Automobilestillnow

Hyundai had previously revealed that its  first all-electric offering in India will be the Kona Electric . Scheduled to  go on sale by mid-2019 , the all-electric SUV has been spied in India for the first time. In international markets, the Kona EV is available with two options – a 39kW battery pack with about 312km claimed range and a 64kW unit with a 482km range on a single charge. For India, Hyundai is expected to bring the 39kW model, which makes the equivalent of 136hp and 395Nm of peak torque, has a claimed 0-100kph time of 9.7sec and a top speed of 155kph. The lithium-ion battery pack can be charged to 80 percent capacity in as little as 54min using a 100kW DC fast charger, or 6hr 10min from a standard AC source. In comparison to the standard Kona, the EV gets subtle visual differences outside – like the absence of exhausts, a closed grille and 17-inch alloy wheels, while the cabin features a digital dashboard. Hyundai claims that the battery pack has be...

     A few weeks ago, we told you Tata Motors was all set to  introduce the hotted-up Tiago JTP this Diwali  as part of a four model launch plan this festive season. Now, we can tell you that it will be more powerful than everyone thought it’d be. Speaking to Autocar India on the sidelines of the  launch of the Tigor facelift , Mayank Pareek, President, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit at Tata Motors, confirmed it will run a more potent version of the Nexon's 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine. “The car is similar to what you saw at the Auto Expo. The engine is tuned to be sportier. Power has been improved, and that much power in a car that small feels like a lot. I have driven it, and the roar from that engine is exceptional”, said Pareek. When asked if the 1.2-litre turbo-petrol in the Tiago JTP will be more powerful than the 110hp/170Nm version powering the Nexon, Pareek's one-word reply was “Absolutely”. Developed by Tata Motors in partners...

Tata Motors has been drip-feeding information about its upcoming Harrier SUV for a while now, with  teasers coming out weekly  and spy shots surfacing online every other day. Previous spy shots had shown the new SUV’s interior, but now, we have exclusive spy images of the diesel-automatic model. As we had  scooped earlier , Tata will offer the Harrier with the option of a Hyundai-sourced 6-speed torque convertor automatic transmission, in addition to the standard 6-speed manual gearbox. There was speculation of the Harrier’s automatic being a Fiat-sourced 9-speed torque converter but Tata Motors has finalised on the Hyundai transmission. Interestingly, this is the same transmission on offer in the Hyundai Tucson SUV. Both, the 6-speed manual and the 6-speed automatic, will be mated to the newly christened Kryotec 2.0L engine, which is Tata Motor’s name for the  Fiat-sourced 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine . On the Harrier, the engine will make ...

Mahindra is all set to finally introduce the Y400 SUV in the Indian market. This new SUV will replace the SsangYong Rexton in Mahindra's line-up, positioned above the XUV500. The company is yet to announce an official name for this SUV and is currently only known by its internal codename, Y400. Mahindra has also announced that this new SUV will be sold via the new Mahindra Prime dealership section, also known as World of SUVs. This special enclosure is in the process of being readied at most Mahindra showrooms throughout the country along with numerous renovations and upgrades to the standard outlets. The Mahindra Y400 SUV was expected to be launched earlier this month but the price announcement was delayed as according to our sources the above mentioned special dealership enclosures were not ready then. This new SUV will come with a 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel engine that will deliver 187hp and 420Nm of torque. The model is likely to launch only with a diesel-automa...

        The second-generation Maruti Suzuki Ertiga has been spotted testing in India before and after the model’s international reveal. The good news is that it’s going to go on sale soon. We can confirm that the second-gen Ertiga will launch on November 21, 2018. The model is already on sale in Indonesia. The new Ertiga is wider and longer than the outgoing car but comes with the same 2,740mm wheelbase. It gets fresh styling with an angular front design, slimmer headlamps and wide wrap-around tail-lamps with LED elements. The model sits on Maruti's lightweight Heartect platform and is expected to be lighter and stiffer than the outgoing model. Under the hood, the new Maruti 1.5-litre petrol engine – which made its debut on the facelifted Ciaz – will do duty on the new Ertiga. This motor churns out 104hp and is likely to come with 5-speed manual and 4-speed automatic transmission options.  Maruti is likely to continue with the 89hp, 1.3-litre diesel en...

