Nissan Terrano clear picture surfaces

Nissan Terrano has been caught in flesh, couple of days before its launch. The two Nissan Terranos seen in the picture below bears a new front and rear end which differentiates it from the Renault Duster.

The Nissan Terrano is not just a cosmetic make up of Duster. There are some sheet metal changes also to make the car look more premium. There is new headlamp, Nissan’s trademark grill, new bumper, tailgate mounted tail lamps and blackened pillars. New set of alloys can also be seen. Nissan has also tweaked the interiors suit to suit the premium segment.  

The Nissan Terrano will use the same 1.5L diesel and 1.6L petrol engine of the Duster. Like its other models Nissan is likely to bring Terrano in XE, XL and XV variants. 

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Maruti Dzire new TV commercial coming up

Today we came across the shooting of new TV commercial of Maruti Suzuki Dizre in Bangalore. The shooting was taking place at Bangalore University’s Janabharathi campus. The newly layed tar road and greenery around has prompted the TVC directors to choose the spot.

We managed to get just a glimpse of the shooting place with our phone camera as the road was jammed with ongoing vehicles. The authorities had tough time to manage the vehicles, stopping at both ends of the roads, so that the TV commercial take place.

Two blue Maruti Dzire cars were found. One car was behind a black Merc SUV mounted with a camera and the other parked at the other end. We hope much more TV commercials takes place at the campus and we would capture more images and videos as its the routine way we travel. 

Video

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Skoda Rapid – The best of Badge Engineering But with a Difference

When Skoda finally unleashed its player in the mid-level sedan segment with its 5 door small family car Skoda Rapid, it was almost a case study in badge engineering with the ‘sharing’ aspect taken to a totally different level much beyond the mere platform sharing practice. So much so that Skoda Rapid is almost identical to the Volkswagen Vento! However, is there more to what meets the eye and would Skoda Rapid be able to rapidly carve a niche out of itself?

Exteriors - The Vento vs. Rapid Story:

Look-wise, the Skoda Rapid looks to be a Volkswagen Vento having the Fabia front end. In fact, this all new levels of badge engineering has resulted in Rapid and Vento to be almost identical cars, which might create a little problem for the Vento Sales figure since Rapid is underpriced. However, even if each of them individually do not go on to become category leaders in their segment, nobody is complaining if the combined rapid and vento Sales outnumber Honda City and Hyundai Verna.

So on first glance it’s hard to differentiate between a Rapid and a vento with both of them having the same A, B, C pillars, but wait, when you take a closer profile look, you notice things that aren’t the same. There’s certainly more to the Rapid. The treatment of Rapid’s front end is definitely like the Fabia but may be slightly longer and not as sharply raked as the hatchback. The bonnet extends over the fenders with a redesigned front bumper as well.  The mustache grill is also slightly different to Rapid’s large nose and the strong and sturdy grill makes it look to be a more matured car. The 5 spoke alloy wheels are brilliant in visual terms and look to be chunkier than vento. The lines all over are smoothly integrated along the body of the car as is its boot, which though being a straight life from vento, but finds its distinct identity due to the taillights and crystal cut, that has the very Skoda touch. The rear bumper, boot lid and tail lights are all new with the Vento boot lid kink disappearing into a straight line in case of Rapid. Rapid sports a prism edge with the two sharp edges on either side of the number plate that ushers in the new Skoda design theme. All in all, Skoda rapid turn out to be a handsome looking sedan.

Interiors: Can you spot the difference?

Sit inside the Skoda Rapid and you’ll have deja-vu if you have ever been inside a vento or a Polo. With identical interiors with that of the Vento, only very keen observers would identify the differences in the dashboard brownish tinge and the four spoke steering wheel, which again is similar to Fabia’s. While it is extremely comfortable to grip with a surprisingly easy press-able horn despite having the inbuilt airbag, what is missing is the steering mounted control. Other slight points of difference lies in Rapid’s white console needles instead of red, different font on the dials and the every 500rpm markings on the tachometer. With a similar 2552mm wheelbase, there’s enough space and legroom in the Rapid making it comfortable for even 6 footer drivers or back passengers. The only issue might be the tall transmission tunnel that might make getting in and out a tad difficult.

