Renault to launch Duster 4x4 in India by September 2014

          Renault is all geared up to launch an all wheel drive Duster SUV in India by September this year. The 4x4 Renault Duster will be available in only top end diesel variant unlike in international markets where both petrol and diesel variants are available under the name of Dacia.

          Renault Duster4x4 will be powered by 1.5L K9K 110 Bhp diesel engine coupled to a six speed manual transmission which powers all the four wheels. Three modes – 2WD high, 4WD low and 4WD high will be on offer.

          The new Duster 4x4 is likely to get all the equipments as on the top RXZ diesel variant which includes a touchscreen infotainment system, steering-mounted controls, 2-DIN stereo system, rear air-con vents, keyless entry, rear parking sensors, ABS with EBD, emergency brake assist and dual SRS front airbags.

          Duster 4x4 will be priced at a premium of Rs. 80,000 to Rs. 1,00,000 and will compete with Tata Safari and Mahindra XUV500 in Indian market. 

Hyundai Elite i20 launch on August 11th

        Hyundai will launch its next generation i20 on 11^th August 2014. Hyundai has named the new cars as Elite i20 and we still don’t now weather the current i20 will be discontinued. Most  probable the current i20 will be sold against the new Elite i20 as Hyundai did for i10 and Grand i10.

        The new Hyundai Elite i20 is designed at Hyundai’s European design centre in Germany. The European styling of the car is clearly evident with boxy outlook which was unlikely the design language of previous generation cars from Hyundai. Hyundai has not dumped its Fluidic Sculpture design language as we can see some sculpturic design on the Elite i20 as well. So can we call it Fluidic Sculpture design version 2.0!!!

        Hyundai has also come up with a teaser video on its website for Elite i20. There are also couple of design sketches available on its website. Booking for the car has already been started. 

Honda becomes 3rd largest car manufacturer in India

        Honda Cars India Ltd. has overtaken Mahindra to becoming 3^rd largest car manufacturer for the month of July 2014. Last year Mahindra had overthorned Tata Motors to gain the second spot and how Honda has done the same thing what Mahindra did to Tata Motors. With this Tata Motors is in the 5^th place with Maruti Suzuki leading followed by Hyundai.

        Now the top 3 car manufacturers in India are Multinationals reflecting Indian customer sentiments towards foreign manufactures, purely because of the technological brilliance.

        Honda with its new launches (All new City and Mobilio) is surely a strong competitor to Hyundai. Honda also has plans to launch a small car below Brio and an SUV based on Brio platform in couple of years. With those models coming, the current equation might change and who knows Honda might be the numero uno in 3-4 years in India!

Source: TOI

Next Generation Toyota Innova or is it just a major facelift?

        In our earlier post we had posted about the next generation Toyota Innova being tested on Bangalore roads amid heavy camouflage. Carefully observing the spy pictures one might get doubt whether it is indeed the old Innova with heavy facelift in the front, rear and rear side profile. We too felt that the vehicle seen from the spy pictures is the same old Innova with heavy cosmetic changes. Note the similar dimension of the vehicle.

        If our guess is true, then we think Toyota is not aggressive in growing Indian market. Normally Toyota vehicle life cycle is 8 years and it’s the 9^th year running for the Innova in India since its launch in 2005. If they are not planning to bring an all new replacement vehicle now, then when will they do? Probably the labour unrest at the Toyota factory in the outskirts of Bangalore might have changed the plans of Toyota for India, at least it might have affected the near future plans of the company.

        When the Qualis was stopped, Toyota received huge request for restarting the vehicle but the company ruled out to bring Qualis back saying it had completed its product life cycle. Since then Toyota has been seen as a renowned car manufacturer and customers thought of buying a Toyota with closed eyes. But Etios spoiled the party. Probably the company got carried away or country advisers mislead the parent company at Japan. Having burnt the finger once, it’s hard to understand why Toyota is still playing a safe game by giving a makeover to an old vehicle.

        Having said all these we wish our guess does not come true. Let’s wish to see an all new next generation Toyota Innova to carry on with the legacy of its predecessor.  

