Look hard and you can see the next Wagon-R for India! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the Suzuki Splash concept that was shown at last year’s Paris Motor Show has been chiselled and tapered for the robots at the Magyar Suzuki plant in Hungary to churn out 60,000 of them each year. To be badged the Opel Agila for Europe, the Splash might also be produced in India by Maruti Suzuki for their export commitment to Nissan Europe, totalling 50,000 units.
Based on an all-new platform, the production version has some hints of the Swift and SX4, interspersed with a C-pillar design that harks back to the concept. Unlike traditional hatchbacks, the rear end has allowed for a thicker C-pillar and made provision for a smaller quarter glass that is not very different from the Swift. The tailgate has an inward obtuse angle to it, something seen more often on French hatchbacks. Given stricter safety requirements, Suzuki have done a good job of marrying regulations with design. Overall, the design is pleasing... we would say it is quite bold for the Japanese small car manufacturer.
On the inside, the Splash continues the raid on Suzuki’s parts bin with the steering wheel, gear knob, door handles, indicator switches, etc first seen on the Swift/SX4. Though, that is where the raid ends. The Splash uses two new petrol engines and a common-rail diesel. A 1000cc, 65 bhp 3-cylinder and a 1200cc, 86 bhp 4-cylinder engine will power Suzuki’s gasoline aspirations while the 1248cc, 75 bhp multi-jet engine manufactured at Manesar in India will complete the engine lineup. All these engines will be mated to a 5-speed gearbox and will be within Europe’s much debated C02 emission cap of 140g/km.
The production model is slated for a debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show later this year and the first of the Maruti Suzuki manufactured Nissan cars should roll out by 2008. Considering Maruti will itself export 1,00,000 to replace the Alto (now discontinued in Europe) and retail 50,000 units in India, one can expect it to be simultaneously launched around April-May next year with the new generation engines. So will it make a Splash?
Suzuki Splash
Chevrolet Sparky Spark
If there was somebody in the automotive industry who knew how to spend money well, it would be Kim Woo Choong, the erstwhile chairman of the Daewoo group. It's another thing that he spent money a little too well, ending up on the wrong side of the law and leading one of South Korea's biggest chaebols to ruin. Kim's profligate ways however benefited the biggest carmaker in the universe, General Motors, when they picked up the Daewoo car business.
Today, GM-Daewoo Automotive Technologies is providing the biggest support to mothership GM with a lineup of well thought-out cars at a time when the General is going through some difficult times. One of the cars that was particularly a windfall for GM was the Daewoo Matiz – you see, GM is not exactly a specialist in making small runabouts, and with the Matiz, they ended up with a well-engineered supermini that showcased cheeky Italian lines and one which was a hit in most markets it was sold in. GM-DAT gave the Matiz a thorough facelift inside-out, replaced the three-cylinder motor with an inline-four, stuck the Chevrolet bowtie at various spots and renamed it the Spark. In this guise, the Spark is now sold in over a 100 countries, including our own. So how is new Spark? Is it a Daewoo deja vu or does it need to be seen as a fresh, all-new product? Read on.
Kinetic Blaze- bike in scooter?
What can I tell you that you don't already know about this scooter? Well, for starters I could tell you that it does a 0-60 kph run in 10.2 seconds. That it's pretty comfortable on good roads. That it still doesn't ride as well as it should on bad roads.
That you get to the underseat storage by twisting the ignition key beyond the ignition slot (one genius here pried the seat open to fill fuel). But the biggest thing in the Blaze's favour is that finally here's a scooter that I, a hard nosed motorcyclist, don't mind as an option to a humdrum motorcycle.
And why not? After all, it is the biggest and most powerful scooter this country has ever seen. It also happens to be the first scooter with a disc brake, the first to get a four-valve engine and for whatever it's worth, it also happens to be the first scooter to get a tachometer and handle-bar counter balancers. And as long as we are staking claims, let me also mention that it happens to be fourth biggest two-wheeler (on account of engine size) in the country. At this point I should also mention that the Blaze happens to be unlike anything that we've ever seen and until it becomes a regular at the traffic lights, it does have the ability to capture eyes and cling on to them.
Kinetic BlazeThen there is the small matter of price. At 55,000 bucks, the Blaze is at loggerheads with the Pulsars and the Apaches of this world. Not to mention that at this price, it's even a few tempting EMIs away from a fully loaded 125.
What is Chevorlet Captiva.
Finally, it’s all coming together for General Motors India. For a while, GMI’s portfolio had a large, er, small gap - what they needed was small car to bring in the volumes. Now, within a span of just four months, they have not one, but two smart superminis, the Aveo U-VA and the Spark. But it does not end there - the game is just beginning to unfold at GMI.
