Indian Autos blog

Honda’s constant neglect towards the Indian Diesel market has been a major point of concern for IAB. With petrol prices sky rocketing day by the day, it is becoming all the more expensive to run petrol cars on the Indian roads. In some cities, the difference petrol and diesel prices is as much as Rs 18-19/liter! Then there is a question of Brand value. Honda’s recent pricing strategies have clearly  [ Read More ]

The Skoda Laura gets a new diesel engine with CRDI technology

Skoda will fit its Laura and Superb vehicles with a 2-liter CRDI engine that appears when you open the bonnet of the VW Passat.

The PD engine found in the bay of those cars at the moment don’t meet the Bharat Stage IV norms that is the norm starting April 1, 2010 in 13 cities across India.

CRDI engines are slightly more powerful, less noisy and better at power delivery. The Skoda saloons will no doubt benefit from the magic of CRDI technology. Prices are not yet announced and the launch of the new models is expected in the coming days.

Gadgets -

The Skoda Superb is laden with an annoying number of driver and occupant assist gadgets EPS, Parking Assist, power seats (driver and front passenger), a large touch screen in the centre of the dash which displays information on the CD playing, your phone, the radio station to cite few.

The list proceeds easily on for another page or so, but this is the stuff we used for the time of our drive.

The touch screen positioned mid-dash is wide and clear and the level of information conforms to every driver’s needs. It does away with buttons, minimizing clutter.

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These fellows could victoriously sell two generations of the Octavia side by side in India, but on a segment higher, the level of competition is completely different and needs a different approach. The Superb sales were not so superb in India. BMW and Mercedes Benz even chuckled about it.

Skoda to me is a brand which can sell any kind of car with success in India. Their debut car came at just the right time, and it was the right car too. Before Skoda’s entry, hardly a few foreign car makers were trading in India, and the lack of competition was the advantage Skoda rode on.

Now given a choice between Skoda, VW and Audi, majority of the Indians would put their money on Skoda due to their longer experience in India and better service network.

The irrefutable fact is the Superb aged faster than Skoda’s calculations, faster than anyone’s calculations for that matter. Time was running out but the fix was clear as crystal. It was more a issue of when.

Skoda was succeeding to sell a fair volume of Skoda Superbs until the new Accord and more recently the VW Passat emerged in India, stealing whatever thunder remained after the Mercedes C Class and the BMW 3 Series shared among themselves.

Honestly, the Skoda Superb seemed like a Skoda Octavia on healthier diet. The number of sales enquiries diminished over time sending Skoda back to the discussion board.

‘When’ is now, and look what they’ve got.

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Regular Indian Autos Blog reader Sulakshan has emailed us what he claims is the Skoda Superb Hybrid test mule. These pictures were captured in Bangalore city, a locality where Skoda extensively evaluated the regular Superb.

Sulakshan informs us there was a green block letter “hybrid vehicle” badge on the front left fender and as the driver sensed he was being followed, he stepped on the pedal and sped away. Sulak claims when he rolled down the window to confirm from its silent operation, the busy road proved noisy and his ears could pick up nothing, or rather could not pickup ‘nothing.’

A little probing on google verifies Skoda has no hybrid technology at the moment. Maybe this is their first attempt? Could Porsche’s hybrid technology be under the skin of this Superb? It could be anything.

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UK’s popular monthly magazine What Diesel Car has announced its winners this year in the annual awards ceremony. The Ford Fiesta wins What Diesel Car of the Year 2009. The winner should not be confused with the Fiesta that’s sold in India. This is a totally different car and is a hatchback. Its sedan version will be the next-generation Fiesta in India hopefully in 2010.

What Diesel Car of the Year Awards 2009 highlights

• Ford Fiesta wins What Diesel Car of the Year 2009
• Volkswagen grabs three awards – best medium car, best coupé and green award
• Two British victories for Jaguar XF and Land Rover Freelander 2
• Citroën grabs two gongs with the C3 Picasso and C5 Tourer
• Land Rover Freelander 2 wins best in class for third year running
• Jaguar XF wins best executive car for the second year in succession

Looks might be deceiving. Shown in the picture is not a Skoda Octavia combi. This car being a test mule, wears a Skoda Octavia skin over an extended Skoda Superb chassis.

The new Skoda Superb has been long overdue in India. The car has been released abroad, and has started setting records. Singapore is the latest addition to the list of markets.