Overdrive Magazine August 2011 issue preview

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August 2011 Volume 13 Issue 12 ` 125

NEW FORD faces its biggest challenge!

Diesel takes on Verna, Vento & SX4 Petrol takes on City

driven AUDI Q3 BMW X1 challenger here in 2012

Triumph coming to India

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tested audi a6 Takes on 5 Series & E-Class

Chevy Beat diesel - efficient & cheap

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Toyota Etios Liva road tested

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August 2011 Volume 13 Issue 12 ` 125

COLLECTOR’S SPECIAL EDITION

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motorcyclenews L o g o n t o w w w. ov e r d r i v e . i n / n e w s

Triumph sets sights on India British bike maker Triumph announces Indian CEO to lead the brand into the Indian market soon

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riumph Motorcycles is on its way to India. The famous British marque will be entering the world’s second largest bike market in the near future, with Royal Enfield’s ex-Europe head, Ashish Joshi becoming the Managing Director for Triumph India. And what a treat awaits!

While all manufacturers have been struggling with the recession, sales of Triumph motorcycles have skyrocketed thanks to a production push at the Hinckley factory. Triumph builds unique motorcycles, original in their looks and

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engineering with great performance, both handling and engine wise. With plenty of models to look at, let’s start with one of its most celebrated that harks back to Triumph’s past – the Bonneville.

Recently Triumph celebrated the 50th anniversary of the model - The original 650cc T120 model was first produced in 1959, although the modern-day Bonneville takes its styling cues from the popular 1969 classic. Fortunately though, and despite the fact that in its day the Bonneville was one of the fastest and best handling bikes, today’s Bonnie owes little of its technology to the original bike. This means

all the nostalgic looks of the old bike, but with modern performance.

The 1950s was a golden decade for British motorcycling. British streets and race courses were dominated by BSA, Ariel, AJS, Norton, Matchless, Velocette as well as Triumph. The Bonneville was named after the Bonneville Salt Flats in the US, where Johnny Allen performed his high-speed runs in his ‘Texas Cigar’ streamliner – a methanol-fuelled motorcycle with a streamlined body shell and a 650cc twin-cylinder Triumph engine. He clocked 342kmph in timed runs, although the FIM (Fédération Internationale de

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Eight to the dozen We drive the ultimate Audi Words Rishaad Mody Photography Gaurav S Thombre

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o drive or not to drive? With the A8 W12 the question is as moot as Hamlet wondering if he should be or not be. Previous tests indicate the A8 is a gem of a car. The interiors are a decadent orgy of technology and you will recall that the A8 is a master at blending sportiness with cosseting luxury. You’ll also know that whether it’s the 4.2 FSI V8 engine or the 3.0 TDI engine under the hood the A8 is plenty quick. The new W12 though is much faster, period.

As always, subtlety is Audi’s approach to

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the W12 exterior. Blink and you will certainly miss it or rather mistake it for a lowlier 4.2FSI or 3.0TDI. The few fresh bits include a flashier front grille with 8 horizontal chrome slats, twin trapezoidal tailpipes, fifteen spoke 19 inch wheels and W12 badges on the grille and boot. The changes gel well with the cars lines, which I should mention do a great job of masking the A8’s gargantuan proportions.

Now with the frivolities out of the way let’s get down to the meat of the matter - the engine. Nestled up front is the Volkswagen Group’s flag ship motor – the 6.3-litre FSI

W12 engine. A revision on the old 6.0-litre W12, this engine gets an extra 301cc taking capacity up to 6299 and kicks out an additional 50PS of power over the old engine for a total of 500PS. Torque stands at 625Nm developed at 3250rpm. Rivals like the BMW 760Li, Mercedes S63AMG and even the Porsche Panamera make similar numbers but with the help of turbochargers and a naturally aspirated engine like this has a more linear and responsive feel throughout the rev range.

The history of the W12 engine makes for a

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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/

Renault unveils smart new Koleos Renault reveals the face of India-bound SUV, clarifies India model launch plans

• New Koleos arrives end-2011 • 106PS 1.5-litre-diesel from Fluence to power the SUV

• Price around ` 18 lakh • Micra-based hatch and sedan, refreshed Duster coming 2012

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enault for the longest time stayed away from the SUV game while its partner Nissan, has always had a wide range of SUVs. When Renault did enter the game, it was with the Koleos which was based on the Nissan XTrail platform. The car was designed by Renault but was developed by Nissan’s SUV development teams. The Koleos debuted at the Paris Show in 2006 and we drove it in the April 2011 issue, coming back impressed with the package but far from

appreciating its styling. That has been addressed with this comprehensive refresh which will make a world of difference when the SUV arrives in India. It will be the second product in the portfolio, with assembly operations set to start at Renault-Nissan’s Chennai facility soon.

Renault say the updated Koleos, amongst other things, is significantly more environmentally friendly than the outgoing model. The Koleos receives a slew of changes inside and out, and obviously, the visual changes are the most obvious.

