The cat’s out of the bag. Diagrammatic representations of future products on Renault India’s official website has not turned out to be a good idea, as some of them are very accurate. Case in point – the drawing that represents a quirky compact SUV – unless you are blind you wouldn’t mistake it for anything but the Duster.
Earlier this year, IAB reported of sightings of a mysterious SUV testing near Mahindra City, Chennai. The Duster is a compact SUV based on the Logan platform. We’ve thrown light on the Duster since the time it was being testing overseas using the Logan’ body. Mind you, this was back in 2009. Intense speculation however began only in June 2011 where we suggested a price band of 7-8 lakh rupees for this Scorpio slayer.
Kaustubh Shinde picked up on the Duster in March this year and asked readers if the Duster was the wrong choice for Renault India. Clearly, IAB has given you complete coverage and commentary of the vehicle a full year ahead of its launch.
In India the Renault Duster will be fitted with the same 1.5-liter diesel engine from the Micra producing about 85bhp and 200Nm of torque. The Dacia badges will disappear and new, sleek grille is expected on the Indian model.
On its official website, Renault has displayed the Koleos’ local debut date as October 2011. It hasn’t made it very obvious, but the form of the diagram is unmistakably of the Koleos. The Fluence and Koleos will form Renault’ second innings attack for 2011 followed by three new products in 2012.
The Koleos crossover is based on the Nissan X-Trail platform scheduled for assembly starting this September at the Renault-Nissan combine’ production facility in Oragadam, near Chennai.
There are two engines to choose from – the 2.5 L petrol engine producing 169 bhp and the 2.0 L diesel that makes 148 bhp. Choice of transmissions is limited – you process power either through a 6-speed manual or automatic transmission.
The Pajero Sport was supposed to be launched last year but the rising yen meant the SUV would never come to India at a lucrative price point. We know Mitsubishi doesn’t keep all its promises, and even “confirmed” launch dates have to be termed speculative or tentative in this Japanese company’ case. I’ll tell you why – Mitsubishi told Indian Autos Blog that the Pajero Sport, in the CBU form, [ Read More ]
After SRK envisioned the Skoda Rapid, TheophilusChin has also brought forward a renderings of his vision of the Skoda Rapid. This version is heavily inspired by the Vision D – a design concept that was revealed by Skoda at this year’s Geneva Autoshow.
This rendering is also heavily influenced by the Vento which is probably not the right way forward. Right from the wheels to the side profile to the front fascia, everything screams VENTO!
The reason why we say that it is not the way forward is because although Skoda and VW essentially share the same platforms, their design cues are very different. Thus every Skoda looks different from its VW counterpart. This relationship can be observed in Polo-Fabia, Jetta-Laura and even Passat-Superb.
Clearly, if Skoda and VW start sharing the design cues as well, it will mean that we are buying exactly the same products at different price points. The Skoda Rapid should look completely different to its counterpart Vento. It should also be priced below the Vento so as to not eat in the sister’s marketshare.
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With petrol prices skyrocketing, it’s no wonder that majority of people are opting for diesel cars. With modern technology, majority of diesel cars have become refined and pack a punchy performance. What’s more is that they combine strong performance with amazing fuel efficiency figures and are thus are lighter on your wallet. Now a study conducted by Care Research says that diesel vehicles will account for around 1/3rd of new [ Read More ]
With the 2013 Mercedes S class flaunting itself while being tested, you just know that BMW is not going to sit around and do nothing. Here we have a spyshot of the BMW 7 Series which is expected to get a minor facelift and debut late this year or by 2012.
The new 7 Series is will feature a new set of headlights including an LED strip indicator. The headlamps will be on the similar lines of the 1-Series and 3-Series prototypes. Because, this is one of the first spyshot, details are very hard to come by.
Indian Autos Blog readers will be aware of our speculation on the 7 Series LCI from March and its local assembly plan. With the new CKD definition, BMW might defer it until the local factory is equipped to assemble engines.
A compact sedan on the Honda Brio platform is expected to make an appearance in two years time, PaulTan.org has reported. This is not a shocking development to IAB readers as our image rendering specialist Shoeb R Kalania illustrated a souped-up sedan variant using the Brio with a redesigned front-end and plenty of chrome last month.
The Brio sedan is a no-brainer – Honda uses platforms for more than one model. In India ready examples are the City and Jazz, and Civic and CR-V. Strapping a small diesel engine to the Brio sedan is compulsory as the Toyota Etios will on top of its hit list.
If you feel the i10 is small and the i20 is expensive, fret no more. Noticiasautomotivas has caught a test mule of what it calls “i15″ (codename – HB) being tested in Brazil.
The idea is that there is a viable segment between the i10 and i20 for those who are looking for more space and functionality at a lesser price point than the i20. This vehicle may not be launched in India but Brazil and India are grouped as developing markets with striking similarities and common trends.
Hyundai is working on a small car below i10 with a 814cc 3-cylinder petrol engine internally called “HA.” The “HB” could be an magnified HA, but we’ll have to see the car undisguised to deduce commonalities. In the next two years Hyundai’s next generation i10 diesel project will reach completion, possibly under the codename “BA.”
Hyundai HB should have should have a range of engines starting from the basic 1.0-liter petrol to 1.6 16v engine for a price a notch below i20.
Do you think Hyundai India should conduct a feasibility for a local launch or do you think a small sedan will be a better option to sandwich the “i” hatches?.