Skoda Rapid Variants: Actively ambitious and elegant!

One of the main differentiating factor for a common potential buyer could be the range of variants that Skoda Rapid sports compared to the Vento. While Vento strangely has only 2 variants, Skoda has done much better by offering Rapid in 3 trim levels – Active, Ambition and Elegance. While Active is the base model, Ambition and elegance are the mid-level and highest trims respectively offered in the colorsof:

·         Flash Red

·         Deep Black Pearl

·         Brilliant Silver

·         Candy White

·         Cappuccino Beige

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The Mini Classic, greatest British car of all time?

Timeless Classic

What would you consider the greatest British car of all time? The Land Rover? Jaguar? Oh, of coursethe Austin Mini- according to a poll carried out by Autocar.

The Mini is a vehicle that’s demand has never really slumped; in fact it’s on the rise. By 2015, the UK will be producing two million Austin Minis, beating the previous record of 1.92 million manufactured in the year of 1972. It’s a car so popular abroad, that 80% of the vehicles produced will be exported.

The Austin Mini, designed by Alec Issigonis more than 10-foot long and yet would be able to seat four adults. Despite how we recognise the vehicle today, it only began to gain popularity when celebrities started to drive it and after the famous film The Italian Job (1969).

It’s a British icon described as “was one of the most remarkable cars ever built”- Autocar editor, Steve Cropley.

[images courtesy of newspress from Mini World Magazine]

Mini Cooper S

[image courtesy of newspress]

Mini: A Century of car-making in Oxford

[image courtesy of newspress from British Motor Industry Heritage Trust]

First production of the Mini Minor- 1959

[image courtesy of newspress from CMW Imaging]

Birmingham gets a taste of the original Italian Job

[image courtesy of Scott Edwards on Flickr]

Mr Bean Mini in a police chase - Goodwood Revival 2009

[image courtesy of newspress]

Last Longbridge Mini up for sale- recovered from the Longbridge tunnels in 2012

[image courtesy of newspress]

The all-new MINI Paceman

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Hyundai Eon facelift spied

Hot competition prompts Hyundai to give a facelift to the new Eon 

Hyundai Eon was launched in India in October 2011, and in less than 2 years, the Eon is getting ready for a facelift. A Eon with heavily camouflaged front and rear end has been spotted near Chennai along with next generation i10 and i20. The launch of striped down Nissan Micra Active, the Datsun go slated for early next year launch and the news of Alto getting facelift has prompted Hyundai to give a facelift to Eon to stay in the competition.

Hyundai Eon was launched mainly to rival Maruti Alto, but some how the price of Eon goes up to Rs. 4.5 lakh which is too high for the competition. The Eon with its size, design and fuel efficiency won hearts of many customers. The beautiful fluidic sculpture design of Eon makes it one of the beautiful cars on road today.

Rumour of a diesel engine on Eon is going around the web. If indeed the diesel mill gets into the Eon, it will be 1.1L 3 cylinder one, probably the downsized engine of 1.4L of i20. More details of the car is still bleak, but one think is for sure, Hyundai will have series of new launches in coming days in the form of Eon facelift, next generation i10 and also all new i20 which is supposed to be a notchback.

Stay tuned as we are trying to get more details of news Hyundais in India...

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Nissan to unveil Terrano on 20th of August

Nissan Terrano to be costlier than Renault Duster, to be positioned in premium segment.

Nissan India has officially confirmed that, its Renault Duster based SUV Terrano will be unveiled on 20^th August. Nissan Terrano has been tested in and around Nissan’s factory in Chennai, spy photos of which have been posted on the net. Nissan had earlier released two sketches of the Terrano SUV, which though is a facelifted Renault Duster, looks different and better than it.

Click on the image to enlarge

In the sketch we see the front end getting typical Nissan look with broad grill and sharp headlamps. The rear gets additional lamps on the tail gate giving a broader look to the vehicle. Apart from minor exterior changes there will nothing significant in the Terrano. However expect a lot of changes in the interiors, as Nissan aims to position Terrano in a premium segment.

Nissan will price the Terrano Rs. 50,000 higher than the Renault Duster, which is a reversal of the trend currently going on in Renault Nissan alliance in India. 

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