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Oil change The Chevrolet Beat with the 1.0-litre diesel has arrived Words Shubhabrata Marmar Photography Gaurav S Thombre

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m I fated to attend all the Beat launches? Not that I’m complaining, since at the very least I get to listen to the usually excellent band Groove Adda I grooved to at the petrol launch and listened to again this time around.

Then there is the car itself. At launch, the Chevrolet Beat presented itself as a cheerful, compact city car that wrapped up a lot of promise in a cheerful, bold styling package.

What GMI announced then was that once their engine facility in Talegaon near Pune was up and running, it would start producing an India-specific diesel engine for the Beat, a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder unit.

Well, the engine and the car bearing it are here. The engine is called the XSDE Smartech in usual manufacturer marketing speak and is loaded with the usual frugality and emissions technologies. It is a wee common-rail diesel that claims the highest specific outputs in its class on both torque and power. Just so you know, this engine is based on the SDE four-cylinder engine that won awards in 2005 - and is another name for the Fiat JTD engine, which is an excellent engine, obviously.

And if you remember, GM was part of the development of this engine in partnership with Fiat over ten years ago. In the current form, the engine development is being credited to GM Powertrain Europe as well as GM’s Indian technology centre. In the process of crafting this Beat, GM have created their first diesel-powered hatchback in history and launched India’s smallest (and consequently least powerful) common-rail diesel passenger car motor.

In full and final form, the car produces 58.5PS at 4000 rpm and 150Nm at 1750 rpm, decent numbers. Claimed economy is 24 kmpl (ARAI), which is excellent, because it brings up the realistic prospect of something like 15-16kmpl in actual city driving.

On the road, the whole package is pretty focused. On economy and on city driving.

Driving alone below 3000rpm, engine noise in the cabin is low and the torque available on demand is good, which means driving is fairly gearshift-free and easy on the throttle foot as well as on the driver attached to it. On the other hand, our test car loaded with four respectably sized gents and their belongings felt a bit on the slow side when trying to overtake other vehicles doing 70-80kmph.

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Storm in a C-Cup The new Ford Fiesta provokes a round of C-segment squabbling.

Words Shubhabrata Marmar Photography Gaurav S Thombre

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ack in the day when car launches were fewer, we all looked forward to the day when the pace of launches would be upped and we would be able to get newer and better cars on practically a daily basis. Turns out, that idea sounds way better as a wistful moan over a beer with friends than in real life. In reality, that is a lot of work.

Someone has to go out and drive all of this blossoming excellence, test them, pick out their strengths and weaknesses and figure out if they are a good time or not.

Does that sound like I am complaining? Hell no! You see testing in essence is a guarantee that you will be freed from the confines of your desk and then shortly be seen queued up at a petrol station, filling up a plethora of cars - diesels in this case - and heading out for the highway. And what are we filling up and driving today? A whole bunch of diesel C-segmenters, the current favourite Volkswagen Vento is here, as is the new, appealing and feature-loaded Hyundai Verna and brawling with them is the chubby Ford Fiesta.

As is now considered the norm with comparos like these, I will spare you the gritty detail on the Vento and Verna, cars you are already familiar with, but focus sharply on the Fiesta since this is the new Ford’s first exhaustive test in the magazine.

Styling & design It’s now normal for us to skirt the contentious issue of design by putting likes and dislikes down to personal choice. But in the Fiesta’s case, I have no such choice. This is a true representation of Ford’s Kinetic Design family theme, a large trapezoidal grille beneath the Blue Oval flanked by “Foxy Eyes” headlamps and chrome-bezelled fog lamps set into the middle of the lower air dam surfacing. Sharply defined wheel arches neatly interrupt a rising shoulder line that begins under Foxy but only gains serious strength and definition on the driv-

ers door, tapering to a finish just before the tail lamps. That along with the rising, tapering greenhouse and the crease at the bottom of the doors is supposed to give the car a wedge-shaped profile visually, the usual way to create a dynamic design. Similar musculature can be spotted in the bonnet definition, the tiny lip spoiler and the neatly notchback-style rear roofilne.

But let’s get this straight. It will be a snowy day on the summer solstice in Delhi before I can start calling the Ford Fiesta good looking. The car looks a little like Ben Johnson after he stopped training for his explosive 100m runs, a little too filled out from most angles.

Which shouldn’t automatically turn the Fiesta into a Biggest Loser contestant - just look at how the first drive reviews all said it is a good looking car. But unfortunately, its nearest rivals here are nearly fatfree, despite subscribing to dramatically different diet plans. The Verna features Hyundai’s excellent new ‘fluidic’ form, allowing sharp creases, dramatic, taut body panels, sharply articulated head lamps and features to create an appealing, sharp looking design - something no one would have expected from this Korean auto major as recently as last year. On the other hand, Volkswagen almost literally shaved off all the fat and excess detail on their recent cars and the Vento has turned out to be a restrained, understated, straight-lined looker which I think looks good today and has a design that will substantially refuse to age quickly and look old.

