Tata Venture with 'On Test' stickers spotted in Pune; Is it the new CR4 variant?

One of the most ambitious projects of Tata Motors in recent years, apart from the Nano and the Aria, is the Venture MUV (Multi Utility Vehicle). Developed on the highly successful Ace platform, the Venture was developed to cater to private buyers in semi-urban and urban market, with its attractive looks and features. But it has to be said that the Venture isn't that big a success as we, and obviously Tata Motors, expected it to be. Just like they do for most of their models, it seems Tata Motors is already hard at work to try and maximize the prospects of Venture in the Indian market. This top-end GX model of Venture that was spotted in Pune with "On Test" stickers just goes to prove our statement.

The exteriors of this test vehicle is exactly the same as stock Venture models and we couldn't find out any differentiating factor or tell-tale signs of what is new in it. That makes us believe that Tata Motors could actually be testing a new power-train or alternate fuel options in this vehicle. The CNG variants of Tata Motors usually come with green CNG stickers on the sides even when they are being tested (We spotted the Winger MPV with one earlier), but this model had none. With that option ruled out, is it the CR4 engine that Tata is testing on this Venture? The CR4 engine has been a big hit for Tata in the Indica eV2 and Indigo eCS models and has earned a name for itself with its excellent fuel-efficiency and relatively better refinement levels.

For those who do not know, the Venture is currently powered by the 1.4-liter IDI turbo diesel engine that churns out of 71 PS of maximum power. With Tata Motors targeting private buyers for the Venture, the CR4 engine would be a big step up in the right direction.

Is our speculation right? Will the CR4 be extended into the Venture range as well? Will this be the much-needed boost for sales of the Venture to pick up? A lot of questions remain unanswered.

Nissan launches Evalia in India, prices start from INR 8.49 Lakhs

Just last month, we carried a post on how major cities across the world are happily adopting the Nissan NV 200 as their official taxis. We had also indicated that a comfier version of the NV 200 would be launched in India in a few weeks’ time. Just as we said, Nissan launched the Evalia in India today to take the fight to Toyota Innova, India’s best-selling Multi Purpose Vehicle (MPV) by far. Competitors came, challenged and either perished or accepted the defeat and started playing second fiddle to the Innova. Will Nissan be able to put up a fight against the mighty Toyota and emerge successful in the Indian market? That is the question that all of us are eagerly looking forward to for an answer. Wait for a few more days, and we will know.

Coming back to the Evalia, Nissan has launched the MPV in a range of 4 variants – XE, XE+, XL and XV, priced at INR 8.49 Lakhs, 8.92 Lakhs , 9.49 Lakhs and 9.99 Lakhs respectively. All prices are ex-showroom, New Delhi. Understandably, the base XE variant gets only the basic set of features that includes power steering, air-conditioning, multi-information display and electric mirrors. While the XL variant adds features like central locking, power windows and air-conditioning vents for the second row, the top-end XV variant comes fully loaded with intelligent key, reverse camera and a colored multi-information display.

The best part of Evalia’s feature list is the availability of Antilock Braking System (ABS) and Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) as standard across the range. Additionally, all but the base XE variant are equipped with driver and passenger airbags. Nissan needs to be appreciated for not skimping on safety features for a vehicle that might end up doing brisk business as a commercial people-mover.

The Evalia is powered by the familiar 1.5-liter dCi diesel engine that churns out 84 bhp of maximum power and 20.4 kgm of peak torque. Having experienced this engine extensively in the Nissan Sunny and Renault Pulse, we know that this is one of the best low-capacity diesel engines around, with an amazingly linear power delivery and absolutely no turbo lag. With the top-end grunt not satisfactory even in lighter cars like the Pulse and Sunny, we expect that virtue to be carried over with the Evalia as well, which is significantly heavier. With its huge proportions and relatively tiny wheels, we are skeptical about the handling of the Evalia, especially at high speeds in highways. We really hope Nissan proves us wrong here when we get to drive the Evalia.

On the whole though, the Nissan Evalia seems to be a worthy competitor to the Toyota Innova, a model that has been dominating the market for many years now. But, is the market ready to look any further than the Toyota badge? For Nissan’s sake, we hope it does.

