Tag: India

Automatic Cars in India costing less than 16Lakhs (Updated 2012, March)

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Ford Fiesta Powershift

I finally updated the list of automatic cars currently available in India today after close to a year.

Now the list has  12 vehicles with the Dzire, Rapid and Fiesta petrols being added newly. Verna details are updated with the new Fluidic which comes both in petrol and diesel. Civic , Cruze and Corolla have been moved out as they do not come under 16L.

Here is the complete list of automatic vehicles costing under 16 lakhs (on road-Chennai):

  1. Reva Maini (CVT)(Electric)
  2. Maruti Suzuki A-Star VXI AT(4 speed)(Petrol)
  3. Hyundai I10 1.2 Kappa Sportz (4 speed)(Petrol)
  4. Maruti Suzuki Dzire  1.2 (AT) (4 speed)(Petrol)
  5. Hyundai I20 1.4 Gamma – Sportz AT (4 speed)(Petrol)
  6. Hyundai Verna Fluidic 1.6 –  Petrol and Diesel Automatic (4 speed)
  7. Maruti Suzuki SX4 ZXI AT( 4 speed)(Petrol)
  8. Honda City(4 speed with paddle shift)(Petrol)
  9. Ford Fiesta  Powershift ( 6 speed, Dual Clutch)(Petrol)
  10. Skoda Rapid AT (6 Speed)(Petrol)
  11. Volkswagen Vento Highline 1.6 (6 speed)(Petrol)
  12. Scorpio VLX AT(6 speed)  (Diesel)

Only the Verna comes with a petrol and a diesel automatic.  Most of the vehicles on the list are petrols and it seems very obvious that Indian Manufacturers expect the automatics to be primarily used for shorter distances where the diesel advantage of mileage is not required. The Ford fiesta alone stands out as a petrol with 6 speeds, dual clutch system and very decent ride and handling.

Also the automatic versions typically higher in price than their equivalent manual siblings. Add a diesel engine to the mix and the pricing may very well come from one segment higher. So usually the automatic comes only with a petrol.

The post I had shared in 2011 March about Automatic transmission vehicles is here with the original list and some myths about automatics. With the traffic one has to face in Indian cities – the automatic will become a definite must have for some reduced stress.

Some vehicles being talked about that may come out later this year with Automatic Transmissions are the Nissan Sunny and the Tata Aria. The Reva NXR that has been talked about for years will also have a CVT – whenever it gets launched.

Wishlist:

Now that Maruti has the 4 speed auto on the DZire – when can we see it on the Swift ?

How about an automatic Figo and Ecosport ?

Automatic Jazz / Brio anyone ?

Automatic Fabia / Polo ?

Tata is conspicuous by its absence in this list – they need to get something done regarding this soon.

Renault Koleos – Spied In Chennai

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Saw this Renault Koleos in heavy traffic on Anna Salai (Mount Road) near the Saidapet bus stop around 5:30 PM wearing very minimal camo – just some cover of tape on the badges at the rear. This confirms reports of its release being very near.

Was able to get only two photos (taken by my wife) as I was driving and there was too much traffic.

Overall it looked good and paint quality seemed nice. Has decent road presence. Was not able to see the front due to traffic. Hope it is priced well.

Will the Hyundai Verna(Transform) replace the Accent ?

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I plan to post some wild hunches of mine and check if they come true later.

This series starts with a hunch that Hyundai may phase out the Accent (Feb sales of around 1224) and replace it with the current Verna Transform (Feb 2011 sales 1241)(with the ugly nose rings) as their entry level sedan offering when they launch the new Verna (code name RB) sometime in the middle of this year. They may call it the Verna Executive :-).

The indications of this happenning will be discounts starting on the Verna and the Accent anytime soon. Why such a hunch – Ford has done this with putting their long time success story the Ikon to sleep and plan to move the Fiesta as the Fiesta Classic as their entry level sedan offering prior to launching the new Fiesta which can be branded as their more premium offering. I think it makes sense for Hyundai to do the same especially since the sales of the Accent are not worth mentioning. The Accent now looks very dated and has had no visual change in atleast 4 years and is lingering on.

