Ride Aprilia RSV4
Italian throb Astride the storming new Aprilia RSV4 Factory Words Harriet Ridley
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he 2006 Milan Show was a good one. The Piaggio Group had just bought a load of struggling big names on the Italian bike scene including Moto Guzzi and Aprilia. I’d been commissioned to interview big boss Leo Mercanti on the group’s ambitious future plans. My fluent Italian and a flutter of eyelids got signore Mercanti to miss his appointment on stage alongside Prime Minister Berlusconi in celebration of the new Milan pavilions where the show was taking place for the first time, to tell me a secret no other journalist had been told before. Aprilia was planning a return to the World Superbike championship (WSB) scene for 2009, and this could only mean one thing – a 1000cc homologated production machine. With a V4 engine layout, signore Mercanti assured me… And so I broke the news to all the big publications back home in the UK. And now here I am at the start of 2009 at a wet Misano racetrack in Italy, about to hop on board what is without doubt the most gorgeous production litre bike of the year – Aprilia’s homologated RSV4 Factory. Max Biaggi and Shinia Nakano have been racing the bike since the start of the 2009 WSB season, with Biaggi finishing on the podium more than once – a staggering result for a new bike in its first year of racing on a world stage. Everyone’s impressed with Aprilia’s RSV4 before it’s even landed in our dealers, and this is the launch of the year to be on. The production machine looks tiny, more like a Honda CBR600RR than a 180bhp ballistic missile. I’ve never much liked the look of Aprilia’s big RSV machines, but this one is completely different. It looks more like a MotoGP machine
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then one for our roads. The attention to detail is staggering with a sculpted and polished swingarm and a gorgeous, sharp self-supporting tail unit. This Factory machine has state-of-the-art Ohlins suspension, with Brembo monobloc radial calipers and plenty of hightech parts including slipper clutch, Aprilia’s second generation rideby-wire throttle and even variable inlet tracts. It also gets the three power mode buttons – the first unleashes the full 180PS, the second softens the delivery for road riding, and the third cuts power to 25 per cent for poor conditions. And then there’s that all-new 999.6cc, 65º V4 engine… Press the starter button and the RSV4 growls into action. It sounds unmistakably V-twin Aprilia, but with a howling, sexy MotoGP V-four overtone. I’d been worried about riding this bike, fearing a crazy, wild, uncontrollable 180bhp lightweight machine… Especially given that it’s raining at Misano and the track’s superslippery. I’m very grateful for the Pirelli wet-weather racing tyres we’re running, and for the mode buttons that let all us scaredypants journalists stick it in Sport to suit the treacherous conditions! But as I exit the pitlane I’m amazed at how easy the RSV4 feels to ride. In Sport mode, all that low-down grunt comes in smoothly, progressively building as the revs rise before howling down the straight. That’s the beauty of the V4 layout: As well as allowing the engineers to keep the engine compact to build a litre bike as small as this, it also produces a lot of torque in the style of a V-twin engine, while revving higher like an inline-four. And as for the handling, well I’ve struggled with Aprilia’s big RSV bikes in the past. They carry their
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Test Audi A6 3.0TFSI Quattro
Six on roast Audi renews its assault on the BMW 5 Series and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class with the new A6
Words Shubhabrata Marmar Photography Gaurav S Thombre
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he Audi A6 has never been a car you could take lightly or dismiss easily. And yet, it’s hardly made in impact in its class. As good as Audi is doing in India, the majority of its sales come from the A4 and the Q5 will definitely make its presence felt, although the relatively inexpensive Q7 is pretty popular as well. The A6 doesn’t feature on the hits list. Why? Well, it looked like an Audi, of course, but it never looked distinguished enough. The old one was nearly always mistaken for the A8 - not necessarily a bad thing - but the new one aims to rectify those issues and more. However, the first time Martin saw the car, he remarked, “You know, it looks like the A4 now.” Oh dear. What is new? The major part of the new-ness come from the styling upgrades. The changes are pretty subtle - we’re talking fourringed geek territory - but include a full Audi beard, minor reshaping to the bumpers, new tail light with LEDs and the signature LED daytime running lamps. The car does look a bit fresher, and it does have the hewn-from-solid look that Audi manages rather well. But I still think the styling needs more work to look as distinctive as a car this expensive needs to look. The flowing, extroverted styling of the BMW 5 is still where it’s at in this segment. Where it beats the Beemer is the interiors. Audi interiors reek of class and rich materials but most crucially, they don’t fit the same set of buttons to every car.
You not only know you are in an Audi, you also know which one. If you’ve ever driven an Audi, you will know where everything else. If you haven’t, it’s a simple car to learn. The new MMI (MultiMedia Interface) is remarkably easy to use and boasts a high-resolution, super-bright screen that looks good. Navigation is still not an option here, of course, but there’s a DVD slot, 6-CD changer and 2 SD card slots in the glove compartment to keep you entertained. I still don’t get the idea of a ludicrously expensive cable to connect your iPod or MP3 player when a simple headphone in slot would have done the job. You can import music from the SD cards to the 40GB hard disk which is great, but it doesn’t always get the metatags right, so selecting songs can be painful. I loved the quick and easy bluetooth phone integration although I must admit searching numbers by entering text brings to the fore just how infuriating the circular keyboard is. With the new joystick set-up on top of the MMI controller, a simpler qwerty would be infinitely easier to use, I think. But the stellar feature of the car aren’t the swish interiors. Not even close. Among the new engines for the updated A6, and the headline engine for India is the new 2995cc TFSI V6. This baby puts out a lusty 290PS thanks to its twin intercooled supercharger that’s been slotted neatly into the cleavage of the engine’s vee. A quiet belt-driven hardworker, the supercharger (the T in the name now means a blown engine) kicks in early and
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TEST Audi Q5 2.0TFSI Quattro
Petrol head Say hello to the unleaded drinking version of Audi’s Q5 Words Shubhabrata Marmar Photography Gaurav S Thombre
I
did drive this car, the petrol Q5 in Malaysia, but to be honest, Indian drivers, journalists especially, are stellar drivers abroad. They (finally?) forget apex hunting and drive like model citizens. No, really. Which is why I knew that the petrol Q5 was fast, but I didn’t really know how fast. Yes, we even stick scrupulously to the speed limit. Little
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did I know that the 2.0T Quattro would land squarely in my lap just months after I returned home. And that I would have to test it. Now, I liked the Q5 from the outset. It is a bit bland to look at in many ways and the deliberately scaled down Q7 look is by parts charming and un-distinctive. It also inspired a selection of Overdrivers to comment on how
large as well as how compact the car looks. On the whole though, you can’t complain. It looks right, most importantly. And it looks expensive as well as practical and you can’t ask for more. To drive, it’s conveniently small for slicing through traffic and large enough to have people on the highway give way at the first flash of those blue head lamps. The mirrors work
rather well and it’s a non-intimidating SUV to pilot through our wayward throng. Sirish tested the diesel Q5 in the last issue so I won’t go into all of the details. For those who missed that test, Sirish extolled the Q5 for its (usual) impressive build quality and finish. The diesel V6 is, of course, more powerful and far more torquey so this is
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actually the slower of the two Q5s on sale in India. The diesel is also more loaded with features like the hill hold function and so forth. In terms of ride quality, the Q5 proved firm, absorbent but not harsh while the handling was pretty good. How different is the petrol Q5, then? What is different, obviously, is the petrol engine under the hood.
