The DriveInside Blog

This car has got credentials. Good credentials. Firstly, this car will have the multijet engine which is also being used by General Motors and Suzuki. Secondly, since this car is sold under the Tata-Fiat joint venture, this association will ensure excellent customer satisfaction and after-sales service.

We have already experienced the multijet engine in Maruti Suzuki Swift DDiS – a car which has been a biggie in the Motown since its arrival. So a car by Fiat which has the Swift engine? What’s so big about it then? If that is the question strutting around in your mind, then here goes.

Fiat has priced this hatchie very competitively – almost 25,000 to 40,000-green-bucks lesser than Swift. The ride quality of Palio Stile (multijet or no multijet) has always been better than Swift and Palio has always been roomier. So the new Palio Stile Multijet still rides like a dream over bad roads, much unlike Swift. The new Palio looks bigger and it is! Almost 64mm longer. New bumpers, headlights, taillights, grille and a re-fashioned bonnet – all of this with the new red logo make this new kid-on-the-block very desirable.

As for the vital stats of the car, it will be available in SD, SDE and SDX variants and will be laced with 1.3L multijet, 4-cylinder engine which suffuses you with 75bhp of power and 184nm of torque.

The new Palio – as refined and sophisticated as diesel could get!

The Albert Park seemed to throw up nasty challenges for 16 out of the 22 cars that had lined up for the F1 season opener on Sunday, March 16th. Only six could complete the 58 laps of the Grand Prix and sadly for us, Force India wasn’t on the right side of the list.

While Lewis Hamilton of McLaren-Mercedes took the laurel of the evening battling it out from behind safety cars on three occasions and still managing to make it to the finish line the first, Nick Heidfeld smoothed in his BMW-Sauber to the second position in a performance that was classy. Nico Rosberg finished in the third position. The young German was running the fastest in his Willaims-Toyota.

Alonso is back with Renault now after a troublesome stint at McLaren but brought little relief to his manufacturer with his fourth finish. The biggest heartbreak of the championship was, for sure, when Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen’s car died in the 54th lap.

McLaren could had well done both the top positions with Heikki Kovalainen doing pretty well before Toyota’s Timo Glock’s accident led Raikkonen and Alonso to overtake him. The super-rookie from Finland rounded up on the fifth-position after Alonso.

As I said earlier, Albert Circuit was a disaster for Force India Ferrari. Giancarlo Fisichella dropped out of the race on the first corner, after being sandwiched by Nelson Piquet Jr. of Renault and Timo Glock. This “first corner” drama also led to the retirement of Honda’s blue-eyed darling Jenson Button, Red Bull’s Webber, Super Aguri’s Anthony Davidson and Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel.

Force India’s Adrian Sutil did try to pull up the game on his own. At the finish of seven laps, he was in the 13th place ahead of Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Bourdias. This was how far it would go though. Sutil’s performance was stymied a lap later by a hydraulic failure.

Hamilton’s parting quote? “…Physically the race was a breeze and great preparation for Malaysia, so bring it on, I’m really looking forward to it.”

P.S. The next Grand Prix is scheduled for March 23rd in Malaysia. Stay hooked.

The 12th largest consumer market in the world currently and rushing headlong to become the 5th largest by 2015, India seems to be turning out into world’s automakers’ touchstone to see where lies the gold. While a couple of years back, bullock carts, cycles, scooters, Ambassador and M800 ruled the Indian roads, there is a change in the scene now. Bullock carts, cycles, scooters still yes! But also zooming in and out of sights are Mercedes (name all those classes), BMW, Audis. A grade-lesser like Hondas, Toyotas, Skodas have become a very common sight.

We are talking the luxury car segment in India here which at a growth rate of about 30% and numbers like 5000 cars a year is a favored pie of the carmakers over other markets building up. With good reasons. In the past decade, India has seen a sudden upsurge of everything that’s luxurious and an acute desire for the bling-bling.

With a growing number of “dollar millionaires”, these luxury brands just stand to gain. And its not just the sand-pepper haired, spectacles-toting people that can afford these cars. The young executives today seem to have woken up to the charms these uber-chic cars hold and ready to flaunt the kind of moolah required to own these hot wheels.

With the ever-increasing club of millionaires and billionaires, brand seems to hold the only distinction. Audi A4s, A6s, A8s, TT Coupes, Merc C, E and S class, BMW 3, 5, 7 series find very easy takers and one also gets to see Ferraris, Porsches, Bentley AND Lamborghini once in between.

With the arrival of Alfa Romeo, collector’s edition cars like MINI Cooper, New Beetle and Fiat 500 being introduced and Indian honcho Tata bidding to take over Jaguar and Land Rover, the Indian pangs for jazz and everything glam-y has been underlined. And the various car manufacturers are running bumper-to-bumper to make it to the finish line.

