Saturday, 5 May 2012
New Porsche Boxster S review, test drive
Inside Porsche is a conflict that’s tearing it apart. On the one hand there’s the good old rear-engined 911, the sportscar icon; a car designed with enough space to fit a set of golf clubs in; a compromise. On the other are the more purist options, the Boxster and the Cayman; both middle-of-the-road, mid-engined sportscars with their engines in the right place. Logically, it’s the 911 that should be softer and more rounded, and the mid-engined cars that should be harder and faster. But no. Legacy and some mind-bending Porsche engineering have proved that the 911 can cut it with the best, less-than-perfect rear-engined weight distribution be damned. The original Carrera RS, the first 993 Turbo and the recent GT3 RS all have that touch of pure Porsche genius, and the fact that the 911 is simply a great driver’s car is almost impossible to ignore. Question is, how much better could the 911 have been if it had its engine in the right place? Exactly the debate that must be raging inside Porsche, engineers on one side, marketeers and Porsche traditionalists on the other.
Fact File
Price Range (in lakhs)*
| Ex-showroom price | Rs 69.38 lakh (estimated, ex-Delhi) |
Engine
| Fuel | Petrol |
| Installation | Mid, longitudnal, RWD |
| Type | 6-cyls, horizontally opposed, 3436cc, naturally aspirated, petrol |
| Power | 311bhp at 6700rpm |
| Torque | 36.7kgm at 4500-5800rpm |
Transmission
| Gearbox | 7-speed dual clutch automatic |
Dimensions
| Length | 4374mm | ||||
| Width | 1801mm | ||||
| Height | 1281mm | ||||
| Wheel base | 2475mm | by autocarindia.com |
Jaguar XKR-S review
Fact File
Price Range (in lakhs)*
| Ex-showroom price | Rs 1.34 crore (pre-budget, ex-showroom, Mumbai) |
Engine
| Fuel | Petrol |
| Installation | Front, Longitudnal |
| Type | 5000cc V8 |
| Power | 542bhp at 6000rpm |
| Torque | 69.3kgm at 2500rpm |
Transmission
| Gearbox | six-speed auto |
Saturday, 14 April 2012
New Audi Q3 review, test drive
Audi’s foray into SUVs started with that Bollywood favourite, the seven-seat Q7. Then came the Q5, which offered much of what we loved in the big Q7, but in a five-seat package. The company’s latest offering, the Q3, is its smallest SUV yet, so can we expect more of the same? We have been driving it in Goa and here are our first impressions of the baby SUV.
Audi is taking a different route, at least at launch, from the one BMW took with its X1. While the Bimmer is equipped and specified to offer the best price possible, the Q3 aims to deliver the full Audi experience. As a result, the Indian-spec model is fully-loaded with kit and looks and feels as good as any of its bigger siblings on the inside. It also gets Audi’s Quattro four-wheel-drive system as standard, while the BMW is rear-wheel drive only.
Fact File
Engine
| Fuel | Diesel |
| Power | 174bhp/4200rpm |
| Torque | 38.74kgm 1750-2500rpm |
Transmission
| Gearbox | 7speed S tronic DCT |
Dimensions
| Length | 4385mm |
| Width | 1831mm |
| Height | 1602mm |
Suspension
| Front | McPherson struts with aluminum lower wishbones |
| Rear | Four-link rear suspension with separate spring/shock absorber arrangement |
Brakes
| Front | Dual circuit brake system (Ventilated) |
| Rear | solid discs |
Maruti Ertiga review, test drive
Fact File
Price Range (in lakhs)*
| Ex-showroom price | Rs 7-9 lakh Ex-showroom (estimated) |
Engine
| Fuel | Petrol / Diesel |
| Installation | Front, transverse, front-wheel drive |
| Type | 4 cyls in-line, 1373cc, petrol/ 4 cyls in-line, 1248cc, turbo-diesel |
| Power | 93.8bhp at 6000rpm/ 88.5bhp at 4000rpm |
| Torque | 13.25kgm at 4000rpm/ 20.39kgm at 1750rpm |
Transmission
| Gearbox | 5-speed manual |
Dimensions
| Length | 4265mm |
| Width | 1695mm |
| Height | 1685mm |
| Wheel base | 2740mm |
| Ground clearance | 185mm |
Chassis & Body
| Weight | 1160kg/1235kg |
| Wheels | 15inch |
| Tyres | 185/65 R15 |
Suspension
| Front | Independent, MacPherson struts |
| Rear | Non-independent, torsion beam |
Steering
| Type | Rack and pinion |
| Type of power assist | Electric assist |
Brakes
| Front | Ventilated discs |
| Rear | Drums |
Mitsubishi Pajero Sport review
Fact File
Price Range (in lakhs)*
| Ex-showroom price | Rs 23.53 lakh (ex-Delhi) |
Engine
| Fuel | Diesel |
| Installation | Front, longitudinal, four wheel-drive |
| Power | 176bhp at 4000rpm |
| Torque | 40.78kgm at 2000-2500rpm |
Transmission
| Gearbox | 5-speed manual |
Dimensions
| Length | 4695mm |
| Width | 1815mm |
| Height | 1840mm |
Chassis & Body
| Tyres | 265/65R17 |
Suspension
| Front | Independent, double wishbone, coil springs, stabiliser bar |
| Rear | non-independent, 3-link, coil springs, stabiliser bar |
Brakes
| Front | Ventilated disc |
| Rear | Solid discs |
Performance
| 0-20 | 1.64 |
| 0-40 | 3.46 |
| 0-60 | 5.63 |
| 0-80 | 8.84 |
| 0-100 | 12.45 |
| 0-120 | 18.04 |
| 0-140 | 25.06 |
Acceleration in gear
| 20-80kph in 3rd gear | 12.56sec |
| 40-100kph in 4th gear | 16.04sec |
Economy
| Tank size | 70-litres |
by autocarindia
Sunday, 11 March 2012
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