The 1984cc Audi petrol is a turbocharged 16-valve DOHC direct injection four cylinder with an intercooler with variable valve timing, drive-by-wire throttle and individual cylinder knock control. The 211PS engine is mated to a 7speed S Tronic transmission (that’s Audi’s name for Volkswagen’s family twin-clutch gearbox) but while
you get sequential manual shifts on the centre console, you don’t get paddle shifters. But to be honest, it doesn’t actually feel as quick as twin-clutch jobs usually do. I’d probably point to a slight lag until the turbo spools up and then, oh boy, we’re off in a massive hurry. As long as the turbo’s working, kickdowns are rapid, but outside of
that, you feel it a bit. Performance, though, is unquestionably good. Whether you are crawling at 25kmph until you spot a gap or cruising at 120 and need to speed for an overtake, the engine’s right where you want it. To talk numbers the Q5 will hits its electronically limited speed of 225kmph without fuss. The Vbox shows
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Drive Ford Focus RS
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Top hatch
Is the Ford Focus RS the world’s best hot hatchback? Words Ray Hutton
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he Ford Focus RS is the world’s best hot hatchback. A sweeping statement but if you look at established favourites among these, the most sporty of family cars - the Volkswagen Golf GTI, Audi S3, and Renault Megane R26R - the latest
and greatest Focus beats them in all respects. This car, developed in Germany by Ford Team RS (for Rallye Sport), is another example of the driving excellence of Ford’s European products. Here’s why the Focus RS succeeds: It has 305 PS more
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DRIVE Fiat Grande Punto 1.3
Making a point Fiat wants a bigger slice of the hatchback pie. And the Grande Punto is how it plans to get it
Words Shubhabrata Marmar Photography Gaurav S Thombre
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he Grande Punto feels heavy - could it be the weight of Fiat’s expectations from this car? To understand that bit, you should know that when Fiat was in grave trouble internationally, it was this car that turned it around. Today, it is manufactured in three plants in the world - India is the third - and the car is credited with doing a sterling job of turning the Italian car maker around. To give you a little more background, the Giugiaro styled Grande Punto was unveiled first in 2005 based on the same platform - the Fiat-GM SCCS - which later gave us the Linea. Giugiaro was styling the Maserati Coupe at the same time it was working on this car, and that’s probably why there is a passing resemblance between two cars’ headlamps and grille. I, for one, don’t mind that one bit. It’s a muscular front end with that cheese-grater grille in two parts, but the big headlights and the slightly gawky external mirrors on stalks give it a mildly bug-eyed
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cuteness. From the headlamps a strong rising shoulder line sets the tone, leading straight to the Cpillar mounted tail lamp cluster. It’s stylish, but doesn’t resort to flourishes to convey that feel. The tail gate, for instance, has only the logos on it, but it doesn’t look flat, or featureless. Overall, it is a good looking car in an understated but classy way. It is a lot more stylish than the Japanese hatches and it still has the appeal of a traditional looking hatchback. It is also built solidly and the heavy doors close with deep thuds that reinforce that impression. Inside, you sink into a spacious cabin (though it isn’t in Honda Jazz territory) which feels well made but not overtly rich and intensely reminds you of the Linea. The dark grey and black tones look good and the black parts, down to the texture, recall the Palio. The massive A-pillars are alleviated somewhat by small forward placed quarter glasses. The dash has a clear set of meters with a multi-function dis-
play sitting in the middle. The controls for this are placed behind the steering wheel in the space between the steering column and the driver’s door. It’s a strange place to have these controls and cycling through menus when on the move is distracting and difficult... by design? The top Emotion Pack trim variants also get Fiat’s excellent Blue&Me which allows you to hook up your phone to the car and make calls and read messages. The top models will also get the steering controls you see in the pictures. The airbag signs will only appear on the Emotion Pack top variant, while all Emotion and higher variants will get ABS. Sadly though the 1.2-litre engine only comes in a single base variant where neither of two technologies will be offered even as an option. We drove the 1.3-litre Multijet equipped Emotion Pack (top) variant of the Grande Punto with literally hours to go before we sent this issue to press. The engine feels similar in response and character to the new Suzuki Ritz diesel. It
pulls well from low revs - the 16valve DOHC 1248cc four-cylinder manages to pump out a welcome 197Nm of torque at just 1750rpm. As the revs rise, performance is linear but with only 76PS (at 4000rpm) to play with, the 1190kg car’s performance cannot be called thrilling. It’s sprightly enough to reach good speeds in very short order though. I suspect that for a truly heady driving experience, one must swap engines and get the 1.4-litre petrol that promises 90PS. The 16-valve DOHC 1368cc petrol I’m talking about makes 115Nm of peak torque at 4500rpm and makes a Jazz rivalling 90PS at 6000rpm. Palio 1.6GTX lovers, here’s another car that could have you singing, then. The base variant is the excise-ting 1.2-litre petrol that has 68.2PS and 96Nm. This is, obviously, the slowest car of the Grande Punto lot, but Fiat reassured us that the car drives rather well and while keeping the fuel economy requirements of that set of buyers in mind, they have worked the engine and
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the Grande Punto irons out the kinks with faraway thuds that signal battles won against municipal corporations
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Heritage Auto Union
Silver Arrow T
he legendary Ferdinand Porsche made the world’s fastest racing car before making the best handling cars. Think classic era racing and what comes to mind is a silver coloured, bare bones race car along with drivers in leather jackets and WWII goggles whizzing down straights, brushing sidewalls and barriers and at times meeting a gory, mangled end. The most characteristic race car of this era, indeed
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of all time, is the Silver Arrow (and the first one wasn’t a Mercedes!). The Auto Union race car made its debut at the Avus banked circuit in Berlin and apart from sporting striking silver paint scheme it also had the engine behind the driver’s seat. The car had a V16 engine displacing 6000cc and making 525PS of power and 854Nm of torque. The centrally mounted engine employed a single camshaft which operated all the 32 valves. With
the sort of torque generated by that humongous mill, a four-speed gearbox was more than enough. That configuration remained more or less the same from 1934 to 1939 and towards the end the Auto Union Grand Prix racers were clocking 380kmph plus on the straights! Auto Union participated in 61 circuit races including 30 Grand Prix races and won 24 races with 40 podium finishes. Auto Union drivers were champions in 1934, 1936 and 1938.
