December 2021

Car India

India's leading car magazine

Car India2 min read
Welcome
THIS IS THE LAST EDITORIAL IN the year 2021. I hope the worst is over and also hope the year 2022 proves better than the past two years that tested all of us to the maximum. Let 2022 be the year when we get back to our normal way of life, start trave
Car India1 min read
What Makes Us Different
UNLIKE OTHER AUTOMOBILE magazines, Car India is 100 per cent devoted to cars, SUVs and MUVs. There are no bikes or commercial vehicles to be found in Car India. Therefore, we have a very focused readership and also give our advertisers better bang fo
Car India1 min read
Car India Magazine
Editor Aspi Bhathena Executive Editor Sarmad Kadiri Copy Editor Deepak Upadhye Principal Correspondent Jim Gorde Correspondents Joshua Varghese, Zal Cursetji Azaman Chothia, Glen Francis Art Director Ramnath Chodankar Head Design & Production R
Car India2 min read
Red Hot Cayman Pepper
THE RENNSPORT MONIKER, RESERVED ONLY FOR THE MOST hardcore Porsches and which was first seen on the 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera, is back! For 2022, Porsche have introduced the 718 Cayman GT4 RS. Like a typical Rennsport Porsche, the Cayman GT4 RS gets d
Car India1 min read
Daytona Breeze
TAKING THE ICONA LINE-UP FORWARD, FERRARI HAVE TAKEN THE COVERS OFF THEIR ALL-NEW limited-edition hypercar, the Daytona SP3. Yes, the “Daytona” badge is back. The Daytona SP3 is an ode by the Italian carmaker to the three Prancing Horses that locked
Car India1 min read
ExxonMobil Launch New Products
EXXONMOBIL HAVE RENEWED THEIR ENDORSEMENT DEALS with Neeraj Chopra, Mirabai Chanu and Bajrang Punia. The Tokyo Olympic medallists have made the nation proud at the global stage and it is endearing to see that ExxonMobil are continuing to support them
Car India1 min read
Hyundai Seven
EXTENDING THE IONIQ ELECTRIC family, Hyundai have unveiled what looks like a full-size electric SUV. This SUV from the Korean car-maker is expected to have a range of 480 kilometres and it also boasts of super-fast charging solutions. With a 350-kW c
Car India1 min read
Porsche Taycan GTS Range Breaks Cover
Porsche are on a roll at the 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show. Alongside the Cayman GT4 RS, the car-maker also introduced two new models in the Taycan range; one being an all-new body style, the Taycan GTS Sport Turismo, essentially a shooting brake iterat
Car India2 min read
| We Hear
One-off Ferraris are pieces of art, aren’t they? The iconic Italian brand has revealed a new one-off model, the BR20, based on the GTC4Lusso. Ferrari have eliminated the rear seats for a fastback-like roofline. The car has been extended by three mill
Car India1 min read
Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost
THE NEW ROLLS-ROYCE GHOST HAS RECEIVED THE BLACK BADGE TREATMENT. The new division has received an encouraging response the world over with Rolls-Royce models from the marque’s “dark side” that deviate from the conventional path of super-luxury chauf
Car India1 min read
Kia Unveil EV9 Seven-seater
KIA WILL EXPAND THEIR electric vehicle portfolio with the EV9 underpinned on the E-GMP shared with the Hyundai Seven. It has a six-seat layout in which all the seats can be rotated. Its boxy design is unlike anything we’ve seen before. The EV9 gets s
Car India1 min read
VW Tiguan Launch Soon
VOLKSWAGEN ARE SET TO INTRODUCE THE NEW Tiguan, this time as a five-seat variant again, early this month. It is built on the MQB platform and is being produced at their facility in Aurangabad. This should make for competitive pricing. Like the Allspa
Car India1 min read
Obituary: Frank Williams
SIR FRANK WILLIAMS, CBE, PASSED AWAY ON 28 NOVEMBER AT THE AGE of 79 years. Sir Frank was the founder of the Williams Racing F1 team, one of the more popular and the longest running privateer name in the history of Formula 1. After a brief career as
Car India1 min read
2022 Hyundai Creta Revealed