When you bring the Fiesta in and park up next to the other two, it begins to look decidedly awkward, especially from the rear. It’s gauche country cousin territory, where the tall and narrow proportions, an overtly generous boot design and the arched tops of the tail lamps conspire to make the Fiesta look startled and disproportionate.

But it may not be all doom and gloom because our editor did opine after some chin stroking that the Ford looked youthful. Then again, this is the man who wears bright orange leathers. To be fair, he calls AUG 2011 overdrive

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Fiesta in the City Does the Fiesta best the best C-segment car in the country today?

Words Sirish Chandran Photography Gaurav S Thombre

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onda dropping prices on it’s bread and butter City is the clearest indication yet - as if any were needed - of the Japanese major feeling the heat in a segment they’ve called their own ever since they made their India foray over a decade ago. The C-segment was Honda’s turf, the C-segment was defined by the City, and others were left to fight over scarps.

Not any more.

Rising petrol prices have broken the resolutely petrol-only City’s back and seriously good competition in the form of the Vento and Verna have given customers the choice they lacked in previous years.

And now there’s the Fiesta which can’t help but dent the City’s fenders primarily because it has both petrol and diesel powerplants.

Whether it will set sales charts on fire is for you customers to decide,

what we’re interested in is finally, after many attempts, have Ford made a better car that the City?

They’ve made a striking looking car, that’s for sure, and will find favor with the young crowd. But I fear they’ve probably overdone the sporty thing - for most buyers in this segment this will be way over the top. I don’t believe I’m saying this but even I find the Fiesta overdone and prefer the City’s edgy but properly grown up and sophisticated styling. The Honda also has far better proportions unlike the Ford’s bulbous and poorly resolved rear quarters, a clear pointer to its hatchback origins. Styling though depends on individual taste and I leave you to make up your mind.

As you will on the Fiesta’s interiors which again is extremely sporty accentuated by the centre console jutting out, the sporty steering wheel and the fabulously supportive front seats. Great for

Rakish ‘arrow-shot’ design of City works well from all angles. Fiesta is overtly sporty and dynamic from the front but runs out of ideas towards the back AUG 2011 overdrive

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Q-ing up Audi wants a slice of the X1’s lucrative pie Words Sirish Chandran

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udi have a problem and deep down they know it. When it’s late, after one too many drinks and when no one’s looking they might even grudgingly nod in agreement: all their cars look too similar. Yet, while Audi’s SUVs have the very same problem it actually is not a problem. Audi have marketed, positioned and made the Q7 so deliciously desirable that everybody wants one. Yet not everybody can afford one so they buy Q5s. And now those who can’t afford a Q5 have something very compelling to look forward to. Say hello to the grandson of the Q7, son of the Q5 and the X1’s biggest nightmare – the Q3.

Looks good doesn’t it?

The Q7/Q5 lineage clearly shows through in the overall form and sweep of the lines but the Q3 has been thoroughly updated with Audi’s latest style book. Like on the new A6 the trademark inverted-trapezoid grille now becomes a hexagon courtesy the chamfered top edges and it’s a line that is reflected in the slash cut edge of the headlamps that flank the grille. It gives an edginess to the nose that its elder Q siblings don’t have. This is further accentuated by the new arrangement of de rigueur LED daytime running lamps that use ‘light scatter’ technology to present a full and contiguous beam instead of individual LEDs.

The profile and particularly the wraparound tailgate presents a strong Q-family line but the tailgate gets a steeply raked profile to give the Q3 a younger and more dynamic, even fastback-ish rear end. Allied to the blackplastic cladding that runs along its length, the Q3 presents a properly SUV-like stance and style which will be its biggest trump card.

As will the interiors.

Sure this isn’t a ` 50 lakh Q7 or a ` 40 lakh Q5 so you can’t really expect the same material quality inside. But that said this is the best sub ` 30 lakh cabin around and if you are looking for things that have been stripped out or skimped on you will not find it here.

The general layout follows familiar Audi themes but there has been a bit of mix-andmatch (like air-con controls from the A3/TT) and unique bits like the newly designed steering wheel which will now find its way to the rest of the Q range and the infotainment setup with a screen that pops up from the top of the dash. The good thing about this is that the lower variants, which won’t get the screen and MMI+, will not have a blank gaping hole in the dash. Survey the cabin closely and you will find some hard plastics, the first time I’ve come across them in an Audi, but considering the expected sticker price I have no complaints.

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Massive attack We ride BMW’s largest selling motorcycle, the R1200GS in India

Words Shubhabrata Marmar Photography Gaurav S Thombre

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will always remember the first and second times I saw the BMW R1200GS. The first time round, it was a mountain of a motorcycle, sticking out like a hulking bully over a sea of mopeds parked in a Barcelona parking lot. I knew GS’ were big, but in the flesh I thought the bike’s size was three shades of outrageous and two more of nuts.