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Test Honda CB1000R
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Street smart
Is the Honda CB1000R all we need in India? Words Vijayendra Vikram Photography Gaurav S Thombre
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thought I would start this test with an overview of different bikes in my dream garage and where a powerful naked stands in the order of things. But forget that for now! I came across this insane jacket unzipping experience that introduced me to the world of nakeds, a place where I had never ventured. Doing acceleration runs with no wind protection can be such a pain! The moment I stopped after doing my second (or third) run, I was surprised to find my jacket completely come unzipped with the sheer force of wind blast. For the next forty minutes or so, I struggled like an F1 driver to keep my head in place and my neck still hurts as I write this. Well, that’s a naked for you, a very fast naked. Back to my dream garage, which incidentally exists in a 1:18 form so far, I have an R1 to give me the rush, a ‘Busa for the highway runs and a Ducati Monster S4RS (the only naked I’ve ever ripped) for city crawls. I could use its wide handlebars to hang packets of bread and milk. Ironically, bikers are often in a dilemma when it comes to choosing the one bike they get to buy. For me, it’s got to be all three of the above. If I get just one bike, I will regret my deci-
sion soon after. However compromises end with the big nakeds. Powerful and mean, they offer usable performance for everyday riding yet are game for thrills galore. It wasn’t until I had a go on the Honda CB1000R that I had a chance to think beyond my fully faired, high revving dream bikes. Is this compromise really going to work for me? Is a 1:1 CB1000R good enough to be sharing space with my 1:18s? I got my answers after a week’s riding Honda’s second CBU offering.
Style build Honda’s naked street bikes had always been staid looking and sold solely on their fuss-free performance and reliability while the head turners always remained an Italian forte. It wasn’t until 2007 that the edgy CB600 Hornet changed the rule book for Honda designers. A year later, the Hornet grew up to, er…, a dragonfly – the CB1000R that is. CB Senior is aggression personified. The mélange of sharp lines and thoughtfully chiselled bodywork fits the streetfighter image to a ‘t’. The bike is about sheer muscle and the odd shade of green actually looks good. The whole mass
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Drive Honda Jazz
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Music to our ears Say hello to the impressive new Honda Jazz
Words Shubhabrata Marmar Photography Gaurav S Thombre
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trangely enough, jazz is actually one of the few art forms that the Americans can legitimately call their own. Not counting that it began life in Afro-American communities that began life in Africa. Ahem. Point is, that has very little to do with the Honda Jazz. It’s just an interesting tidbit I uncovered
while I was researching etymology of the word before writing the first drive. Honda’s Jazz is not a new car in the line-up, although this one is the latest version. Also known as the Fit in American and Japanese markets (Fit is as in ‘suited to your life’ and not epileptic, mind), this car has always found good recep-
tion in the various places it’s been sold. Having driven one for nearly 250km, I can say with confidence that I am not surprised at the acclaim it’s got. But, before I dig deeper into Honda’s new super hatch, let me also tell you up front that apart from the made-for-India i-VTEC motor and minor changes required
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Test Honda CBF Stunner PGM-FI
Hot shot Honda’s CBF Stunner in fuel-injected guise
Words Vijayendra Vikram Photography Gaurav S Thombre
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Max torque 11.2Nm@6250rpm LxWxH
2012x760x1111mm
0-60kmph
6.2sec
Top speed
105.9kmph
Price
Rs 72,834 OTR Pune
+ - Stupidly expensive
ACCELERATION kmph
0
Road Test
0-400m: 20.5s/98.4kmph
50
60
70
80
0s
4s
ECONOMY (kmpl)
53.9
67.2 57.2
Stunning looks, fit and finish Bettered performance
75 % 25 %
city
8s
13 litres 744km
90
100
12s
IN-GEAR ROLL ON 30-70kmph 3rd Gear
8.40s
4th Gear
9.38s
5th Gear
11.63s
Highway OVERALL
Tank capacity Range
Standing 1km: NA
40
sec
16s
20s
24s
BRAKING 60-0 kmph
0m
19.7m 5m
10m
15m
20m
Control Good Feel Good Overall Good
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21.9
11.7PS@8000rpm
PERFORMANCE
14.3
Max power
gearing feels taller and power is far better utilised across the rev range for a better overall riding experience rather than just a city centric one. This bike therefore is able to take highway jaunts in its stride unlike the carbed Stunner. Eclipsing 100kmph in fourth gear was amazing as was the near 120kmph top speed, thanks to an over optimistic speedometer. The actual top speed during testing is 105.9kmph, impressive enough for a 125. The 060kmph sprint time is identical to the Stunner’s 6.2 seconds but it is beyond this point that the difference is noticeable. The engine
11.2
124.7cc, air-cooled single
ries forward the Shine engine but mated to a 5-speed transmission. The Shine was characterised by short gearing, had a lot of bottom end grunt, accelerated super quick to 60kmph and felt absolutely at home in traffic slotted in top gear. Its downside was poor top end and a measly 90kmph top whack. Honda strapped on an additional gear on the Stunner to make amends but the smaller 17inch rear wheel did not help matters. It felt restricted at the top as well and stopped short of the ton, with a top speed of 99.3kmph. Honda has addressed the top end woes in the PGM-FI version. The
Inlet tract housing the injector body
8.2
Type
Half chain cover adds sportiness
6.2
ENGINE
Note the external fuel pump
4.5
SPECIFICATIONS
now revs more freely in every gear but feels a little anaemic at its limits. The 100kmph comes in 21.9 seconds, while the best quarter mile time I could manage was in 20.5 seconds. The roll-on times too are identical to the older bike’s and it feels as torquey to tackle the traffic in higher gears. Fuel injection smoothens out the power delivery especially at the bottom end, and the pick-up is smooth in higher gears without any hint of knocking. Fuel efficiency has gone up a notch. In the city the Stunner PGM-Fid delivered 67kmpl. This can also be on account of fewer gear shifts. The highway reading was 73.1kmpl. An overall 68.6kmpl means a range of 893km to a tankful, convenient for long haul riders. The bike feels far more spirited, which was lacking initially. The Stunner now has the makings to rule the 125cc roost bike if it were not for the price tag. At Rs 72,834, OTR, Pune, the PGMFI transcends its class to poach into the premium 150cc sphere. The existing Stunner retails for Rs 57,170. Honda expects the Stunner PGM-FI to sell mainly in urban zones. No matter which way one perceives it, the exorbitant price tag of the PGM-FI for all its improvements over the carburetted sibling, it is not justified. It will make better sense for Honda to endow the old Stunner with the new bike’s transmission changes.
Identical clocks but no tacho still
3.1
he Honda CBF Stunner is one of the few new bikes that evokes a spontaneous ‘wow’ at first sight. The CBR reminiscent international styling sure works fine. But the performance falls way, way short to justify its ‘CBF’ tag. Then Honda launched the made-inIndia fuel-injected Stunner as the CBF125 in Europe to rave reviews in Brit auto mags. Which surprised me no end, given that the Stunner had been berated no end over its strangled power delivery. Anyway, in wake of its big overseas debut, the Stunner PGM-FI is now available here for us to sample. It looks identical to the old version but draws heavily on Honda’s flagship CBR1000RR Fireblade with a replica red and black paint job and gold coloured crankcase cover. It’s classy where its predecessor’s colour scheme is loud. The new bike sports a sportier half chain cover. Honda has installed a maintenance free battery that is leakage proof and needs no topping up. There is still no tachometer, alas. The good bits ithough lie under the bodywork. The engine is untouched and its 124.7cc capacity is retained. The big difference is of course the fuel injector in place of a carb. It has been tweaked a bit to produce 11.7PS of power at 8000rpm and 11.2Nm of peak torque at 6250rpm. The show-stealer is the PGM-FI System but what makes the biggest difference are the altered gear ratios. Remember, the Stunner car-
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Test Toyota Land Cruiser
Globe trotter The Land Cruiser is here. Applaud?
