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motoringnews L o g o n t o w w w. ov e r d r i v e . i n / n e ws/
Volkswagen readies Vento for Diwali launch Polo sedan is unveiled in Moscow and is heading to India bearing the Vento name. Promises to take the fight to the Honda City
105PS 1.6-litre petrol and diesels expected with 5-speed manual & 6-speed (non-DSG) automatic gearbox options Prices to start at Rs 7 lakh
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olkswagen India is going be a busy place over the next six months. Even as the company is busy stabilising the sales and supply chains for the Polo, it is preparing the ground for the seventh car in its Indian line, the Vento, officially confirmed as the name for the Indian Polo sedan. The Vento name is not new to Volkswagen. Meaning ‘wind’ in Portuguese and Italian, it has been used liberally for
Jettas, including most significantly, the third generation Jetta which was officially called the Vento in Europe. The Vento was always positioned as a sedan above the Golf and below the Passat. In the VR6 model, it featured a potent 174PS engine thanks to which the Vento was in a lot of European police fleets. For India though, the Volkswagen Vento will be based on the same PQ25 platform as the Polo, the upcoming Skoda Fabia and
F e at u r e
GM- SAI C
GM-SAIC launch
mission India
With the SAIC tie-up, GM India is all set to launch a slew of new products in the light truck, mini van, MPV and passenger car segments Words Sirish Chandran
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t’s no secret that the Chinese auto industry has been trying to gain a foothold in India for a long time. In the two-wheeler space Chinese bike majors have strived had but despite offering what seemed like better value (125cc bikes with electric start and disc brakes at the price of a 100cc) that clearly hasn’t happened. Thanks to the quality, reliability, service support and style, Indian-built bikes have thwarted their plans. So much so that now they’ve been reduced to bit players assembling bikes in remote corners while desperately trying to hide their origins. Breaking into the Indian four-wheeler market has been even harder for the Chinese. But GM’s bankruptcy provided just the opportunity GM’s Chinese partner SAIC was looking for and in return for a helping hand
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picked up a 50 per cent stake in GM’s Indian operations. In one fell stroke SAIC got the works, two full-fledged manufacturing facilities, a solid dealer network and a brand that was in ascendancy - Chevrolet.
SAIC who? It’s one of the peculiarities of the Chinese market that any international auto major looking to set up shop has to have a 50 per cent local partner. It has given rise to many strong Chinese firms of which Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corporation is one of the biggest with a staggering 87 joint ventures. The JVs not only include some of the biggest names in the auto component business (Bosch, Continental, Lear, Johnson Controls, GKN, ZF, TRW, Valeo, Visteon etc) but also major auto companies in addition to General
Motors (Volkswagen, Volvo Bus and Fiat Commercial Vehicles). SAIC’s scale is massive. Last year it sold 2.72 million units and the projection for 2010 is three million units, that’s twice the size of the entire Indian automobile market in 2009. SAIC started off in 1956 making tractors and its first JV was with VW in 1986 to make the Santana (which is still in production and dominates the taxi market) and now includes the previous generation Polo, Passat, Touran and Skoda Octavia. The second JV was signed with GM to make cars sporting the Buick badge (a premium badge in China) and now includes Chevrolet and Cadillac. SAIC was the first Chinese automobile company to venture abroad when in 2004 it picked up a bankrupt Rover’s assets in the UK and shipped tooling and the lines for the Rover 75
New Chevrolet Sail has been launched in sedan and hatchback variants
Interiors are well designed and well put together for an entry-level sedan
and 25 sedans to China. It now sells in China under the Roewe brand name (the Rover name is owned by Tata Motors via the JLR acquisition) with a slight (and very Chinese) face-lift. In a strange twist, another Chinese company, Nanjing, bought rights to the MG brand to sell its own version of the Rover badged MG7. In 2007 SAIC bought out the ailing Nanjing and now sells both Roewe and MG cars. The group also owns Rover’s old Longbridge factory and has an R&D facility in the UK. Also in 2004 SAIC picked up a 51 per cent stake in South Korea’s bankrupt SsangYong Motor Company but that didn’t work out and the company was put into receivership with Mahindra now in the race to acquire it. SAIC still has a South Korean toehold via a 9 per cent stake in GM-DAT (erstwhile
Daewoo). Hugely ambitious, SAIC was also in talks with Ford to buy Volvo though that finally went to one of the newer Chinese companies, Geely. And last year via a holding company based in Hong Kong SAIC picked up half of GM India’s operations and launched its ‘Go India’ campaign.
