Nissan India has registered a stand-alone website for the Sunny sedan and has started the process of teasing it. There’s not much Nissan can work as it revealed the Sunny in Mumbai a few weeks back [read our comprehensive first look here]
Unlike the 370Z or X-Trail, the Sunny is of Tier-1 importance to the company. Why? It will be part of the hip-and-happening B+/C segment of the Indian market. The Skoda Fabia sedan will try encroaching this segment later this year but even without the Skoda there are other players to give enough headaches.
Nissan Sunny has generous dimensions and space will be its USP. The rear AC vent and many handy features picked from the Micra parts bin will further give it feature richness. There is something about the looks of the Sunny many of us find interesting. Unlike the Vento or the City, the Sunny’s form begins to develop and grow on you.
The Vento has proven that with brand strength and a diesel engine, the Honda City’s reign can be ousted. Nissan has surprisingly chosen not to bring out the diesel in the initial stages and that’s the first question we’ll ask when we meet them during the launch. A new 1.5-liter petrol engine will power the car and let’s hope Nissan does not delay the introduction of the diesel.
Nissan has to price the Sunny well if it needs good footfalls at dealers.
Sources have told IndianAutosBlog.com that the Sunny sedan breaks cover only past September 15. Stay tuned for more details and developments.
In this IndianAutosBlog.com discussion video, I ask you which of the six launches I’m speaking about (Safari Merlin being the speculated 7th) is the hottest launch this festive season. Which one of the following six launches do you think is the hottest and why? Are you planning to buy any one of these six vehicles this Diwali?
Watch the video to know my views on each product and choose your favorite. Put your pick in the comment box below (click Read More to see it) and crucially tell me why.
Skoda Laura vRS
Mercedes C-Class
Etios Twins Diesel
Tata Safari Merlin (speculative)
Mahindra W201
mini Xylo
Honda Brio
Based on the response to this experimental video, IAB will decide how frequently we conduct discussions video posts with its readers. Your view and comment counts!
click Read More to head to post page to register your comment.
Mercedes Benz India has just informed IndianAutosBlog.com that its new C-Class will be launched on the 1st of September in a New Delhi event. The launch was expected to happen in the first half of September and Mercedes is ahead of time on this one.
The C-Class facelift has a refurbished rival list to race with. The Audi A4 facelift has been caught testing in Europe and BMW is ready with the next generation 3 Series that bows in during the Frankfurt Motor Show, days after its India unveiling.
Mercedes Benz does not have the kind of volume models BMW or Audi has. Audi’s next major launch will be the Q3 which we expect to premiere at the Auto Expo in New Delhi during January. BMW’s next generation 3 Series is rumored to be a step ahead of the other two German sedans and will be interesting to see if it captures a lion’s share of the 30-40 lakh rupee sedan pie.
Existing powertrains on the C-Class are likely to be carried over and the marketing material will talk about the reworked front fascia and interiors.
Stay tuned as IAB gets you more details in the build up to the launch.
There are two new cars for those petrol premium hatch buyers today in India. The first is of course the new Swift which has had a very strong start with 50k+ bookings and then there’s the cut-price Honda Jazz that lacks a diesel but makes up for that more with an amazing sticker price and huge amounts of space.
The Jazz has almost been down segmented and will piggyback on the Honda brand image in India.
Time and again Skoda India has said that a car under the Fabia is essential if it wants to expand its market presence. Having seen the lackluster approach in launching variants, especially in the last 18 months, and following a group company’s typical strategy of playing second fiddle to VW products in many segments, Skoda’s version of the Up! might not be launched in India simultaneously or within a short time period.
Skoda presented many products at the Auto Expo in New Delhi last year and planned to introduce many of them in India.
The only products that came to the market were Yeti and the Skoda Laura vRS.
So the question we’re asking is will it take the Skoda Joyster/Youngster a year or more after the Up to appear? Will the delay and familiarity have a negative showing on the Skoda small car?
Volkswagen might want to wait for the Up to settle down before the Youngster/Joyster drives in. The Fabia sedan-Vento have followed the same procedure and it might be the protocol for all products that occupy the same segment and are priced similarly.
Tata Motors will soon drop the Aqua, Aura and Elan names from the Indigo Manza brand sources familiar to the matter have told IndianAutosBlog.com.
Instead of these suffixes, Tata Motors will adopt the same nomenclature as the new Indica Vista – LS, LX, VX and ZX for diesel, and GLS, GLX, GVX and GZX for petrol variants on the Manza. The Manza is available in four variants on each engine option, so the LX could substitute Aqua.
A recent market study conducted has shown that there is confusion in the minds of the customer due to the vast ocean of variants in the Tata portfolio. Since the original Indica continues to receive upgrades and exist in the portfolio, the confusion grows bigger.
Maruti Suzuki has taken the common nomenclature route and ZDI is the top-end model across brands in the same segment. Tata Motors will look to recreate the same effect and uniformity.
The source adds that gradually, the export market models will also gain the new variants and the recent cosmetic operation carried out on the Vista.
Like on the new Vista, the font size of Indigo could be further minimized and eventually cease to exist on brochures and marketing material.
With all the spy pictures we’ve seen it wasn’t exactly hard to assume how the car would look without camouflage. The new B-Class is official now and it will be shown to the public at next month’s Frankfurt Motor Show. It will be available in international showrooms in 2012.
The B-Class’s target customer is people who want practical mobility with quality. The B-Class’s interiors is influenced from the SLS AMG and looks very high on quality.
The mini MPV has grown in size as well and is now 4,359mm long (+86mm), 1786mm wide (+9mm) and 1,557mm tall (-43mm).
The rear seats of the new B-Class will fold in 60:40 ratio. An optional ‘EASY-VARIO-PLUS’ system will also be offered which will allow the rear seats to be laid out differently along longitudinal axis by upto 140mm.
The new engine on offer would be a 1.6 L gasoline engine delivering 122HP and 200 NM in the B180 variant and a 156HP and 250NM in the B200. A diesel 1.8 L turbocharged 109 HP and 250 NM diesel for the B180 CDI and a 136HP 300 NM diesel for the B200 CDI would also be listed.
Every time you see a Jaguar XJ you are reminded of how much there is to desire in this world. How much is still there to be achieved. It shrinks many of our big accomplishments and makes them feel meager.
The car’s looks remind you of richness, wealth and exclusiveness in just a glimpse and you never fail to say “WOW!” every time you see it. Happens rarely that a humongous limo could make you appreciate it more for it looks than for the luxury it offers, the XJ is a gorgeous limousine and among the very few to enjoy that status.