Mahindra launches Quanto from INR 5.82 Lacs to 7.36 Lacs

After tasting huge success with its XUV 500 SUV, Mahindra today launched the Quanto in Mumbai with a price tag of INR 5.82 Lacs for the base C2 variant that goes up to INR 7.36 Lacs for the top-end C8 variant. As is quite evident from the pictures, the Quanto is nothing but the mini Xylo that we spotted testing long back. In fact, the Quanto was under testing for around a couple of years now. Mahindra has chosen to call the Quanto a compact Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), with its sub 4 meter length, tall proportions and a host of visual add-ons like the rear door-mounted spare tire and roof rails trying their best to make it look that way. For us and the informed public though, the Quanto is just a compact Multi Purpose Vehicle (MPV) developed for taking excise duty benefits and the strong Xylo roots and resemblance makes it all the more obvious.

The Xylo is not a good looking vehicle in the first place and so, we didn't expect the Quanto to be a looker. And we were proved right. It takes a little while to get over the odd proportions of the Quanto as it is tall and narrow but not so long. The frontal design is a straight lift from Genio, the pick-up truck based on the Xylo, while the profile is carried over from the Xylo. The similarity ends with the rear door though, after which the Quanto gets its own design touches. Though a few of them like the wrap-around taillights, neatly-styled spare wheel cover and blackened C-Pillar look good individually, the 'chopped off' effect is so evident at the rear.

The Quanto is powered by a new three-cylinder common rail diesel engine dubbed 'mCR100'. Just like the car itself, this power-train is a chopped off version of Mahindra's mHawk engine. With a displacement of 1493-cc, it churns out 98.6 bhp of power and 24.4 kgm of torque, mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. The surprise element is the presence of a twin-stage turbocharger, making it possibly one of the smallest engines to employ that technology. More powerful variants and four wheel drive option could be launched later.

We may sound cliched, but the interiors are again, you guessed it right, straight from the Xylo. Four variants are available - C2, C4, C6 and C8. The C2 variant is quite spartan and comes with unpainted bumpers. C4 and C6 progressively adds features culminating in the top-end C8 variant, that comes loaded with a lot of features like Antilock Braking System (ABS), dual front airbags, Digital Drive Assist System (DDAS) which is nothing but a multi-information display in the center console, driver's seat height adjust, rear defogger, rear parking sensor and the other usual goodies like power steering, power windows and alloy wheels. Mahindra's 'Micro Hybrid' system is available on all but the base C2 variant.

With a very tight turning radius of 5.4 m, a high ground clearance of 180 mm and the flexibility to seat 7 passengers with the two jump seats at the rear, Mahindra Quanto tries to pick and combine the best attributes from hatchbacks, SUVs and MPVs. Will Mahindra succeed in this novel attempt? Let's wait and watch what the customers have to say.

2012 Paris - McLaren to preview P1, the spiritual successor of iconic F1 supercar

Ask any automobile enthusiast across the world on what they consider as the most complete supercar in the world and most of them would say McLaren F1. The F1, that was first unveiled in the year 1991, immediately redefined the term 'sportscar'. It not only looked visually stunning but also pushed the boundaries of physics to become the fastest production car of its time. Though cars like Bugatti Veyron and SSC Ultimate Aero have taken the record for higher top speeds henceforth, the McLaren F1 is still the fastest 'naturally aspirated' sportscar ever manufactured. Yes, it didn't have a turbocharger or supercharger forcing compressed air into the cylinders. But it's statistics like 6.1-liter displacement, 60-degree V12 engine configuration, 627 hp of power at 7400 rpm, 651 Nm of torque at 5600 rpm and a power-to-weight ratio of 550 hp/ton are enough to make any sane individual go weak on their knees.

When the successor of such an iconic supercar takes shape, its time for us to sit up and take notice.

After releasing a few teaser shots earlier, McLaren has released the first set of pictures of the P1 supercar, a week before its official preview at the 2012 Paris Motor Show. Look at the car and you can immediately relate to F1, as the design theme - the short hood, the bubble-like passenger cell and the sculpted rear end with the radiator grille taking prime place, looks remarkably similar yet thoroughly modern. It's a classic case of evolutionary and revolutionary design elements mixed in perfect proportions. We particularly love those stunning LED taillamps that takes the shape of the expensive sheet metal. Overall, the McLaren P1 looks ravishing and we swear that the entire surrounding will pause and look at this car wherever it goes. Though McLaren says that this is just a design study, we expect the production version to be not much different when it is unveiled next year.

