The Tata Tiago is all set to be launched on April 6, 2016. A midsize

 hatchback, it will lock horns with the current segment incumbent and 

1. The Tiago is all new, except for one part borrowed from the original Indica

The last time Tata Motors launched an all-new vehicle was way back in 2010, when the Aria hit the streets (the Bolt and the Zest were heavily reworked versions of the Vista). The Tiago, thus, marks the reinvention of Tata. Pretty much everything has been developed from the ground up. Except for the base floorpan, which is borrowed from the Indica.

2. The Tiago heralds a new design language for Tata

Tata’s new 'Impact' design language will make its debut with the Tiago. The design language, according to Tata’s head of design, Pratap Bose, is based on the impression formed on prospective customers within the first 20 seconds of viewing a car. 'Impact' design cars, Tata says, will feature best-in-class size, appealing cabin-to-body ratios, driver-centric layouts and cleverly designed in-cabin storage spaces.

3. The Tiago will be powered by new three-cylinder petrol and diesel engines

Tata Motors has developed new three-cylinder petrol and diesel engines, called Revotron and and Revotorq respectively, which will be introduced in the Tiago. The 1.2-litre Revotron petrol engine is a lightweight, all-aluminium, four-valve, DOHC setup with variable cam timing for the intake valves. The Revotorq is the three-cylinder 1.05-litre turbo-diesel with a cast iron block, aluminium head and four-valve, twin-cam setup. Both come with City and Eco drive modes. 

4. The Tiago witnessed a fiasco

The Tiago was originally christened 'Zica', short for 'Zippy Car'. Unfortunately for Tata, the outbreak of a cheap replica watches similarly named virus, Zika, led to an unappealing association. After much ‘strategic thinking’, the carmaker crowdsourced the name ‘Tiago’, which also happens to be the name of Tata’s ambassador, Lionel Messi’s first child.

5. The Tiago is big on in-car entertainment

In a bid to out-rival competitors, the Tiago features a segment-topping multimedia system. The infotainment system has been developed by Harman, and comes with an impressive four-speaker four-tweeter setup. You also get the Juke Car app, which allows each passenger to add songs from their device to a playlist on the phone that is paired with car’s audio player. The cooled glovebox features a dedicated recess for tablets – tech junkies rejoice!

Combined with its impressive claimed fuel efficiency of 23.5kpl, and an expected starting price tag of sub-Rs 4 lakh, this car just might put Tata Motors back in the game.

Courtesy : Autocar

We pit the NuvoSport against its main rivals, including the TUV300, to see how it compares on paper.

Mahindra has launched the NuvoSport with prices starting at Rs 7.35 lakh (ex-showroom, Thane). The compact SUV is essentially a major overhaul of the Quantoand gets a new chassis, a new front fascia along with a revised interior. Like its sibling the TUV300 and its predecessor, the NuvoSport is available with a flexible 5+2 seating arrangement with two jump seats in the boot.

Amongst its rivals in the segment sits its sibling the TUV300. Unlike the NuvoSport, the TUV300 is an all-new SUV from Mahindra. Featuring old-school styling with upright and straight-edged looks, the TUV300 was launched in the latter half of 2015.

The EcoSporthas been the best-selling compact SUV in the segment for some years now, and the Ford is replica watches UK the only model here to offer both a petrol and diesel engine. One of the best equipped cars in the segment, the EcoSport is the also the only model here to offer six airbags on its top variant.
The newest amongst the NuvoSport’s rivals, the MarutiVitaraBrezza is Maruti’s attempt to shake up the segment that has been dominated by the Ford EcoSport. The Brezzais an all-new SUV and offers traditional SUV looks along with a well laid-out cabin and comes quite generously equipped in its higher variants. The Brezza has also been dubbed as a ‘Create in India’ product with nearly all its design and engineering handled in-house by Maruti.

Dimensions

In terms of dimensions, the EcoSport is the longest of the lot at 3,999mm; a mere 1mm short of 4 metres while the TUV300 and the Brezza share identical figures of 3,995mm. The NuvoSport is the shortest vehicle here with a length of 3,985mm – 10mm shorter than the TUV300 and VitaraBrezza. But the new Mahindra is the widest amongst its rivals at 1850mm.The TUV300 comes in next at 1,835mm while the EcoSport is the narrowest at 1,765mm. The Brezza has a width of 1,790mm. The NuvoSport is also the tallest of the lot at 1,870mm. TUV300 is next in line at 1,839mm followed by the EcoSport at 1,708mm and the Brezza at 1,640mm.

In terms of wheelbase, the NuvoSport again leads the lot with a length of 2760mm. The TUV300 is again seconds at 2,680mm. The EcoSport, at 2,520mm, comes in next, with the VitaraBrezza trailing its rivals with a wheelbase of 2,500mm.

However, it is the EcoSport that sits highest off the ground at 200mm followed by the Brezza at 198mm and the TUV300 at 184mm. At 176mm, the NuvoSport sits closest to the ground.

Engines

The VitaraBrezza uses the smallest displacement diesel engine amongst its competitors. Powered by the 1.3-litre DDiS200 engine seen in the larger S-cross, the compact SUV develops 90hp of power and 200Nm of torque. The NuvoSport, EcoSport and TUV300, on the other hand, use 1.5-litre units. The NuvoSport’s unit leads with power output at 102hp followed closely by the EcoSport with an output of 100hp.The TUV300 manual and AMT's 83.5hp and 80hp,respectively,make it the least powerful in this comparison. In terms of torque, the NuvoSport again leads the way with 240Nm of pulling power. The TUV300 follows with 229.5Nm and last sits the EcoSport with 205Nm of pulling power. All cars here use a five-speed manual gearbox as standard with the TUV300 and NuvoSport getting the option of a five-speed AMT gearbox as well.

