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Showing posts from 2011

The best car in my budget.

I have been probing into this for quiet some time now and finally I have decided that the following would be the most important attributes I would look in my next car around my budget. Interior Space, Boot Space, Suspension, Engine and Drivability. Nothing else matters. The mileage, the cost involved, how cheap is the service etc is important but after looking at the features of so many cars it seems to be that all this while I was trying to chase the wrong feature list in a car. In others words I am trying to make it simple for you to decide on what makes a car a really good car. When you drive in the city or in the highway the one thing that matters the most is the suspension. I recently sat inside the Tata Manza and was blown with its suspension. I could feel nothing. The roads to my house in Mangalore are really bad even today and this car simply cruised with ease. My i10 on the other hand would make someone inside it puke. Its simply too bad in handling a rough terrain. Tata Man

Hyundai EON

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It' cheaper than the i10, less powerful than the i10, comes with most of the goodies of the i10 and looks good and appealing in design and build. So this means, more cars on road, more traffic congestion and the possibility of  all middle class families to own a descent looking car. And yes, its from Hyundai and people can bank on it based on its past historical success with Santro and its good customer service.

Hyundai EON - Targeted release Oct 2011

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Another hatchback from Hyundai is targeted this month. Its the EON. Its sports  814 cc three cylinder engine, and is expected to give a mileage of 21.1 km / litre. So what is different in this car?? Maybe the design. It looks a step ahead of most of the other hatchbacks we have out there in its segment. I am comparing it to the A-Star, Beat, Nano and the Chevrolet Spark. I have feeling Hyundai is trying to place this car below the i10. So it would be priced less.

Mahindra XUV 500

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Got to see this monster at MG Road. It sported this military color and at the first glance it seemed to be an imported car. But a closer look and it had Mahindra's logo. What??? I have not seen any ad for this on TV or in the papers. Whats going on? Well, it does not matter. Mahindra claims it to be its first global SUV. So here is the website. http://www.mahindraxuv500.com/ It does look good in the rear, maybe a little cramped. The seating at the rear end of the vehicle is only for two people. That's a little disappointing. Nothing so great about the interiors. We have seen it all. I like the side profile. It looks different and mean and so is the front profile. The dashboard looks unique. It looks like Mahindra has really done its homework pretty good here. Its got AWD and a bunch of other good stuff. Have a look. You might be impressed.

Mileage counter - i10

After close to two years now my i10 gives a mileage of 15 to 16 km / litre. Not bad. I was expecting it to be bad. But I guess I am a good driver expect for few scratches and couple of dents here and there. Sometimes shit happens even if you are careful. So I can't help it.

Renault Koleos

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Its a 4WD.. hooo hooo! But 1995 cc seems a little under powered for a 4 WD. Xylo comes packed with 2498 cc. It comes loaded with all the goodies and is available in automatic transmission and 6 manual gears.  Price in Bangalore is 23 lacs. Xylo comes at 8 lac. Is it worth it.. you decide.

Nissan Sunny - Affordable

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We were in the cab talking of cars, companies, car pooling, petrol cost and blah! blah! blah! and I bumped into this hoarding with an ad of Nissan Sunny. I was thinking to myself.. not another petrol car please. But you know what.. everybody is in the competition before the fuel runs out. So what the heck! Introducing to you Nissan Sunny. It was originally launched in 1966 as the Datsun 1000 as has come a long way since then. My friend said it was cheap, starting at about 7 lac so I decided to probe into it. So like the Micra - which apparently was a boring looking car to me,Sunny has the start and stop button. I love it when a car does not need the key to start the engine. Its got space, nice interiors, sports a fresh dashboard and lots of boot space. Sunny boasts and banks on these features and I agree. Its not only about the car, its also about the space. Be it where you sit or how much you store its always better when there is more space. The exterior styling is

Beer or Petrol

With beer now being cheaper than petrol in India, I think technology should improve to use it as a fuel instead. Imaging drinking beer and also using it for your car. If you run short of it, you can always suck it out from the fuel tank.

Hyundai Verna - Fluidic

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Love the new Hyundai Verna. The style is simply cool. Its better than the three or four variants that they brought up in the market. Though the styling looks a bit similar to the i10 and the i20  it does definitely stand out from its competitors.  Its called the Fluidic Verna. If I  had one of the old version I would have upgraded it for sure. Priced between 7 to 10 lacs it looks worth considering the bag loads of features it comes bundled with. The styling is different and unique and rises the bar of Hyundai a little.

TVS Apache RTR with ABS. hooo hooo!!!!!