Chevrolet Sail SAIC-GM makes some of the most popular vehicles in China and in the PATAC technical centre in Shanghai they have an enormous and very competent R&D setup. Primarily a design studio they’ve done work for markets all over the world with their latest effort being the interior of the Buick La Crosse that will soon go on sale in North America and China. But the car they’re most proud of is the Chevrolet Sail that is the first ground-up new
car to be developed at PATAC and designed for the specific requirements of the Chinese market (which isn’t too different from India). Unveiled at the recently concluded Beijing auto show it is the first car by a joint venture company to take on local Chinese brands on price while offering levels of style and finish not seen on domestic cars. The Sail is a development of the old Opel Corsa platform but thoroughly re-engineered to liberate more space, have better crash safety, roomier interiors and is actually a rather stylish car. Available in both hatchback and sedan body styles it has the bold Chevy face we’ve grown accustomed to in the Cruze and Beat with neat clean lines and minimal fussiness. It also has stylish and very well put together interiors while space in both the hatch and sedan are claimed to be very good. JUL 2010 overdrive
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B en t l ey Mulsanne
Instant classic The Mulsanne is the first big Bentley in 80 years, the first to be designed, engineered and hand-built at Crewe Words Sirish Chandran
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Firecracker
HM-Mitsubishi finally brings the legendary Lancer Evolution to India. We get inside the Evo X - and go wild! Words Sirish Chandran Photography Gaurav S Thombre
S
ome drivers, they say, are born with duck’s feet. Talented beyond belief but their driving skills are often masked by shoe-string budgets and plain old shitboxes. Until, that is, the clouds bucket down. Rain is the great equaliser; you might be 50 horsepower and 10 million dollars short but that doesn’t matter in the wet. On a soaking and slippery track what matters is how sensitive the driver’s bum is and how delicately he can balance the car at the limit of adhesion lap after soaking lap to the utter jaw-slacking attention of onlookers. Monaco, 1984. Senna’s debut year, first time at Monaco, and he reeled Prost in at the rate of four seconds a lap and passed him only to have the race red-flagged for being horrendously wet. Didn’t matter that Senna was in a lowly Toleman and Prost was on pole in a McLaren. Michael Schumacher. He won his first race at Spa in the wet in a Benetton that wasn’t the quickest car and on a circuit that’s notoriously difficult to drive in the wet. But like Senna, Schumi too had duck’s feet.
Location Courtsey Kari Motor Speedway, Coimbatore.
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Evo-lite
Breathless after the Evo X but can’t afford one? The ninthgeneration Lancer could be your passport to rally paradise Words & Photography Sirish Chandran
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itsubishi’s heritage might be all about Evolutions, mighty turbo-charged four-wheel-drive rally cars flying sideways through the forests, but it’s the bread and butter Lancers that bring home the dough. And with HM-Mitsubishi all poised to launch the Evo X in India the obvious next step would be to bring in the ninth-generation Lancer to replace the ageing and slowselling Cedia and garner respectable volumes in the burgeoning D-segment. After all the hype that is bound to accompany the Evo X’s Indian launch will definitely have a rub-off effect on the more humble variants of the Lancer, sprinkle some gold dust, and that will do wonders for resuscitating the brand and boosting its image. Launched in 2007 the ninth-generation Lancer was Mitsubishi’s first new sedan in seven years (after the Cedia) and the first to wear the ‘jet fighter’ grille that’s now become a family signature (also seen on the recently face-lifted Outlander). It replaced the ‘Mount Fuji’ grille that was a signature feature since 2001 and transforms the Lancer from ho-hum to oh wow. It also narrows the gulf that previously existed between the Lancer and Evo variants and ce-
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C om pa ro
Wag onR vs Be at vs F i g o
Three’s a crowd Choosing a small car can get quite hectic, especially when you’re on a budget Words Vijayendra Vikram Photography Gaurav S Thombre
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W
hen we were kids, we’d get 10 bucks once a week for ice cream. With just one ice cream parlour in our small town, this was one big weekly affair for my friends and I. Restricted by the budget, we had a tough time choosing between mango, strawberry, black currant and what not. The more expensive Cornettos and Sundaes remained the forbidden fruit (unless our parents were feeling more generous). Small car buyers go through pretty much the same experience. It’s raining small cars and there are more options than on a Baskin Robbins menu, the buyer being more confused than spoilt for choice. Just like we wanted Sundaes, people want a big car in their porch but not many can stretch their budgets.