Honda Mobilio Price in India

Honda Mobilio Petrol/Diesel Price in Bangalore

Honda Mobilio E Petrol Price in Bangalore : ₹ 6,83,000

Honda Mobilio S Petrol Price in Bangalore : ₹ 7,85,000

Honda Mobilio V Petrol Price in Bangalore : ₹ 9,06,000

Honda Mobilio V(O) Petrol Price in Bangalore : ₹ 9,75,194

Honda Mobilio E Diesel Price in Bangalore :  ₹ 8,25,400

Honda Mobilio S Diesel Price in Bangalore : ₹ 8,99,900

Honda Mobilio V Diesel Price in Bangalore :  ₹ 10,18,000

Honda Mobilio V(O) Diesel Price in Bangalore : ₹ 10,87,194

Honda Mobilio RS Diesel Price in Bangalore :  ₹ 11,31,500

Honda Mobilio RS(O) Diesel Price in Bangalore : ₹ 12,00,694

Honda Mobilio Petrol/Diesel Price in New Delhi

Honda Mobilio E Petrol Price in New Delhi : ₹ 6,49,000

Honda Mobilio S Petrol Price in New Delhi : ₹ 7,50,900

Honda Mobilio V Petrol Price in New Delhi : ₹ 8,76,900

Honda Mobilio V(O) Petrol Price in New Delhi : ₹ 9,45,866

Honda Mobilio E Diesel Price in New Delhi :  ₹ 7,89,000

Honda Mobilio S Diesel Price in New Delhi : ₹ 8,60,000

Honda Mobilio V Diesel Price in New Delhi :  ₹ 9,76,000

Honda Mobilio V(O) Diesel Price in New Delhi : ₹ 10,44,966

Honda Mobilio RS Diesel Price in New Delhi : ₹ 10,86,000

Honda Mobilio RS(O) Diesel Price in New Delhi : ₹ 11,54,966

*All prices Ex-showroom as of 30-10-2014. Prices may change.

Honda Mobilio Specifications

Honda Mobilio – Variants, Dimensions, Capacities, Engine, Transmission, Steering, Performance, Wheels & Tyres, Fuel Economy.

Price	:	Rs. 6,83,000 to Rs. 11,31,500 Ex-showroom Bangalore as of 23-07-2014.
Variants	:	Petrol	–	E, S, V
		Diesel	–	E, S, V, VX, RS

Honda Mobilio Technical Specifications

Fuel Type	Petrol	Diesel
Dimensions
Length	4386 mm	4386 mm
Width	1683 mm	1683 mm
Height	1603 mm	1603 mm
Wheel Base	2652 mm	2652 mm
Ground Clearance	189 mm	189 mm
Front Track	-	-
Rear Track	-	-
Kerb Weight	1131 Kg (E), 1145 Kg (S), 1161 Kg (V)	1214 Kg (E), 1231 Kg (S), 1246 Kg (V)
Gross Weight	-	-
No. Of Doors	5	5
Capacities
Seating Capacity	7	7
Fuel Tank Capacity	42 L	42 L
Boot Capacity	-	-
Engine
Type	SOHC i-VTEC	DOHC i-DTEC
Displacement	1497	1498
Power	119 Ps @ 6600 rpm	100 Ps @ 3600 rpm
Torque	145 Nm @ 4600 rpm	200 Nm @ 1750 rpm
Bore X Stroke	-	-
Comp. Ratio	-	-
No. of Cyl.	4	4
Cylinder Config.	Inline, Transverse	Inline, Transverse
Valves Per Cyl.	4	4
Transmission
Type	5 Speed Manual	5 Speed Manual
Gears	5 Forward & 1 Reverse	5 Forward & 1 Reverse
Steering
Type	Collapsible Electric Power Steering	Collapsible Electric Power Steering
Min Turning Radius	5.2 m	5.4m
Suspension
Front	McPherson Strut	McPherson Strut
Rear	Torsion Beam	Torsion Beam
Brakes
Front	Disc	Disc
Rear	Drum	Drum
Wheels And Tyres
Wheel Size & Type	15” Steel/Alloy	15” Steel/Alloy
Tyres Size & Type	185/65R15	185/65R15
Performance
Max Speed	-	-
0-100 Kmph	-	-
Fuel Economy (ARAI)
Overall	17.3 Kmpl	24.2 Kmpl

Honda Mobilio MPV launched in India

          Honda has launched its Mobilio MPV in India today with prices ranging between Rs. 6.49 to Rs. 11.48 lakh Ex-showroom, New Delhi. This is the first MPV from Honda in India since its entry in 1998.

          The Mobilio MPV is available in both Petrol and Diesel versions. The petrol versions has 3 variants – E,S & V and diesel comes in 4 versions – E, S, V & RS. The top end RS version is available only in diesel version. Powering the petrol version is a 1.5L i-VTEC engine with 100 ps of power. The diesel motor is 1.5L i-DTEC, the same one powering the Honda City, having a power output of 100 Ps as well.