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I was watching the RTR with ABS test on television the other day and was impressed with the technology on this bike. It was true ABS in action. One take was the Apache with no ABS but with supports and you could see the vehicle slide left and right. And on the other take was the Apache with the ABS and no supports and voila! it is still on road. It just signifies how important of such a feature on a bike. You could just be safe. And what more you can turn it on and off. Its just amazing. The ABS is usually equipped in heavy duty bikes like the Hayabusa but it would be first of its kind on an Indian bike.

Renault - Fluence

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I got to see one in Koramangala and something did not seem right with this car. The rear looked blunt and unfinished in design but the front end was satisfying.  What is really impressive in this car is its interiors. It quite good for the Indian market and upto the standard everyone look for. Estimated mileage per liter is 13.4 kms and is packed with all the goodies we see nowadays. Soft touch dashboard, engine start / stop button, rear AC vents, rain sensitive wipers, rear parking sensors and lots more. Priced at 14.5 lacs and with all these equipments is it worth it? Well... you decide.

Hyundai Equus

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Has hyundai finally come up with something in par to a Merc or BMW or Audi? check out this stunner. No in India yet guys. But it definitely rocks for sure.

The scratches in your car as you clean it..

At night when you are on road try focusing on the paint job of the vehicle in front of you as your head light reflects from it. You will notice those horrible scratches. I am not talking about the deep ones. I am referring to the light ones that are mostly not visible under normal conditions. Most of the time they are circular. Now wait a second. These scratches are not natural. These scratches form because of bad cleaning technique. We use a cloth, dip it in water and wipe the car and then we repeat the process. Every time you dip the cloth in water you need to make sure the cloth is fully clean of dirt before it is used to wipe the car again. The dirt on the wet cloth would in turn scratch the paint if not clean. Though the damage is minuscule, it would eventually end up ruining the paint and the shine of you car. So, if you are cleaning or requesting your car to be cleaned by someone then take care and follow instructions as mentioned in the manual of your car. I

Nissan 370z

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Looks sporty and sexy. It definitely has all the features. What more can I say. I am yet to see one on road. See more here http://www.nissan.in/en/web/models/370Z/Gallery/gallery.htm#

CB100R

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ushhhhh! sends the chills down your spine!!! Awesome! And a real beast with a price tag. With this price you could buy a descent Honda City! but hey! Its a man thing and it is definitely worth the price. It costs about 10 lacs on-road Delhi. Its 998 cc, 6 speed transmission, and weighs about 217 kilos.

Jaguar XJ

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I had been wanting to write a post on this one but been busy lately. The day before yesterday I got to see a stunning beauty at night. From a distance it seemed different and I could not figure out the make or the manufacturer of the car. When it did come close - phew! it was smoking hot. A true stud I  must say. The car was nicely carved, was long and had fine details matching those of BMWs and Mercs. To me it was one step ahead. I am simply talking about the beauty of this masculine vehicle and the opinions of the eyes of hundreds of people gazing at this awesomeness in the night. I am talking of the Jaguar XJ. Look at this. The wheels are wide and the car is long. The interiors are mind blowing and the exteriors are mouth watering. The lights in the rear were unique and not to mention the stunning jaguar logo. It seemed out of the box and surreal. I know I am getting  hyper here.. but man! what a car!!! Have a look at the collection here. http://www.jaguar.in/

Volkswagen Touareg

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Yesterday I happened to see a new car on road. The Volkswagen Touareg. It was the first time for me. Sometimes I wonder why a big car like this is on road? Though it looked mean it did lack some punch in its looks. The same bland looks like the polo and the vento. For some reason I feel a little let down about the design of Volkswagen. The polo, Vento and Touareg don't impress much as far as the looks is concerned. Maybe like Maruthi Suzuki they worry more about what is inside that the outside. Makes sense but does not appeal. After all what is a point of buying gold if it does not glitter? Here is a link to their website - http://www.volkswagen.co.in/en/models/TheTouareg/gallery.html

Maruthi Kizashi

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They say its a sport car. but.. errr... hmmmm! what is so sporty about it other than  its price??? The interiors look bland, the exteriors look ok and the website SUCKS! 16 lacs for this? Are you kidding me? However what is impressive is the original sports version which is not available here in India. It was a concept car. Now that looks like a sports car. A little insipired from Bugatti Veyron I guess. But you know what.. if it is only the sporty looks that matter then I would very well go for Chev Cruz. This looks mean. And it is 4 to 5 lacs cheaper that Kizashi. Another question? Why do they still manufacture such cars? The same old fuel sucking, low mileage, air polluting, blah blah vehicles in the pipeline for consumers. What is good about these vehicles? Its just a big dent in your savings. I wish this was an electric version. It would have been simply fantastic.