HYUNDAI’S BEST-SELLING MID-SIzE SUV has received a mid-life refresh. The SUV gets a totally new front end inspired by the new Tucson, with a parametric grille and multiple-unit LED lighting. The Creta’s side profile remains mostly unchanged, with the
Car India1 min read
New Maruti Suzuki SUVs
A SLEW OF NEW SUV MODELS ARE expected from the Indo-Japanese car-makers, beginning with an updated Vitara Brezza and an all-new S-Cross. The sub-four-metre Brezza is expected soon, with the 4.3-metre-long S-Cross seen as a potential introduction to r
Car India4 min read
Launches
Audi India have brought in the new Q5 mid-size SUV in a petrol-only avatar. There are two variants of the Q5 45 TFSI quattro: “Premium Plus”, priced at Rs 58.93 lakh, and “Technology” at Rs 63.77 lakh, both ex-showroom. The new Q5 brings a more aggre
Car India3 min read
Your Views
When I bought my car, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto were not in the market and Bluetooth connectivity was something that was not on offer even in the top model. Fast forward to present day and I am extremely happy with my car. I have no intention of
Car India7 min read
Centre of Attention
IT WAS TIME AGAIN FOR US AUTOMOTIVE journalists to embark on an annual journey. Here, we would once more be handed a newest offering from one of the largest auto manufacturers in India and explore a part of our country in search of a story worthy of
Car India4 min read
Ringing In The New
THE WORLD IS GETTING LOUDER. It takes a toll slowly but surely. We all need peace and quiet. But what are we really doing? How much are we willing to change? Are we finally ready to charge ahead? Advances in e-mobility are taking place rapidly and we
Car India1 min read
Audi E-tron 55 Quattro
Price: Rs 1.16 crore (ex-showroom) Battery Pack: 95-kWh, 68-Ah, 400-volt, 432-cell, lithium-ion Electric Motor: 125-kW front, 140-kW rear Peak Output: 265 kW (360 hp), 561 Nm Boost Mode: 300 kW (408 hp), 664 Nm Transmission: Single-speed, automa
Car India4 min read
Reaching For The Skies
EVERYBODY IS (OR, AT least, was) scared of something or the other. Fear is a factor common to the apex predator and the puniest creature in the food-chain, but that does not disrupt the pace of the world, does it? Every day, all creatures across the
Car India9 min read
22 Cars Coming in 2022
SINCE THE PANDEMIC, THE GLOBAL AUTOMOTIVE industry has seen red, be it production or sales, and the dip has been consistent. With the commencement of vaccination drives, the dip seems to have taken a turn. Manufacturers are back at it, introducing mo
Car India2 min read
Slovakian Slayer
ŠKODA WILL INTRODUCE A NEW challenger in the popular mid-size premium sedan segment in India: the Slavia. It’s built on the same MQB-AO-IN platform as the Kushaq, adapted here to further the traits sedan buyers seek. The design is typically Škoda wit
Car India1 min read
Skoda Slavia 1.0 / 1.5 TSI
Price: Rs 12.00 lakh (onwards, estimated) Engine: 1,000 cc, three-cylinder, turbo-petrol / 1,498 cc, in-line four, turbo-petrol Max Power: 115 hp/150 hp Max Torque: 178 Nm/250 Nm Transmission: Six-speed, MT or AT/ six-speed, MT or DSG, front-whee
Car India4 min read
New Kid On The Block
MARUTI SUZUKI HELD a gala event recently in Udaipur, Rajasthan, where they invited us journos to drive their latest offering, the all-new Celerio. The new machine was supposed to give the entry-level segment a higher standing, about which the Indo-Ja
Car India3 min read
Breathing Fire
FELT LIKE THERE WERE FIRE-BREATHING DRAGONS instead of butterflies in my stomach. From the driver’s seat of the Mercedes-AMG A 45 S 4MATIC+ I could see the long straight section of the 11.3 kilometres of NATRAX, the longest high-speed test track of i
Car India1 min read
Mercedes-AMG A 45 S 4MATIC+
Price: Rs 79.50 lakh (ex-showroom) Engine: 1,991 cc, in-line four, turbo-petrol Max Power: 421 hp at 6,750 rpm Max Torque: 500 Nm at 5,000-5,250 rpm Transmission: Eight-speed, DCT, automatic, all-wheel drive Suspension: AMG suspension Weight: 1
