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Showing posts from 2010

World's cheapest hybrid - E-Mobile

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E-Mobile is a hybrid combination of electricity and petrol and is a joint venture between Proknorov's financial holding and the car maker Yarovit-Motors. It is due to be launched in the second half of 2012 and the maximum price per unity will be 6.6 lacs approximately.

Petrol and Diesel prices to be hiked

Starting next week petrol would cost 3 rupees more and diesel would cost 1.5 to 2 rupees more in Bangalore. Would my mileage also increase by 3 kms? The government should come up with a strategy like this. Every time we hike the prices, you get more mileage. So be happy with the hike and enjoy the ride.

My car's mileage after a year

Its close to a year since I purchased my i10 Magna 1.2 kappa and I decided to test its mileage. Its just an approximate figure as I did not bother to get too technically precise with the measurements. Without AC: The drive was for four days from RT Nagar to Koramangala and back again. Its about 16 kms one way and totally it comes to about 16 * 8 = 128 kms. I usually go to the shell petrol bunk in bellary road and this time I filled for 500 rupees which is about 8.2 litres of normal unleaded petrol. So the mileage comes to about 15.6 kpl. It could be more as I drove around other places too but I am not considering that here. So approximately I would say 16 kmpl. The company says 19.6 kpl and I am close to that. With AC: Yesterday I  had to pick my friend from whitefield. He was newly married and we had invited them for lunch. I had been to the same petrol station this time and filled for 500 rupees. This time the AC was on throughout the journey. The drive was from RT Nagar to w

Mileage - Do you get what the company promises?

Yes! You do get close to what the company promises if you drive well. I was watching discovery turbo where they tested three different cars in road conditions to determine if they match the company promised figures. The cars were from Skoda, Volvo and another company I don't recollect now. All tests seemed to match close to the figures promised. So it looks like there are bad drivers out there ;-)

A man in a jeep!

My friend and I were waiting at a signal and we saw a man in a jeep go past us in the other direction. He had his hair gelled and neatly done and wore what looked like a ray ban sun glass. The jeep was open and this man could not control giving the "mere sapno ki rani" look to everyone around. Thats when my friend asked me.. should it not be made mandatory for people in such open vehicles to wear helmets in addition to the seat belts. Well.. I dont have an answer to this.. but it does make sense though. ;-)

Lexus LS 460 - Lots of toys in here!!!

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If you have a Lexus LS 460 you would feel like you are inside one of those James Bond cars. Its truly one of a kind. The car is packed with so many toys that its got a manual the size of an encyclopedia. And the part where I started crying what when the car auto parks itself! That is sweeeet!!! Its a four door sedan is does come with an expensive price tag for all the toys it has. And looks like it is worth the price.  Its got these and more... 18 to 19 inch alloys rims  ABS, EBD and Brake Assist 380 horse powered engine Great storage everywhere Back heated seats Automatic sun shade Eltronic telescopic steering wheel - everything is electronic!! Bluetooth, Cruise control, Radio, Stereo system - Mark Levinson -19 speakers, 450 watts. One button push for Park - Electronic parking brake. Advanced parking guidance system And more... go check it out.

Toyota Etios

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They says its Indian and I wonder what that means but from the article today what impressed me was the price tag. Its about 5.6 to 8 lacs on road in Bangalore and that is descent for a sedan and that too from Toyota.  You can check out the link here http://www.toyotaetios.in/l1/index.html I am not quiet sure what AR Rahman has got to do with this but the vehicle does look good. Its a matter of time now before we get to know more.

Reva

I am slowly falling in love with this technology. Right opposite our office lives a family that owns this cute little car. Its noiseless, sleek and compact. Reminds of the Mini 1000 that Mr. Bean has. Damn! you can park it anywhere in a jiff. Reva is sold in the UK and in other countries. The new version Reva L-ion cab give upto 125 kms per charge. And its got disk brakes!!!

Airbag safety device

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I was having a debate with my friend yesterday as to why the SRS Airbag safety device is considered as an optional accessory in a car being sold in the market. Hyndai i10 for example has different versions in the market - Era, Magna, Sportz and Asta. And only the high end models come with SRS Airbag device. Its the same with other manufacturers too. Shouldn't it be made mandatory that every car out in the market has this feature built into it and priced accrordingly? Is'nt as important as having the seat belts in all cars?

Best looking sedan from behind

I was in the cab on a long drive to the office this morning and decided to scribble down the top five good looking sedans from the rear. Here is the list.. Corolla Altis Sonata Embera Honda Civic Honda City ZX Fiat Linea. These were the vehicles I could see on road today. I might have missed some good ones out there. If I happen to see them and if it impresses me then I shall update the list above. Until then this is what I have.

