Cyrus Dhabhar was born and brought up in a motorsport family and cars run deep in his blood. As a passionate founder and head of a classic car club in Mumbai and an avid part of the vintage and classic car scene in the country, Cyrus prefers his cars older and simpler. That said, he loves everything on four wheels and the occasional two-wheeler as well. Cyrus currently is the Assistant Editor - AUTO for the NDTV Group.
Fuel prices in India are getting higher and higher and fuel economy or fuel mileage is crucial for most diesel car or petrol car users. So here are seven great tips that will ensure you get the best mileage out of your cars.
The facelifted Hyundai Creta has been launched in India. Prices for the facelift Creta start at Rs. 9.43-Rs. 13.59 for the petrol models, the diesel is priced at Rs. 9.99- Rs. 15.03 lakh. The new Creta gets added features like a new orange paint job, new 17-inch alloy wheels and of course, a new updated look. The new grille is much larger and joins both the headlamps. The Hyundai Creta facelift also gets a new fog lamp cluster with a new LED integrated daytime running lights. On the inside, the car also gets a new sunroof, a wireless charging pad and electronically controllable front driver's seat. In this detailed price comparison, we put up the diesel engine variant of the new Hyundai Creta up against its main rivals - the Renault Duster and Captur, Mahindra Scorpio, Tata Hexa and Jeep Compass.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markel tied the knot at the 'Royal Wedding' yesterday and while the world 'ooohed and aahed' at handsome Prince in his Army regalia or the beautiful bride in her white Givenchy dress, we here at Car And Bike swooned over something completely different. And yet, quintessentially British. Post the wedding ceremony, the 'Royal Couple' made their way from Windsor Castle to Frogmore House on the Windsor Estate. And in true British style, Prince Harry drove his wife Meghan in the only car appropriate for this 'first journey as man and wife', a Jaguar E-Type. But it isn't just a regular E-Type. The car chosen for this short drive is the new Jaguar E-Type Zero Concept, which although still has the appeal of the classic Jag on the outside, is actually a brand new electric car under the skin.
The Hyundai Creta is one of the best selling SUVs in India as it offers a whole bunch of value to customers looking for a sub 20-lakh SUV with good features, a comfortable ride, a well powered engine and most importantly - a typically SUV look. The Creta was launched in 2015, almost three years ago and has been due for a facelift. And that facelift Hyundai Creta will be launched tomorrow. The new Creta compact SUV will continue to take on the likes of the Mahindra Scorpio, Renault Captur, Renault Duster and the Nissan Terrano. More importantly, it will take on the likes of the upcoming Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara and future Jeep SUVs like the Renegade.
The Toyota Yaris was officially launched in India yesterday and prices starting at Rs 8.75 lakh. While the Yaris does not get a diesel engine just yet since this segment accounts for almost 70 per cent petrol sales, the Yaris does offer both manual and automatic gearbox options. The prices for the automatic Toyota Yaris begin at Rs 9.95 lakh all the way up to Rs 14.07 lakh (ex-showroom). And just like the manual, which is available in four variants, the Toyota Yaris Automatic is also available in all four variants - J, G, V, and VX. And unsurprisingly, the automatic accounts for 66 per cent or two thirds of all Yaris booked in India so far.
Ride hailing service Ola has announced that it will add 10,000 new electric three wheelers in India into its fleet by this time next year. The electric three wheelers will be deployed in three cities in India.
Toyota Yaris Price In India for petrol manual ranges from Rs 8.75-12.85 lakh while prices for petrol automatic range from Rs 9.95-14.07 lakh. There is no diesel on offer yet.
The Honda Amaze subcompact sedan has been launched in India and takes on the likes of the popular Maruti Suzuki Dzire. Just like the Dzire, the Honda Amaze gets both petrol and diesel and also like the Maruti, it gets an automatic version on both engines. Unlike the Maruti though that gets an AMT unit based on the 5-speed manual, the Honda Amaze gets a CVT unit. In fact the diesel engine + CVT gearbox combination is a first of its kind in India. But, while the Dzire is available with a AMT on three variants, the Amaze is only available with an automatic on two and misses out on the VX or the fully loaded variant. That said, depending on market response, a fully loaded version of the Amaze with a CVT gearbox could be on the cards very soon.
The Kerala High Court has ruled that there is no specific law today under the national or state motor vehicles act (specifically in the state of Kerala or otherwise) that can be used to book motorists using their cell phones while driving. In Kerala, motorists have been booked under section 118(e)Kerala Police Act, which deals with acts causing danger to public or failure in public safety. The High Court ruled that the Police cannot charge individuals under this act as 'In the case on hand, unless the 'act' of accused causes danger to public or failure in public safety, the penal provision under S.118(e) will not be attracted."
The Hyderabad High Court has ruled that life time tax collected by the government can be levied only on the actual invoiced value of the car and not on the ex-showroom price. The ruling comes after a lawyer in Hyderabad who bought a new car was taxed on the ex-showroom price of a new Volvo XC60, which was much higher than the actual invoice value of the car. The car was sold to him after a considerable discount and thus the buyer was forced by the authorities to pay the taxes on the difference between actual invoice value and the ex-showroom value.
