Skoda Octavia

Skoda Octavia is a household name in India - not just because it marked the Volkswagen Group's entry into the country back in 2001, but for the fact that it was fast, solidly built, elegant-looking, affordable and most importantly, returned amazing fuel economy.
When the second generation arrived, Skoda killed the Octavia nameplate and rechristened it the Laura. Although Laura managed to sell in decent numbers, it failed to continue the revolution sparked by its predecessor. Now, the Czech carmaker is all set to reintroduce the Octavia into what could be a tougher challenge in a more competitive market.

Honda Jazz

 

Honda has stated in a press release that the new Jazz Hybrid is the most frugal hybrid car in Japan, returning a mileage of 36.4 km/l from its Sport Hybrid Intelligent Dual Clutch Drive (i-DCD). This is an improvement of 35% over the previous Jazz Hybrid. The hybrid Jazz uses the same aforementioned 1.5-litre engine mated to a 7-speed DCT offering three hybrid modes. It can run on EV mode alone till 40 km/hr but unfortunately, Honda will not launch the hybrid Jazz in India.
The third generation Honda Jazz will go on sale in Japan in September and is also known as the Honda Fit in many markets. The 2014 Honda Jazz is evidently longer and the increase in wheelbase further boosts interior room of the already spacious hatchback.
The exterior design of the new Jazz is influenced from bigger Hondas, namely the FCX Clarity, CR-V and to a certain extent even the NSX. The dashboard of the new Honda Jazz is certainly driver centric although we aren’t quite sure about the centre console.

Powering the Honda Jazz in India will be the same 1.2-litre i-VTEC petrol engine, which did duty on its predecessor. The new powertrain will of course be the frugal oil burner, which is already employed in the Amaze diesel. The 1.5-litre i-DTEC unit belts out a class leading 100 BHP of power with a respectable 200 Nm of torque. Both these engines help Honda keep the Jazz defined as a small car in India, resulting in excise duty benefits. The company has given the Honda Jazz better dynamics, improved interior room (the old Jazz was massively spacious already) and modern exteriors

Nissan Datsun GO

Nissan has re-launched the Datsun brand after 32 years in Gurgaon. Datsun will launch its first car early next year called the Datsun GO (codenamed K2). The Datsun GO will be priced under Rs. 4 lakhs in India and will be powered by a 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder engine, paired to a 5-speed manual gearbox. The same engine does duty on the Nissan Micra Active, producing 68 PS and 104 Nm. However in the Datsun GO, the company might detune the engine in the interest of boosting fuel economy. The Datsun GO takes its name from the first Datsun (Dat GO) which was launched in 1914 in Japan. 

Volkswagen Cross Polo

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Volkswagen has launched of the new Cross Polo at Rs. 7.75 lakh, ex showroom, Delhi. The car will be available with a 1.2L TDI engine and a 5-speed manual gearbox. 

The New Cross Polo commands attention with its rugged new ‘Cross’ front and rear bumpers, black side cladding and wheel arches, silver painted mirrors and roof rails, 5-spoke alloys, ‘Livon’ titanium black upholstery and class-leading 1.2L TDI engine. 

Sales of the New Cross Polo will commence from August 23, 2013.

The Cross Polo is equipped with a 1.2-litre TDI engine with a maximum power output of 75 PS (55 kW) @ 4200rpm and a maximum torque of 180 Nm @ 2000 rpm with a 5-speed manual gearbox.

Honda City

Honda has unveiled the all-new 4th Generation Honda City at a World Premiere event in India. The All New City measures 4440 mm in length (same as its predecessor), 1695 mm in width (same as outgoing model), 1495 mm in height (10 mm more than the outgoing model) and 2600 mm as the wheelbase (extended by an additional 50 mm over outgoing model).

The good news is that the All New City will be powered by the 1.5L 4-cylinder DOHC i-DTEC diesel engine. The Petrol variant of the City will be powered by an improved 1.5L 4-cylinder SOHC i-VTEC petrol engine designed to offer the best balance of engine performance and fuel economy.

The new City is loaded with features such as touch-screen AC controls, Bluetooth, push start button, rear AC vents, rear parking camera among many others. We’ll be testing the new City early next month, watch this space for a detailed review. 

Maruti Suzuki Stingray

Maruti Suzuki has launched the new Stingray in India, expanding its portfolio to meet aspirations of young India. The Stingray’s highlights include projector headlamps and reflector grille. Stingray is powered by the highly acclaimed 998cc three-cylinder K-series engine. The K-10 engine on Stingray delivers a power of 68PS @ 6200rpm and a high torque of 90Nm @ 3500 rpm. The car will return a fuel efficiency of 20.51 kmpl of petrol .

