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.
We drive the brand new 2017 Maruti Suzuki Dzire to see if the car is really worth the premium price tag that it comes with. The new Dzire looks nice, especially compared to the older versions, and it surely is a lot more feature-rich as well. AMT is now offered with both petrol and diesel variants as an option and the revised mileage makes the new Maruti Dzire the most fuel efficient car in India in both the categories.
The new BMW 8 Series was scheduled to be unveiled later today at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este in Lake Como, but has been leaked online. The new grand tourer from BMW is a hark back to the original 8 Series from the 90s. The new 8 Series will be a super-coupe of sorts with a power engine under the hood, a big boot and luxurious interiors. Although the car that has been leaked is just a concept, the actual version of the 8 Series will be unveiled next year as a production model.
The all-new Skoda Karoq has finally broken cover. The new SUV is a global product for Skoda and will replace the extremely capable Yeti SUV. The new Skoda Karoq is based on the same platform as the Skoda Kodiaq, which will be launched in India soon and also carries a broadly similar design language as its larger cousin. The Skoda Karoq globally and in India will take on the likes of the Hyundai Tucson and the Jeep Compass and should be priced at about the Rs 18-25 lakh price bracket when it makes it to India in 2018.
Voted the Man Of The Year at the 2017 NDTV Car And Bike Awards, Managing Director and CEO of Maruti Suzuki India Limited, Kenichi Ayukawa has been promoted to the position of Executive Vice President, Suzuki Global. This change in guard is a level up from his older post as Senior Managing Officer, Suzuki Global. Kenichi Ayukawa is now in the second highest rung of global Suzuki management, just below the likes of the Chairman, Osamu Suzuki. Kenichi Ayukawa was responsible for Marutis grand comeback in recent times, including the launch of the ultra successful Baleno and Vitara Brezza and the recent launch of the Maruti Suzuki Dzire that has already racked up a huge 33,000 bookings even before the official price was announced.
Maruti Suzuki will launch three new cars in the 2017 financial year. This will include the new Swift and facelifts of the S-Cross and the Ciaz.
The Toyota Corolla is the largest selling car in the world with over 40 million units sold across the years and generations. In India, the Corolla was launched in 2003 and continues to be the best selling car in its category. The current generation Corolla Altis has been with us for a few years now and has finally been put under the scalpel for a midlife nip and tuck making, it much much better looking than before and also much sleeker. We drove the top of the line diesel powered car, which, badged GL is priced at just over Rs 19 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) to see if the updates have made it a better car.
The Lexus RC F is now available on order with a price tag of over Rs 2 Crore and is powered by a 5-litre V8 engine.
In a new development in the infamous Volkswagen Dieselgate scandal that rocked the automotive community a few years ago, a federal judge in California has ruled that he would approve a $1.2 billion settlement for a section of the cars that were affected by the emissions cheating. The settlement is for the last 80,000 cars that are fitted with the larger 3-litre diesel engine that was also included in the Dieselgate scandal along with the now infamous 2-litre Volkswagen group engine. The $1.2 Billion additional settlement will take the total settlement from the Volkswagen group to a record setting $22 Billion.
The recently launched Porsche 911 GT3 features a turbocharged engine and gets a manual gearbox option along with the dual clutch DSG.
GM has announced that they will officially re-open the deadline to submit VRS requests. This move is so that certain employees that do not wish to move to the Talegaon facility could avail of the VRS packages that were initially offered for a very specific time period. Although General Motors will once again open the window to apply for the VRS packages, the actual package will remain exactly the same as originally offered.
Toyota India has launched a new variant of Toyota Innova Crysta in India called the Touring Sport. The new Toyota Innova Crysta Touring Sport has been launched on the new Innovas first anniversary and is available with the petrol and diesel engine options. The new Innova Crysta Touring Sport is only available in the seven seat option with the second row getting the much loved individual captain seats. The prices for the Innova Crysta Touring Sport start at Rs 17.79 lakh for the petrol version and Rs 18.91 lakh for the diesel version (ex-showroom, Delhi).
The Indian auto industry showcased mixed results in April 2017. Although year on year sales for most manufacturers are higher, a few manufacturers have registers a lower sales figure as compared to March 2017.
Sales for India's largest auto maker, Maruti Suzuki, grew in April 2017 as compared to March 2017 and also showcased a year on year growth as compared to April 2016. The growth was due to great sales of smaller cars like the Alto and the Wagon R along with good monthly sales figures for the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz that has recently moved to the Nexa sales channel.
Skoda India have officially opened bookings for the Kodiaq SUV in India. The new SUV will be available with two diesel and one petrol engine and will have a 7 speed automatic dual clutch gearbox and all wheel drive as standard across all variants. The new SUV is well built and has a great interior and offers only a 7 seat package in India. the Kodiaq has very good road presence and will appeal to a large Indian audience who want an affordable seven seat European SUV
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' (FCA) Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne recently admitted that the group was considering selling off the Jeep and Ram brands. Jeep in particular is a very important brand for the company.
Kia Motors has officially announced its plans to enter the Indian market. The Korean auto giant which, is a part of the Hyundai Motor Group will build a new manufacturing plant in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh to make 300,000 cars a year for the Indian car market. The first two body styles that the new Kia factory will make for India are to be a compact SUV and a compact sedan. Kias sedan range across the world is rather well spread, from the smallest, Rio sedan to the likes of the extremely popular mid range Kia Optima.
Maruti Suzuki is mulling a replacement for the now discontinued Kizashi sedan in the Rs. 15 lakh price bracket. While a global replacement for the premium sedan is yet to arrive, the model could finally find acceptance in India.
Kia Motors has formally announced its plans to build a brand new manufacturing facility for its India operations. The new automotive plant will be in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh and will be built at a cost of $1.1 billion. the new factory will make a new compact sedan and a new compact SUV and will be ready by 2019.
DC Designs teases a new concept package based on the Mahindra Thar. The new car will have a redesigned front end, rear end and a hard top roof with design elements and integrated driving lights. The new Thar concept from DC Design will also have an updated interior and some new wheels and tyres with wider wheel arches.
Orix, one of the largest rental and self drive providers in the world are offering a new self drive supercar experience in India. The experience has to be bought via an auction route that will be a part of the MyChoize venture and will be restricted to driving for a 30 minute slot on race tracks like the Buddh International Circuit.
