Compact Rolls in India

Rolls Royce is planning to bring to India, a cheaper and smaller sedan, the RR4.

Priced at around Rs. 2.6 crores, the RR4 is based on the Rolls V12 engine.

The RR4 is expected to roll in to India by 2009.

K Series Engine from Maruti

With Bharat IV norms to be enforced in India, the engineers at Maruti R&D have been working overnight on the K Series engine which would subsequently replace the current F,G and M engines in all further Maruti cars. The K Engine will also be complaint with Euro IV and Euro V norms.

Tata Indica Vista - Can Tata do what Microsoft couldnt?

Tata Motors has launched Indica Vista this week and by the first looks, it is evident that Tata means business. Though not much major changes, there are a few notable ones. The grille is new and so are the headlamps which look exciting. The Indica Vista is available in one petrol and two diesel versions namely the 1.2L Safire (petrol), 1.3L Quadrajet (the same Fiat diesel engine that powers the Swift and Palio) and the 1.4L TDI which serves the current crop of Indicas. The three overall variant are tera, aqua and aura of which there are sven sub variants. The petrol version will cost Rs. 3.49 Lakhs and the diesel Rs. 4.88 Lakhs.

Tata is also working on ABS, airbags and other safety and luxury options for the Indica Vista.

The Tata Indica Vista looks promising and Tata Indica has lived upto its name as a family car. Lets see if Tata Motors can do what Microsoft couldnt! Will Vista deliver?

2008 Honda City

Honda is rolling out the long awaited revised version of the new city. And this time it looks good too.

Design:

Somehow the old City’s styling was way ahead of its time, but the new city has a lot to offer with the tail lights having a bit of the Accord’s look. Though it looks like it’s derived from a hatch it seams to look much better than the older city. Honda won’t compromise on fit and finish, so even if the car is too futuristic for you, there’s a reason for you to buy the city.

Engine & Gearbox:

The City will be powered by the same engines but will be tuned to squeeze out more performance from it. There will be a 1.5L with 3 variants. The V-Tec will follow the herd later on.

There will be both automatic and manual options with revised gearboxes (5Speed) for the new city.

Ride & Handling:

The new City is expected to have a higher ground clearance than the present or the previous lots. Ride will be stiffer, but what remains to be seen is whether this car can live up to the first Gen. City on the handling department.

Price & competition:

It’s will be priced around the same as the current City owing to the stiff competition in this segment and is expected to be priced around 7.2-8.5 lacks.

If you are looking to buy some other cars in this price range you can also look for the Maruthi SX4, Lancer, Hyundai Verna, New Ford Fiesta.

More bloopers

Spotted near Egmore, Chennai