Mitsubishi Pajero BS4 launched in India

     Mitsubishi has launched the BS4 variant of the Pajero SUV in India. The BS4 variant is equipped with the same engine with a catalytic converter to reduce the emission and meet the BS4 norms.


     The Pajero is powered by a 2.8 litre IDI Turbo diesel engine which now produces 108 Bhp of power and 260 Nm of torque. This means there is reduction of 10 Bhp as compared to the BS3 variant. Apart form the addition of the catalytic converter there is absolutely no change in the exterior and interior. The BS4 Pajero is costlier by Rs. 90,000 as compared to BS3 variant.

Skoda Rapid rendering

     Here is the rendering of the soon to be launched Skoda Rapid. Couple of days ago we had showed the spy pictures of the Skoda Rapid being testing at Skoda's plant at Aurangabad.

     The rendering picture was found at http://www.automobile-magazine.fr site. The car in the picture resembles very much to the spy pictures we showed. With this looks Rapid is going to be a strong competitor to SX4, New Hyundai Verna and All new Ford Fiesta.

Audi A7 Sportsback India launch on 11th May, to be priced Rs. 65 lakh

     German luxury carmaker Audi will launch its 4 door coupe A7 Sportsback in India on 11th May 2011. The A7 Sportsback will be will be a CBU (completely built unit) and priced at Rs. 65 lakh. The A7 Sportsback features light weight body made up of aluminum and high tech steels.

     The A7 Sportsback will be available in both petrol and diesel variants. The 3.0 TFSI Quattro Petrol with 2995cc engine produces 300 PS of power at 5250-6500 rpm and 440 Nm of torque at 2900-4500 RPM. The 3.0 TDI Quattro Diesel with 2967cc engine produces 245 PS of power at 4000-4500 rpm and 500 Nm of torque at 1400-3250 rpm.








     Both the engines is coupled with a seven-speed S tronic (dual-clutch) gear box. The latest quattro system has a crown-gear centre differential and torque vectoring. Brake recuperation and start-stop is standard across the range.

Audi A7 Sportsback Picture Gallery:

Ford Figo crosses 1,00,000 production mark

     Ford has announced that it has crossed the 1,00,000 production mark of its popular hatchback Figo. The 1,00,000th Figo rolled out was a Colorado Red one. Figo was launched with great expectations from the company after the slump in the Ford car sales in India 2 years back.

     The Figo is basically the last generation European Fiesta hatchback. Ford gave a mild facelift to the European Fiesta and changed the name to Figo here in India. The changes include all new bumber, new headlamps as well as tail lamps – all these reflecting the Kinetic design philosophy of Ford.

     With the launch of Figo, Ford also reworked on the spare parts prices and almost halved their price to give its customers good ownership experience. Along with this the major factor working out for the Figo was the price which was very competitive in the market.


     Ford is planning to launch 8 more models in India by 2015. It has recently launched the new 2011 Fiesta in India but still the price details have not been revealed. If Ford can learn from Figo’s success, days are not far for Ford to compete with the market leader Maruti Suzuki.

New Delhi Auto Expo 2012 at two venues?

     The Auto Expo at New Delhi to be held in January 2012 seams to be a much bigger event this time. According to sources, the entire space at Pragati maidan has been sold out and still some prospective participants are waiting to have some space. This might prompt the event organizers to arrange some space for waiting participants at a different venue.

Mahindra launches Maxximo Mini van in India

     Mahindra has launched a people carrier based on the Maxximo LCV in India. The mini van named as Maxximo Mini van is priced at Rs. 3.2 lakh ex-showroom BS3 Navi Mumbai. Like the Maxximo LCV the Mini van is aimed to compete against the Ace family of Tata Motors.

     Aimed at Semi urban and Urban markets, Maxximo Mini van will be available at 230 dealers and 600 outlets across the country. It will be manufactured at the state of the art Chakan plant which has a capacity to produce 2000 units per month. The plant can be upgraded to produce more vehicles if necessary.

     Mahindra has invested Rs. 120 crores on the development of the Maxximo Mini van. The company has tested the Maxximo Mini van extensively, like it would do for its SUVs namely Scorpio and Xylo. Some of the spy pictures of the Mini van were available on the net couple of months back.

     Maxximo Mini van is built on a monocoque chassis and has independent suspension in the front for better ride. It is powered by C2 CRDe engine with 25 HP of power and delivers fuel efficiency of 18 Kmpl.

Mahindra Maxximo Minivan Picture Gallery:

Mahindra Maxximo Minivan side view

Mahindra Maxximo Minivan interior top view

Mahindra Maxximo Minivan dashboard

Mahindra Maxximo Minivan front seats

Mahindra Maximmo Minivan interior

Scoop: All new Swift Dzire compact spied in Gurgoan

     India’s leading car magazine Autocarindia has published a spy picture of the new Dzire based on the all new Swift platform. The company sources had announced earlier that they are working on the new Dzire which will be shorter in length and will come under 4 meter length mark.


The new Dzire being less than 4 meters in length will get excise benefits at 10% as compared to 22% for other sedans. This means the cost benefit of about Rs. 30,000 - 40,000 can be benefitted to the customers.

     Production of the new Dzire will start by November 2011 and official launch will be in January 2012 at the Auto Expo.

Source: ACI