It isn’t just space for four and a cheap price tag that the smart small car buyers want. They also want it loaded to rival an S-Class. The latest in the arena is Maruti’s WagonR. To offer more to the buyer, Maruti rolled out a completely new car that is bigger, better and feature packed with a bit of style. But the exercise has rendered the WagonR considerably more expensive and it enters the domain where we’ve already crowned the Chevrolet Beat. The Chevy is an amazing looking car and the killer pricing for the fully loaded variant means half its battle was already won. Add funky interiors, a decent engine and good dynamics, and the Beat emerged unbeatable. The one significant launch since has been the Ford Figo and it’s pretty good value-for-money. Though typically a Ford lookswise, it
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T e st
bmw 5 gt
Tourmeister
BMW’s 5 Series Gran Turismo adds a new dimension to 4-wheeled touring Words Bertrand D’souza Photography Gaurav S Thombre
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t’s the choices we make that define us. We could choose to be right or wrong, strong or weak, smart or daft. But in the end the choice is ours. Take for instance a person with superpowers. He/she can choose to be good or evil, in which case they either become a superhero or a super villain. Or take for instance someone like Anand Vishwanathan. With his mental capacity Anand could choose to become perhaps a nuclear physicist or even attain a Nobel. But he chose to become the world’s greatest chess player because he could. What we choose however is not what I am getting at. What is important to realise is that there are always choices. A fact BMW realises and has addressed by introducing a range of vehicles for purposes we never thought existed. Like the X1, a compact crossover SUV based on the 3 Series platform which will come to Indian shores shortly. Or the X6, a gigantic crossover sports activity
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vehicle that itself is unsure of whether it is a sports coupe or a SUV. It certainly handles like a sports coupe and is good enough off road to arrive at your farmhouse in style. And now globally you can nearly buy a BMW in series from 1-7, in X (all-wheel drive) or S (rear-wheel drive) configuration. Sure enough there will also be a 2 and a 4 Series in the future as well. And that gets me to the 5 Series Gran Turismo, a car that at time of launch seemed to have no intent at all. Until it was launched and suddenly people realised they could choose to have one and choose to do a lot more with it. And now, that choice has been extended to the Indian consumer.
PLATFORM The 5 Series Gran Turismo also known as the F07 platform. Never in BMW’s history have they had a platform quite like it. The F07 is a derivative of the F10 platform which forms the base of the 5 Series. Yet the Gran Turismo
ROAD TEST
905
OD Rating Price Rs 64.00 Lakh
+ Space and luxury + Performance + Efficiency design - Exterior - Quirky boot
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vs
FZ 16
vs
G S 1 50R
vs
Hunk
vs
Pu lsa r 1 5 0 DTS - i
vs
RTR 160
Mild animals The Honda CB Unicorn Dazzler shakes up the 150cc segment. Or does it? Words Shubhabrata Marmar Photography Gaurav S Thombre
T
he Indian 150cc motorcycle is stuck in time. Just look at how the pace of upgrades has slackened since Yamaha last created ripples with the R15, and more to our purpose for this story, the FZ. Since then, neither Yamaha themselves, nor any other manufacturer in the segment has launched anything significant in the segment. By significant I don’t obviously mean the growing sales curves, but the pace of innovation and product differentiation. When Honda launched the new Dazzler, we thought it was time to take a long look at what your options in the 150cc segment really are. We did discover that the 150cc segment is slowly being cleaved into parts, one where the motorcycles supply the essential needs of the commuter - and this they do rather well - but refrain from going any further in terms of role or character. And the others which can commute, do commute, but appeal to us as products offering a sportier nature, even if the actual engine performance is roughly the same.
To compare the new Honda CB Unicorn Dazzler, we roped in all the important 150s of the market save for the new Bajaj Discover you’ll see why next issue. Our current favourite has been the Yamaha FZ series and the original FZ16 is here to represent that family. The super sweet commuter, the Suzuki GS150R is here and the Hero Honda Hunk aims for that same spot but with its rather extroverted styling. As is the TVS Apache RTR 160, perhaps the sportiest motorcycle in the segment in ergonomics and chassis geometry. And finally, there’s the segment leader, the Bajaj Pulsar 150.
