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

A sneak peek into the talk-of-the-town Tesla Model 3 that will mark the entry of Elon Musk’s car enterprise in India

The news about the India launch of the most sought-after electric car in the world, the Tesla Model 3 broke out on Friday, but was quickly discarded as a Fool’s Day prank. Soon though, Elon Musk’s public statement confirmed the entry of Tesla in the sub-continent with its new sedan, soon after which, the bookings for the car were declared open.

The Tesla Model 3, ever since, has been the talk of the town. Here we look at the top five facts about the car that make it really drool-worthy.

Roof completely made of glass

On the design front, the car's roof area is one continuous pane of glass, which drew a roar of applause from the audience during Elon Musk’s speech at the launch. The all-glass roof culminates into a semi-glass boot trunk at the rear.

Tesla has established a pretty crisp and coherent design vocabulary with the Model S and Model X, and the Model 3 is a pretty clear development of those basic ideas. 

The absence of a grille on the front is a notable feature while the headlight-hood treatment seems inspired by luxury car brands. Overall the new 5-seater electric sedan looks a toned down version of the Model S.

Thousands of superchargers 

The cars powertrain comes fitted with a total of 7,200 Superchargers, double the number available today, which can propel the car to from 0-60 mph (0-96km) in less than 6 seconds. 

Supercharger support and a 346km range will be standard across all variants and like the Model S, the Model 3 will also come in both rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive versions.

Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk confirmed on Twitter that the company will set up a pan-India supercharger network. Considering that the car will be available in early 2018, Tesla is expected to utilise this time to set up its infrastructure in the country.

Big screen on the dashboard

Inside the Tesla Model 3, five adults can fit comfortably. It features more cargo capacity than any petrol or diesel car of the same external dimensions. 

Tesla has reportedly tapped electronics company LG to make the giant 15-inch landscape touchscreen display on the inside of the car. This is just 2 inches smaller than the centre screen in Tesla’s flagship Model S sedan and Model X SUV. 

Could be priced in India at around Rs 37 lakh

With a US sticker price of $35,000 (about Rs 23 lakh), the final on-road price in India would depend on how Tesla wishes to present this car in India. If the car is brought to India in parts and assembled here, the import duty would vary between 10 per cent and 30 per cent, depending on the level of assembling done in the country.  

However, if the car is launched in India as a completely built unit, the on-road price would rise by 60 per cent -- the import duty applicable for all imported cars priced below $40,000.  At that level of tariffs, the Tesla Model 3 could land on Indian shores with a price-tag of around Rs 37 lakh.

Book it for Rs 66,000 in India!

With its rather steep pricing, the country’s customers have a chance to block their Model 3 with an equally large token amount of around Rs 66,000 (the rupee equivalent of $1,000). But that hasn’t stopped early adopters like Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma and venture capitalist Mahesh Murthy to book their Teslas already. 

Courtesy :  Zigwheels

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

Expanding the reach of its flagship touring bike in the country, Mahindra 2-wheelers launched the Mojo in 15 more cities on Friday, informed a press release. Into the second phase of its launch, the Mahindra Mojo has been introduced in 23 more dealerships across 11 states in India. 

The bike was launched in October last year and despite a significant delay in its introduction, is doing decently well in the country’s markets. And after the phase II of its launch, the bike will now be offered in cities like Vizag, Vijawada, Chandigarh, Delhi, Goa, Ahmedabad, Indore, Nagpur, Jaipur, Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Kolkata.

The Indian company’s chief operating officer Vinod Sahay highlighted the importance of the Mojo in its stables, on the occasion. “Taking this (positive) sentiment forward, the bike will now be available across 14 states and 34 dealerships, thus making it possible for more consumers to have access to a superior touring bike,” he said.

“To further enhance the engagement between MOJO owners, we are creating communities in cities where it is launched. The MOJO Tribe will provide a platform for MOJO owners to share their riding experiences and plan similar trails with fellow members. Owners can also share live updates via our exclusive MOJO Tribe Mobile App,” Sahay added.

The Mahindra Mojo is powered by an indigenously developed liquid cooled, single-cylinder unit with a capacity of 295cc. The engine is good for 27PS and 30 Nm. Equipped with a large 21-litre fuel tank, making it ideal for touring, the bike returns around 35km per litre.

Courtesy : Zigwheels