     Osamu Suzuki, chairman of Suzuki Motor Corporation, spoke at the MOVE Summit in New Delhi and revealed that Maruti Suzuki India would start road-testing 50 EV prototypes. Just over a month since, the company has now confirmed that it has flagged off its prototype electric vehicles for field testing. This project is in line with the company’s plan to introduce an electric vehicle in the Indian market by 2020. The prototype EVs have been developed exclusively by Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan; built at Maruti Suzuki's Gurgaon plant. Today, it is from the same plant that these EVs were flagged off by CV Raman, senior executive director (Engineering), Maruti Suzuki India. “This extensive real-life usage of the vehicles in multiple terrains and climatic conditions will help the company get valuable insights that will help in the validation and successful launch of electric vehicle technology in India,” said Maruti Suzuki India. “Testing of these vehicles will...

Showcased at the Auto Expo earlier this year, the news of the new Honda CR-V's impending arrival had quite a few SUV buyers waiting. The wait, however, ends today, as Honda has launched the fifth-generation CR-V at a starting price of Rs 28.15 lakh for the petrol and Rs 30.65 lakh for the diesel and Rs 32.75 lakh for the diesel with all-wheel drive (ex-showroom, India). In its fifth generation, the Honda CR-V has grown in size, and while it retains some familiar cues we have come to associate with the SUV, it now has a muscular, more imposing look – something that’ll doubtless be a hit with buyers. The interior also has a more premium feel to it, and a novel touch on the diesel variant is the replacement of the gear lever with buttons, which gives the dash a cleaner look. In terms of features, the CR-V gets a panoramic sunroof, dual-zone climate control, a 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, automatic LED headlights, electric park...

Renault has unveiled the EZ-Ultimo, its all-electric, self-driving luxury limousine concept designed for short journeys. The concept completes a trio of autonomous vehicles from the French car maker showcasing its vision of the future. The company believes the vehicle could be used by private individuals and by high-end brands to transport clients between hotels and airports, for instance. It could also be used as an app-controlled ride-hailing vehicle. The EZ-Ultimo has a 499-km range and features level-four autonomy, which allows a car to drive itself in most scenarios. It seats up to three people and is 5.8m long, a similar length to Rolls-Royce’s Phantom. It is the third autonomous concept unveiled by Renault this year, with the firm aiming to show the variety of ways self-driving cars might be used by society. The six-seat EZ-Go, conceived as an urban vehicle for ride sharing, was displayed at the Geneva motor show in March. It was followed last month by the EZ-Pro, a ...

Audi has previewed its plans for a new headlining electric supercar, tipped as a replacement for the second-generation R8, with the unveiling of its new PB18 e-tron concept at the Paris motor show.   The rakish coupé, which was revealed at the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance (hence the PB18 name), was created in a joint design and engineering programme between the newly established Audi Design Loft in Malibu, California, and Audi Sport in Neckarsulm, Germany, in what is billed as a vision for the “high-performance supercar of tomorrow”.   The 775hp e-tron concept hints at plans by the brand to adopt the latest in solid-state battery technology as a means to radically reduce weight and improve the packaging of its upcoming e-tron models. Together with a body constructed of aluminium, carbonfibre and plastic composite materials, the four-wheel-drive PB18 e-tron is claimed to weigh less than 1,550kg.   Future-thinking design   The PB18 e-tron...

Toyota has unveiled the Yaris GR Sport, a warm hatchaback that takes inspiration from the Yaris GRMN, at the Paris motor show. Due to go on sale later this year in international markets, the Yaris GRMN will mark the first time Toyota would have introduced a GR Sport trim level in Europe, having launched the Japan-only GT86 GR Sport in July. The GR Sport uses the same 1.5-litre hybrid powertrain as the standard Yaris, developing a combined 100hp output from the four-cylinder petrol engine and electric motor. What Toyota has focused on is performance upgrades on suspension, with Sachs Performance dampers and a solid anti-roll bar for added rigidity. Ground clearance has also been reduced by 11mm compared with the standard Yaris. The GR Sport sits on exclusive black 17-inch alloy wheels, which are fitted with the same 205/45 R17 Bridgestone Potenza RE50 tyres as the Yaris GRMN. Available exclusively a...

Only a couple of weeks after the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza secured a stellar four-star rating at the Global NCAP crash test, Global NCAP has published crash test results for the new Maruti Suzuki Swift, which was only able to secure a lowly two-star rating. Even though the new-generation Swift gets two airbags and Isofix child seat anchorages as standard, Global NCAP only rated it two stars for adult occupant protection and two stars for child occupant protection. The low score has been attributed to poor protection for the driver and the car displaying an unstable structure in the event of a crash. "The two star result for adult occupants is due to high compression to the driver chest, unstable structure and poor protection for the feet explained by pedal displacement on the driver side", reads the Global NCAP report. Explaining the poor child protection score, Global NCAP's report notes that "the forward facing positioning of the 18-month-old dummy in...