Styling and design The FZ and the Dazzler are clearly the most dramatic looking of the lot. The new Honda is inspired by their CB1000R and it takes some of the cues to almost manga-like exaggeration, especially the twin ‘sabre-tooths’ that extend down from the tank. They serve little functional purpose but they do look distinctive. They also draw your JUL 2010 overdrive
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C om pa ro
P olo 1 . 2 T D I
vs
i 20 1 .4 C R D i
vs
R itz D D iS
Oil filter
The most requested story in recent OVERDRIVE history, the premium diesel hatchback comparo
Words Shubhabrata Marmar Photography Gaurav S Thombre
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I
’ve not, ever, driven the Volkswagen Polo diesel. I exclaimed loudly when we realised that our mailboxes, twitter direct messages and facebook messages were clamouring for the definitive Polo vs i20 diesel hatch comparison. You lot didn’t actually mention the Ritz, but that tall boy from Maruti Suzuki has been our favourite diesel hatchback for some time, so soon after I’d snagged the story, I added it to the test. The premise is simple. The Ritz is our favourite at this point. Hyundai has updated the i20 with a new six-speed manual and it remains the most powerful diesel hatchback at this price point. And the Volkswagen Polo is brand new. Comparison test time!
Styling and design When the Polo isn’t honking at Rhinos, stealing and running carefully ostrich eggs or provoking bovine chicanes, it’s also a good looking hatchback. The German’s decision to keep the lines taut and simple give the Polo a rugged, but undeniably stylish look and we have to say the this silver is perhaps the worst colour for the car. Had this Polo been red, or even white, it would have popped out of the pics. Personally, I like the Polo’s clean, sharp lines and I like that impression of purposeful solidity that it exudes. From the cheeky tips on the lip spoiler to the neat looking tail gate, I think the Polo looks splendid, balancing a sense of aggression with a definite keep it simple sort of aura.
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Premium cut The RCZ sports coupe is the first of Peugeot’s ‘competitive premium’ range Words Ray Hutton
P
eugeot is celebrating its bi-centennial this summer. Those who know something of the history of the motor car might find that a bit odd: although there is some dispute about who built the first car, it certainly wasn’t 200 years ago. Peugeot started out in France in 1810 making tools and pepper mills but was among the motoring pioneers, producing its first car in 1891. Although it was big in racing in the early days, for most of its history Peugeot has offered staid, solid cars for conservative customers. In France, Renault and Citroen catered for the average man in the street while Peugeot produced the cars for the bank manager, factory owner or local official. But in the 1980s, all that changed: Peugeot got hip. It won the World Rally Championship with the fabulous 205 Turbo 16, which made the roadgoing 205 GTI the must-have hot hatchback around Europe. Then it entered endurance racing and twice won the Le Mans 24 Hour race. Sales volumes increased and more and more was shared with Citroen, which Peugeot had taken over in 1974, and Chrysler Europe which it acquired five years later. Peugeot became Europe’s largest car producer at that time, competing directly with Renault, Fiat, Volkswagen, Ford and Opel. What had been a near-premium brand, compa-
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A prilia s h i v e r & d orsod uro 75 0 facto ry
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Twice as Nice On Route Napoleon near Nice with Aprilia’s revamped Shiver and brand new Dorsoduro 750 Factory Words Harriet Ridley
I
’m ecstatic to hear the launch of Aprilia’s 2010 middleweights was happening in the south of France. We’re riding the Route Napoleon - one of the best routes out of a bunch of amazing routes that surround Nice. The section begins in Grasse and ventures higher into the Alps to Castellane. But we’re not getting that far. The dream route is cut in half; we’ve a lot to cram in to one action-packed day. We’re taking in a giant loop, the first part comprising the fast sweepers that lead up to the lunch stop, the Chateau de Taulane hotel that’s sandwiched between the Gorge du Verdon and Cote D’Azur. The return route takes in the tighter twisties that wind down the Alps. Both are flanked by spectacular cliff faces and sheer drops - not the place to be getting it wrong! I’m not on a sports bike this time. Instead, I’m riding Aprilia’s revamped Shiver 750 on the first section of the ride, the faster route, which Aprilia says is right up the Shiver’s street. This leaves the tighter route back to the brand new Dorsoduro 750 Factory. So I jump on the Shiver and quickly find myself back in motorcycle heaven riding the sinuous roads that lead into Grasse, where we pick up the Route Napoleon. As I carve up the corners I’m happy with my lot. Over the decade I’ve evolved as a motorcyclist; I’m no longer one-track minded when it comes to my choice of bike. The naked bike category the Shiver belongs to has been the best selling in France forever, and it’s obvious why the French are deJUL 2010 overdrive