The Chevrolet Optra sedan that has so far been petrol powered will get GM-Daewoo Automotive Technologies’ (GM-DAT) newly developed 2,000cc TCDI diesel engine. Running on 1600 bar pressure, the four-cylinder common rail diesel will produce 120 bhp of peak power and a staggering 28.6 kgm of peak torque turning the wheels at 2,000 rpm - bettering those of the current king of the crop, the Skoda Laura. For the first time since the Opel Astra 1.7 turbodiesel, GM India will offer an oil-burner in a sedan. The Optra that has seen declining sales over the past two year will receive another shot in the arm with a new headlamp and grille treatment, a new tail-lamp cluster and revised interiors. The facelift will enable the Optra to share a lot of parts with the SR-V hatchback. Importantly, it will allow GM to finally pose a strong challenge to the Skoda Octavia, which has been dominating the diesel sedan segment for years now. Expect the Optra diesel to be launched as early as the first week of June with a price tag of around Rs 9 to 10 lakh.
new Wagon R and there is this old Wagon R - overdrive
Harmaan: So Bert, we’ve got the new Wagon R’s with us this month. Do you think it’s any funkier? I quite like the itsy bitsy chrome on the front grille, though I think the designers overdid the headlamps. Nice tush, though.
Bert: Sure it’s got more character than it did before; at least the gawkiness is gone.
Harmaan: Yes, and on the inside, I like the aluminium accents on the steering wheel in the VXi variant, available unfortunately on the petrol only model. The Duo, with the LPG kit, seems to skimp on some accessories, like power windows and a tachometer. Crucially, Maruti has offered airbags and ABS as optional, but I wonder why these acknowledged safety features have been omitted from the Duo’s options list?
Bert: Well, in the first place not many customers have shown interest in the safety aspect. The Indian consumer is still averse to personal safety. Cost effectiveness is still prime in his mind. The additional costs involved in equipping his car with essentials such as airbags or ABS just do not figure on his list of priorities.
But hey, safety is not a prerogative to price and I don’t see why someone who may not be able to afford it should not feel safer with these basic implements. Which is why Maruti is looking at introducing this as an option on other variants as well. After all it is just a fitment at the end of the day and hardly requires any structural changes to the car.
Harmaan: As far as the driving experience is concerned, I think the poor clutch gets a bit jerky, especially with the A/C on. And the gearbox is nothing to write home about either.
Bertrand: Not much work has gone into refining this box. It’s still the same and just as sticky. The ratios have been retained and the box ideally matches the torque curve. The jerkiness is by virtue of its light flywheel not being able to soak in all that power until spinning at optimum revs. However once on the move the stick moves into its gates with ease. Not as positive as I’d like it to be but nothing that makes me want to pull out my hair. And I have known some cars in my life that have made do that.
Harmaan: Maruti has persevered with the electric power steering system, and it’s great when in town, or while parking, but lacks feel at speed.
Bertrand: Yes, that is characteristic of many electric power steering systems. While the effort is negligible and makes for painless manoeuvring especially in the city amidst dense traffic, the flip side is the lack of feel. But then the steering works wonderfully for its purpose, which is best utilised in a city and not on the race track. In fact Maruti should have made the steering system speed sensitive, which would have enhanced the driving feel and given greater confidence while at higher speeds.
Harmaan: Ah, but the ride is extremely good for a car in its class, definitely better than anything from within Maruti’s stables, though maybe not as good as the Indica. But then, I’m sure most of our readers are already well acquainted with the Wagon R.
Bertrand: Definitely, the ride quality is one of the better aspects of this car. In fact I have seldom come across a small car that handles the rough with the smooth with so much finesse. I loved the well-planted feel when she is rolling across some rough roads.
more coming soon
Chevorlet Optra and Skoda Octavia comparison from Overdrive
You have to admit the Octavia has aged pretty well. Seven years since its launch in India (a decade internationally) and the Octavia has yet to run out of steam, so much so that when the latest generation Octi was launched in the country she had to get a new (and rather unfortunate) name (Laura) so as not to confuse buyers. Even today, with strong competition in the D-segment (Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic) the Octi continues to sell well and that, in the main, is down to the diesel engine under its hood.
With diesel Octis selling so well you have to wonder why other manufacturers have waited for so long before hitching their wagons on to the diesel bandwagon. Sure there was the Elantra but the Hyundai didn’t have half the image of the Octavia - something that’s so very important in this segment. And so, for seven years, Skoda has had the segment all to itself.
