Published February 27th, 2007
in Hyundai Motors and Test Drives & Reviews.
Diesel has the power to save. Without a diesel motor to get sales kick-started, the Tata Indica wouldn’t be the success it is today and the same goes for the Toyota Innova. By slapping on a diesel, Hyundai will provide the most cost-effective diesel luxury car in the market, giving the Sonata a second shot at success.
Displacing the same capacity as the motor under the hood of the Elantra, but making considerably more power and torque, this motor also comes with a six-speed manual gearbox. Like all diesel motors however, it’s the torque output that’s most impressive — a very healthy 31.3kgm. This common-rail diesel motor had earlier been developed by Detroit Diesel but Hyundai has updated it substantially for more refinement and power.
The largest physical change is the presence of a variable geometry turbocharger that improves low and high engine speed performance. However, to enable the power to be upped from 112 to 138bhp, Hyundai used a large-capacity, high-flow turbocharger. The large, comfortable interiors of the Sonata are identical to those of the petrol car and are a comfortable place to be. The only difference — the diesel motor tachometer displays a redline of only 4500rpm as the diesel has a shorter power-band.
With its Mercedes E-Class-like cabin dimensions, there’s plenty of space both at the front and rear of the car and legroom is ample as well. The seats are large and supportive and there are several places to store your personal effects. The design of the dash with its two-tone upper and lower half split by a streamer of ‘wood’ is very reminiscent of earlier Mercs. But that’s where the comparison ends. More
Courtesy: AutocarIndia.com
Published February 18th, 2007
in Launches and Maruti Udyog.
Maruti Udyog has been trying to break the image of being a small car manufacturer for very long, but somehow its laid back product strategy and weak segment-wise offering along with huge entry-level volumes has nixed that.
Come May, Maruti will make another bold attempt by launching a brand-new sedan still code-named SX4. The car is likely to have a number of variants and it is expected that MUL would price these between Rs 6 lakh and 8 lakh bracket. More
Courtesy: www.auto.indiatimes.com
Published February 18th, 2007
in Honda India.
Honda Siel Cars India plans to launch its compact car in the first quarter of 2009 and hopes to sell 40,000 units a year, according to component makers, who have been asked to submit bids for supplying parts. This would be Honda’s first attempt to break into the segment which accounts for 70 per cent of the Indian market.
Honda is building a factory for 50,000-units a year in Rajasthan where it plans to make the compact car. The car is likely to compete against the Maruti Swift, Chevrolet U-VA and Hyundai Getz in the premium hatchback segment. The Swift sells around 61,000 units a year while the Getz sells 15,000 units.
While Honda has 1.3 litre and 1.5 litre engines that could be put in the small car, it is also reportedly working on a 1.2 litre engine to avail the tax breaks given in last year’s budget, component makers say.
Honda’s compact car brands — a hatchback called the Jazz in Europe and Fit in Asia — are not available in India. “Every manufacturer works on full and minor model changes, we can’t comment on specifics,’’ said NK Goila, vice-president at Honda. More
Courtesy: Hindustan Times
Published February 13th, 2007
in Fiat India.
Making a fresh beginning and coinciding with the visit of the Fiat Group Chairman, a Fiat Palio, the first car produced by the Fiat-Tata Motors joint venture, was on Tuesday morning rolled out from the Ranjangaon facility near Pune. In 2008, Fiat will introduce its latest model Fiat Grande Punto and the yet to be introduced Fiat Linea in the three box sedan segment in the Indian market.
Fiat Auto and Tata Motors will sign a collaborative agreement on Wednesday to give a concrete shape to their 50:50 joint venture that was announced in December 2006.
Fiat Group Chairman Luca Cordero Di Montezemolo who arrived in Mumbai as the head of a 450-member Italian business delegation to India in an interview with HT said, “We are looking at different possibilities as we are committed to the Indian market. We found Tata as a perfect partner to grow our business here. In three years, Fiat will emerge as a strong player in India.” More
Courtesy: Hindustan Times
