Land Rover Defender Concept (DC100) video

     Last week Land Rover unveiled the Defender Concept (DC100 & DC100 

Sport) at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The concept will make its first production appearance in 2015.

     Take a look at the video to find out the new technology features which goes into the Next Generation Defender concept.

Renault’s small car for India is not Modus

     In our earlier post we had showed you the spy picture of Renault Modus being tested in Chennai. Our friend Indianautosblog has confirmed that it is not the Modus which will be launched in India as a Renault’s small car.

     After the appearance of the spy pictures of Modus being tested on Indian roads, Indianautosblog did a background search of the vehicle which mismatched the Renault’s V platform hatchback. Hence they called up a Renault official who confirmed that Modus was testing in India as part of the “validation testing in eight countries for the next generation Modus.” So does Renault launch the next generation Modus in India at a later date? No idea.

Renault does validation tests in different countries for unknown parameters. Renault cars are tested in various conditions to check the cars response to intense dust, heat, moisture and other natural elements.

     So what could be Renault’s small car for India will be? As Renault has mentioned the small car will be built on it ‘V’ platform we guess it will be an all new product designed right from the scratch just for India. Manufacturers like Toyota and Honda are creating country specific products (Etios and Brio) and we guess even Renault might also have similar plans. Why not, after all Renault with its Clio has sold maximum number of small cars in Europe. Does it planning to do it in India? We feel Renault definitely has a chance, provided they work on the price strategies. 

Guess the Mahindra XUV500 Price contest

     Mahindra with its pre launch marketing plans has launched a Guess the Price contest of its soon to be launched XUV500. Visit the link http://mahindraxuv500.com/default.aspx to participate in the contest. In the contest you are required to answer 4 simple questions and share it among your friends. All correct answers with good share will get a brand new Mahindra XUV500. Other prices in the offering are tickets to the F1 grand prix. 

Scoop: Hyundai EON clear images

     India’s leading automobile magazine Autocarindia has posted in its website the clear images of the soon to be launched Hyundai’s small car EON. Autocarindia itself had posted a rendered picture of Hyundai EON few days back.

     The EON in the picture looks very similar to the renderings mentioned earlier. No doubt the EON is designed on Hyundai’s Fluidic Sculpture design philosophy with lots of creases and scoops all over the car. The front end looks familiar with other Hyundai’s but the EON looks bolder with wider and prominent bumper. The new grill with chrome bar adds to the EONs dynamism. Watch out the nicely scooped out fog lamp slots. The headlamps have so many curvatures just like the new generation Elantra.

     From the side you can notice the prominent shoulder line which extends right from the headlamps to the rear tail lamps in a wave pattern. The front and rear wheel arches look bulky which makes the tyres looks tiny. The side glass profile and rear door has been designed beautifully but we feel lot of design curves will hinder all round visibility to the driver. The C pillar incorporated with tail lamps look fantastic from the cars side profile.

     The rear is not as attractive as expected after seeing the car from the front and side angle. The rear glass is crescent shaped with huge tail lamps by the side of it. The tail lamps have many sharp edges to gel with the crescent shaped rear glass.


     Overall we can say, Hyundai has good prospectus with the EON as it will be targeted against Maruti Alto and EON definitely looks prettier than the Alto. But honestly speaking Hyundai has overdesigned the EON with its Fluidic theme. The EON could have been much simpler with minimal use of Fluidic design philosophy as the design theme looks good on bigger cars compared to the small ones.


     EON meaning ‘for a long time’ will be replacing the 13 year old Santro and Hyundai aims EON to go on for a long time in India just like the Santro did. The same Santro’s 3 cylinder petrol engine will power EON. EON will get lots of features which were not present in Santro, but of course in a top end variant.

Renault to make India as manufacturing hub for Duster

     French car maker Renault is aiming big with its SUV Duster in India. Renault is planning to make India as the exclusive manufacturing and export hub of its SUV Duster. The Duster SUV will be launched in second half of next year.

     The Duster with its solid and muscular built seems to be best utility vehicle suited for Indian conditions. The segment currently dominated by Bolero will see a strong completion from Duster, provided Renault prices it competitively. The Duster is expected to be priced between Rs. 7-9 lakh which will be a value for money product in the segment.


     The Duster will be powered by the same 1.5L dCi engine of Logan and Micra. However, we feel the 1.5L engine would too small for the Duster size, Renault would definitely work on the power and troque issues before fitting it into the Duster. A 1.6L petrol engine is also on the cards. The Duster will be available in both 4x2 and 4x4 versions. The vehicle will look same for both India and international markets barging some cosmetic changes in the looks.

Mahindra updates its largest selling MUV Bolero

     India’s utility vehicle manufacturer Mahindra has given a new lease of life to its largest selling utility vehicle Bolero. The updated Bolero has some cosmetic changes and is now powered by a Low Cost Common Rail diesel engine which delivers fuel economy of 15.96 Kmpl as certified by ARAI.

     The engine powering the updated Bolero has been borrowed from recently launched Scorpio EX. The updated Bolero features many cosmetic changes in the exterior which include – restyled grill which is black in colour unlike the earlier one which was body coloured, redesigned front bumper and headlamps. The updated Bolero now features a rear wiper with a defroster to meet the future Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR).

     In the interior the major changes are seen. There is a bronzed hue to the cabin with plastics beige in colour. An all new digital instrument console with LED display for the speedometer, fuel gauge and engine temperature is the main highlight. The steering wheel gets leather wrapped and gear know and air condition vents gets some aluminum insertions. The seats have dual tone shade and the central console gets wood trims.  

     Three variants of updated Bolero is available – SLE, SLX, ZLX. All the three models are available in both BS3 and BS4 complaint. Following are the prices of different variants of updated Mahindra Bolero.

Mahindra Bolero SLE BS3 - Rs 6.19, BS4 - Rs 6.33 lakh

Mahindra Bolero SLX BS3 - Rs 6.67, BS4 - Rs 6.81 lakh

Mahindra Bolero ZLX BS3 - Rs 6.82, BS4 - Rs 6.96 lakh

Toyota Etios and Etios Liva diesel launched in India

     Toyota has launched diesel variants of Etios and Etios Liva in India. The Etios and Etios Liva diesel prices starts from Rs 6.44 lakh and 5.54 lakh respectively (ex-showroom, New Delhi). Both Etios and Etios Liva diesel is powered by 1.4L D-4D engine.

     The 1.4L D-4D diesel engine powering the Etios and Etios Liva is the same one which propels Toyota’s bigger sedan Corolla Altis. But the engine used in Etios and Etios Liva has no Variable Geometry Turbo, but instead has a Fixed Geometry Turbo. Toyota has done so reduce the cost and increase the fuel efficiency of Etios and Etios Liva. According to Toyota, the Etios siblings deliver 23.57 Kmpl, certified by ARAI.




     The Etios sedan is available in 3 variants - D, VD and top-of-the-line VXD where as Etios Liva is available in 2 variants – GD and GD(SP). All the models available have Airbags, EBD and ABS as a standard feature.

Toyota Etios Liva Diesel Specficationns