Words Bertrand D’souza Photography Gaurav S Thombre
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he big question on everyone’s lips is, just why does a Toyota Land Cruiser have to cost the earth? It’s a Toyota for crying out loud, the company that makes inexpensive but highly comfortable and immensely reliable cars. The cars are not aspirational; you don’t beg borrow or steal to buy a Toyota. Ever heard of anyone younger than your dad ever wanting to own a Toyota? So why does the Land Cruiser have to cost nearly a crore of rupees on road? I have an answer for that. It’s not something that can be digested easily, but it’s what I make of this whole conundrum. To know my answer you have to read through this road test, by the end of which I hope you reach the same conclusion I have.
gained notoriety in a dastardly accident with Salman Khan behind the wheel and more recently for being Sushmita Sen’s choice for an illegal import.
Design The Land Cruiser is anything but good to look at; at best it could be described as a contoured bread box. Toyota’s flagship SUV though has tremendous street presence thanks largely to its monstrous size. It’s nearly two metres wide, five metres long and just ninety centimetres short of being two metres tall. That’s a very large footprint it stamps on the road. It’s got personality but nothing that can pass for good looking. What it does have in spades is incredible build quality, in sync with Toyota’s reputation for building cars with minute attention to detail and incredible quality. The Land Cruiser is the perfect symbol of those core values. From any angle it looks as if it could drive around the world and at the end of it look as immaculate and unruffled as the day it left the factory. It has all the statutory design elements that traditional off-roaders possessed and the overall silhouette hasn’t changed much despite this being a 2009 design. In fact over the last four decades the Land Cruiser has looked pretty much the same, a pumped up station wagon with minor evolutionary changes being the only points of interest. But what gets my goat is that not a single iteration over all these years has ever looked good. Isn’t that sad for such a promising vehicle? It has flared arches, strong creases, boxy panels and an ungainly tailgate, all very traditional character elements. Its design has little to do with its purpose, which is to sweat it out in the deserts of the Kalahari or freeze in the heights of the Himalayas, wade through the Amazonian rainforests or trek across the vast wilderness of the Outback. And as you would have guessed, looking good in these conditions is hardly a criteria for surpassing all those odds.
Lineage
Road Test no. 775 OD Rating Price Rs 81,60,000 ex-showroom Thane
+ Extremely large for Indian roads + Immense interior space + 4x4 will let you travel anywhere - Looks like a brick - Tricky navigation screen - Bland interiors
The Land Cruiser is not a new product having been around for nearly seven decades, for nearly five of which it has dominated global markets. It has its roots in the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in the 1940s. The Jap army found a Bantam MK II there, got it back to Japan and in the best reverse-engineering tradition asked Toyota to make something similar. Even the name Land Cruiser was a direct rip off from competitors Land Rover who had already established themselves as makers of serious and highly capable off-roaders. In a bid to gain similar respectability the then chief engineer of the project Hanji Umehara coined the name Land Cruiser. In the early fifties it was sold primarily as a military all-purpose vehicle. Then in the late fifties Toyota realised that the Land Cruiser had enormous commercial viability and began selling it to 4x4 enthusiasts across the world. In the nineties it became immensely popular in the Middle East and the US, despite all the friction between these two symbiotic nations. In India the Land Cruiser was already a popular choice among affluent businessmen and Bollywood stars who imported it from the Middle East. However in recent times it
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Comparo Laura TS vs Civic vs Corolla Altis
Against the wind Skoda’s Laura takes a dramatically different stance from the norm. Can it beat the Civic and the Corolla Altis? Words Shubhabrata Marmar Photography Gaurav S Thombre
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any hot battles have raged in the D-segment. And now that Skoda’s new Laura is here, it’s time for them to begin again. The established names are Toyota’s Corolla Altis and the Honda Civic, which Bert pitted against each other in the October 2008 issue. And ended up recommending the Civic to his elder brother and the Altis to his father. It’s time to find out which of Bert’s family should plump for the Laura then. Rich folk, eh? Jokes aside, the Civic and the Corolla compete against each other but are distinct in character. The Honda is sporty, futuristic, driver-oriented in character while
the Toyota is typically, a Toyota safe, measured, cossetting, largely infallible, but ultimately not the most exciting car you could be driving. Crashing this party is the new Skoda Laura, a car that uses its engine to headline a marked preference for performance over the traditionally Indian values that centre on value and economy. Bert noted this trait repeatedly in the road test he wrote for the June 2009 issue. And all I have to do is sort this brawl out and point you to the best car of this lot. Sounds easy? I wish it was. None of these cars are flawed enough to be dismissed easily enough, and they all do many things so well that picking the winner is going be
tough. So let’s not hang about and get right to work, shall we?
four-year run in India, and it still has the looks end cornered. The combination of sporty lines, the Japanese low-slung stance and that roof that slopes to a notchboot works rather well. It looks like it has sporty intent and we like that. The Corolla on the other hand buys into the Camry look with its grille and details and it looks like a Japanese car. Unfortunately, it looks imposing and large, but is otherwise not a car you could instantly ascribe any character to. This is good as a proposition in the segment, but a bit of a lost opportunity, really. To use some marketing speak, Toyota could probably have created a stronger brand connect had they taken either a totally
Design If you were to consider the three cars as eligible bachelors at a party, the Civic would be the one with the flash shirt, a successful air, the latest phone and manicured looks. The Altis would be the tall, lanky fellow with the IIM degree, a fat bank balance - successful, but reticent and not the chap who would stand out in the crowd at the bar. The Laura would be the friendly one. You’d like him, he’d be half good looking, but not model material and he’d be the one you turned to for a good time. The Civic’s had a admirable
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Feature Maruti Driving School
Back to school… …the Maruti Driving School, to be specific
Words Sudheer Gaikwad Photography Gaurav S Thombre
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Getting started on the simulator that is one 0f Maruti Driving School’s USPs
The MDS classroom with a projector set-up for informative slide shows
Yahoo! It’s a spontaneous yelp of joy and relief after having survived ten hours and quite a bit more than 100 kilometres of driving four-wheelers across the over congested chaos that is an omnipresent peril pervading Pune city’s streets. Why, I could throw in even an evangelical, ecclesiastical and euphoric ‘hallelujah’ to celebrate my having come through the ‘ordeal’ unscathed – no dents, scrapes, mauls nor mangles on the exteriors of the said four-wheelers – and except for
the mother-maligning outpouring of putrescence from a standard Puneri autorickshaw-wallah’s pan-streaked mouth, for not being able to overtake from the left, my psyche and confidence remained pretty much un-dented too. Over the 600 minutes of being strapped in behind the steering wheel, I navigated or rather jinked and dinked past a zillion jaywalkers, swerved beyond scores of instantaneously trajectoryswitching autorickshaws and bikers, averted being butt-smacked or side-swiped by killer leviathan
Does your left hand know what your right foot is doing?
