Indian Autos blog

Hyundai according to reports and rumors will bring the i10 facelift to India this Diwali. A i10 prototype has been spotted testing near Chennai with enough camouflage to make us believe this is a refreshed model. We tried studying the spy shots and came up with this illustration.

At the front, there will be bigger headlamps, a wider front grille, new bumper and fog lamps.

We expect Hyundai to add a 1.2-liter CVVT (variable valve timing) engine to the menu. There could also be a 1.0-liter Kappa engine on the cheaper model, but this is pure speculation.

Hyundai won’t bother making the new i10‘s interiors any grander or comfier. There could be an addition or two but nothing to write home about.

Maruti Suzuki announced today that it will launch the A-Star Automatic on the 15th of August. Since the manual transmission’s launch back in 2008, Maruti Suzuki says 60% of the A-Star buyers walk into Maruti showrooms having already made up their mind and turn a blind eye to other models in the Maruti Suzuki line-up.

Maruti claims that the A-Star automatic transmission will suit the need of the young buyer who has started his family life with his wife and his small kid. This claim is astray from the norm, as we all know automatics appeal to women, beginners and older people.

The 4-speed A-Star Automatic has a ARAI certified mileage of 17kmpl, a mere 2kmpl short of the manual transmission.

I write this article after spending inside the Suzuki A-Star Automatic, roughly six hours. I’ve been driving it for three hours in city, highway, rural and partially off-road conditions. The remaining time was spent on keenly observing every other aspect of the car.

I’ve not had the opportunity of being in an A-Star for this long, so firstly I’d like to tell you how the A-Star comes across – a bubbly, spirited and racy compact car!

My experience with the A-Star previously has been limited. I carried a very cramped-and-underpowered opinion, but that was wiped off after the first few minutes behind the wheel.

The A-Star’s front seats are very comfortable and designed for 6-footers. There’s a good amount of shoulder, head and thigh support, and as long as you’re seated in the front, long journeys will be fatigue-free. I like the steering wheel’ position, it’s mounted higher on the dashboard. There’s no problems reading the speedo. The gear indicator sits neatly on the left. The operation of some of the levers and buttons are soft and sharp. The rear view mirrors provide a good view of the traffic behind. Overall visibility is good. While reversing however you’ll have to put up with the small rear windshield and thick C-Pillar which don’t help in the cause.

The steering is light and for city car standards, it’s up there with the best. It helps to make amazingly quick turns. The brake pedal is larger than in the manual transmission car, so the extra surface area helps if you’re wearing your size 10 jogging shoes. The brakes are a bit spongy Get used to it and they do their job very well.

The A-Star’s strength is its engine. It’s a 3-cylinder, 1-liter engine and at idling, to my surprise, it is smooth as silk. During normal operation, it doesn’t fail to amaze even the toughest of critics. Rev it hard, it doesn’t send out hard vibrations your way that other small capacity engines manage with ease. The engine is free-revving, and we’ve heard from many A-Star owners that its fuel efficient as well.

The sore point of this fantastic car has to be the automatic gearbox. I didn’t go into the drive expecting it to be in the level of the Mercs or BMWs. I know this is a car built for economy and the fairer sex would use it for their trips to the mall. Having said that, the auto box is a boon in bumper-to-bumper city traffic. On the sparsely populated highways, it again is a blast to drive.

So what is it that I don’t like about it? What about the rear seat comfort? How about the boot space? Top speed? Acceleration?

You’ll have to wait until tomorrow for those answers, I’m afraid.

Carwale reports Maruti will introduce the Suzuki Kizashi in India this year. The vehicle, according to Carwale, will reach Maruti dealerships by the close of 2010.

The Kizashi was on display at the Auto Expo 2010 in New Delhi. It generated good response among show goers for its styling, interiors and build quality.

Suzuki has launched four sedans till now, the Esteem, the Baleno, the SX4 and the Swift Dzire. The Kizashi will be its fifth. The Baleno wasn’t received well by Indian customers and the Esteem was replaced by the Swift Dzire less than three years ago.

The Kizashi coming to India in all likelihood will sport the 2.4-litre petrol engine that makes about 185 bhp. Maruti could introduce the six-speed manual first and later on could bring the A/T model.

Will the Kizashi compete with the likes of the Skoda Laura, Volkswagen Jetta, Honda Civic? Or will it be positioned higher up to take on the likes of the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and the Skoda Superb?

Are there enough buyers who will ignore the Camry, Superb or even the value the Accord offers and end up driving home a Kizashi?