The second time I saw one was the day after the Mumbai floods, when my wife, a friend and I were making a valiant attempt to get home. Barred by concerned citizens from going any further in Bandra (mid-Mumbai posh suburb), I was planning a u-turn when I heard the quiet thrum of a big twin. And there was this chap on a R1200GS Adventure, wearing full BMW enduro kit who rolled up to the chaps and asked what the commotion was about. “Waist-deep water ahead!”, they told him. BMW-man smiled, gave them a thumbs-up and thrummed off into the distance, positively aglow from the challenge that lay ahead. Before we completed that u-turn, I already knew he would definitely get home, probably in minutes, although I would have to wait another day.

The GS has been around for over thirty years now. The Gelände/Straße was born in a different world. At the end of the 70s, the Japanese domination of the motorcycle world was in full swing. The Japs had managed to convince the world that motorcycles required specialisation and that general purpose bikes just didn’t work. The Paris-Dakar was born around this heady time as well.

And amidst the churn, two engineers and an off-road enthusiast from BMW Motorrad (the motorcycle company) were messing around with a R80 engine and an endurostyle frame for the sake of weekend entertainment.

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Among the big name figures in GS history was Laszlo Peres, a BMW motorcycle test engineer who rolled out his GS 800 prototype in 1977. The prototype would become the base for later models. His purpose-built bike was accompanied by other prototypes based on the bike as well, all of which showed that the boxer could actually go a few rounds offroad rather handily. A section of the customers of these prototypes (a few were ‘secretly’ built), the story goes, started asking for better road manners and higher on-road speed capabilities, which eventually led to the GS as we know it, or as it was called then, the G/S. In 1979, a new management team re-focussed on the motorcycle business, which had been losing sales. Deciding to stick with what they know rather than spread out model lines and engineering like the Japanese, BMW needed the world to know that the boxer engine was awesome. And the K-series three and four-cylinder engines were still at least three-four years distant at this point, though that project was actually underway at the time. Then Laszlo entered a registration-approved 800cc boxer weighing just 124kg in the German over-750cc class off-road competition, a class started in 1978, just one year ago. Peres’ second place, and the following year a title, followed by a stack of gold medals at the International Six Days Trials produced the impetus needed for the G/S to go into production.

Shortly thereafter, the R80G/S would debut featuring the single-sided swing arm that was as much the talk of the town as was an off-road capable 800cc on-road touring enduro motorcycle thingy. It was a mishmash of sorts, but one that people quickly realised worked in the real world and sales took off right from the 1980 launch. The string of victories that would come at the

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The Etios Liva is finally here, is it the best hatchback yet?

Words Halley Prabhakar Photography Gaurav S Thombre

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have always loved hatchbacks and when I think of Toyota hatchbacks only two cars come to my mind, the legendary 1986 Trueno Sprinter more popularly known in Japan as the AE86 ‘Hachi-Roku’, a rear wheel drive car still regarded as one of the best drift cars.

The second being the Corolla WRC from 1999, the car went on to give Toyota a WRC constructors title. However in our small car loving country, I was surprised that Toyota has not introduced a hatchback in it’s more than a decade of operations. Yes, finally a hatchback from Toyota that has been specially developed for India, it’s the Etios Liva.

Design & Styling All cars sold in India with a Toyota badge have been simple and practical designs.

None of them really stand out in the crowd;

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the Liva though begs to differ. Targeted at the younger audience, the Liva is definitely attractive especially in the ‘Ultramarine Blue’ shade we are driving. The other colour options are the same as the Etios. The car is in fact is almost exactly the same as the Etios hatchback concept displayed two years ago at the Auto Expo.

Even though the car looks identical to the Etios sedan from up front to the B-Pillar, the rest of the car carries a completely different design approach. The shoulder line runs all the way to the sporty rear tail lamps giving it an edgy look when viewed from front three quarter. The curved tailgate and the chrome strip running across it remind you of the Etios sedan. The nose and grille are similar too but the top end VX variant gets a standard body kit that includes a front skirt giving it a tuner car feel. Side skirts, rear skirts and a rear spoiler complete the body

kit package. The 15-inch alloy wheels with 185 section rubber available in the VX variant along with the body kit does a great job in complimenting the sporty design.

The short rear overhang looks proportionate when compared to the front and it seems like the car was designed to look better as a hatchback than as a sedan. Overall the car looks very Japanese in nature and the choice of colours can make a lot of difference to the looks. Like the blue shade, Toyota should offer more such shades to go with the sporty and fun theme. Toyota is not wrong when they say that the Liva was designed to look like a happy face.

Step inside the car and the interiors look familiar - they are a straight lift from the Etios. The centre instrument console, vertically mounted air con vents and the cooled glove box are all the same. The VX variant even gets the same red and black interior

scheme and the flat bottom steering wheel seen previously in the Etios. These sporty details, thankfully, suit the Liva more than the Etios.