The new Honda Amaze has been launched in India with prices for the petrol ranging from Rs 5.59 lakh to Rs. 7.99 lakh and prices for the diesel ranging from Rs. 6.69 lakh to Rs. 8.99 lakh. The Amaze comes with both a manual or automatic gearbox option for both engines.
The new 2018 Honda Amaze will be launched today and will take on the likes of the Ford Aspire, Hyundai Xcent and of course, the Maruti Suzuki Dzire. With its new but conservative design, Honda intends to bring back some lost market share in the subcompact segment. The new Honda Amaze will be available with both petrol and diesel with both engines getting a manual or a CVT automatic gearbox option. The diesel + CVT combination is actually a first in class feature as the other automatic option in this segment is the Dzire diesel which gets the AMT gearbox. So here is what we think Honda will price the Amaze at when launched today.
As the Formula E calendar moves to Germany this weekend for the annual Berlin E-Prix at the iconic Templehoff airport, the race cars will be joined by another star attraction. Making its driving debut (not racing debut) for the first time ever will be the brand new Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy race car. The car will be put through its paces at the Berlin E-Prix race track by the founder and CEO of Formula E, Alejandro Agag. The I-Pace race cars are set to make their racing debut in the Formula E support races later this year and will have 20 drivers going head to head in the eTrophy support series.
In what could revolutionise point-to-point transportation of goods, Tesla has announced that its new all-electric Semi Truck will have a whopping 966 kms of electric range on a single charge! This update in range is more than the 805 km of range that was originally announced at the truck's launch last year. Apart from the range, the Tesla semi truck will also be able to get from 0-100 in just over 20 seconds when fully loaded to its 36,000 kg or almost 36 tonnes towing capacity! In comparison, a regular diesel semi truck in the United States does the same sprint in over 60 seconds!
Lister has teased a tuned version of the F-Pace SVR recently called the Lister Lightning. The Lister Lightning will essentially use the same 5-litre supercharged engine from the SVR but tune it up with bespoke performance parts to bump the power up from 550 bhp to a rather bonkers 666 bhp! Lister has also added gigantic brakes, new wheels and tyres and upgrades to the body with new aero bits up front and a new front lip to keep the SUV grounded. Needless to say, this F-Pace will never be going off-road ever again.
The Lamborghini Centenario was made to celebrate Ferrucio Lamborghini - the company founder's 100th birthday. Built in very small numbers, 20 coupes and 20 roadsters, with a price tag of $1.9 Million or $2.4 Million respectively - and that is without options - the Centenario is the king of the hill when it comes to bespoke roadgoing Lamborghinis. And the reason for its recall? A sticker. According to the United States Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a small safety label that has a slightly incorrect gross weight of the vehicle is worthy of a 'recall'. And considering how rare these cars are, the recall has affected 11 vehicles.
Mercedes-Benz along with other group companies like Smart has officially announced that it will be sourcing its electric car batteries for its while range from a Chinese manufacturer. The battery maker in China called 'Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL)' will be supplying batteries to the Daimler group. It is uncertain though on whether Mercedes-Benz will be buying batteries from CATL for all cars made globally or only for the Asia region. The first fully electric purpose built car from the Mercedes-Benz lineup EQ will be a compact luxury SUV called the EQC and will be launched very soon. The electric SUV has already been spied undergoing rigorous testing across the world.
BMW India will soon be launching its smallest and according to some the purest 'M Car', the M2. The M2 in India will only be available with the new 'Competition' package which offers a bump in performance along with some styling upgrades too. The new BMW M2 will take on the likes of the Porsche 718 Cayman in India along with the soon to be launched Audi TT RS and will be priced around the Rs 85 lakh mark (ex-showroom) without options. Prices
A few years ago, the hottest growing segment (in terms of launches) was the cross-hatchback segment. Strangely though, for a country that loves its sub-compact SUVs, cross-hatchbacks haven't taken the fancy of our car buying audiences. With the exception of one - the Maruti Suzuki Ignis. And now, to take on the niche but extremely likeable cross-hatch, Ford India recently launched the all-new Freestyle. Based on the Figo hatchback, the Freestyle is not just a plastic cladded version with some stickers, it is actually a lot more. So considering how similar the price points between these two cool hatches, it is only obvious that we put them up against each other. So which one is better? Read on to know more...
The Ministry Of Road Transport has brought about a whole range of proposals to increase the adoption of electric vehicles in India. These include the proposal of scrapping permits to run commercial electric vehicles, allowing youth between the ages of 16-18 to ride electric scooters without a license and preferential parking for electric cars in certain areas. Another proposal that will help boost the adoption of electric cars by lowering cost of the batteries that go into the electric cars. The current GST rate on these batteries is 28 per cent but according to these proposals, the GST rates could be corrected and dropped down to 12 per cent - the same as the GST on electric cars.