Car India2 min read
Crazier Horse
KEEPING UP WITH THE TIKTOK GENERATION must be a nightmare for car companies. How does a manufacturer osmose its brand into the minds of tomorrow’s car-leasing public? Numbers, that is how. Digits are easy to get across in a 30-second phone video. Two
Car India1 min read
Ford Mustang Mach-e GT
Price: £65,080 (Rs 65.08 lakh) Powertrain: 98.7-kWh battery, dual e-motors, all-wheel drive Performance: 487 hp, 816 Nm, 3.7 seconds 0-100 km/h, 200 km/h Efficiency: 5.0 km per kWh, 499-km range, 0 g/km CO2 Weight: 2,198 kg On sale: Now ■
Car India4 min read
New
THE NEW AUDI Q5 IS HERE AND IT COMES packing more power and torque than before. Of course, the last Q5 TFSI I drove had 211 hp and 350 Nm and it was the middle of the last decade. I’d always loved Audi diesels. They’re refined, effortless to drive, e
Car India4 min read
Bruiser Cruiser
SITTING HIGH UP IN A ROOMY LEATHERETTE seat with 200 hp at my disposal, my aimless thoughts about life and related things take a back-seat, because it is more interesting to ponder over how the XUV700 fits into the life of its target customer. What w
Car India4 min read
Back On The Radar
IT’S STRANGE HOW THE VOLVO BRAND HAS such contrasting reactions from Indian car-buyers. Some find exceptional value in it, while others head straight to its German competitors without considering it at all. But if you’ve lived with or owned one, then
Car India2 min read
‘To Eventually Do It With Mercedes-AMG Was A Dream Come True And To Be Able To Do It With The Tricolour On My Car Was Even Better’
When did you get bitten by the racing bug? When I was three or four years old, I used to follow my father, who was a racing driver, to the racetracks. When you’re exposed to something at such a young age, it sticks with you. So, I got my first go-ka
Car India2 min read
Max-ico
MEXICO WAS ALIVE WITH ALMOST a festive atmosphere as the Formula 1 circus came to the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. The packed grandstands saw the two Mercedes cars of Valtteri Bottas and defending world champion Lewis Hamilton on the
Car India1 min read
Hamilton Fights Back
AFTER LEWIS HAMILTON IN THE MERCEDES WAS disqualified for a minute rear-wing infringement, he was to start at the very back of the grid for the Saturday Sprint race. Hamilton drove like no one else in the Sprint, determined to make his way up the ord
Car India2 min read
Hamilton Fights Back
THE LOSAIL International Circuit was lit in more ways than one with Max Verstappen in the Red Bull being handed a grid penalty for not respecting double yellow flags, even before the race began, starting seventh. Lewis, who started on pole, rocketed
Car India2 min read
The Perfect Set-up?
SIR LEWIS HAMILTON took pole position under the lights at the first-ever Grand Prix to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The challenging 6.174-kilometre-long Jeddah Corniche Circuit on the coastal bit of the kingdom would see a round 50 laps of action
Car India2 min read
Eighth WRC Title forOgier-Ingrassia
THE FINAL RACE OF THE SEASON. TWO MEN HAVE A SHOT AT the championship and both are poised to go for it with everything they have. Such was the setting on Friday at the Forum8 ACI Rally Monza. The rally got under way with four tough speed tests in the
Car India2 min read
Stiff Competition in LGB F4; Alva Dominates Novice Cup
Vishnu Prasad (MSport) was the favourite going into the second round with 21 points to his credit; however, it was not going to be easy for him to retain that lead because the weekend was full of close racing and some drama as well. A swarm of cars w
Car India3 min read
Our Cars
A FEW WEEKS AGO, WHEN THE KUSHAQ JOINED OUR LONG-TERM fleet, its ‘Tornado’ red colour seemed to have intrigued rain gods and triggered monsoon-like rainfall in the middle of winter. Or so it seemed. Thankfully, the Škoda had me covered in this unusua

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