Small seems to be the flavor of the season. Matter of fact, small seems to have hit people’s imagination so vigorously that it not coming cheap does not seem to be a hindrance in its popularity. After we got to know of Fiat’s Cinquecento, a.k.a. 500 and the New Beetle by Volkswagen revving up for Indian roads (and potholes!), there’s yet another marquee-small-wonder that’s all ready to make it here. BMW India’s officials recently announced the arrival of the English legendary icon, MINI Cooper, to India…

If all those gasps and nods of disbelief have subsided, I would like to also mention that this mini car would burn a Rs. 20 lakhs worth of hole in your pocket. Takers anybody? I am sure there are. I would if I had the kind of green bucks.  Think about it. For the beginners, it is Cooper with a cult following and then its backed by BMW now.

There is no mention as to if only the hardtop will be launched in India or will the convertible be launched too. These announcements came in the wake of the launch of BMW M3 in Chennai. With the introduction of MINI, BMW seems inclined to spread out to its product portfolio over various price segments.

The car should be available for a dekko by 2010. And going by the way the desi-junta is eager to make style statements these days, it seems MINI will do just what BMW wants it to. Heap in profits…!

Which one would you go for? Chevy, after the successful run of its sedans in India, has gotten a new small car Spark to India. So has Hyundai. After a successful 10-year long run of Santro, the Korean manufacturer has introduced a new car in the small segment to provide customers with more variety.

Chevrolet’s Spark is based on Daewoo Matiz’s platform and resembles the car in many ways. First, it looks like the little darling that Matiz always was. The headlamps, in particular, always strike up the resemblance. Spark is offered in 1.0L 4-cylinder engine with an output of 63bhp of power and 90nm of torque. The car provides an average of 16kmpl city-run. Though Spark’s boot is a wee-bit short of expectations, the interiors are roomy and the rear cabin more comfortable than the other cars of the same segment. The car’s mono-form design makes it an easy wheel to handle and parking becomes easier.

Hyundai i10 has carried over a trust-worthy car’s assurance from Santro. Powered by a 1.1L engine with an output of 66bhp, this car is backed by an iRDE engine, thus yielding an output higher than all the others in its class. i10 translates into better space than Santro, rear, front and boot and better ride quality. This new introduction in the baby-car segment has breathed new life in its otherwise staid designs. It is packed with the kind of detailing AND safety features that are found in cars a notch above. The higher variants are packed with airbags and ABS.

Now, that’s something which Spark is lacking. All one gets in the higher variants is power windows and A/C. But to be fair to Chevrolet, this can be justified by quoting the difference in the prices of the higher-end variants and also by the fact that tailor-welded banks are used for increased side protection.

If I was to show money, I would show it for i10. No offence Chevrolet but Hyundai has a way with us Indians.

Even while Nano gets rave reviews and reception at the Geneva Motor Show ’08 and even while Aston Martin’s supremo congratulated Tata on bringing a car that stole attention from all the gorgeous cars out there, we think its time to give those other beauties a little of our time, energy, breath and words too.

Amongst the cars to be introduced, couple of them are: Abarth 500, Alfa Romeo 8C Spider, Audi Q5, A3 & A5, Bentley Continental GT Zagato, Bugatti Veyron Hermes, Chevrolet Aveo, Ford Fiesta & Kuga, Honda New Accord & Fit, Infinity FX, Jaguar XK, Maserati GranTurismo, Merc CLC-Class & R230, Toyota iQ & Urban Cruiser, Volkswagen Scirocco and Volvo XC60.

We are talking about? Alfa Romeo Spider and Jaguar, not only because of the Indian connection but because 8C Spider left me breathless. Literally. And just that you may be informed… only 500 Spiders will be produced worldwide.

One doesn’t need reasons to talk about Maserati. The GranTurismo S is an updated version of GranTurismo with a 4.7L V8 engine producing 440 horsepower.

Talking about Infinity and Volkswagen in the same breath as Maserati would not be the most appropriate thing to do but they still deserve to be talked about. Infinity FX was first seen in 2003 and the 2009 version will incorporate a 5.0L V8 engine producing 390hp and 500 nm torque. VW brings an offering of two engines in its Scirocco which are currently offered in Golf GTI, Passat and Jetta.

And considering I would want to end on a note of extreme high, Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4. The car produces sweet-560hp, which is obvious. Otherwise, there is a direct injection 5.2L V10 engine. And to prove there’s always room for improvements, suspension, fuel consumption and CO2 emissions have been improved upon.

They must be having quite a show there, won’t they, in Geneva?!

This is exactly what C70 does for the safest car brand in the world. Give Volvo a dash of oomph and flair to its otherwise staid image. The C70 is available in T5 trim with a 2.5L turbocharged five-cylinder engine which produces a peppy 218 horsepower. The cabrio can be gotten in a six-speed manual or a five-speed automatic transmission.