Not any more. General Motors (who, if you haven’t being paying attention, now sells more cars in India than Honda and Toyota ) has finally given the Optra a new lease of life by shoe-horning a 2-litre common-rail diesel engine, freshening up her nose and slapping on an enticing sticker price. On the face of it the package looks brilliant but is it enough to knock the Octi off her pedestal?
Design & Engineering:Traditionally handsome Octavia no match for the contemporary Optra
Astonishing, isn’t it, for a decade old design to look attractive today. But the Skoda manages just that - to look both classy and upmarket despite Octis roaming the city-side in hordes. Of course with so many of them around no longer will you get noticed when you pull up in an Octi; that job is best left to the Optra Magnum.
The Optra, styled by Pininfarina, was always a handsome car. With the new nose borrowed from the SR-V hatch (with the addition of the bold, aggressive bow-tie grille) she gains a more contemporary air and of course visual differentiation her from her older cousin. Viewed in isolation the teardrop headlamps don’t seem to gel with the angular tail lamps and chiselled muscular flanks but on the road it all works well making for a stylish, upmarket ride to arrive at the club in.
From the inside too the Chevy’s in a league of its own. The swoopy two-tone dash with its fake wood inserts, chrome rings round the air-con vents and beige leather upholstery is a livelier and more pleasant place to spend time in compared to the Octavia’s sombre black. Of course the latter feels better built, like a tank even, but if we’re being honest, the cabin is too dull, the seats too hard, the controls too heavy, the rear seat back too upright and space (head and knee room at the rear) at too much of a premium.
In contrast the Optra’s cabin is so comfortable you could spend days in it. The seats are plush without being too soft, rear passengers are treated to great ergonomics and ample head, knee and shoulder room and you’ll immediately notice that there is a plethora of nooks and crannies to throw knick, knack and mobiles into. On practicality and comfort it’s a no-contest.
Engines & Performance:Optra simply astonishes with her pace
Crank up the Octavia and its 1.9-litre direct injection 8-valve diesel engine shudders into life, settling into a noisy rattle at idle. Once warmed up the old-school engine pipes down considerably but...
more coming soon...
Splendour doesnt look like splendour anymore!
This could have been big news. It would have streaked at light speed around the Earth and all the great motorcycling nations of the world would have sat up and listened. The incredulous reaction would have poured in from around the planet, ‘I can’t believe Hero Honda stopped the beloved old Splendor... I’ll miss the black stripe... Why?’ etc. Fortunately, all of that is conjecture.
The standard press conference question, ‘Will this model replace the old Splendor?’ (other examples include, what is the price?; R&D expenditure; sales targets; when is it available...). Sorry about that, Hero Honda clarified that the old Splendor would carry on and the NXG would wear Splendor badging, some new clothes, the new motor from the CD-Deluxe and as an option, alloy wheels.
We got to ride the Super Duper Splendor ++, er... NXG at the Hero Honda Safety School in Gurgaon where we also rode the CBZ X-Treme. On a Splendor, the school’s fairly small network of roads seemed more to scale and truth be told, I enjoyed the morning spent in the saddle. The NXG feels very light, and requires very little effort to get stuff done. The drum brake up front looks like a bit of an anachronism now, but works as advertised. The 5-spoke alloy wheels weigh the same as the spoked version and cost only Rs 1,000 more, which make them a great incremental upgrade.
The motor feels at ease, refined and certainly has good bottom end torque. I could roll back on the throttle in top gear at as low as 13 kph and it struggled but wouldn’t stall. The bottom bulge does reflect in the weaker top end, and the NXG begins to run out of breath as soon as you’re past 70 kph. But given that its primary customer will probably ride at about 40-50 kph at best, the bike feels quiet, sorted and yes, very much like a slightly updated new Splendor. Wearing a good tubular double cradle and 2.75-18 MRF tyres at both ends (What? No Mystery or Magic?), the Splendor feels — like the Super Splendor or the Glamour — capable, but neutral to hard cornering antics. Ride quality is great over sharp bumps and decent in general too.
The new body panels are quite neat, the tank looks a little Caliber-ish from some angles, but the knee recesses are nice. I wonder why HH didn’t go the whole hog and give it a flush fitted gas tank cap, though. The sidepanel works better on the NXG with the dark mass of the lockable black compartments under the tank too. Oh and the NXG has an aluminium grab rail.
Having buzzed about for a good morning’s worth, the impression I got was the Splendor NXG was a very clever product. It carried forward all of the best parts of the Splendor, and still managed to feel fresh and renewed, which is what Hero Honda were aiming to do with the NXG. Well, they’ve done it. I believe HH could have replaced the old Splendor with the NXG in one fell swoop, but as they say, it ain’t broke...
source:BSM