private and public transport buses and trucks, evaded contact with cars/bikes/cyclists overtaking me and vice versa, and even a mammoth road construction dumper backing uninhibitedly into the centre of a prime thoroughfare. Phew! Who says miracles do not happen as in the Moses and Abraham, Vedas and Valmiki eras? Much as I would like to claim this to be a self-devised miracle, I confess
that my evolution from novice to a permanent-driver’s-license-inwaiting status has come to pass for the most part thanks to the Pune branch of the Millennium Mobility Maruti Driving School’s (MDS) elaborate 21-day driving instruction course. Beginning with two of four twohour theory lessons that stressed as much on etiquette, courtesy and cordiality towards fellow road users as
MDS grooms its clients via a step-by-step orchestration
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Drive Mercedes-Benz E-Class
Class tells Bidding adieu to the Mercedes-Benz E-class
Words Karanbir Singh Bedi Photography Gaurav S Thombre
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he sun is about to set on the W211, the current Mercedes Benz E-class model in India. Since its India debut 14 years ago, the E-class has been the ultimate symbol of class. After all it has been crafted by a manufacturer with decades of expertise in building solid cars. The E-class has been an icon of automotive excellence, seemingly carved from a single block of granite.
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Time was, the E-class didn’t need a unique selling proposition. Initially it sold simply because of a lack of competition, not to mention that it was the epitome of luxury and built to survive a nuclear holocaust. The luxury saloon with its three-pointed star has carved a permanent niche in the Indian psyche. It guaranteed its clients an immediate transcendental leap in terms of image and status. Code-named the W124 series,
the car was being phased out around the world when it was launched in India. Mercedes Benz was quick to realise its mistake and unveiled its popular twin-eyed W210 series. In time it brought out more models from its line-up. The Eclass however was by far the most popular model bearing the threepointed star emblem in India. For an age, the E-class was the benchmark not only in its segment but a car against which
every other car was measured. No benchmark car in its segment has been as iconic or hard wired into Indian minds. Even today everyone with wealth wants to flaunt it with a Mercedes, and in most parts of the country, a luxury saloon has to be an E. Politician, tycoon, tyrant or don, the E-class fits every bill to the proverbial ‘t’. It’s a car at the heart of Mercedes’ success throughout the world. Not the high-priced roadsters, big luxury sedans or even the
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W124
W210
This mid-size car propelled Mercedes into the upper end of the luxury automobile market
W211
W212
The current E-class was given minor styling upgrade to its bodyshell and interiors as well as engine tweaks
This new edition the transforms the E-class from curvy hulk to a sportier, edgier and more angular design
Lineage
India’s first Merc came with modified MacPherson strut, and Mercedes multi-link axle rear suspension
hyper versatile Unimogs. With the Indian automobile industry’s coming of age, competition arrived a couple of years ago in the form of two of Mercedes’ fiercest competitors, BMW and Audi. With these two of the German trinity on Indian soil, Mercedes had to rethink its strategy to a more aggressive mode. In hindsight it’s good news for its customers. Shadowed by its nemesis, the BMW 5 Series and under increas-
ing pressure from a rampantly ambitious Audi A6, Mercedes needs to hold its ground with the E-class, so the Stuttgart based company is launching vehicles in Indian in conjunction with their international debut. The AMG models and the W211 are therefore available in India and so will be the W212 soon, that was unveiled in Geneva this year. With the new model, Mercedes intends to take the E to a higher plane.
Revamped instrument cluster
Limited edition gets maple wood trim
New 17-inch five-spoke alloys
Special Edition
Mercedes-Benz is selling just 192 units of this Special Edition car which will sport a 3-litre diesel engine, 17-inch, 5 double-spoke light alloy wheels, LED tail lights and bird’s eye maple wood trim across the dashboard, central console, steering wheel and front doors to enhance its opulent feel. The instrument cluster design has also been revised. This Special Edition E-class is priced at Rs 43.4 lakh, ex-showroom Delhi.
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Feature Mitsubishi Heart in Mouth
Dirt tactic
Mitsubishi rekindles the Pajero fire with its Heart in Mouth events for owners Words & Photography Shubhabrata Marmar
S
UVs have become like microwaves. Both can do a heck of a lot of things, and rather well. But the latter basically has been reduced to re-heating food and the former, well, they’re little more than spacious, urban runabouts for most of us. Many manufacturers have woken up to that and many SUVs are either de-speced to fit their on-road role better, or have little more than basic off-roading ability. Mitsubishi is the one manufacturer who has stood apart from this crowd. It still sells the old ladder-frame Pajero in India with fairly well-known off-road ability as well as the Montero - the flagship SUV - which again, doesn’t look like it but can harness more than its fair share of planet Earth. Even the Outlander, no matter
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how much Mitsubishi underplays its off-road ability, is pretty handy off-road. Now, Mitsubishi has decided to reignite the Pajero cult with a new series of events called Heart in Mouth, aimed at Pajero buyers. The idea being to allow them to see a side of their brawny SUVs that many have forgotten existed. I was called off to Chandigarh to attend the first of these events and I must say, I’ve never seen a collection of Pajero’s chugging along at more weird angles all at once. Many first timers, in fact, hadn’t even shifted into four-wheel low for a significant part of the drive and still made it through without getting stuck, which must be a massive compliment to how capable the thing really is. But we are getting ahead of
ourselves. The 60km drive - about 35 properly off-road - began on the outskirts of the city with about 40 Pajeros taking the ceremonial flag-off. The route, charted by Overdrive’s old buddy, five-time national rally champion Hari Singh, led the unsuspecting owners into a dry river bed - loads of sand, more than a few dips and climbs, followed by a run through an actual flowing stream, complete with a foot or more water, rounded rocks and finally, we were on a stretch where a highway was being constructed - the bridges weren’t complete so that meant daunting uphill climbs on freshly dug Earth. With the raising of the flag, the sun instantly disappeared for a siesta leaving behind an ominous collection of dark clouds.