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motorsport F1 NEWS MOTOGP WRC INDIAN
Cup of cheer Volkswagen sets Polo Cup India Series rolling Words Abhay Verma Photography Volkswagen India
Sailesh Bolisetti, a promising young driver from Vishakhapatnam took the chequered flag in both the races
V
olkswagen India kicked off the inaugural Polo Cup India Series 2010 with a street race in Pune. Pune once was a hub of motorsport activity but there has been a decline in motorsport events in the city over the past few years. Given the fact that Volkswagen
India has its production facility at Chakan on the outskirts of Pune, the company decided to field the inaugural races in Pune. The enthusiasm of the Pune crowds who have been deprived of racing spectacles for some time, was overwhelming, people cheering the drivers in all the races. The races were held around a specially created street circuit in-
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h o nda jaz z wrap up
Last waltz
The Jazz’s sweet music has played its last note
Total Mileage 16,495km Date acquired Sep ’09 THIS MONTH: MilEage 2846km Fuel 214.88 litres eFFICIENCY 12.7kmpl
In the last ten months the Honda Jazz has put over 15,000km under those Michelins
U
P 16 W 9865 is no longer with us. I don’t mean it crashed into oblivion, merely that its stint with the OVERDRIVE fleet has come to an end. The Jazz came to us in the month of Septmber 2009 and ever since it has had an eventful season with us. It has also travelled extensively with us, first on our Jazz Yatra and then more recently when I drove it to Mangalore.
In the last ten months she has put over 15,000km under those Michelins, which only recently have begun squealing in protest when driven hard. Yet those tyres complement the overall package tremendously with no loss in grip, both in dry or as I have seen recently, in the wet. The Jazz has received more than its fair share of complements, yet sadly Honda has been unable to move too many cars out of
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Gear & Gadgets To p - n o t c h t o y s f o r t h e m o s t d i s c r i m i n at i n g t a s t e s
drool tools Possibly the best looking laptops ever.
The Asus VX6 and VX7 are the new Lamborghini inspired laptops. The case features the minimised version of the Gallardo’s tail. Inside it features an Atom 525 dual-core processor and a Bang and Olufsen sound system. Typical Lamborghini, only smaller. Price: TBA campuslife.asus.com/news/index/65
Ferrari cockpit
Thrustmaster has introduced a new racing wheel designed like an Ferrari F-430 cockpit in the minutest detail. Designed for PC and PlayStation3, this foldable uber expensive gaming accessory is for well-heeled hardcore racing fans.
Price: Rs 11,000 (estimated) thrustmaster.com
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MatrixOne
MatrixOne is launching a whole range of Holts & Simoniz Premium Car Care products which range from innovative ones like Simoniz Car Disinfectant which kills bacteria, Holts Tyre Welds which can repair punctures in seven minutes to regular products like windscreen cleaner, wash and wax and leather care products
Price: Rs 199 onwards www.matrixone.co.in
Ferrari Acer
Liquid E Acer’s flagship touch screen model now gets a Ferrari makeover. Besides the Rosso Corsa colour, it gets the prancing horse badge in the back surrounded by carbon fibre trim. The processor is Google’s Android 2.1 and it even features a similarly trimmed bluetooth earpiece.
Price: TBA mobile.acer.com/phones/liquidferrari/
iPhone 4
Chiffre Rouge T01
Price: Rs 33,000 (approx US price)
Price: Rs 3,50,000 approx
The new iPhone boasts a super hi-res screen, a 6-axis gyroscope, 5MP camera with LED flash and 720p video recording in a super thin, super cool form factor. And the app store turns that glass brick into practically anything you want. apple.com
Dior’s new watch, the Chiffre Rouge T01, can display time in 12- and 24-hour formats with one index at the same time along with day and night reading across eight time zones. Only 100 pieces will be made, each costing as much as a small car. www.diorhorlogerie.com JUL 2010 overdrive
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