A look back at March: Mega month for car launches

Generally, the cars unveiled at Auto Expo are launched in the next couple of months. With March being the succeeding month after Indian Auto Expo, carmakers zoomed in with launches of their showcased products. As the end of financial year approaches, the manufacturers and dealers try to achieve their annual sales figures and for the buyers it is always slated to be the best month for buying new vehicles. And on top of this, the auspicious occasions of Holi and Navratri just gave the desired thrust to the rebuilding auto market. Given below is a brief description of the cars launched in March.

Fiat Linea Facelift:

The month started with the launch of updated Linea. Its the first facelift version of the car, since 2009-when the car actually saw the daylight on Indian roads. New Linea features exciting cosmetic upgrades that include refreshed front fascia with two new bar grille, redesigned front bumpers, ORVMs with side blinkers and extra chrome linings at the rear end. Linea Active is priced at Rs 6,99,000 while the Multi-Jet Active comes with a price tag of Rs 8,15,487. Inside the cabin, the instrument cluster gets new panel design along with Bluetooth connectivity from Microsoft’s Blue & Me, leather seats, dual airbags, all disc brakes, rain sensing wipers, automatic headlamps and cruise control. However, the engine specification remains same.

Hyundai Xcent launch

Launched on March 12, this sub-four meter sedan is priced at Rs 4.66 lakh for the base variant and Rs 7.19 lakhs for the top-end one. The car was first unveiled on 4th Feb, just a day before Auto Expo, gathered much appreciation from the visitors. This compact sedan will face direct competition from the market ruler Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire and Honda Amaze. The car is based on the Grand i10 hatch and features similar exterior design except with an additional boot. Powered by 1.1 litres advanced 2nd generation U2 CRDi diesel engine or 1.2 litre Kappa Dual VTVT petrol engine, the car delivers decent performance and impressive mileage figures.

Datsun Go launch

Another important launch of the month was the entry level hatch from Datsun. Made for the first time buyers, the hatch is priced at Rs 3.12 lakh for the base variant and Rs 3.69 lakh for the top-end spec. The car is up against the likes of Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 and Hyundai Eon. To keep the price down, manufacturer chopped some basic features such as CD player and rear power windows and gave a Mobile docking system instead. The 1.2-litre engine does all the duty of churning power of 67.1bhp and delivers fuel economy of 20.68 kmpl.

Renault Duster Adventure Edition

The first of the two product that the French manufactures launched in the March is the Duster Adventure edition. Shown at Auto Expo, this compact SUV is priced at Rs 11.79 lakh. The Adventure Edition gets front amour with built in headlamps, R16 Anthracite alloy, smoked headlamps while inside the cabin, there is sporty neon interior followed by an integrated touch screen navigation that adds a hint of elegance. In terms of safety, the manufacturer provided ABD plus EBD with Dual Airbags. Apart from all cosmetic upgrades, the Duster is also made available with three new body colours that include New Amazon Green, Pearl Galaxy Black and Pearl Supreme White. The Adventure Edition houses powerful 1.5-litre K9K dCi engine coupled to a 6 speed manual transmission. The engine belts out power and torque in figures of 108bhp and 248Nm respectively.

GM introduces facelift version of Chevrolet Cruze

After seeing all the manufacturers, General Motors also introduced the facelift version of its D segment saloon Cruze. Priced at Rs 13.70 lakh, the new Cruze now comes with added features such as turn blinkers on side mirrors, four airbags, newly designed front grille. The interiors are also upgraded as one may notice a large infotainment display, HVAC control, Triple Pod Instrument Cluster with Icy Blue Illumination and leather upholstery on gear knob and steering wheel. However, the engine remains the same.

Renault Fluence facelift

In the last week, Renault launched its second product of the month, as the facelift version of Fluence. The updated saloon is priced at Rs 13.99 lakh. The car features new bumper design along with the LED treatment in DRLs (Daytime running lights). Inside the cabin, one finds a new infotainment system with satellite navigation, R-link infotainment module, 3D sound system with eight speakers. Under the hood, the power production is done either by a 2.0-litre petrol engine or a 1.5 litre K9K diesel turbo engine. The gasoline model develops a power of 135.1 bhp and torque of 190Nm while the oil burner churns power output of 108.5bhp and torque of 240Nm.

Apart from these major launches, other manufacturers such as Mahindra and Skoda launched Special Edition of Bolero and Limited Edition of Rapid called Ultima, respectively. Meanwhile, India's largest car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki also brought the Limited Edition of Swift Dzire as LdiX.

In the luxury segment, Volvo launched the facelift version of its saloon S80 while the Rolls-Royce unveiled its Ghost Series II at 2014 Geneva International Motor Show.