By the time the second car was flagged off, various Mitsubishi’s officials were sheltering under the scarce protection of Ashoka trees as massive drops of rain began to pelt down. As I cruised out of town in my Pajero - official car number two - accompanied by rally champ Sunny Sidhu, loud, repetitive banging sounds told us that it was time for the hail to join in the party. When we turned off the road, it looked ominous. Like seven o’clock dark at three-fifteen ominous. Sidhu pointed to the mountains in the distance, barely visible through the pelting rain and said, ‘That’s were this stream begins. Hope there isn’t a flash flood.’ Thanks. Having shifter into four-wheel low, our Pajero rumbled gamely
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through thick, soft sand. As people got stuck here and there, I found out that even walking in the stuff wasn’t easy. Not that the Pajero noticed. I had a particularly scary moment when Sunny guided me past a stuck car by making me stick the right side wheels over a two-and-a-bit foot high piece of rock sticking out of the river edge. The world tilted crazily at angles that John Hopkins would smile appreciatively at. And the next minute, with a whump, we were back level, ahead of the stuck Pajero. Sidhu walked to the stuck, shifted into four-wheel drive and calmly rolled the Pajero out of the sand it was stuck in. I know it sounds tame, but there’s nothing like the sight of a Pajero climbing a soft-sand embankment, kicking up three-storey rooster trails
Far from the worst off-roading we did, but great fun nevertheless!
The Montero’s the officials’ car. The other one was the day’s star
Lining up to tackle the ‘quarry’ section
A Pajero owner begins to find out just what his pride and joy can do
of sand, while moving at all of 5kmph. I could see owners look alternately worried and astonished at what their SUVs were making mincemeat of. The sand, slightly crusted over by the rain, made the going a bit easier. But I spotted more than a few owners who dared to venture off the riverbed - the charted course - and into the wild grass on both sides, carving, literally, their own path. Amazing what a little encouragement will do, eh? With the rain still coming down in sheets, we decided to skip the rest of the riverbed and head straight for the flowing stream. Once more, an impressive convoy of Pajeros thundered through terrain that would have had most so-called SUVs quaking
in their uni-directional performance shoes. As the rocks crunched under the onslaught and tankerfulls of water were displaced, our rally was already nearing the end. With an almighty splash at the last river crossing, we were out the other side. I asked Hari why the route was so short. He laughed, “You have to remember that these owners have never actually been this far from tarmac before. We want them to be excited, to be thrilled, but not scared or tired.” Besides, the relative inexperience on part of the 172 people who were in the convoy meant that no one was quite sure how many would get stuck and have to be towed or dug out. Obviously, Hari erred well on the safe side. Mitsubishi’s new market-
ing boss, Pritam Saikia said that the plan was clear. “We need the Pajero owners to see just what their prides and joys are capable of. We are thrilled with the response to this event and with the experience that the owners have had. We will now take this event to other parts of the country. Expect to see the event arrive on sand, snow and many other surfaces you wouldn’t normally expect!” Personally, I’ve always had a soft spot for the Pajero. It’s always been a hardy thing, ever willing to get its feet wet and yet, with remarkable manners on the roads. This was the first time, I spent such an intense session with it offroad. And I can tell you this, I can’t wait for more. I’m just waiting for Mitsubishi to microwave up some more instant thrills.
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Motoring News
Brands retained
SOLD
Closing
INTL brands
General Mayhem! The full story of how the world’s largest auto maker went bankrupt
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hen Toyota became the world’s largest car manufacturer, toppling General Motors off the pedestal that it held for over 70 years, who thought it’d come to this? On June 1, 2009, the Detroit based auto giant filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. A decision taken with the intention of reentering the market as a leaner and fitter company with fewer debts and in a smaller capacity. Speculation about GM’s bankruptcy had been doing the rounds, more so after Chrysler’s filing. GM’s bankruptcy, as per total assets, is said to be the fourth largest in US history after Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual and WorldCom. The chapter 11 petition filed in the federal court
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in Manhattan, New York, reported US$82.29 billion (Rs 38717 crores) in assets and US$172.81 billion (Rs 81307 crores) in debt. GM announced soon after that 67-year old Edward Whitacre, formerly head of AT&T, would be the new CEO (his first quote was “I don’t know anything about cars!”), replacing Fritz Henderson, who in turn replaced Rick Wagoner a few months ago. GM also announced plans to shut 14 American plants. The cities and counties affected are believed to be readying plans to put the deactivated GM plants to alternate use to avert an employment crisis in the US. How did the world’s largest auto manufacturer’s end up here? Internally, GM has often been held
up by ambitious, expansive projects which seldom met expectations. GM had also been criticised by analysts for having too elaborate a brand base with sales clashing between their own cars. In the brand mix were a lot of ‘smaller’ brands that also eventually ran into trouble thanks to GM’s ambitious operations. This in turn, unnecessarily diverted financial resources and administrative objectives. Though GM had an admirable variety of brands on offer, the management proved to be ineffective overall. GM’s refusal to be drawn into small, fuel efficient cars and banking too much on (formerly) highly profitable trucks played a big part. GM failed to capitalise on
the rising demand for small cars, a trend fuelled by the hike in fuel prices globally. While European and Asian markets blossomed with extremely competitive small cars with world class standards, GM continued to invest in trucks and SUVs which suffered a major sales slump especially in the US, where ironically they first gained ground. GM also showed the same refusal to ride trends by creating the fabulous EV1 electric car and then scrapping it, letting the Japanese manufacturers take over the lead. The company has been overtaken comprehensively in hybrid technology and sales. GM compounded these problems by persisting in its lobbying against stricter fuel consumption
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legislations and spending millions on that effort. The alienation of the company from the trends in the market only hastened its downfall. Looking back at GM’s history, a constant lag in technological updates is very apparent. From seatbelts to airbags, every feature was a major internal battle before implementation. Numbers suggest that GM’s market share was reduced to less than half thanks to its focus on profits rather than on quality of production. GM, however, wasn’t deterred by this and initiated an massive dealer network expansion. Finally, the cost of managing the large dealer network far exceeded accessible profits and this emerged as a loss inducing proposition. The global slowdown too has affected GM adversely, it’s healthy presence in the Asian market notwishstanding. Also, it cannot be ignored that GM’s Asian and European competitors have been designing and producing quality vehicles extensively, and compared to GM’s offerings, these products were more popular. As oil prices reached a maximum of US$140 (Rs 6,600) a barrel, it spelt very bad news for GM’s big cars. Filing for bankruptcy is seen as the wisest way out of the crisis at present, though it comes at a price. At stake are the present and future of the many workers, unions, suppliers, dealers and not to forget, consumers. This is also turning out to be a huge political issue and a complicated obstacle to President Obama’s government. Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi said immediately after GM filed for bankruptcy. “I commend the executives and workers of General Motors, the members of the Treasury Department’s automobile task force, and the Obama Administration for working together in making the necessary, and difficult, sacrifices to restructure GM into a viable, forward looking, environmentally friendly and globally competitive automobile manufacturer. I am hopeful that a restructured GM
will result in a profitable company that fully repays the taxpayers and strengthens our manufacturing base. Going forward, Congress will continue to promote the creation of jobs and worker retraining in areas most affected by job losses.” Of all the brands that exist under the GM roof, Hummer is already on its way to Chinese equipment manufacturer Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery and the deal is likely to get the nod. The new owners will expand the Hummer line-up gradually and will also look into developing alternative powertrains. “The immediate challenge is to regain our sales momentum. Then we have to go after some product changes that will get us into that space where we are compliant with new federal regulations,” said Jim Taylor, CEO, Hummer. Essentially, this initial agreement safeguards the 150 US dealerships that Hummer has to itself, as long as it can maintain sales figures. The Chinese-owned Hummer will have to invest in an all-new engineering facility and will have to refresh all the research, development and production plans for their vehicles. Worldwide marketing too will have to be by the new Hummer. GM is also in talks with Penske to sell off the Saturn brand, while Saab has reportedly been linked to Koenigsegg, the Swedish supercar maker. In the European portfolio, Vauxhall and Opel have also found buyers in Magna, the Canadian company that owns, among others, the Magna-Steyr operation.Pontiac will be discontinued by the end of 2010 and GM will mainly focus on its major selling brands Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC and Buick. Through its bankruptcy phase, GM will exist in two forms, a new GM and old GM. The new GM is expected to include GM’s current profitable assets. The old one on the other hand, will include decommissioned plants, brands and other manufacturing machinery which will be gradually sold. Another possibility is these assets being kept under court supervision, and their fate being decided later.
