Ford Fiesta saloon facelift revealed

Updated Fiesta gets cosmetic changes as may also get the EcoBoost petrol engine for India Ford has unveiled the updated Fiesta saloon at the Sao Paulo motor show. The 2013 Fiesta features design cues from Ford’s new global design language. It gets a restyled front fascia that includes an aggressive, Aston Martin-like front grille with chrome slats, re-profiled front bumper and fog lamps, revamped headlamps and a new bonnet design....

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Honda City CNG launched

Honda City CNG available only on the V M/T variant. Also, City V petrol gets additional AVN package. Rising petrol prices, the diesel engine at least another year away and of course, the ever increasing importance of environmental consciousness has led Honda to launch a CNG variant of its second-most popular car in India, the City. The suspension has been tweaked in the new variant to ensure the added weight doesn’t interfere with...

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New Hyundai Santa Fe coming mid-2013

New Hyundai Santa Fe will be powered by a 194bhp 2.2-litre diesel and could be priced at Rs 24-25 lakh. Hyundai is working hard to get the new Santa Fe here in 2013. The current car, priced at Rs 23-26 lakh, is very important to the brand, and the Korean company is keen to build on its success. The new third-generation Santa Fe is the latest Hyundai to adopt the company’s now infamous ‘Fluidic Sculpture’ design language, but it also...

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Mahindra electric car to be called E2O; coming this year.

The long-overdue environment-friendly vehicle is expected to be priced at Rs 5.5-6 lakh Mahindra & Mahindra is in the final stages of developing its new electric car, likely to be called the E2O(e-two-oh). Expected to go on sale by November, the car will be powered by a 29KW(39.4bhp) electric motor and will use 48-volt compact lithium ion batteries. Earlier plans for launching a more affordable lead acid battery-equipped version,...

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New BMW 3-series review

BMW’s brilliant new 3-series has just moved the game forward. OVERVIEW : BMW’s E90 3-series was the first to come to India in April 2007. You could initially buy either a 320i or a 320d, and the six-cylinder 325i came a bit later. The suspension systems on these early 3-series cars were sporty but rock hard. In 2008, BMW gave the 3-series a mild facelift and made the suspension more comfortable. The year 2010 saw the 254bhp 330i...

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Tata Safari Storme review

Tata’s long-awaited Safari update, the Safari Storme, hits the roads. We take it out for a spin. When you first look at the new Safari Storme, you are immediately struck by how, even 14 years after its launch, Tata seems to have made barely any changes to the exterior. Alterations to the nose and rear suggest that it’s not much more than a facelift. However, that misconception gets blown to dust the moment you drive it. Once you’re behind...

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Mahindra SsangYong Rexton review

The Rexton is SsangYong's first offering in India after being taken over by Mahindra. Does it pack in enough to put up a good fight? Mahindra & Mahindra’s acquisition of the Korean Ssangyong brand paved the way for the Indian car manufacturer to further strengthen its position in the SUV segment. And while last year’s launch of the well-received XUV500 marked Mahindra’s first premium SUV offering, M&M has now introduced the Ssangyong...

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Luxury carmakers betting on local assembly

Customs duty makes importing CBU models expensive, prompting luxury carmakers into cutting local assembly costs.                       Stung by high import duties on Completely Built Units (CBUs), which went up from 60 percent to 75 percent in the 2012 Budget, India’s luxury carmakers are gearing up to locally assemble strategic models instead of merely importing them. Under the...

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Honda Brio Automatic review

Honda has added the convenience of an automatic gearbox to its sprightly hatch, the Brio. We bring you our first impressions.                       Honda has greatly enhanced the user-friendly character of its Brio hatchback with the launch of an automatic version that goes on sale on October 18. Instead of the CVT gearbox used in the Brio in Thailand and other markets,...

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GM could tie-up with Peugeot-Citroen

General Motor’s European division could be merged with Peugeot-Citroen, according to media reports emerging from France.   The reports say that Vauxhall-Opel would be merged into a new joint venture company with Peugeot-Citroen. GM would own a 30 per cent stake in the joint venture and would inject £6.2 billion (Rs 52402.4 crore) for future product development.  According to Automotive News Europe, this tentative plan is said to...

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Ford EcoSport review

It’s got the right profile, the right size, the right attitude and the right credentials; but does the EcoSport have the right stuff? We’re very late. The sun has already come up, our Brazilian journalist colleagues are running late, and then once away, we land slap-bang in the middle of Sao Paulo’s mid-morning stampede. They said it would be bad, but this is ridiculous. The gridlock on the Ayrton Senna freeway is so intense, so tight...

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