For those who don’t know, C70 is a retractable hardtop. That is, you drive all comfy inside your coupe till the time you do not get all racy in your nerves and desirous of feeling the wind in your hair and that’s when you push a button and in 30 seconds flat, the roof has folded into three and inside the boot to give you the much sought after rush of adrenalin and off you go towards the sunset at 150mph. Pretty idyllic, huh? Sure. But only just.

I say this because this cabrio’s ride quality has often been questioned as has been its maneuverability. Still, compare it with the other convertibles on our Indian block (we are thinking Merc SLK) and we are still talking good competition here. The seating is offered for four adults with ample rear space and when one is talking safety, it is cutting-edge, Volvo-trademarked with door-mounted head curtains and roof-mounted head curtains.

The sound system gives you a dynamic 910 watts with 11 speakers to ensure that you can even hear Frank Sinatra with your hard top down. The car looks great, mind-blowing matter of fact (and worth its loaded price-tag), and the Italian Pininfarina’s designers have done some revolutionary work with the car’s lines.

Only word of caution: you might want to be careful, especially in the rear, when the roof is retracting. It might just be harmful if you aren’t.

The name’s Panamera. Porsche Panamera. The German manufacturer had registered the name at the same time it registered Cayman. After testing the cars under various facades in Nurburgring, Porsche finally seems ready to say hello to the world with Panamera.

Industry sources say that the Porsche will debut the car in Geneva Motor Show in 2009 and will be seen on the roads by April of the same year. The bookings for the car should start within 2-3 months from now and for this purpose Porsche has also spread out its dealer networks to Hyderabad and Bangalore, bringing up the total to 4 in all.

The car is a direct pick at Aston martin’s Rapide since Porsche is propagating the car as a four-door, rear-wheel drive sedan. In India though, the competition to Panamera will be provided by Mercedes Benz CLS. The car should be priced at Rs. 90,00,000 for the base variant and can walk upto Rs. 2 crores for the array of 6 variants to be introduced.

The car is said to be powered by Cayenne’s 3.6L V-6 and a 4.5L V-8 engine. A V-10 from Carrera GT is a rumor which is also giving us sleepless nights. And V-10 or no V-10, the car in itself is breathtaking. Scraping all my savings and adding some for Geneva next year!

If there has to be a future, it has to be green. Honda seems to have taken this future-fad quite seriously and is here to make its concern for the environment felt with Honda Civic Hybrid. I read a very interesting comment somewhere that hybrids are anti-status status symbols. This could be quite true for India too considering celebs like Cameron Diaz and Leonardo Di Caprio drive hybrids, though they drive Toyota’s Prius, Civic Hybrid’s only arch rival.

Coming to which, in international markets, Prius might pass for an “ugle duckling” but offers the smoothest hybrid performance. This is because Prius’ gas motor and electric motor are fused with different points in transmission while Civic Hybrid’s gas and electric motors are twinned together and then hooked to transmission.

In India though, if you think Nature, think Civic Hybrid. But the reports don’t encourage one to go grab this one. Sure, this car is farthest from the mental image of hybrids that we generally have and is a stunner but the mileage-on-the-pages is way different from the mileage-on-the-streets. The bonnet is packed with an 8-valve, 4-cylinder SOHC, i-VTEC engine which produces 110-horsepower.

While the cause is celebrated and worthy of recognition, we are confused as to what would Civic Hybrid mean to its Indian customers! Will it be a practical choice? Or a utopian dream lost its thunder midway? Look out for this space…

Outeverything Everything

Thought CR-V was the only one to give you the soft-roader ride with the kind of comfort and class that it did? Lo! Behold! Mitsubishi Outlander is on our horizons and a look at this SUV and you’ll think again. The Japanese major has invested all its technical know-how about the rally cars and adventure-sports vehicles in this one product to make it what it is now. Which is ravishing!

Mitsubishi has an off-roader Pajero on the roads already and its new launch Montero has been receiving good reviews too. Outlander brings competition to the likes of CR-V, Tucson, Endeavour, Grand Vitara, the newly-launched Captiva and soon-to-come Hyundai Santa Fe. Outlander is going to be available in a 2.4L MIVEC 168hp engine.

The SUV has an understated elegance going for it and the design is rugged & masculine without going over the top. The C-pillar looks very French and the Lexus-style LED chrome taillights along with the tailgate are the distinguishing face of the car. This SUV has quite a sleek silhouette and the front of the car, looked in unison with its bonnet, passes for a saloon.

The interiors are mature and very upscale, hence more inviting. Outlander provides enough space inside. You can gauge this by the fact that it is longer than CR-V. The cargo-lugging capacity is 882 litres with the third-row seats folded and 1690-whopping-litres with the second-row seats folded.

Eyeing that CR-V? Wait till middle of the year, won’t you? You might just regret it otherwise.