High five with Fritz Henderson CNBC EUROPE : How does the customer see GM during the restructuring phase? Fritz Henderson: GM is open for business. We’re there for the sale, financing, servicing and warranty of cars and trucks. In court, the first day motions were all approved in order for us to provide all the service we knew we were going to be able todo anyway. Customers can feel very confident if they want to buy a GM car or truck that we’ll be able to service the vehicle, they’ll get warranties, so we’re extremely confident.
CNBC You’ve said that the proceedings affect only GM North America. Why is the problem so acute there? FH Well I’ve have the advantage of working for GM everywhere around the world. I’ve run our businesses in all the regions of the world. Only in North America have we seen a situation where so much of the profitability of the firm is dominated by so few vehicles. Everywhere else in the world, what we need to do is manage the business so that each vehicle pays its rent or generates a certain level of profitability, its a unique characteristic of the US market. Its not unusual to have certain vehicles be more profitable than others. Obviously that’s normal but what you see is a situation where everywhere else in the world each vehicle needs to be properly positioned in its segment to earn the return that it should get in that segment. That’s not what we’ve had historically here in North America and so our job is that we do fantastic new cars lets say like the Chevrolet Cruze or like the Chevrolet Malibu or like the Cadillac CTS, make sure each and every one of these products is properly positioned in its segment and earns the profit it should earn. That’s what we need to do as a firm; we need to have everything pulling its weight as opposed to 2 or 3 vehicles.
CNBC What will be the US Government’s role as a stakeholder in the new GM? FH I’ve worked with them side by side through the last 60 to 90 days. They don’t want to run the company, they want to make sure that the company is well run, they want to have a world class board. They want the board holding myself and the management team accountable. That’s exactly what they have done. The President wanted the government involved only in those core governance issues that affect the performance of the company as a shareholder, as the tax payer should expect that. So we’ve not seen desire to micro manage the business. CNBC How did the fuel price spike and recession contribute to the situation GM is in today? FH Excellent question. Last year, when fuel prices spiked we saw what we felt was a permanent shift in consumer preferences, so even when gas prices declined precipitously... depends on the vehicle segment, but lets take the mid car segment for example... consumers were actually behaving like prices were higher. In other words they had changed their expectations for future oil prices and gas prices and therefore fuel economy has been a significant driver of purchase decisions. Again while it depends on the segment, consumers are looking at vehicles that are much more fuel efficient and we’ve seen that shift and it continues. Even in the traditional truck market, we’ve seen a shift from traditional trucks to crossover vehicles which provide much of the utilities of a classic truck although
CNBC What will be the new GM’s direction going forward? FH If you look at the situation today, if you look at the very smallest cars, which are called the B category cars, the sales of those vehicles today are slow, but if you look at compact and mid-sized that’s where the demand is. So I do think from our perspective having flexibility to build across all three different categories of cars, small, compact and mid-sized gives us an advantage and I think not just us. But I think that’s how we’ll plan our business so that you don’t make bets on only one car. That’s not the right thing to do in terms of manufacturing flexibility.
What is Chapter 11? Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code enables any company or organisation to reorganise its management in a given amount of time in order to come out of bankruptcy and clear its debts. The debtor is still allowed to stay in control of its business. After the filing, the debtor is required to submit a plan showing how the business will be reorganised. If the debtor has not submitted its plan in time, or the court has not approved the plan, creditors are allowed to submit a plan. In which case, the company may file under Chapter 7 or revert to pre-bankruptcy status.
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Gm ceo
it misses certain things like towing and other capabilities such as that, but does provide some very interesting interior packages and at the same time it’s a more fuel efficient package.
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Ride Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-i
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Second phase
In the saddle of Bajaj’s updated new Pulsar 220 Words Shubhabrata Marmar Photography Gaurav S Thombre
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hat? No fuel injection? Many eyebrows were raised and many quizzical looks were thrown around when the Bajaj man let slip this nugget as he introduced the new Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-i - note the missing F - to us at the test track at their Chakan plant. Us, being Sirish, Vikram, Abhay and I. Yeah, we like to do things in style here at Overdrive, and turning up with
a phalanx of riders and a boot full of kit is one the manifestations of this. Er, back to the bike. Three years after the Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi came out, Bajaj have given it a refresh and visually, the only change you will notice is the blacked out engine. That, and the F that’s a graphic on the fairing. And no, it evidently does not stand for fast, fantastic or even ferocious. Apparently, it just stands for
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Feature Touring Yamaha R15
Natural elements The track oriented Yamaha YZF-R15 unleashed on mountain twisties Words & photography Abhay Verma
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pril 2009 turned out to be an R15 special for me. I first got to reel countless laps on this track tool during the ‘Yamaha Racing Ridetech Challenge’ at the Coimbatore race track - refer to the June 2009 issue. Barely two weeks later, I was maneuvering the bike on the switchbacks around picturesque Nainital. The trip to cooler climes was a summer break, the R15 ride spicing it up further. The R15 is the Indian motorcycle that can be described as a track scorcher. Yamaha’s intent behind this ride was to prove that the R15 is also versatile enough to tackle mountainous tracks and altitude. As we set off on our ride, smooth tarmac and unending twisties greeted us. The morning ride helped get familiar with the roads, but surprisingly my bike
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stalled. Luckily, help was at hand in the form of a Yamaha factory rider who quickly fixed the glitch with the fuel pump. It was smooth going thereafter on the 45km ride, but I was left wanting more. As we set out again post lunch. the second session offered me all the opportunity for photo-ops in the scenic environs with the towering Shivalik range. Out of Nainital, we detoured off the main road on to smooth tarmac roads. We headed to the picturesque Saat Tal Lake via roads devoid of traffic which was our cue to wring throttles open. It was a convivial stop at the lake and time for some more photography given the verdant, utopian vistas. On the way back, Bert and I had our share of fun, cornering hard on desolate roads in the company of the able R15. The next morning our destination was the Jim Corbett National
Park. The roads were wider and more conducive to flat-out riding than the ones around Nainital. Bert was busy shooting the TV episode so there was none of last evening’s cornering. However the ride was all a biker could ask for. But, Corbett Park being at a lower altitude than Nainital it was sizzling hot in my leathers. It was time for a meal and a power nap when we reached the park. On the evening ride, I not only captured the park’s scenic spots on my camera, but also had some scope to pull off some stunts on an open, unused stretch of tarmac. The R15 with its peaky power delivery makes most of its usable power around and above 7000rpm, so pulling off wheelies is tricky. With the crisp front disc, it’s easy to haul her down into a high stoppie. But the string of wheelies set the radiator fan in motion for the first time in the
two days that I had ridden her. By the end of the ride, the YZFR15 had been thrashed around high altitude corners, let loose on long pinned-throttle blasts and roped in for some high revving stunts as well. And the bike came through with flying colours. Yamaha’s mission in wanting us to experience the other side of the R15’s character had been accomplished. I’d experienced the bike’s prowess on race tracks. This ride brought out the bike’s virtues as an able handler and being pretty comfortable for touring as well. The deltabox frame coupled with the suspension setup enables smooth glides around corners, and handles bad surfaces with aplomb. The sporty seating position is alright for short rides. But my Nainital summer break was done and it was time to get my nose back to the grindstone in sweltering Pune.