Am I way off with this theory ? Do let me know…

Honda Jazz – Owner Interview

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Jazz in Sherbet Blue

This is a short offline(done over email) interview with Mr Girish T.,  one of my close friends who is probably one of the first in Chennai (maybe in India as well) to buy a Honda Jazz. Many thanks to Girish for agreeing to this interview and sending over his answers in a very short time.

Sushil: What was your old car and how long did you have it ?
Girish: Fiat Palio – 7 years

Sushil: Why were you replacing your old car/getting a new one ?
Girish: The Fiat Palio was a Fuel Guzzler, Great car but was not backed by service. Fiat had stopped production as well. Time for change.

Sushil: What were your requirements for your new car?
Girish: Fuel efficient, Hatchback with lots of space and preferred that it be a Japanese this time

Sushil: What options did you evaluate ?
Girish: Jazz, I20 and Punto

Sushil: Why did you pick this car from the options you evaluated?
Girish: Lots of space, Excellent styling, Honda brand and tag of being decent on fuel efficiency

Sushil: Which dealer did you get it from and how was your purchase experience ?
Girish: Sundaram Motors – Nothing great. They have never been known to be great on the purchase experience or service. But went with it because that was the closest to my place. Can’t get a lazier reason 🙂

Sushil: Any freebies received ?
Girish: None – they managed to screw my chance to participate in the Honda festival and possibly get the Jazz free. They didn’t care much about it though. Speak volumes of their customer service. They did give me some money on the Fiat though. I thought that was a great freebie :-).

Sushil: What accessories did you add and what do you feel are must haves for someone buying this vehicle ?
Girish:Didn’t add any. But the rear parcel tray is a definite must. So is a USB port. They have brought in these options with Jazz X

Sushil: How many KM have you covered and how long have you had the vehicle ?
Girish: About a year now and 15K on KM

Sushil: What is the mileage it gives you so far ?
Girish: Gives me nearly 14 in city.

Sushil: What are the good points/features that stand out ?
Girish: Mileage, Drive, Space and Space

Sushil: Any irritants or negatives that stand out ?
Girish: Some more features for the price would have been great.

Sushil: Would you recommend the Honda Jazz to anyone and why ?
Girish: Definitely recommend for those looking for a hatchback to drive in the city with loads of space. The tag of being pricey and Honda has not been able to do anything about It has let the vehicle down.

If you have any further questions on the Jazz please post them here through the comments and will request Girish to answer them here.

Vodafone India Promotion: Ride with Lewis Hamilton

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Vodafone India is running a promotional campaign/contest for its subscribers to win a chance to ride with Lewis Hamilton in Chennai on September 17th.

There are two ways of participating  either through an SMS contest or through an online game. What are you waiting for – go check it out.

More details here: http://www.vodafone.in/vmm/pages/hotlaps.aspx

2009 Vehicle Color Popularity (India & Global) from DuPont

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Dupont has published their annual studies of vehicle color popularity data for 2009. Am really happy to see that for the second year in a row India has warranted its own data collection and analysis. Till 2007 India was not considered separately and the closest was Asia which had data from Japan ! Shows India has reached a stage where the data coming from it is meaningful on a global scale.

India 2008-2009 Vehicle Color Popularity
India 2008-2009 Vehicle Color Popularity

For India as indicated in the graphy above Silver still is the most popular color followed by white, red and blue. Last year White was the most popular closely followed by silver. Other colors constituted less than 6% each. Unfortunately DuPont has not released the breakup by other colors this time around.

On the global scenario silver is still the most popular color followed by black, white, gray and blue. Below is the trend of color popularity for the past 10 years.

Global Colors Popularity 2000- 2009
Global Colors Popularity 2000- 2009

The full DuPont report is here.

Evolution: Vehicle tail lamps moving upwards ?

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I noticed this when the Ford Figo was announced – that vehicle tail lamps have now started the unstoppable climb upwards on vehicle backsides.  I am wondering when they will get replaced by a strip of lamps lining the roof. This seems predominantly on hatchbacks and some MPVs. Sedans still havent caught the bug it looks like.

Here are some examples of this evolution of tail lamps that are now at door handle and higher levels:

Have I missed some newly launched newly designed vehicle from this list ? do let me know.