Grand i10

Hyundai Motor India Limited launched its new hatchback Grand i10 in India at Rs. 4.30-5.48 lakh for the four petrol variants and Rs. 5.24-6.41 lakh for the four diesel variants.The car has been touted as the buffer between the current i10 and the i20 — both in terms of price and specifications. But what makes the hatchback an Indian buyer’s delight? Its diesel variant.There are two engines to choose from in the GRAND i10 – an all-new 1.1 litre U2 diesel and 1.2 litre Kappa petrol. Both engines will be mated to a five speed manual gearbox and the 1.2 litre petrol will be available in Automatic as well. Hyundai offered me to drive the new U2 diesel for a few kilometres and by the three-cylinder standards, the engine is very refined. It is near-silent when idling and the overall NVH levels are well controlled.

Renault Duster

Unveiled at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show, the new Duster will make it to India soon. The new Duster gets a major facelift up front, which includes a new stylish grille, a new air intake and headlamps with daytime running lights. Although the side profile looks unchanged, 16-inch Dark Metal alloy wheels look good. The rear gets new tail-lamps and lots of chrome. 

Minor changes to interiors such as steering mounted controls, infotainment system, reshuffled buttons etc. are evident in the photographs. Although mechanically it remains the same, rumour has it that the 1.6-litre petrol engine will be replaced by a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine

Subaru BRZ.

Every car lover who is not dead or in a coma loves the Subaru BRZ. This is because it checks all the requisite lust-boxes, delivering a lithe chassis, taut styling, an affordable price, decent fuel economy, and a take rate on its snicky six-speed manual transmission that keeps hope alive that Americans (or, at least the smart ones) still love sticks.

Is it possible to enhance our affection for this vehicle? A turbo STI version wouldn’t hurt. But, in the absence of that (for now?) Subaru clobbered us today at the Tokyo show by delivering the delicious, yet clumsily-named Cross Sport Design Concept. What’s catalyzing this increased endearment? The CSDC is a shooting brake! And everyone knows that nothing gets automotive journalists more excited than a shooting brake. Except, perhaps a brown, diesel-powered shooting brake.Subaru is on its path to earning a record setting profit this year on an American sales volume that will crest 400,000 vehicles for the first time ever. We pray to Carrus, the jackal-headed god of automobiles, that they use some of that windfall to build this. Even if it’s just for us.

Honda’s S660

Ever since the departure of the Honda S2000 in 2009, fans of the Japanese automaker on these shores have waited in vain for Honda to reclaim the affordable sports-car mantle it once held dear. After a calculated retreat from such models toward hybrids, Honda has shown small signs of moving back to the future — from powering the Formula 1 cars of McLaren next year to the upcoming Acura NSX revival. And at next month's Tokyo Motor Show, it will reveal the car above, the S660 Concept. It's a peek at a car Honda will likely build in Japan next year, but it's specs make a U.S. visa challenging.

The roadster concept follows plans that Honda has laid out for a drop-top model, similar in vein to the EV-STER concept shown two years ago in Tokyo. That model was electric powered, but the S660 concept uses a tiny 660 cc, three-cylinder turbocharged gas engine that churns out all of 67 hp to the front wheels. While Honda hasn't released full specs, the S660 does apparently weigh less than 2,000 lbs., and the interior shots show off carbon-fiber accents and other touches aimed at saving weight.

A production car with those specs might offer some spirited handling, but would need a diminutive price — and a roof — to compete on these shores. The hint of its future may lie in Honda's description of the S660 as a "sports-type mini-vehicle," which suggests a model meant to stand out among Japanese Kei cars rather than carving the Tail of the Dragon. We should get more answers next month about whether Honda fans will need more patience still

Maserati Ghibli

First: It's pronounced “GEE-blee” with a hard "g," and according to several sources comes from an Arabic word for a hot, sand-bearing wind of the Sahara. Between 1967 and 1973, Maserati built a gorgeous Ghibli in both coupe and spider layouts, designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro and powered by naturally aspirated V-8s. Maserati's second stab at a Ghibli, a small bi-turbo V-6 coupe designed by Marcello Gandini and based on the Maserati Biturbo, rolled forth from 1992 through 1996, and rarely shares a sentence with "gorgeous."

Seventeen years later in Florence, Italy, under a humid Tuscan sun, I drove the 21st century Ghibli from Maserati. For the third generation, Maserati used the name on a sport sedan, one intended to sell in far higher volumes than any previous car from the hallowed Modena company.