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Feature R15 vs RX100
Dream on... How does one fit two dream bikes in a single frame? Words Abhay Verma Photography Gaurav S Thombre
I
am nursing a mild headache on my way home after a particularly hectic day at office. I am astride the zippy Yamaha R15, but in no mood to whack the throttle open. I’m cruising at a sedate pace when a bike’s wicked exhaust note breaks my reverie. A moment later, a biker on a Yamaha RX100 zips past at a manic pace. Before my numbed mind can form a single thought, the bike vanishes into the distance. I shift down and gun the throttle. I have faith in the R15’s capabilities, but the RX100’s
head start makes my effort futile. I know I’m not going to catch up. The incident may seem routine, but it sparked off a storm in my mind. It jolted my belief that modern day Indian motorcycles are way ahead of their ancestors. I consoled myself by reasoning that the biker who left me eating dust was a nutcase who wanted to prove that my R15 was not a patch on his trusty old RX100. To sort out my confusion, a head-to-head horns-lock between the YZF-R15 and RX100 would settle matters,
I thought. By now the headache was a distant memory and the prospective comparison set my brain cells abuzz. It had all the ingredients for a spicy story! A two decades old, veritable legend in the annals of Indian motorcycling. And a yearold world class hi-tech motorcycle, both with a common manufacturer and both being bikes that tower above their peers. I reached home and in course of time my head hit my pillow and I was out like a light...
...the next thing I hear is the high pitched whine of the RX100. “What’s the matter with you, dude?” I heard a voice. And in the dreamscape I am not surprised to hear the R15 talking to the RX100 with a frown creasing its twinlight forehead. “You talking to me?” the RX100 growled. The R15 thundered, “Yes, you, papa. Don’t you know who I am? I am the new age Yamaha. I’ve come to rewrite the rules of the biking game.” “You upstart,” scoffed the RX100 in disdain, “I see no one has
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Comparo Maruti Suzuki Ritz ZXi vs Hyundai i10 1.2 Asta
Street fight It’s war as the Ritz revs right up the i10 alley
Words Vijayendra Vikram Photography Gaurav S Thombre
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ig, expensive cars are so cool! They ensure red carpet welcomes for their owners wherever they go, being the perfect ego-inflating tools to herald their ‘arrival’. But in practical terms, on traffic-infested Indian streets and in clogged parking lots, a selfdriven big car can prove to be a nightmare. For peace of mind, the big car owner then must shell out a chauffeur’s salary.
A small car then makes far better sense in the real world for ordinary mortals who drive themselves. What’s more, the proverbial small car has evolved into upmarket hatchbacks and superminis that offer far more space, oodles of style and loads of premium features. The latest entrant to the contemporary hatchback brigade, the Maruti Suzuki Ritz (sold as the Suzuki Splash in Europe) fea-
tures a few improvements for the Indian market. The Ritz is an important car for Maruti. It may seem like somewhat of a small car overload for India’s market leader but its eighth small car is assigned an important mission. At a recent dealer conference, Maruti representatives lauded growing sales but also voiced concern over the Swift clan accounting for the major chunk. The A-star too has failed to fill in
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Drive Volkswagen Polo
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Game spirit
The Polo will give VW a firm foothold in the Indian small car segment Words Sirish Chandran
W
ith General Motors bankrupt, Chrysler sold off, Toyota’s b a l a nc e she e t swimming in shockingly red numbers and Honda smarting from the rising yen and winning Brawn GP F1 cars, you would be right in assuming the car business has seen better days. And so it has – but not everywhere is it doom and gloom, especially in Volkswagen’s backyard. Europe’s largest car manufacturer (with ambitions on being the world’s largest) and its subsidiaries (Audi, Skoda, Lamborghini, Seat) have swum against a rather strong tide to emerge so powerful that in a strange twist of irony Porsche which was on the verge of acquiring VW is now negotiating merger terms with VW in the driver’s seat. In part it’s because Volkswagen never made it big in North America (to a collective
sigh of relief across Wolfsburg boardrooms) but has more to do with its strong product focus. The VW group today makes cars you want to buy and it’s making them in markets that have an insatiable appetite for those cars – China and India. Which neatly brings me around to the Polo, the car that will elevate VW from being a curious sideshow to a meaningful contender in the only segment that counts in India – the small car. Introduced to the world’s media (along with Victoria Secret’s supermodel Heidi Klum… long story, read my blog) around the sinuous roads of the staggeringly beautiful island of Sardinia, the fifth generation Polo is a car that makes increasingly good sense in a world that’s talking small – size, price, engines, emissions and consumption. It’s almost as if the world increasingly
wants the things at the top of every Indian’s shopping list, but small no longer means slow and boring especially when there’s a TSI badge on the derriere. Now this is an engine that isn’t on the India plan. If we scream loudly enough it might come to India but even then it’ll be at least a year after the Polo’s launch, if not more. But I’m compelled to talk about it because here’s an engine that quite literally blows every preconceived notion out of the water. It’s a 1.2-litre engine, and as we’ve seen in India. 1.2-litre engines are weedy, drearily slow motors that have to (and hate to) be flogged hard; relevant only by some (mildly fathomable) small car excise tax breaks. This engine
though gets direct petrol injection and has a turbocharger bolted on, all of which boots power to 105PS. That’s the realm of 1.6-, even 1.8litre naturally aspirated motors and that power doesn’t come at some heady revs but at a relatively low 5000rpm. Torque, meanwhile, comes in great big dollops with 175Nm on tap from 1500rpm all the way to 3500rpm. Put your foot down and if the tacho is spinning anywhere near 2000rpm you’ll be whisked around with startling urgency. It has enough power to make massive 17inch tyres spin up and ESP work overtime to contain it all. The 100kmph takes just 9.7 seconds and top speed is a staggering 190kmph. It has enough torque to make sixth gear a
...a car that makes increasingly good sense in a world that’s talking small
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