan has come to a temporary standstill. The problem this time seems to be issues related with the production and branding of the car. The Bajaj and Renault-Nissan ULC car was originally supposed to hit Indian roads this year, followed by a release in International markets, a year later. But, due to delays in the execution of the project plans, the launch dates of the car kept getting pushed. The car is now scheduled for a launch sometime in 2012.
The delays in the implementation of the project plan seem to be the result of the three companies focusing largely on their individual game plans for the Indian market and thereby leading to a delay in the implementation of the ULC”s project plan.
Bajaj Auto will be handling aspects of the car such as its design, engineering, sourcing and manufacturing while the Renault-Nissan alliance will focus on the marketing and selling of the car.
Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director, Bajaj Auto Limited -
Bajaj Auto has not finalised any production plans as of now, despite the launch of the car being less than two years away
Kiminobu Tokuyama, Managing Director and CEO, Nissan India -
We are to yet finalise production plans of the Ultra Low Cost car. No decision has been taken yet
With two of the three companies involved in the ULC car project stating that the production plans for the car have yet to be finalised, there seems to be no end to the delays that the project has been plagued with. It now seems as if the JV trio of Bajaj, Renault and Nissan will have another announcement of a delay to their ULC car project. Will this car ever see day light?
Kia Motors which is a subsidiary of the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group would soon be entering the Indian market. The Korean carmaker had plans of entering the Indian market four years ago but since the market wasn’t exactly booming, Kia dropped its plans.
Now with India becoming a very lucrative market for carmakers and being the second fastest growing car market, many car companies are trying to make an entry into India and cash in on the rapidly expanding market. Earlier we had news about French carmaker, Peugeot-Citroen planning to set up a plant near Chennai.
Kia has reportedly hired an international consultancy firm to study the Indian car scene and the feasibility of Kia’s global models for Indian conditions.
Kia which is seen as a value brand in other countries may not necessarily drive into India as a value brand. For example Skoda, which is considered as a low cost alternative for premium brands like Vokwagen, Ford, Opel in Europe actually enjoys a reputation as a luxury carmaker in India. Kia could follow the same approach.
Though Kia is a value brand that sells car at dirt cheap prices abroad, the company’s manufacturing techniques aren’t cost effective to that extent to drive into India with low cost cars. As Hyundai is already an established small car maker in India and having Kia also sell cheap small cars could cause Hyundai to cannibalism on Kia. So we think it makes more sense for Kia to come in as a premium car brand.
Kia’s new range of cars with the ‘Tiger Face’ design language has made its range look better and more upmarket. With new cars like the ‘big’ small car Ceed, MPV’s Soul and Venga and the Forte sedan, Kia could do extremely well in India if its portfolio fills the gaps in the Hyundai range.
We brought you spy pics of the Hyundai H800 small car for India day before yesterday. We simply couldn’t stop trying to get details about the small Hyundai being tested under heavy camouflage. We had a detailed discussion with our avid follower who caught the mule. We were told the car looked taller than an Hyundai i10 and had the i10′s headlamps.
After hours of observations and estimations, we passed on our thougths to our ‘Design Director’ SRK, who almost instantly came up with this rendering of what the new Hyundai small car could look like.
Here are our observations of the spied Hyundai H800 small car that translated into this rendering. The car looked taller but narrower than an i10. The car had a plain side walls (signs of a low cost car). The camouflaged car has an interesting design element in the rear, the rear tail lamps (a white element sandwiched between two red elements vertically) were extended a little form the rear windscreen. The Nissan Micra and the new 2011 Maruti Swift could have such a design but the lamps were positioned a bit higher, so it cant be a Micra and the lamps weren’t as edgy as the Swift, so it is neither.
The observed profile at the rear look dangerously close to the previous rendering of the Hyundai H800 we had showed you (though the styling looked too futuristic the profile is the same).
As all Hyundais are, the sides of the car would look plain but interestingly styled nose and rear would manage to make the car look better. The sped car had the same traits.
The car could come with a small 800cc engine developed by Hyundai and would compete with the Maruti Alto and the upcoming 800cc Chevrolet Spark.
Tata is set to launch the updated Indica Vista in the Italian market this month. The Indica Vista replaces the erstwhile Indica in the Italian market.
The Italian spec Indica Vista has been loaded with features for the Italian market and all variants of the car have Power Steering, All four Power Windows, Front and Rear Fog Lamps and Central Locking as standard fitment.
The engine options in the Indica Vista for the Italian market will range from a Fiat sourced 1.4 litre, 8-valve, petrol engine producing 75 bhp to the Fiat sourced 1.3 litre, award winning, Multijet diesel engine. The 1.4 litre petrol engine is available as a petrol only option, as well as a bi-fuel option with either CNG or LPG. The 1.3 litre diesel engine variant has been termed the Quadrajet, similar to the Indica Vista being sold in the Indian market.
The pricing for the Indica Vista in the Italian market ranges from 9900 Euros (Rs. 5,60,000) for the petrol engined variant to 11280 Euros (Rs. 6,38,000) for the diesel engined variant. The LPG and CNG variants have been priced at 11520 Euros (Rs. 6,52,000) and 12360 Euros (Rs. 6,99,000) respectively.
Volkswagen India is set to make an exciting announcement for the Indian market on the 6th of July. We do not know as to what the announcement is about and whether it is regarding the launch of one of its future products or not.
The announcement could be regarding the launch of the Volkswagen Vento or the Polo 1.6 or the Phaeton. But, we are just speculating as to what it could be. The exact details as to what the event is about will only be revealed on the 6th of July. Watch this space.
Spied while testing on the Pune – Shirdi highway by our reader Tarun Kumar Tripathy, this appears to be a normal Fiat Linea right until you pay close attention to its exhaust tip. Unlike normal Fiat Lineas, this temporary registered Fiat Linea, that seems like a test mule, possesses a chromed oval exhaust tip. While normal Lineas have no exhaust tip, their tailpipe also folds away downwards at the end. The spied Linea’ tailpipe is perfectly straight.
If one compares the exhaust tip of this Fiat Linea to the one of the Fiat Linea T-Jet showcased at the Auto Expo in Delhi, it shows that the exhaust tips of both the cars are exactly identical.
So, could this be the Linea T-Jet or was it a normal Fiat Linea with the exhaust tip of the Linea T-Jet? It is difficult to ascertain this because the badges of this Fiat Linea are not clearly visible at night, but our guess is that it is the Fiat Linea T-Jet which will be launched a month after the 90hp Punto.
