Indian Autos blog

To all the Jeepers in India, I am sure you are much chuffed about what happened this week. Your dreams have been fulfilled. The Mahindra Santa has finally delivered The Thar as a Christmas present. No longer do you have to search for Mahindra Classics in the used car market and then spend a fortune on re-doing them.

click through to read the full report

By Kaustubh Shinde

Previously we have shown you the spy pics of the Verna RB Hatchback. And we are glad to inform you that the Verna hatchback has been unveiled at the Guangzhou Motor Show a couple of days back. The Verna hatch will measure in at (LxWxH) 4085 x 1700 x 1460mm and will have a wheelbase of 2570mm. The hatch is exactly identical to the sedan with some really aggressive lines through the body and a very stylish rear.

On the engine front, this car may be powered by 2 engines – A 1.4 liter petrol & 1.6 liter petrol with outputs 107 BHP & 122 BHP respectively. The cog swapping duties will be taken care of by a 5 speed gearbox and also a 4 speed automatic gearbox.

As of now this car will only be on sale in the Chinese market. But if the past is any witness, this car cannot be completely ruled out for India.

Hyundai is going to manufacture the RB sedan in India next year and it could consider the hatchback for a position above the i20. Hyundai hasn’t been able to bring the i30 to India due to high costs, either through CKD or CBU. The Verna hatch on the other hand can benefit from the sedan’s localization and go on to repeat the success of the i20 if it delivers in all fronts.

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By Kaustubh Shinde

The Honda Jazz (a.k.a Fit) is one hatch back that has some awesome amount of space in it. The one complaint that we have in the current model is that the 1.2L engine feels heavily strained when trying to lug that huge body around.

Note that Honda sells the Jazz/Fit with larger engines overseas. The above sentence holds good only for India.

It seems that Honda has finally turned the hearing ear to us. The new Jazz will get a proper 1.5L engine with an electric motor assisting it alongside. A full-electric version of the Fit called the Fit EV is also in the works.

Honda could use the same technique on the other variants. The 1.2-liter engine could work in tandem with the electric motor and make the Jazz more fun to drive. Honda is also working on a tiny diesel engine for its compact hatchbacks and sedans.

Design wise, the car improved on the current looks and not going in for a complete overhaul. It is expected to have a new silver taillights and a new grille treatment as well. Over its lifecycle, the Jazz/Fit has certainly come of age and among the current crop of small cars, it looks unique. The current generation model has received a majestic front end and a mild makeover which expected in India in 2011.

With these interesting additions, and perhaps a diesel engine, Honda can position the Jazz in the future for buyers upgrading from Brio.

By Kaustubh Shinde

The bread winner for BMW – the 3 Series is all set for an upgrade in the next year. Codenamed the F30 (BMW is officially out of ‘EXX’ project codes), this car will make its formal debut at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. BMW has promised that the new 3 series will be (and I quote) “cleanest, thriftiest, most technically advanced 3 Series ever”. We presume it will also be the priciest 3 series ever

The design language of the new series looks like it has been heavily influenced by its elder sisters the 5 series Gran Turismo with a very snooty (shark like) nose and a few bulges on the hood. BMW say that the design is more ‘evolutionary’ than ‘revolutionary’. Nonetheless, we like the new design of the 3 Series. It has some really nice lines along the body and is certainly better than the out going car.

click through to read the full details

CNBC TV-18 is reporting that Maruti Suzuki is set to launch its Kizashi luxury saloon into the Indian car market on the 28th of next month. The Kizashi is Suzuki’s first luxury saloon and will be Maruti Suzuki’s first ever offering in the entry level luxury saloon space.

The Kizashi will be launched with both manual and automatic transmission options, But there’s a twist. Contrary to earlier reports, Deccan Herald claims the Kizashi will not feature the 2.4-liter, inline-four, petrol powerplant pumping out 185 bhp of power and 230 Nm of torque.

It instead will be powered using a 2.0-liter petrol engine with slightly less power and torque.

Due to reasons of cost, the Indian Kizashi is most likely to be offered only in Front Wheel Drive (FWD) guise, unlike international markets where an All Wheel Drive (AWD) version is also offered. Maruti Suzuki could launch the AWD version of the Kizashi at a later date, to take on the mighty Skoda Superb 3.6 V6 AWD.

Considering the rivals (Skoda Superb, Honda Accord) awaiting the Kizashi once its launched, Maruti is considering pricing the Kizashi a bit aggressively in the 18-20 lakh price bracket, which will place the Kizashi smack bang in Skoda Superb territory. Such pricing could also give the Kizashi a leg up on its other rival, the Honda Accord.

But, will the weight of the Maruti brand rein in the Kizashi from setting sales charts on fire or will it propel it to the top of the leader board? Only time will tell.

Our man Kaustubh Shinde has communicated this piece of text from the just concluded BMW X1 press conference at Deutsche Motoren in New Delhi.

- The BMW X1 for India has a different air filter, higher ground clearance and different suspension setup
- New BMW 6 Series coming during the first of second quarter of 2011
- Deliveries of the new X1 begin today. The vehicle has already been sold out in many parts of India.
- BMW says there’s no further update on Mini brand for India
- BMW, with its limited sales network, has still managed to register 1,000 pre-orders for the X1
- Plant capacity will be increased from current 5,400 units to 8,000 units per year to counter this massive order

Last week, IAB carried an article with the BMW X1′s prices and specifications. In Delhi this afternoon, BMW launched the X1 with the same specifications, variants and prices!

The new BMW X1 will be CKD (completely knocked-down unit) produced in India and the all India ex-showroom prices are as follows –

BMW X1 sDrive18i : INR 22,00,000

BMW X1 sDrive20d : INR 23,90,000

BMW X1 sDrive 20d Exclusive : INR 29,90,000

click through to read the press release

Thanks to our reader Ashley, we’re able to bring you the commercial of the Nissan Sunny from China. The Sunny is aimed at the younger group of people and the ad is a direct indication of who its target group is.

We’re not going to present the details of the Sunny again. Instead you can go to our previous post on the Nissan Sunny to learn more.