In a surprise or sorts, Toyota has opted for the seven-speed CVT on the facelifted Corolla Altis rumored to debut next month, Autocar India reports. The current Corolla employs an old 4-speed torque-converter.
Toyota will continue offering the same manual transmission and engines – 1.8-liter petrol and 1.4-liter diesel, will also be retained. This puts an end to speculations of a smaller 1.6-liter petrol engine to take on the Honda City.
The new Altis will come with refreshed looks and minor interior changes. The Altis was given a facelift back in 2008 and since then there hasn’t been any cosmetic upgrades barring the diesel variant on which a mesh grille was introduced.
Even the cheapest car in the world (referring to the Tata Nano) can afford turbo.
David Paja, Vice President of Honeywell Turbo Technologies told Shanghai Daily recently. The Tata Nano diesel is expected to debut by the end of 2011 in India with a turbocharged CRDI diesel engine. The turbocharger unit is assumed to be the smallest on a mass-produced automobile.
We call it Ford EcoSport – the new Fiesta platform (B-Platform) SUV is put through torture tests. Filmed testing in the town of Hortolandia in Brazil, car enthusiast Swatmcgyver had one hand on the steering wheel and the other on a camera filming the fleeing test mule.
The mule wore a body of the Fiesta hatchback while certain well-camouflaged plastic components on its front and rear fascia are from the SUV. Notice the increased ride height and the awkward wheel wells. This is a SUV wearing a hatchback’ clothes.
Sources tell us Ford India is considering the opportunity of building a compact SUV on the Fiesta platform. The company, last week told us that it will build different top hats on global platforms. The EcoSport seen testing here sits on the B-Platform that underpins the new Fiesta siblings.
Garware Motors in association with S&T Motors have put two superbikes – Hyosung GT650R and Hyosung ST 7 – on the market today in Mumbai. The bikes will be assembled at the company’s facility in Wai and is hopeful of selling 2,000 superbikes in 2011.
Skoda is preparing a sedan between the Fabia and Octavia dubbed “Felicia,” Romanian auto website Promotor reports. The Felicia is expected to join the Skoda family next year and will take on the likes of the next generation Renault Logan in Europe. In India, this model can be positioned right below the Volkswagen Vento to take on the likes of the Etios, Manza and Dzire.
Design idioms from the VisionD concept, revealed in Geneva last month, will be featured on the Felicia, but the product following it – the next generation Octavia (Laura in India) will turn up the sound. Technically based on the next generation Golf (Golf 7), the new Octavia will not have significant changes to its dimensions. The Czech manufacturer will instead lay more emphasis on quality and offer higher equipment levels.
The Octavia will express the evolution of the Skoda brand as it will be a next generation model in all aspects. According to ProMotor, the new Octavia will be offered in three body styles – hatchback, sedan and estate. Under the hood Skoda is said to be working out a hybrid powertrain and isn’t ruling out the possibility a pure-electric powertrain either.
The baby Bimmer is one the most successful products from BMW’s Portfolio in India. It catapulted BMW’s sales figures beyond the 1,000 units/month mark last month. BMW, in fact, had to stop bookings last year to fulfill the current demand. Clearly, BMW X1 is here to stay in India.
Reports suggest that after the new BMW 3 Series, the company is also planning to revamp the X1 by the end of 2014. Here we have an unofficial rendering from TopSpeed of what the BMW X1 would look like.
According to the Topspeed, the X1 will focus on better aesthetics. It will draw its inspiration from the new 3 Series and the 5 Series. All equipments currently present on the SUV will remain in the new car and will and most likely the latest ConnectDrive technology will be offered for those interested. A hybrid version will also be offered in the future. In India the variant we can expect to see in 2011 is the sDrive 23d with a 2.0-litre turbodiesel inline four variant, which produces 200hp and 400Nm of torque mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission.
Wow! Paul Tan is reporting that Toyota will launch a new MPV in Indonesia this year. The report states the launch could either be the next generation Avanza or Innova. These two models have been around for a long time and updating them is inevitable given the rise in number of players in the MPV segment.
We think this development has to be related to India as Toyota is toying with the idea of bringing a MPV to India that will sit just above the Etios. The Etios platform might serve as an apt base, but TKM officials dismissed it as speculation.
Marketing GM Widyawati Soedigdo of PT Toyota-Astra Motor (TAM) -
Akan ada mobil baru salah satunya MPV di IIMS (There will be a new MPV at Indonesia International Motor Show 2011)
Also listen in to what was said last year -
Toyota Motor Asia Pacific Senior Vice President (Area Operations Division) Vonce S Socco told reporters last year-
There is a room for another model between Etios and Innova. We are seriously considering it and a study is going on for this. But if anything like that happens, it will be in 2012 or after that. Nothing has been finalised yet, but our inclination is towards a multi purpose vehicle
TAM officials say the new MPV will be “much improved” and the pricing will be “very competitive.” The IIMS will be held in July.
If this product is the next generation Avanza, we can certainly expect Toyota to consider it for our market.
The Innova made its debut overseas in 2004 and went under the surgeon’ knife in 2008. The smaller Avanza is a much older product, debuting back in 2003, the last time it was given a facelift was five years ago. The Innova might not witness a thorough overhaul as it is selling well. Instead Toyota might carry out a re-skinning operation and lend it extra features. The MPV discussed here is very likely to be the Avanza.
The 2012 Nissan Versa was driven on to the stage at the 2011 New York Auto Show with an an eye-popping price tag of $10,990. The car revealed in reality is not the next generation Versa which was showcased as the Tiida in Auto Shanghai simultaneously. The car Americans will buy instead is a sedan based on the Micra platform, which is also expected in India during the festive season under the name Almera.
India has to consider itself fortunate as the rear AC vent and Automatic climate control are expected in the Indian version, are absent on the US-spec model. In India, rear seat comfort is given top priority in a car costing just about 10 lakh rupees. American don’t use the back seat as much as we do.
The Versa is the best selling car in its segment in North America (it outsells the Chevrolet Aveo and the Hyundai Verna), but here in India that won’t necessarily hold good. Hyundai has taken up this segment in war footing planning as many as 10 variants for the new Verna, while Ford is going all out with the sporty Fiesta, the Figo’ success serving as a launchpad. The VW Vento is setting the standard in this segment and is looking good to eclipse the City from the throne.