Going green is the mantra for today’s day & age. The scenario is similar in the automotive industry too. The latest to hit the roads is E-rick. This striking vehicle is an initiative by Eco- Activate & is sponsored by Vodafone & is currently operating in Delhi only.

The E-rick is powered by batteries & thus reduces dependence on gasoline. The vehicle does its bit to reduce the carbon footprint with zero emissions. E-rick is an effort to provide a pollution free means of transport in the national capital.

It was flagged off by Delhi Chief Minister Smt Shiela Dixit a couple of days back. On the occasion she said -

There is a need for collaborative efforts to make Delhi a pollution-free zone. We are extremely proud to lend support to E-ricks in Delhi and look forward to more and more people opting for green technologies such as this. We have always been conscious about environmental issues and hence are supportive of such initiatives which would help ensure a healthier and greener city. Not only with this ensure a green future for ourselves but also for the coming generations

The vehicle is pretty hi-tech. It features a fully recyclable polyethene cabin along with a heavy duty modular steel frame and an advanced, digitally controlled electric propulsion system. The E-rick is not a new concept & has been witnessed at many international locations such as the 2004 Athens Olympics, the 2006 Football World Championship in Germany & any more.

Sanjay Warke, Chief Executive Officer, Vodafone Essar – Delhi -

“We at Vodafone have always been environmentally conscious and have been making consistent efforts to contribute towards a greener planet. This initiative is a step forward in promoting green transportation for a cleaner and greener environment in the capital”

The E-rick will be made available for commuters at a few routes in Delhi namely – Chandni Chowk, Saket – Press club Road, IIT – SDA Market area, GK II, Delhi University – North Campus.

Indian Autos Blog is in Delhi driving the Maruti Suzuki A-Star Automatic transmission variant. We’ll start our journey in the next one hour and head towards Agra where we’ll try and judge the 4-speed A/T’s capacity in city conditions.

Updates will not be continuous today. We’ll update as and when we get the time.

Stay tuned for more!

With Ford rapidly developing the next generation Ranger pickup truck for global markets, we feel it is only a matter of time before Ford comes out with an all-new Endeavour SUV based on it.

The Ford Endeavour is several years old now, and a year back, it received a major cosmetic makeover to keep it in line with the competition. The refreshed Endeavour today, is in a better position than it was before the launch of the Fortuner. People who are sick of the ever-lasting queues outside Toyota showrooms to drive home a Fortuner, have reversed out, and driven into a Ford showroom to pickup this beast.

The Endeavour hasn’t set the sales chart on fire. It’s been a good choice for politicians who want to muscle their way through traffic in comfort. It’s offers generous amounts of luggage and leg space. Its fuel efficiency is not all that bad. It looks like a washing machine with wheels from certain angles which is exactly what the Ford designers need to address with the new Endeavour.

Ford cannot make the new Endeavour round and curvy. The change in design cannot be drastic. If you brush, shave, polish, curve and round the design, you might end up with a Captiva. Not good.

We think Ford will start designing the new Endeavour with the sketches of the existing car. They could transfer some kinks, lines and muscles from the Explorer SUV which they’ve re-created and launched in America. The design language could be same given both the vehicles are meant for severe mile munching or load hauling.

The new Endeavour, according to our estimates, will be in India by 2013.

In the next few days, Ford will launch the superhit Figo hatchback in the Nepalese market. Ford’s official distributor, GO Automobiles, will take this car into Nepal and provide it with service backup.

Ford launched the Figo in India back in March and over 25,000 cars have been sold (and booked) ever since. Nepal will get both the petrol and diesel variants, with the former available in three trim levels.

The Ford Figo, though coming from an American car manufacturer, has not seen America even briefly. It is a refurbished Mk5 Ford Fiesta that was designed and developed for Europe. The Figo is based on the same platform as the more expensive Fiesta sedan currently sold in India. The Fiesta sedan, like its smaller sibling, was developed by Australian engineers for the Indian subcontinent. The Ford Ikon likewise is a much older Fiesta with a boot. The biggest Ford – the Endeavour – bases itself on the Ranger pickup truck that sells in Australia.

Sunil Chhetri, manager of GO Automobiles -

We are planning to sell at least 600 units of Figo within a year

The Figo will have nothing more or nothing less compared to the car sold here in India. We’re not expecting Ford to bring out the 1.6-liter version as the market for such a hatchback is virtually absent. Increasing the engine displacement means it won’t qualify as a small car. It will attract higher duties which will make it expensive.