Maserati outfits its sexy sedan with one of four engine choices: a top-trim 404-hp, 3.0-liter bi-turbo V-6 in the Ghibli S rear-driver and all-wheel S Q4, a 326-hp tune of the same engine for the rear-drive-only base Ghibli. Europe gets a V-6 turbo diesel in one of two flavors; no V-8 engine will ever see duty in the Ghibli from the factory.

Speaking of factories: That V-6 drew from Chrysler's design for the Pentastar V-6, but has been massaged by Maserati and comes together in the clean engine room of Ferrari's famed Maranello shop. The mill pushes the Ghibli to a top speed of 176 mph, with 60 mph arriving in 4.6 seconds; fuel economy stands at 15 mpg city/25 mpg highway, top-shelf gas only.

For the United States and Canada, the 404-hp S Q4 will arrive in customer driveways at an estimated $75,000 base price, with a rear-drive Ghibli pumped up to 345 hp just for our market at a tick under $66,000. The Ghibli rides on a version of the Quattroporte chassis that's been shortened by 11.5 inches to 195.7 inches long — landing squarely between the BMW 5 Series and 6 Series Gran Coupe, and a few whispers within an Audi A7 Sportback.

Audi RS7

Audi’s S-cars are great. They’re fast, they handle well, they’ve got exquisite interiors. But any given Audi S is a subdued creature compared to the full-bore speed monsters from the likes ofBMW’s M division, Mercedes-Benz’s AMG or Cadillac’s V-Series. For the really over-the-top Audis, you now need to look at the RS models. The latest of which is the 2014 Audi RS7, which mates the A7’s sleek shape with a powerplant that would adequately propel a small naval attack ship. Audi debuted the RS7 in Las Vegas, or more accurately, the desolate roads far, far, outside of Vegas. This is a car that needs room to roam.

For $105,795—about $25,000 or so beyond the price of an S7—you get a seriously overhauled car. Horsepower leaps from 420 to 560 and the 0-60 time drops to 3.7 seconds, from a leisurely 4.5. And while the S7 and RS7 both use Audi’s stupendous 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, you do not add 140 hp simply by turning up the boost and ordering some schintzel. The RS7 gets different turbos, a whole new bottom end, a unique anti-lag system, beefed-up cooling and a different transmission

Audi SQ5

Audi’s S models have always stood for not just a souped-up version of its everyday vehicles, but a stepping stone to its beefier RS lineup. If you only know of its normal cars, the S variations seem potent, yet time in the RS varieties makes one astutely aware that for the S editions, the engineers have purposely left bits on the workbench.

But with the 2014 Audi SQ5, there is no RS to step up to. This, therefore, ranks as the pinnacle of Audi's SUV lineup. Yet it leaves you dreaming of more.

First, the positives: While the SQ5 could be greater, for $52,795, it’s everything it’s supposed to be. The interior remains first class – merely sporting a sprinkling of additional plastics to satisfy stringent bean counters. And while its supercharged V-6 does move with celerity, its 354 horses and 347 torques lack character. (I’ve slipped back to the negatives again, haven’t I?)

To better understand the SQ5, Audi sent me to Durango, Colo., to experience a drive through the snow-covered peaks around the San Juan Forest, over to the barren canyons of Gateway, nearing the border of Utah. The road was magnificent, winding to over 11,000 ft., with sheer, barrierless cliffs plunging off the side. I was glad to be in an SQ5. Had I have been in an R8, I fear I’d be writing this amidst smoldering wreckage off Coal Bank Pass.

Kia Forte

I still remember the day my dad bought a brand new car for my oldest brother who was about to enter college. We walked across the Nissan lot passing by the “four-door sports car” Maximasand rear-wheel drive 240SXs, to my dismay stopping at a base-model Sentra, which he purchased for about $8,000. The coupe’s scarlet-red paint job betrayed its humble accouterments: with its wafer-thin door panels, floppy four-speed manual, non-assisted steering and no air, it was austere enough to make Pope Francis proud.

With that experience emblazoned into memory, I take for granted that compacts should feel as cheap as housewares from the Dollar Tree. Yet in the past couple years, they’ve gone more upscale, adding touches like (faux) dash stitching traditionally found in more premium segments. Kia’s all-new 2014 Forte has especially blurred the lines between the luxury and working class.

It’s not just the design, which thanks to former Audi designer Peter Schreyer no longer looks like an ersatz Honda Civic. The matte-black plastic and the carbon fiber-esque accents impart a clean, Germanic look to the dash (save for the weird, gill-like frills above the glove box), and the panels don’t creak or flex when pushed. Unlike a typical daylong press event, I had this Kia for a week, and every day I jumped in I’d forget I’m in a budget ride — much more so than entry-level luxury cars like an Acura ILX or Buick Verano.