However the Liva impresses in terms of interior space. Despite the wheelbase being shortened by 90mm, the rear knee room is similar to the longer wheelbase Etios, maximum front legroom is slightly lower while minimum legroom is identical. Rear headroom is better as the roofline doesn’t slope down as much while the rear shoulder room is on par with the Etios. Boot space doesn’t take a hit either and is generous as well. The Liva is a nice cabin to be in and feels airy and comfortable. The almost flat floor and even flatter rear seat comfortably allows three abreast at the rear making the Liva one of the most spacious hatchbacks available in the country and is definitely one of its strong points.

Engine and Performance The Liva features a new 1197cc, DOHC petrol engine designated 3NR-FE which has been designed specifically keeping India in mind.

This helps the engine benefit from the excise benefits as it is less than 1.2 litres. The engine produces a healthy 80PS at 5600rpm and 104Nm of maximum torque at 3100rpm. The all new engine shares its architecture with the Etios’ 1.5 litre unit. The engine also retains all four cylinders with four valves per cylinder.

The downsizing results in the Liva’s engine loosing the zing and zest of the Etios sedan’s 1.5 nor does it feel as powerful as the Swift and i20. There is an evident lack of bottom end grunt and one needs to drop in to the lower gears to extract all the power.

The funny thing though is that all this is deceptive because the Liva has one big advantage and that is weight.

It is the lightest car in its segment with the base variant weighing less than 900 kilos. The VX variant weighs in at 920kg.

This weight advantage translates to a class leading power to weight ratio of 87PS/ton and though we didn’t really feel the Liva being very quick the Vbox threw up a 13.96second time for the 0-100kmph sprint.

The quarter mile is covered in 19.62 seconds and while this doesn’t make it the quickest hatch in its segment it isn’t much slower either and that is commendable. However the car runs out of steam in the higher gears (the ratios optimised for fuel efficiency rather than performance) and it struggles to cross 140kmph and we managed to achieve a top speed of 151kmph after being very patient.

The roll-on from 20 to 80kmph in third gear comes in at 16.13 seconds while 40kmph-100kmph in 4th gear and 5th gear comes in at 23 seconds and 37.66 seconds respectively.

Braking is sharp and the car comes to a halt from 100kmph to standstill in a good 3.44 seconds covering 45.04 metres in process.

The Etios sedan’s interiors find their way into the Liva and suit the hatch better than the sedan, giving it a sporty feel to match the car’s peppiness

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AUDI A6 3.0 T DI

A New Definition Audi’s new A6 is changing the rules of the game Words Bertrand D’souza Photography Gaurav S Thombre

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s much as I dislike doing this, I’ve stayed back in Pune after a day spent in meetings at the edit office and I’m not looking forward to spending the night in our guesthouse by myself. I anticipate the boring evening ahead of me, dinner is going to be a lonely affair and I add it to the list of many more similar evenings. I’m staying away from home to drive the new Audi A6 wondering if its truly going to be the game changer it promises to be. Sirish is trying to figure out how it stacks up against the competition and his drive through the western ghats which I accompanied him on was incredibly stunning in several aspects least of all the scenery. My role is to evaluate the A6 on its own merits and so rather than spend a dull evening by myself, I hit Pune town driving aimlessly looking for a nice meal, a sharp espresso and perhaps some company.

Now the A6 isn’t an all-new car as much as it is a reinterpretation of what was a fantastically engineered package with several new traits brightening its aura. India is familiar with the A6 and each has grown better than the one before it by considerable amounts of detail, though Audi would certainly wish the car was even more familiar in this market, hoping it would enjoy as much success as the 5 Series or the E-Class does. Now each new A6 while not always a herald of forthcoming technology has always been a showcase for the smoothest integration of all the technology Audi had developed to date. So these new traits we see in the A6 are derived from the recent design and engineering philosophies that is making Audi’s range of cars more desirable than ever before. The basic architecture of this car hasn’t changed much it still has all the traditional inputs such as the lightweight body, all wheel drivetrain called Quattro and the brilliant range of diesel and petrol engines.

What it adds to the car now are visually stirring cosmetic changes, smarter than ever before interiors, a new transmission offering more refinement and better efficiency and adaptive air suspension with drive select which lets you select between four drive modes.

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ROAD TEST

1050

OD Rating Price ` 50.00 lakh (est)

ex-showroom

Mumbai Fantastic diesel is + quickest and most efficient in class

Rich and luxuriously + detailed interiors equipment is - Optional going to be very expensive - Electromechanical steering feels desensitized

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Quick Six The German big three are back and this time it’s serious!

Words Sirish Chandran Photography Gaurav S Thombre

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hink Audi and a hulking great SUV rapidly fills your windscreen, LEDs glowering, that Parthenon of a grille threatening to chew your face off – such has been the enthusiastic acceptance and strong (Bollywood) endorsement of the Q7. Yet Audi might also be a victim of its own success. To most Audi starts and end with the Q7 and while that has done a world of good for the Q5 and virtually guarantees success of the forthcoming Q3 (see page 72) it has perhaps taken the sheen off the cars explaining the cold shoulder the A6 got from Indian buyers. Despite being rated highly (particularly in our track tests) and coming very close to the E-Class and 5 Series in our comparison

tests (though never besting them outright) the A6 never really brought home the bacon, and that’s despite being around for five years. It was in fact the first Audi to be locally assembled – bet you forgot that!

