World Automobiles, Auto Guide India

Proton Planning to Bring EMAS to Indian Market

Proton had developed the Eco-Mobility Advance Solution or the EMAS concept vehicle to celebrate its 25th Anniversary, and had displayed the model at the 2010 Geneva Motors Show earlier this year. Now Proton owned Lotus brand is further testing the car.

According to Proton’s Group Managing Director, Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir, the EMAS concept presented at the Geneva Motors show is a global concept and will be adopted from the new Proton model in the small car segment. The company will focus on markets like India, China, Asean and Middle East. It intends to have long term business plans for these markets.

The Malaysian and emerging market model will be a 5-door hatchback model while the European model being developed on similar platform by Lotus will be a 3-door model. The car has been designed by Italian car design firm Italdesign Giugaro. Click here to read more…

New Hero Honda Splendour at Rs. 45,950

India’s largest two wheeler manufacturer Hero Honda has launched new variant of Hero Honda Splendour priced at Rs. 45,950 (ex-showroom, Delhi). “The 125cc segment has been stagnant or even declining in the past one year, but we believe that we can grow the market. Our own expectation is to grow our own sales by about 15-20 per cent in the 125cc segment,” said Anil Dua, Hero Honda Motors Senior Vice-President (Marketing and Sales).

The 125cc Super Splendor comes with a newly designed carburetor and ACG which the company promises will boost the performance of the engine. The bike has been fitted with Honda Intelligent Ignition System (HIIS) and features a 5-step adjustable rear shock-absorber for a smoother drive. There is also new carburetor and ACG for improved engine performance for the new variant. Click here to read more…

Dacia Duster review

Dacia’s sports utility offering is a no-frills, retro package that fails to excite, says Andrew English. Dacia is the Romanian car maker set up in 1966 with the help of Renault as Uzina de Autoturisme Piteşti, not the ancient Thracian people living around the Carpathian mountains at the time of Christ’s birth. Dacia’s unpromising early production looked more like 101 Uses For An Unwanted Renault 12, although the cars proved popular in the Eastern bloc – in 2004, after 38 years of production, the factory had turned out about 2.5 million rebadged Renaults.

Dacia was purchased by the French company in 1999 as part of then-Renault boss Louis Schweitzer’s project to build a simple, low-cost world car. The subsequent Logan used Fifties labour-intensive building techniques with modern production management. Click here to read more…

Hyundai i30

Hyundai Motor India Limited is likely to launch its C Segment hatchback car Hyundai i30 at the end of the year 2009. After the success of i10 and i20 cars in India, i30 is going to be the next big launch for the company. Hyundai i30 will be available in both petrol and diesel versions.

Offering a class leading combination of comfort and refinement, interior space, economy and exceptional levels of standard equipment, the car is a complete all-round package. The launch of i30 is likely to be successful in the country considering Hyundai’s strong network of dealers as well as its past successful launches.

http://www.gaadi.com/upcoming-68-Hyundai%20i30

Mahindra Renault Sandero

Mahindra Renault is planning to launch its new hatchback Renault Sandero in India by 2010. The Nashik plant of the company will be used to assemble the vehicle. Sandero has five doors and is very spacious compared to other cars in the small car category. The car is 4.02 meters in length and has a storage capacity of 320 litres.

The launch of Sandero will give Renault an entry to the growing small car market of India. Mahindra will also make an entry into the small car market, something the company has avoided so far and focused on the utility vehicles and SUVs. Click here to read more…

Skoda Yeti

Skoda is planning to launch its SUV Yeti in India soon. The car will be a cheaper alternative to Hyundai Tucson, Honda CR-V, Chevrolet Captiva, Suzuki Grand Vitara and the Mitsubishi Outlander. The car is likely to be launched in both petrol and diesel versions with 1.6L to 2.0L petrol engines and a 1.9-litre turbodiesel engine. Yeti will reflect the beauty and power of both Fabia and Octavia.

The car will be placed in between these two cars and will predominantly be built with a front wheel drive configuration. The 4.2 metre long, five-door vehicle has an impressive front end with a ribbed grille and stylish headlamps.�Yeti will have some innovative seating options like the three bucket seats in the last row. The car was recently displayed at Geneva Motor Show. Yeti is expected to be priced around Rs 10 lakhs.

http://www.gaadi.com/upcoming-50-Skoda%20Yeti

Volkswagen new Jetta

Newer is better as an accepted adage; change is the only constant , and so on. With the new BS-IV norms in place , VW has given its Jetta saloon a new heart. Is the ‘new’ Jetta better? When you walk up to the car , you’d be hard pressed to tell what’s new.

Upon close examination , you’ll notice the grille has two twin chrome strips instead of two solid strips earlier. All in all , the subtle understated looks remain. The interiors are the same too , save for a new touch screen audio system which comes from the common VW parts bin. The build quality and tactile feel are first rate , although the staid design might not appeal to all.

So , nothing major about the looks or interiors then. The big news is what’s under the bonnet. The 1986 CRDi motor , which also does duty in the Skoda family , has been slotted into the ‘new’ Jetta’s engine bay. It comes with a manual gearbox only which produces 110 PS. The 140 PS version and DSG aren’t even options. Click here to read more…

Skoda Superb 1.8 TSI

The all new Skoda Superb 1.8 TSI came to us in April last year. Not only did it impress us with its drive , safety , electronics , space , comfort , etc. , but it also Beat its competition hands down. Skoda upped the game with this luxury saloon to a great extent.

The 160PS motor powering the Superb is more than just a sporty mill and can give you all the excitement you crave for , that too from a luxury car. The car’s powerplant was mated with an awesome seven-speed auto ‘box. The DSG ‘box created a benchmark in the field of modern day cars’ transmissions and it still is one of the best on offer. However , the company has now introduced a new transmission option on the Superb 1.8 TSI model while still keeping the DSG option available.

The manual transmission basically makes sense in quite a lot of ways. The chauffeur driven businessman doesn’t mind a manual ‘box since he is anyways not going to face the hassles of City traffic and the stop and go situations. Click here to read more…

Volkswagen new Passat

When launched in 2007 , VW Passat , true to the German marque’s traits , boasted of one of the best oil burners we had ever tested. Ditto for its six-speed direct shift gearbox that redefined the way we Indians looked at and thought about automatics.

Two and a half years after its initial debut , VW decided to pit their premium saloon slightly differently in the market. Both its strong points have been given a miss and the Passat will now only be sold in one trim level with the 1.8-litre petrol engine and a six-speed manual gearbox. Hold on. The good thing is that this is the same engine that also powers Skoda’s Laura and Superb with 160 horses on tap. To say the least , we have been mighty impressed with the motor on both the previous occasions , thanks mainly to its blistering performance.

It is impossible to differentiate the petrol Passat as compared to its diesel sibling from the outside with only the rather small TSI logo at the rear as the discerning factor. However , step inside and the dual tone interior with an extra touch of cream greets you well. Click here to read more…

WagonR versus i10

A few moons ago , the original Wagon R and Santro were locked in a titanic tussle for supremacy in India’s family car hatchery. Both evolved with styling updates , refreshed interiors and new engines. That was then.

Now in 2010 , we have the all-new Wagon R that once again faces a traditional rival from Hyundai. The i10 is the spiritual successor of the Santro nee Atos , which it has replaced worldwide. On the other hand , Maruti persists with the Wagon R brand and it has good reason to do so. It is a brand that has endeared itself to lakhs of Indian family car buyers. Here , we’ll evaluate the new Wagon R and pit it against its obvious rival. This is going to be a pitched battle.
Click here to read more…