Part of that upscale feel comes from the quick steering and greatly improved suspension and chassis, which are firmer than the still-floaty Civic. That said, the Honda’s multi-link rear suspension proves superior over rough roads; the Forte skips and jitters when trundling over big bumps and potholes, thanks to its torsion beam rear suspension.

Also helping differentiate the Kia from a Sentra or Corolla is the 173-hp, 2.0 inline-four found in the EX trim, which above 2,000 rpm gives plenty of power for murderously short freeway on ramp merges. As with other Kia cars, the automatic transmission is quick to find the right gear, especially when romping on the gas pedal. In mixed city and highway driving, I averaged about 28 mpg, which is consistent with its EPA estimated 24/36 city/hwy mpg.

Automotive Love: Infographic: A smarter future for bus travel.....

Automotive Love:
Infographic: A smarter future for bus travel..


...: Infographic: A smarter future for bus travel..

Automotive Love: BMW i3 electric car

Automotive Love: BMW i3 electric car: BMW i3 electric car The first all-new electric car from BMW will test just how much technology its buyers want. The i3 offers a ...

Rolls-Royce

Nothing might so clearly communicate that you won’t ever “get” a car’s raison d’être, besides the fact that you couldn’t ever hope to buy one, quite like $87,424 in options on a Rolls-Royce with a base price of $284,900.

Start with the Starlight headliner in the back seat of the 2014 Rolls-Royce Wraith, made from 1,340 fiber-optic lights sewn into the liner by hand and run off a dimmer above you where you’d normally find the sunroof toggle. It's a dreamy place to let your mind wander, a piece of beauty and whimsy for just $10,000. And as a bespoke feature you can order your Starlight cluster in the exact constellation map of your choice; I’d maybe request the stars overhead on the night of my kid’s birth, just because. Neil deGrasse Tyson, your ride awaits.

Pulled from Rolls' dusty history of coupe names, the modern Wraith arrives as a 5,203-lb. roller with the industry's only rear-hinged doors, just as they were on the 1938 edition. I like so much of everything about the rakish exterior of the Wraith apart from the thoroughly massive rear pillars, if you can even call those slabs of steel pillars. As a result of that long slabby tail, the rear overhang starts looking exaggeratedly long. Wheelbase is, after all seven inches less than on the Ghost sedan, overall length being five inches less than on the four-door. But, c’mon, the car's a beauty, and I’m just hunting around for chinks in the armor.

As for those royal doors: They are enormous, with stainless-steel handles, and they weigh a ton. To handle the intrusion of physics into daily life, Rolls automates the opening and closing via a button right inside the small triangle window at either front pillar.

BMW i3 electric car

The first all-new electric car from BMW will test just how much technology its buyers want. The i3 offers a typical mix of all-electric range and speed wrapped in one of the more advanced chassis the auto industry has ever developed. Whether it will be enough to lure EV shoppers to the BMW fold will be tested when it goes on sale in the United States in mid-2014

Ferrari 458

Creating an encore to the Ferrari 458 Italia is like trying to blow U2 off a stadium stage: It’s one tough act to follow.

But rocketing the new 458 Speciale around Ferrari’s historic Fiorano track in Maranello, Italy, it’s clear that company engineers have a $298,000 triumph on their hands. They’ve taken one of the world’s most heart-pounding sports cars, and rammed fiery shots of adrenaline and technologydown its finely tuned throat.

That technology includes the most powerful V-8 of any roadgoing Ferrari in history: 596 hp from just 4.5 liters of displacement, up from 562 in the Italia. In terms of horsepower to engine size, that’s also the mightiest naturally aspirated engine in the history of production cars, at nearly 133 horsepower per liter. That monstrous output is aided by an insane 14:1 compression ratio, the highest of any V-8 in the world.

Like previous special-edition, mid-engine Ferrari berlinetta coupes, like the 360 Challenge Stradale and 430 Scuderia, the Speciale is the hardest of the hardcore. It’s a stripped-down, muscled-up shriekfest, its brain bursting with dirty little secrets from Ferrari’s Formula One playbook. This is not a Ferrari for South Beach poseurs or NFL bonus babies. Ferrari calls the car a training tool — with a learning curve, but still safe and approachable — for serious drivers who want to challenge and improve their skills. Company executives estimate that 50 percent of Speciale buyers are racetrack regulars.