This time round things are different. Audi will never admit it but there has been a subtle yet very deliberate shift of the spotlight on the cars – the R8 supercar at the top of the range, the awesome RS5 sports car, the extremely sexy A7 and the all-new A8. And this has paved the way for this, the all-new, seventh-generation A6, the last of the A8A6-A4 triumvirate to be updated. Yet Mercedes-Benz and BMW haven’t exactly been hanging about with the E-Class and 5 Series…

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One chance Finally, we get to taste the 150PS Yamaha FZ1 sport-naked Words Abhay Verma Photography Ashok George

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he first time I saw an FZ1, I thought my god, someone’s gone and put four pipes on his FZ16. We were out testing the Hyosungs and someone was getting to grips with his new Yamaha FZ1 which had, then, also just been launched.

Unfortunately for the poor sod, in black the FZ1 looks exactly like an FZ16, albeit a heck of a lot faster, obviously. And believe me when I tell you, it is very nearly that kind of small as well.

Technically, the Yamaha FZ1 is a sport naked, which is sort of like a super-streetbike in the sense that it hangs the engine out in the open, but then offers extraordinary performance from that engine. Sport-nakeds, like streetbikes, make a lot more sense for our country than fully-faired sportsbikes. Their performance is often not that far off, but far more accessible to start with. Then they are easier to live with and cheaper to purchase as well. And today, Ducati, BMW, Honda and Yamaha, all offer a sport-naked in the range with Suzuki offering the Bandit roughly in the same price range. Yamaha India has been super-reluctant to loan CBU bikes to the media for stories in the recent past and we’ve

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had to wait for a chance to have a one-on-one with the FZ1. Well, today is that day.

When this generation of the FZ1 first came out, all was not well. While everyone understood how well the motorcycle had evolved from the roundly-appreciated previous generation, there were glitches in the fuel delivery that caused a lot of consternation, and I am sure, slow sales. Since then, the issues have been fixed and today, the FZ1 is considered one of the top sport-nakeds in the world.

The FZ1 is aggressive in design and that sense of brawn extends to every corner, every detail of the motorcycle. The arrow-shaped headlight, the amazingly muscular fuel tank, the strength of the exposed engine and the weird-awesome stubby end-can all scream an almost cartoonish type of aggression. In India, the FZ1 comes in black and white and as I’ve said the former makes the bike look tiny, so white is the better shade for standing out. The wheels, forks, engine, frame and end can are all black and the pearl white paint looks that much nicer because of it. In keeping with the sporty riding position and aggressive styling, the handlebar is flat and wide and the trapezoid-shaped mirrors are

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F e at u r e

sw i f t e p ilogue

Curtain Call A tribute to India’s most loved hatchback Words Rishaad Mody Photography Gaurav S Thombre

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even excruciatingly long months. That’s how long we waited for our Swift and boy was it worth the wait. When she finally arrived ours was the first champagne gold Swift ZXi in town. Attention was drawn to the Swift like fat kids are drawn to cake; we just couldn’t avoid it. For that first month my family owned the car we (well actually the car) were the talk of the town. Life couldn’t have been better.

In retrospect it’s quite easy to question the logic of a seven month waiting period for something that was essentially just another Maruti Suzuki hatchback. And it’s quite easy to ask that question in today’s scenario where the Swift is one of the main ingredients in the spicy curry that is Indian traffic. Back in 2005 though the Swift was the car to have. It was revolutionary in every sense of the word. First off was the styling that blew everyone’s socks off. The Swift was also the first Maruti to polarize opinions, the first Maruti to have a love it or hate it design.

No one had ever imagined a properly conservative company like Maruti Suzuki who’d been churning out inoffensive but dreary designs like the

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800 and Alto for decades could come up with such a striking design.

From the swept back headlights to the floating roof to the very chic and pert rear end every angle on the car grabbed attention. Whether you’re a fan or not, the Swift was a design classic.

It didn’t stop there. The Swift packed a goodie list that was unheard of in the small car segment. ABS with EBD, airbags and climate control were all part of the ZXi package. Fourteen inch alloys with proper 185/70 R14 tyres were standard on the ZXi model. Looking back, the Swift was the country’s first true super mini. Sure Hyundai had their Getz out by then but that car never really caught on with its plain Jane styling and standard levels of kit. The Swift had practically blown the competition straight into the weeds.

The good news kept coming. Maruti Suzuki didn’t just plonk in a standard 1000cc engine into the Swift like they would with any other small car. No they went the whole hog and shoe-horned the excellent G13B engine from the Esteem into the hatchback. The 1.3 litre fuel injected engine produced an excellent (for the time) 87PS. The result was

Top left: In 2005 the Swift was the greatest car we’d ever seen from Maruti. The Swift goes face to face against its first real rivals, and completely destroys them

Left: The Swift faces testing OVERDRIVE style.