Furthermore, the EcoSport is the only model in this list to offer a choice of petrol engines in the form of a 111.5hp, 1.5-litre naturally aspirated engine and a smaller 124.7hp, 1.0-litre EcoBoost turbo-petrol motor paired to a choice of manual or automatic gearboxes.

As can be seen from the above comparison, the NuvoSport makes a strong case for itself in terms of its exterior dimensions and powerful diesel engine.

Courtesy : Autocar

Tesla’s electric car for the masses, the Model 3, was always destined for success, but not even co-founder and chairman Elon Musk could’ve anticipated the feverish rush it would create for customers

The Model 3 is the electric vehicle upon which everything the Silicon Valley company and its genius co-founder Elon Musk dreamt of for transportation is built. Its predecessors, the Roadster, the Model S, and Model X, were just means to an end - the end being building an affordable (relatively speaking) electric car that puts an end to all the concerns consumers has with EVs with the profit generated from its more expensive siblings that came before it.

Unveiled last week at a glitzy ceremony at Tesla Motor’s design studio in Hawthorne, California, the Model 3 shattered all records and expectations when the preorders started pouring in, both online and in dealerships across the world. Musk tweeted on Sunday that Tesla had received 276,000 orders worldwide for its $35,000 Model 3 by the end of Saturday, more than 18 months before the first deliveries will be made. If all those orders turned into actual purchases, Tesla would be in line for about $10bn in revenues from the Model 3.

This whooping figure could be even higher in reality considering the Model 3’s average selling price projected by Musk is well above the $35,000 base price. Analysts earlier had estimated the first Model 3s off the factory line in Fremont, California, could be loaded with extra equipment and sell for $50,000 to$60,000.

Tesla has undertaken a costly expansion of the Fremont plant, aiming to boost annual capacity to 500,000 by 2020, with production of the Model 3 ramping up slowly through 2019. Some analysts said the company could have trouble filling all the initial Model 3 orders, which are accompanied by a refundable $1,000 deposit, until 2020.

The Model 3 will also mark the EV maker’s entry into India. Musk has already confirmed that “Supercharging” stations will be set up across the country later next year, to go with the sales of the Model 3.

Indian customers can sill pre-book the Model 3 for the rupee-equivalent of $1,000 – which translates to roughly Rs 66,000 in today’s exchange rate. That is quite a price to put down for a car that could possibly cost more than twice it costs in its home market, but that hasn’t stopped early adopters like Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of mobile wallet company Paytm, venture capitalist Mahesh Murthy, Vishal Gondal of wearable and fitness technology company GOQii, and Sujayath Ali, CEO of online fashion platform Voonik from forking out the cash.

As for the car itself, the Tesla Model S will reportedly deliver at least 350 kilometres on a single charge, and the base version will sprint from 0-96 kmph in under 6 seconds. Inside, five adults will fit comfortably, and it features more cargo capacity than any petrol or diesel car of the same external dimensions. Other faster and more powerful variants are also in the pipeline.  

Courtesy : Zigwheels

The Octavia is branded as the most successful Skoda ever, and has achieved production of five million units since its launch in 1996.

Skoda has rolled out its one millionth third-generation Octavia from its main factory in Mladá Boleslav. The model was introduced in 1996, and the Czech carmaker has produced five million Octavias until now. Identified as the most successful Skoda ever, the third-generation model was launched in 2013 and underscores the success of the vehicle in international markets.

In addition to production in the Czech Republic, the Octavia runs off the assembly lines in China, Russia, India and Kazakhstan. As the carmaker’s largest individual market, China plays a crucial role for both the brand and the model. The Octavia was launched in China in May 2014. Since then, the compact-class vehicle has been produced at SAIC Volkswagen’s factory in Ningbo. In 2015 alone, 4,32,300 vehicles from the Octavia model series were sold around the world, which is around 11 percent more than the previous year. Between January and February 2016, 70,500 Octavias have been sold.

In India, the model has been among the most popular ones for the company and is the second most-sold car after the fake rolex watches Rapid. Available with the option of  two petrol engines and one diesel engine in the country, Skoda sold 6,097 third-gen Octavias since its launch in October 2013.

Courtesy : Autocar

Earlier this year, we had reported that Hyundai has started testing the sixth-generation Elantra sedan in India. According to a media report, the company is planning to launch the car in mid-2016.

The new Elantra was unveiled in Korea in September 2015. It measures 4,570 mm in length, 1,800 mm in width and 1,440 mm in height. This makes it 40 mm longer, 25 mm wider and 30 mm shorter than the fifth-generation model. At 2,700 mm, the wheelbase of the car remains unchanged.

The car has coupe-like styling with a large hexagonal grille, projector headlamps and fog lamps located in boomerang-shaped housings. At the rear, is a pair of new tail light clusters and a restyled bumper & boot. The car also gets redesigned alloy wheels.

In international markets, the Elantra is available with a choice of three engines - 1.6-litre petrol, 2.0-litre petrol and 1.6-litre diesel. The sale replica watches UK petrol engines come with 6-speed manual and automatic transmissions, while the diesel gets a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic.

Courtesy :  Team BHP