News for the week

An interesting week of scoops comes to an end as we uncovered a lot of major upcoming events. We began the week with our previous exclusive story on the Tata Safari Storme’s new upcoming upgrades, which include a more power engine variant, automatic transmission and also interior upgrade. On the other hand, we had unveiled the future plans of Mercedes-Benz India for the next six months.  We pick up another scoop from Tata passenger vehicle segment, as the Indica Vista D90 will be coming with Manza features like touchscreen navigation, Italian leather etc.

Also, this week we review the Mercedes-Benz B-Class and the Tata Safari Storme. We couldn’t get enough of the Safari Storme, so we took it for a drive to Rajasthan covering about 1400kms on interstate roads.

Honda CR-V Discontinued Officially, New CR-V Coming in March 2013- Scoop

Japanese auto giant, Honda that launched the new generation Honda CR-V in the UK in October is now all set to roll out the similar vehicle in India as well. We brought you the official images and details about the car back in September 2012, now it seems that the launch is quite near. Our sources have confirmed that the existing CR-V has been officially discontinued, and the 2013 CR-V will come in March 2013. And what has made us believe on this further is the fact that Honda Cars India has removed the current generation CR-V from its official website now, which means the car has already been discontinued and soon their will be the next generation Honda CR-V. Read more

SCOOP - Tata to also launch the Vista D90 with Manza features

Tata Motors had recently launched the Indica Vista D90, with the 90bhp quadrajet diesel engine. The instrument cluster of the Indica Vista was shifted to the right from the centre. Also, some more changes were made to the Vista like dual-colour and driver information system. Read more

SCOOP- Mercedes-Benz to Launch 4 Cars in Next 6 Months

The German trio-BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi are having a close battle in India, and trying everything possible to become the leading luxury car brand in the country. But Mercedes-Benz being the oldest luxury car brand in the country has a special affection towards it as they are the ones, who developed the culture of luxury cars in India. To earn a larger market share, Mercedes-Benz is all set to launch several vehicles in the year 2013. Mercedes Benz G63, E-Class facelift, B-Class Diesel and A-class hatchback are the four vehicles to come in the first six months. Read more

Renault Duster Automatic, not on the Cards for India

From the day Renault launched the automatic version of its compact SUV, the Duster in Brazil, everybody in the industry started guessing about its Indian launch including CarDekho, but we need to look at it more closely. Renault doesn't have a diesel automatic vehicle anywhere worldwide, in fact the Brazilian Automatic Duster too houses the 2.0-litre flexi-fuel petrol engine. And India is the market today that demands more and more diesel vehicles, so even if they bring in the AT petrol in India, they would only be able to lure those limited buyers for whom fuel economy is indeed not a concern. Read more

Maruti Suzuki Ritz Automatic Priced at Rs 6.51 lakh, Launch in January

Maruti Suzuki that had disclosed all the information about the upcoming Ritz AT, has now revelead its price on its official website. Maruti Suzuki India has now confirmed that both the metallic and non-metallic paint versions of the Ritz AT will cost Rs 6.51 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). And like we mentioned earlier, the automatic version of the Ritz has been made available on VXi Trim only, but if you look at the price difference between the VXi MT and VXi AT, it's about Rs 1.5 lakh. Now when all the information are out, the Ritz AT will be on sale from January onwards. Read more

Hyundai i20 Based Compact Sedan in the Making; Hit or Miss?

CarDekho predicted it months back that Hyundai is working on i20 based compact sedan to replace the Accent, which is comparatively doing lesser business for the company in India. The accent is now two generation old, and Hyundai is actually struggling in the C segment, where it only has the Accent that too in just petrol version, so the extended version of the i20 would be an ideal choice to do good in this segment as well. Read more

Tata to Launch Safari Storme's Advanced Version, Safari Storme AT and Aria AT- Exclusive

CarDekho recently brought you the information on the higher version of the recently launched Tata Safari Storme, which is expected to enter the market in July 2013. Our close sources have further revealed information on the specifications of not just the upgraded Strome, but the AT version of the company’s flagship crossover, Tata Aria as well. As per the information we have, Tata Motors is currently working on the upgraded Safari Storme, which will have some major add-ons both inside and out. While inside the cabin, it will additionally have Harman Kardon music system, 10 speakers along with touch-screen navigation system support, there will be some major changes under the hood as well, helping it become even more powerful and sportier in character than the existing version. The upgraded Safari Storme will carry an even more powerful engine, which will churn out the maximum power output of 160-170bhp and around 400Nm of torque, proving it to be the most powerful vehicle of its segment. Read more

Maruti Suzuki Ertiga Automatic Transmission Version in the Works

Japanese auto major, Suzuki that sells its mini MPV in some emerging markets including India and Indonesia, might soon bring in the automatic transmission variant of the similar vehicle. If speculations are to be believed, the company will soon launch the AT version of the car in the Indonesia markets, several Indonesia based dealers report. Read more

Maruti Suzuki XA Alpha Compact SUV Might Launch in 2013 Second Half

The year 2012 is finally getting to an end; we inspected some major launches this year, especially in the utility vehicle segments, which has no doubt cleared one thing that the future of the automotive world belongs to compact vehicles.  However, entry level cars have always been the hot favourites in India, so as this year; Compact MPV/MUV and SUV were the two segments to record the highest growth even when the industry saw a dip in growth. Read more

Audi India Announces Revised Prices of all its Cars

After announcing the price hike earlier due to rising input cost, Audi India has today disclosed the details of increase in prices of its model range available in India. The price increase would range between INR 59,000 to INR 369,000 (ex-showroom Delhi) across the model range from January 1, 2013. Read more

Mercedes-Benz B-Class Expert Review

After our previous driving experience of the Mercedes-Benz B-Class on the Buddh International Circuit, we get our hands on the Indian-spec right hand version. The one on the track was a left-hand drive, manual transmission with a more powerful engine, hence we could not say much about the driving dynamics and the engine’s performance.

Read more

Rajasthan Retreat

Some Rajasthani villages have get Marshal Jeeps in dowry to their son-in-laws. It is a part of the culture. As two wheel drive vehicles aren’t ideal for driving whenever off the road, and Rajasthan is one state has a lot of places to off-road and hence the capable off-roading vehicles are given. Dune bashing is one of the favourites of off-roaders across the globe and what better place can it be than Rajasthan for Indians. Read more