Tata Indigo CS

I drove the Tata Indigo CS - Diesel in Mumbai. It was the first time I ever drove a diesel car. It felt good inside and the controls were not that bad. However what disappointed me was the sound of the engine and the movement of the gear handle if I happened to not accelerate enough while moving in the first gear. The vehicle had a good pickup and was quiet descent in its performance. The issues above could also be because of the poor maintenance as my friend did not care much to keep it in good shape. Who said Tata Motors manufactures cars that felt like trucks?

Tata Motors - Vista EVX

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Tata motors wins at the Royal Automobile Club, Brighton at the London future Challenge. The Tata Indica Vista EVX can hit 96 kmph in 10 seconds and bagged the top honours as a passenger electric vehicle. Good going! Something Indian but developed in UK.

Mahindra Logan - Hmmm! Not bad..

I was on my way to the city from the Airport in Bangalore in a cab and I did not expect Mahindra Logan to be so smooth. I don't know if it was the skill of the driver or the car but sitting in the back seat I simply enjoyed the drive. The gear shift was smooth, engine was smooth, pickup was good and he easily hit 120 in less than maybe 15 secs. And what really got me wondering was the smooth suspension. I could not feel a thing. I was comparing it with the i10 I have and I asked my wife if she felt the smooth suspension sitting inside our car and she said the cab seemed to be better; or maybe he was driving so fast she could not feel a thing.

Nissan Micra

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Nissan's first hatchback for the Indian market. And Ranbir Kapoor is helping with the sales ;-). Hmmm! lets see... button start and stop, intelligent key system, clever arrangement of the interior buttons, 18.06 kmpl and slightly different looks. It looks like A-star when seen from the front. Nothing more. And  yes! A very bad website. I am curious to know how much better it is in comparison to the other hatchbacks we have in the market; especially the Polo. I have not seen a micra on road in Bangalore yet. Its just a matter of time.

TVS Wego

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The new scooter from TVS. Looks sleek and sweet. This product from TVS would be a tough competition to Honda products - Dio and Activa. It is more or less a slightly modified version of the scooty but TVS has made sure there is something in this that makes it different from the rest in the market.  It comes packed with a 110cc engine, 12" wheels, external fuel inlet and more. Check out their website here http://tvswego.com/

Trip to Mangalore

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First long trip to Mangalore since I bought my Hyundai i10 kappa and I simply loved it. The AC sets to work within seconds and the engine does not feel underpowered at all. The max speed I attained was 120 kmph. I was not confident going faster than that because I was worried if I would lose control. So I maintained a steady speed of 80 to 90 kmph. While going it was via Madikeri and the total distance was about 375 kms. Computing the average the vehicle gave around 17 kmpl. And this is not bad at all. My AC was on most of the time. We were three of us while heading to Mangalore. And full house (five) while coming back to Bangalore. While returning it was through the ghats, via Hassan. Happy with the vehicle so far.

Hyundai i10 - Kappa

So far so good. The drive has been good and so is the performance of the vehicle. Will initiate a long drive very soon. Lets see how it goes. I have just been busy at work. And now that it is done.. its time to rock! More updates after the trip. And yes.. Had been to the service center at Sheshadripuram and the experience has been ok. It was delivered a day later. I had an scratch and requested them to do a good paint job but unfortunately they could not find the right color to match the white color of my car. Finally they did SOMETHING. There was nothing much I could do. Why make life complicated for such meager issues. I left it and now my car looks like it is sporting a earring or something. And after that I had one major scratch (with a dent) and two more (one of which I don't know how it happened).

Hyundai i10 Magna Kappa - Second Week

Now I am saying to myself every time..... "The car is good... the driver is bad....". I had been on a long drive to Innovative City - Close to 120 kms. The drive was good but I seemed to have a problem with the first and the second gear most of the time. For some reason I feel the shift sometimes tight. The third and fourth however had no issues. I thought it was probably me not pressing the clutch fully. This would be an issue I shall rectify during my first service. I am going to end my review on this car here. But I conclude saying this - "It is a great car for a populated city like Bangalore. Its kappa, so I have nothing more to say.".

Review of a week - Hyundai i10 Magna 1.2 kappa

There were some goof ups with the executives in the showroom. Missing documents, loose screws, the stereo deck popping out etc.. but it was soon rectified. The most important thing anyone must do is check if all the documents is available. I failed to do this and then had to call them back and they promptly attended to the request. My schedule that week had been very hectic and had a lot of back logs to attend to. Anyways now almost a week I must say I like it so far. In fact I had few people knocking the windshield while in traffic asking me if the vehicle was good. Good interiors for a hatchback, great design, great engine and off course the bells and whistles. What more can you ask for?

Hyundai i10 1.2 Kappa

Finally after a long time a Hyundai i10 1.2 Kappa is going to be a part of my life. Had to do a lot of research before deciding on this. Its small, wider, comes with loads of features, slightly overpriced, got a good engine, has a descent mileage, and also a good resale value.