Talking about the P1, Ron Dennis, McLaren Automotive Executive Chairman, said, "P1 will be the result of 50 years of racing and road car heritage. Twenty years ago we raised the supercar performance bar with the McLaren F1 and our goal with P1 is to redefine it once again". Antony Sheriff, McLaren Automotive Managing Director further added, "Our aim is not necessarily to be the fastest in absolute top speed but to be the quickest and most rewarding series production road car on a circuit. It is the true test of a supercar's all round ability and a much more important technical statement. The P1 will be the most exciting, most capable, most technologically advanced and most dynamically accomplished supercar ever made".

You might think that these are pretty tall statements but those who were lucky enough to drive one will swear that each of the above statements were true with the McLaren F1. With such credentials behind, the P1 would be no different, we are sure. Though McLaren has not released any other details of the P1 yet, it has given a royal hint that the hypercar will sit above the MP4-12 C and MP4-12 C Spyder, both in terms of specifications and pricing.

Mercedes-Benz launches B-Class in India from INR 21.49 Lakhs

Mark our words. Mercedes-Benz' resurgence in India begins here. The last few years haven't been all that good for them with BMW and later Audi surging ahead in sales, relegating the once-dominating Mercedes-Benz to the third spot amongst luxury brands. But in hindsight, it wasn't fair play at all as Mercedes-Benz did not have a compact SUV in its portfolio to compete with BMW X1 and Audi Q3, the major volume pullers for the respective brands. So what do they do to tackle the twin blows from fellow Germans? B-Class is the weapon in their arsenal, albeit temporarily. After being driven by select media friends at the Buddh International Circuit in New Delhi a couple of months back, the B-Class was then unveiled across major cities. We covered the Chennai event that took place at Trans Car India and came away with a whole lot of pictures and totally impressed.

After all this initial hype and brand-building, Mercedes-Benz finally launched the B-Class today in Mumbai, priced at INR 21.49 Lakhs for the base B180 variant and INR 24.87 Lakhs for the B180 Sport variant. Both the prices are ex-showroom Mumbai. These are the only variants available on sale now, both powered by a 1.6-liter gasoline engine with a rated power output of 122 HP and a peak torque of 200 Nm between 1250 to 4000 rpm. There is no reason to worry for diesel lovers though. Come late 2013, the B-Class will also be available with a diesel engine. At these prices, the B-Class becomes the cheapest Mercedes-Benz on sale in India and will remain that way until the A-Class comes around.

Dubbed and heavily marketed by Mercedes-Benz as India's first sports tourer, the B-Class is actually a combination of MPV and Hatchback. This is pretty evident in its styling, as it doesn't pretend to be an SUV like the BMW X1 and Audi Q3. The B-Class just looks like a glorified hatchback or a compressed MPV, depending on how you look at it. The interiors are extremely spacious with both the front and rear seats having adequate room for 5 occupants. Staying true to its roots, Mercedes-Benz has loaded the B-Class to the hilt with both the variants boasting a whole lot of active and passive safety features like Antilock Braking System (ABS) with Braking Assist (BA) and Electronic Stability Program (ESP), Attention Assist, Acceleration Skid Control (ASR), Adaptive Brake Lights, seven Airbags and dashboard displays for tyre pressure loss warning and brake wear warning. Phew, that's one exhaustive list!

Separating the B180 Sport from the base variant are chrome highlights in grille and air intake, dual exhaust pipes with stainless steel finish, bi-xenon headlamps with washers, 17-inch wheels with 7-spoke alloys, LED Daytime Running Lamps, electrically folding mirrors, multi-function sport steering wheel, leather upholstery with contrasting top-stitches, a panoramic sunroof and electrically adjustable seats with memory function. Both the variants come with a 7-speed Dual Clutch Transmission with paddle shifters and interiors that mimic the design theme of SLS AMG.

Now you know why we were impressed the day in which we saw the car. The initial lot of 250 B-Class cars allocated for India are all sold out and any further bookings would be delivered only in 2013. Is this Mercedes-Benz' way of saying 'If BMW can sell out the X1 and Audi the Q3 before launch, why can't we?

Globally too, the B-Class, in its second generation now, has been a phenomenal success with more than 75,000 units sold within the first few months of launch. More significantly, this is the first model to come out of the company's Modular Front Architecture (MFA) Platform, the magical words in which Mercedes-Benz has pinned all its resurgence hopes on. Don't forget, the premium hatchback A-Class, a compact four-door coupe and a compact SUV tentatively dubbed CLA and GLA respectively will join the Indian line-up over the next few years to complete a new model onslaught for Mercedes-Benz.