Indian Autos blog

IndianAutosBlog.com has got its hands on the new Maruti Swift brochure and it is attached past the break for your perusal.

The new Swift was launched hours back in Delhi, and the images and video shot at the launch will be uploaded on IAB in the next hour. IndianAutosBlog.com will also attend the Mumbai launch of the new Swift this evening to bring the Mumbai prices along with thoughts and comments from the local Maruti staff.

We have gone through the list of variants in a previous blog post along with the prices. For readers who are just joining in, Maruti Suzuki has launched the new Swift with prices starting at 4.22 lakh rupees. Comments have already started pouring in and as our reader Shaiju B points out this is another revolution in the hatchback space.

Maruti has improved the dimensions of the car in the view to improve rear seat comfort. The new Swift is also fitted with bigger front seats. Both the engines have been remapped and accelerate quicker, according to MSIL.

click through to see the brochure

An IndianAutosBlog.com reader from Mumbai has just sent us these two snaps of a yellow Skoda Laura vRS from outside a supermarket in central Mumbai. The Laura vRS caught here has no camouflage, but it is a new vehicle probably registered to Skoda Auto.

Skoda bought the vRS model to the Auto Expo last year (branded Octavia RS) in the same shade.

The company will launch the Laura vRS on the 31st of this month but with sales of petrol cars falling, how many can Skoda sell?

We are unsure about the car’s technical specifications. Stay tuned to IAB for more updates on this blog post.

In another press conference unfolding simultaneously in New Delhi, Maruti Suzuki has launched the new Swift for a price of 4.22 lakh rupees (ex-showroom New Delhi).

The petrol and diesel cars have three variants each (LXI, VXI, ZXI and LDI, ZDI and VDI).

Key features of the new Maruti Swift

New Maruti Swift LXI/LDI features

Parcel tray, lane change indicator, fuel consumption display, tilt steering, low fuel warning lamp, Head light ON reminder, key in slot reminder, seat belt unfastened reminder, Power steering, manual AC, Immobilizer and body colored bumpers.

New Maruti Swift VXI/VDI features

ABOVE +

Electric ORVMS with Indicators, Keyless Entry with Security alarm, chrome door cabin side handles, four power windows, central locking, fog lamps front and rear, body colored ORVM, body colored door handles, wheel caps, day night in-cabin mirror.

Maruti Swift ZXI/ZDI features

Both the ABOVE +

Height-adjustable driver seat, rear wiper washer and defogger, Dual Airbags, ABS with EBD, Steering wheel controls, Integrated Audio system, Auto AC, 15 inch alloys, six speaker audio with four speakers and two tweeters.

New Maruti Swift general features

New Swift has wraparound silver accent in dashboard, sporty three-spoke steering wheel with silver accent, center console has a waterfall design, premium sporty fabric on the seat, storage pockets on all the doors, retractable cup holder on dashboard, rear sporty antenna, dynamic grille design and unique vertical headlamps.

click through for more details including images and prices

Edit – Press Release added

Volkswagen India has announced prices of the new Jetta in Mumbai just now. The new Jetta range starts at 14.12 lakh rupees (ex-showroom New Delhi). The ARAI fuel efficiency figure is 19 kmpl. Prices for individual variants were not announced at the launch and will be available in the next few minutes.

The sixth generation Jetta is based on the PQ35 platform which underpins Skoda and Audi models. It will be powered by a two-liter diesel engine producing 140PS@4,200 RPM power and 320Nm@1,750-2,500 RPM torque.

The same engine works under the bonnet for the Skoda Laura and Volkswagen Passat. Volkswagen has not introduced the petrol engine on Jetta and we do not expect it in the near future.

The Trendline model is paired to a 6-speed manual transmission while the Highline and Comfortline variants make use of the 6-speed DSG transmission. The Highline can also be ordered with a 6-speed manual. It is targeted at self-drive customers looking for a premium product.

click through for full details

Volvo India wants to secure a decent share of the Indian luxury market pie. If they operated using knocked down models, they could compete with Skoda, Volkswagen and Renault.

But because their fully-imported range is limited and compact models are still in the pipeline, they have to make do with experimenting with existing models.

And one way to sell more cars is to price them aggressively.

To reach there, they plan to strip the S60, S80 and perhaps the XC60 model off luxury content. They will corporatize their lineup to reach 500 units a year. They plan to put in place 14 dealerships in the next 24 months.

Volvo could introduce the S60 with a 2-liter diesel engine priced at around 10% lower than the existing model. They could bring the XC30 to India immediately after the international launch.

There are rumors of the XC90 receiving a nip and tuck later this year which could also make it to India.

Should Volvo take the long wheelbase route with the S80 available in China? They could sell a stretched, stripped-down variant to fleet operators which is used to ferry rear-seat tourists. They have the segment to themselves as the Germans aren’t interested in bringing down their lengthened business saloons.

We know nothing about wedding cars or weddings. The only weddings we’re bothered about is the one that happens between the engine and gearbox. In today’s world, that one marriage never breaks! And then there are marriages between sedans and SUVs, which one manufacturer found out, wasn’t exactly set in heaven.

But when it comes to soul mates and weddings, an essential part of the ceremony is how the couple arrive and leave on the big day. Or in what.

There was one couple in Europe who felt the Xenon XT dual cab was the best way to update the world of their “newly married” status. The garlands and squeaky clean exterior feel it was part of the original plan and not of a stand-in car.

What was so adorable in a Xenon that the visibly excited couple, now as one, decided to drive away in it?

That begs the question – Would you get married in a Xenon pickup?

By 2013, our hunch is that Mercedes Benz will bring in the MFA-based A-Class model to India. A variety of derivatives are planned on the low cost MFA kit architecture and one of the most interesting spin offs is what you view here – the sedan, dubbed baby CLS, expected in India to combat the Audi A3 sedan and BMW’s 1 Series.

As BenzInsider writes, Mercedes-Benz will gallop ahead to create a mini version of the legendary CLS. Front-wheel drive is going to be provided on the basic model while the top-end variants will all-wheel drive system.

Mercedes’ performance division will also get to work on the baby CLS. Engine outputs will go north of 300 units, international websites have reported. This is not very relevant to India as there are neither roads nor fuel prices that allow for 300hp to roam around the crankshaft.

Mercedes could plonk two small petrols – a 1.6 and a 2.0 liter engine producing 150 and 207 horsepower respectively under the hood of the baby CLS.

click through to read more

Hyundai UK has brought out the i20 Blue edition in the United Kingdom. Before you pass it off for a special blue paint, let me introduce a few facts -

It features a 1.4-liter CRDI engine generating 90PS and 220Nm of torque (similar to the Indian spec model)

With modification to its body like a smoother underbody, rear suspension cover, low resistance tires, lower ground clearance and engine start/stop system it achieves an astonishing mileage of 29.67 kmpl.

Since C02 emissions are under 100g/km, the i20 Blue is exempted from London’s congestion charge system. This is the benefit small hatchbacks and electric vehicle owners enjoy in London. They pay less to own a car.

The i20 Blue is priced at £13,195 (9.82 lakh rupees). Consider the fact that the 30kmpl car also has features such as 15″ alloy wheels, Bluetooth connectivity with voice recognition, electric heated and folding door mirrors, electric front and rear windows, steering wheel audio controls, USB and aux connections air conditioning and remote central locking.

As this is a mechanically tweaked variant and does not need heavy redesigning or special tools to produce, should Hyundai bring in Blue editions of the i10 and i20 into the Indian market in limited numbers?

Fuel economy is worshiped in India and the market reaction to a 30kmpl i20 hatchback will be interesting to watch.