Right: The diesel Swift meets its most obvious Multijet engine running rivals and promptly goes on to destroy them as well

a car that was excitingly quick and with handling prowess to match.

Maruti may have gambled with selling a small car with a large engine in a highly sensitive market where mileage was everything. But it paid off and how; the Swift set sales charts on fire and broke sales records by selling over three lakh units in just three years and nine months.

This was one of the few cars whose demand overwhelmed supply throughout its lifecycle.

Almost everyone has owned or driven the Swift at some point of time. The first thing that hits when you drive it is the perspective of being in a larger, more expensive car. There was none of that budget small car feel and the Swift cabin was a genuinely nice place to be.

So much so that you could easily overlook the cramped rear seats or the abysmal lack of luggage space. The climate control provided us endless entertainment and there were multiple arguments over the perfect temperature settings. It wasn’t just that, the little things like the doors locking after you cross 20kmph, or the height adjustable driver’s seat or just the knowledge that you had ABS, airbags and seat

belts with pretensioners keeping you safe made all the difference.

Like every Indian I grew up driving the Maruti 800. Graduating from that to the Maruti Zen wasn’t a huge jump. Moving from the Zen to the Swift, now that was quite an upgrade. Everything was just so much better. The engine was addictive, steering deliciously communicative and the brakes; oh the brakes! Crisp with excellent bite, they goaded you into driving faster and faster because you knew that you could brake harder and harder. Long drives were made at the drop of a hat. Some of our excuses bordered on the ridiculous like the times when we used to drive 3 hours to Goa for an authentic seafood lunch!

But that’s the thing about the Swift; it made driving so much more than just a chore.

Like anything that sounds too good to be true the Swift did have its drawbacks. While it has decent highway manners it’s not a car you’d want to take the family out for anything more than a weekend. With my family of four there were invariably bags on the back seat and in the front footwell on account of the tiny boot. Leg room at the rear for AUG 2011 overdrive

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Dr i v e

Maserat i MC St radal e

M C-ing a dream Experiencing the newest Maserati around the Shanghai International Circuit Words Abhay Verma Photography Magic Bus Creative

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here’s something about Italy.

The country has some of the most beautiful women on the planet, is known for its exotic food, and I do not need to tell you about the achingly beautiful Italian cars, right? I think every enthusiast dreams about getting behind the wheel and experiencing the beauty and the finesse of Italian cars. I got my chance when I was asked to go drive the latest Maserati, the MC Stradale. At the Shanghai International Circuit, no less.

This Italian sportscar name has a rich history behind it, some excellent cars but compared to the well-known brands, has a quieter, dignified sort of presence. And I was going to get introduced to it by their new flagship car. But first, a little history.

The Maserati story began way back in 1914, when the Maserati brothers established the brand in Bologna. But the first Maserati complete with the famous trident logo was born in 1926. It was called the Tipo 26, and

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won in its debut race in the same year. Maserati continued making successful race cars in the ensuing years, but the most memorable moment for Maserati perhaps was in 1957, when Juan Manuel Fangio won the F1 championship in a Maserati 250F. Following the World Championship win, Maserati started focusing on road cars, and motorsport activities were given lesser importance. The big boost for the brand came in the 1990s when Maserati was first bought over by Fiat in 1993, and then Ferrari in 1997. Ever since, Maserati has produced some really juicy cars that have returned the name to its former glory. Maserati also made a comeback in racing with its MC12 that was built on a modified Ferrari Enzo engine and chassis.

Maserati’s current line-up includes the fifth-generation Quattroporte – a four-door sedan, the Gran Cabrio – one of the bestlooking convertibles in the world and the Gran Turismo – the grand tourer. But the hottest Maserati’s is their latest – the MC

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T r av e l o g u e

R esort h op p ing

Southern comfort We visit some luxury resorts in the luxurious Corolla Words & Photography Ashok George

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Clockwise from top: On our way into the Orange County resort on day 1. The welcoming party.

Bicycle rides are one of the many activities at the resort. Coorg is famous for wild elephants, except we didn’t find any. Transport within the resort is by golf cart

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hat to do you say when your boss asks you to drive a luxury car to some even more luxurious resorts? I don’t know about you but “No thank you, I would rather stay right here and come to office every day” is not among my list of responses. In fact as we speak I’m hatching my next big plan to escape from office and take a paid vacation. Err... Forget I said that.

As I was saying I was under orders to take the new Toyota Corolla from Bangalore to Kochi and on the way stop at the Orange County resorts in Coorg and Kabini before sigh, taking the flight home having experienced the Brunton Boatyard in Fort Kochi.