Toyota has unveiled the Yaris GR Sport, a warm hatchaback that takes inspiration from the Yaris GRMN, at the Paris motor show. Due to go on sale later this year in international markets, the Yaris GRMN will mark the first time Toyota would have introduced a GR Sport trim level in Europe, having launched the Japan-only GT86 GR Sport in July. The GR Sport uses the same 1.5-litre hybrid powertrain as the standard Yaris, developing a combined 100hp output from the four-cylinder petrol engine and electric motor. What Toyota has focused on is performance upgrades on suspension, with Sachs Performance dampers and a solid anti-roll bar for added rigidity. Ground clearance has also been reduced by 11mm compared with the standard Yaris. The GR Sport sits on exclusive black 17-inch alloy wheels, which are fitted with the same 205/45 R17 Bridgestone Potenza RE50 tyres as the Yaris GRMN. Available exclu...

The Hyundai Santro, much like its brand ambassador Shah Rukh Khan, is a car that needs no introduction. It's the car that started it all for Hyundai in India. Although it wasn’t very attractive to look at, it had a peppy responsive engine that was light and easy to drive, and it came with many segment-firsts. Now Hyundai has brought its tall boy back; well, sort of. With the new Santro, the brand wants to pick up from where the previous one left off. While the Santro's bigger and more upmarket successors such as the i10 and the Grand i10 have seen a fair measure of success, the Eon – the car which the new Santro should eventually replace – didn't. The new car looks more attractive than the Eon. Gone are loose, flowing 'fluidic' lines and in comes a sharp, almost sculpted look. Hyundai’s ‘cascading' grille, replete with chrome piping, takes centre stage on the front bumper. Placed in a black surround, it gets a pair of neat-looking fog lamps and a sporty ...

Volkswagen’s smallest SUV, the T-Cross, is likely to see a global unveil on October 25, 2018. While details of the European-spec T-Cross were already released, the company has now revealed more information about the slightly longer version that’s aimed initially at emerging markets like Brazil and China, with India likely to see local production a little later. The T-Cross for emerging markets sits on Volkswagen’s slightly tweaked MQB A0 platform and,  as reported by us earlier, it gets a longer wheelbase than its European cousin . The model is 4,199mm long, 1,568mm high and has a 2,651mm long wheelbase. In comparison, the Hyundai Creta is slightly longer, at 4,270mm and higher, at 1,780mm; but it has a slightly shorter wheelbase, at 2,590mm. The T-Cross has better cabin room than the Creta and also comes with rear seats that can be moved fore and aft in order to liberate more cargo or legroom. The SUV comes with dedicated rear AC vents and dual USB ports for the second row...

Maruti Suzuki has just unveiled a prototype electric vehicle at the ongoing MOVE Summit in New Delhi. While the company has not revealed any model name, only calling it only a prototype EV, the model showcased has similar styling to the  Japanese-spec WagonR  and it is safe to expect the production version to bear quite a few similarities. The model showcased at the event has design cues that are shared with standard WagonR sold in the Japanese domestic market, which has been on sale since January 2017. The WagonR EV gets split headlamps and, despite being an EV, it also features a huge two-part grille. The front bumper also gets a huge grille section. At the sides is one of the boldest design elements of the new WagonR; a body coloured B-pillar that stylistically divides the car into distinct front and rear passenger sections. The pillar is thicker, especially at the base, and this is achieved by cutting into the rear-side glass at the bottom....

     Is the MPV segment really shrinking? Perhaps, but one look at individual sales figures and two models stand tall – the Toyota Innova Crysta and the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga. Despite the price having doubled since the previous-generation version was launched, the Innova still clocks over 6,500 units monthly, while the Ertiga, now in the last few months of its current iteration, still managed over 3,500 units in August. These two have proven that if the packaging is right and the product is dependable, sales are inevitable. Interestingly, there’s a Rs 5 lakh vacuum between the Ertiga diesel (Rs 8.78 to Rs 10.69 lakh) and the Innova 2.4 diesel (Rs 15.77 to 20.71 lakh). Yes, the Renault Lodgy does sit in this space, but it’s failed to make a mark. Enter the new Mahindra Marazzo. Priced at Rs 9.99-13.90 lakh, it sits neatly between the two, making the carmaker’s intentions quite clear – it’s gunning for buyers from both sides. Developed from a clean slate by the Ma...