After an early morning flight out of Pune I rendezvoused with Bert and our camera-

Orange county serves up some delicious sizzlers Above: Our private pool villa with its, err, private pool

man Satish in Bangalore. From here we were quickly shuttled to the Toyota factory at Bidadi to meet our companion for the drive the Toyota Corolla Altis 1.8VL. The Corollas have long been known as some of the most comfortable cars around. And the new car isn’t any different. Our car had the new 7-speed CVT gearbox, which is quite frankly the most exciting part of the car. Seamless gearshifts, quick responses and a premium far beyond what its price would suggest has become second nature to the Corolla now.

The road to Coorg is in perfect condition with dual carriageways most of the way. The Corolla’s new 140PS engine made munching miles fairly easy. The last one third of the distance to Coorg is a single carriage way but is reasonably well maintained save for a few rough patches. The car took us over these

rough patches without breaking a sweat.

Coorg is popularly known as the Scotland of India. I’ve never been to Scotland so I can only assume that Coorg does resemble Scotland, save for the lack of castles and bagpipes. The region has long been known for its natural beauty, wildlife, coffee and panthikari (the local pork curry). Nowadays, the place is also known for the Orange County luxury resort. The resort is set amidst 300 acres of coffee plantations and this theme is what can be seen in the kind of decor that is used here. The resort is surrounded on one side by the Dubare forest and on the other by the Cauvery river. The resort was started in 1994 on land acquired from the British by the Ramapuram family in 1926. In the beginning there were just ten cottages, from where it has grown to over 50 AUG 2011 overdrive

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po rsc h e d r ivi ng e xp e r i e n c e

Posh reward Our ‘Drift a Porsche’ contest winners get sideways at Silverstone, UK Words Bertrand D’souza

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on’t say we didn’t warn you but if you failed to participate in OVERDRIVE’s 2010 anniversary celebration contests here is one of those rare opportunities you missed. Vasantha Krishnan who comes from Chennai and Byram Godrej from Pune, winners of our ‘Learn to Drift a Porsche’ contest found themselves on a flight to Heathrow, London on the 30th of June. Both of them were headed to the Porsche Advanced Driving School at the Silverstone race circuit to learn the fine art of … drifting! Yes the driving art almost every petrol head dreams of mastering would be taught to these guys in nothing less than the finest set of wheels that Porsche had to offer over the course of a day. You can only begin to imagine the excitement both Vasantha and

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Byram experienced, neither of them slept a wink on the ten hour flight to Heathrow.

We’d like to state here that the Porsche Experience centre is not a school that teaches drifting as much as it is a school that imparts lessons on how to apply correctional methods in case you lose control of your car in wet and slippery conditions brought on by rain, snow or slush. The by-product of learning those correctional remedies of course ends up in itroducing and then perfecting drift skills.

So from one of the most famous airports in the world both lads were whisked away in a chauffeured Porsche Panamera Turbo to the Whittlebury Hall hotel and spa which is just a stone’s throw away from Silverstone.

22 hours after having left Mumbai without having shut their eyes for even a second I pre-

sume consuming the 8” steaks over dinner must have finally got them exhausted enough to fall into bed.

Early next morning a shiny black Porsche Cayenne S stood patiently outside the hotel entrance waiting to carry Vasantha and Byram to Silverstone and the drift school. From the main entrance of the circuit through an access road to the gates of the Porsche experience centre is an experience itself. The narrow lane winds around the circuit right behind the grandstands allowing a view of one of the greatest circuits on the planet. Unfortunately this morning there weren’t any cars running laps, yet the epic sense of being right next to a circuit that supports the very top rung of global motorsport and where the following weekend the British Grand Prix would be held was an unforgettable moment!

Byram spins rings around the skid pad in a 911 Carrera 4S. Below: Vasantha Krishnan in white tee and Byram Godrej try hard to control their excitement on arriving at the Porsche Experience centre

The boys’ arrival at the gates of the Porsche experience centre was nothing short of an event in itself. No sooner did the Cayenne roll to a halt that the doors of the SUV were flung open and out fell our winners eagerly rushing to get pictures with the 911 Turbo, GT3 RS and a GT2 standing in the parking lot. A quick breakfast and briefing done our lads were directed to their cars by the instructors. To their pleasure the cars turned out to be a slew of 911 Turbos, Cayman S and Boxsters.

From there on both were shown the various exercises around the facility by the instructors after which they got behind the wheel themselves. Off they went then to the first experience, the kick plate. This is a small metallic plate placed at the start of a wet track and it shifts horizontally either to the left or

right upsetting a cars momentum when it drives over the plate. The faster you drive over the plate the more violent the kick. It’s a bit like applying your handbrake when driving without knowing which direction the tail is going to swing in without the slowing down. The objective of the exercise then is to read the direction in which the tail kicks out, react immediately by counter steering and correct the car well before it goes into a spin.

Its not as simple as it sounds and even after a dozen tries both Vasantha and Byram weren’t making much progress, though finally they did cotton on to the drift and soon were engrossed in it like pros.

Up next then was the low friction track where they pretty much perfected their newly learned correctional skills. The low friction track has around five hairpin corners AUG 2011 overdrive

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