Industry leader Hero MotoCorp attacks the booming scooter market with a pair of practical commuters, the Maestro Edge and Duet.

The Maestro Edge and Duet have just become the first totally new from the grounds-up products from Hero MotoCorp since it parted ways with Honda. Hero’s always been the market’s envy, with a more than commanding share of the commuter bike segment, they have held in a vice-like grip for years now. Changing with times, the now all-Indian company has taken an earnest plunge into the scooter segment to gain share in this fast resurgent segment. 

After the Kwid, the next biggest thing for Renault will be launch of the facelifted 2015 Duster, and it has recently been spotted testing.

Then Renault brought in the Duster, it took the market by a storm. With good handling and ride quality balance backed by a good engine the car was quick to score well on the sales charts. But with the updated 2014 Mahindra Scorpio and more recently the Hyundai Creta coming in, the Duster is starting to show its age. With the Kwid out of the way, Renault will now focus its energies on the popular Duster, which is expected to get a facelift soon. 

Now, this is more or less the same car that was unveiled by the French car maker in Brazil earlier this year. Now the spy shots leaked are of a completely camouflaged car but despite that we could decipher that the headlights have now been tweaked and are flanked by horizontal Daytime Running Lamps. The three slat-chrome grille too will be replaced by a new one.  If the car revealed in Brazil is anything to go by, the Duster will get a black honeycomb grille. It gets a mildly remoulded bumper that neatly houses the fog lamps. The LED taillights too get more detail and are nicer to look at. 

The version that was spotted testing was completely covered on the inside too but we could spot a few changes. The seat fabric is expected to get a new colour combination. But it must be noted that the gear lever too was covered, hinting at a launch of an automatic Duster. Hyundai tried to earn an edge by offering the cheapest diesel automatic in the Creta, but couldn’t hold the advantage for long. A week after the Creta launch, Mahindra introduced the Scorpio automatic. 

At the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show, Renault owned Dacia unveiled a 5-speed automatic gearbox. This same unit is expected to make its way in the Duster. While the Duster gets minor cosmetic changes on the outside as well as inside, and of course a new gearbox, mechanically it will sport the same engine option. The Duster will continue to be offered with a 1.5-litre diesel mill in the 85PS and the 110PS variant. 

Courtesy : Zigwheels, Auto X

Updated Ertiga to get a petrol-automatic variant. Ertiga diesel to come with SHVS tech.

The updated Suzuki Ertiga was revealed recently in Indonesia. The updates include tweaks to the exterior and new features added to its interior as well. 

The refreshed Ertiga gets a wider chrome-laden grille up front. The front bumper is all-new and also gets chrome inserts. The side profile remains the same except for alloys with a new design on the higher trims. At the rear, a thick chrome bar runs between the tail-lamps. The boot lid also gets the addition of reflectors near the tail-lamps. Overall, the updated Ertiga seems to have received a lot more bling compared to the rather bland and understated styling of the current model.

On the inside, it gets new upholstery, electric folding wing mirrors, driver window auto-up function and new interior trim colours. Suzuki also claims to have improved sound insulation in the cabin. For the Indian market, the facelifted Ertiga is also expected to get the addition of keyless entry and go, climate control and Maruti’s SmartPlay infotainment system. It could also get different upholstery and interior trim colours.

The engines will be carried over from the current model, but are expected be tweaked to deliver improved fuel efficiency. The facelifted Ertiga is said to be powered by a 1.4-litre K14 petrol engine making 91.73bhp and 13.25kgm of torque; down from the current 93.7bhp and up from the 13.2kgm of torque. The tried and tested 1.3-litre DDiS diesel motor is also expected to undergo a similar treatment. It could, like the Ciaz, also benefit from Maruti’s fuel-saving SHVS tech. The refreshed Ertiga MPV is likley to hit showrooms in October 2015. 

Maruti is expected to equip the updated Ertiga petrol with a four-speed automatic gearbox, and this will make it the first Maruti MPV to come with an automatic transmission. This gearbox is likely to be the same unit that does duty in the Ciaz. The carmaker, however, does offer the AMT gearbox in the Celerio and the Alto K10 and has announced that it will offer CVT automatic in the upcoming Baleno hatchback. 

Courtesy : Autocar

The ride with a cause was supported by Triumph Motorcycles India for the second consecutive year.

Re-born German Carmaker Borgward looking at local assembly in India; Audi Q5-sized BX7 SUV will be the first model.

German carmaker Borgward, now re-born as a Chinese-German company, will soon launch its first new car in fifty-odd years. The first cars will soon come out of a plant in China, and Germany, understandably, will be one of the first markets.

The big news, however, is that Borgward will also be coming to India, sometime in 2016. Whereas the SUV will initially be imported, Borgward is also looking at cutting costs by assembling the SUV here, possibly at a facility owned by Chinese financial partner Foton outside Pune.

But will Indian car buyers be interested? The BX7, its first car, after all comes with only a 222bhp 2.0-litre turbo petrol and no diesel. And it will be up against some real luxury car heavy weights. Company officials though, say the positioning is really attractive. Known as ‘accessible premium’ internally, Borgward will strive to deliver an SUV the size of an Audi Q5 at around Rs 25-27 lakh; which should get it a bit of attention. And the company will also “have a full range of cars in the near future, with two all-new cars launched every year”, according to the chairman of the supervisory board and grandson of the founder, Christian Borgward.

The styling is attractive enough. Looking like something in between an Audi and a Mercedes, the BX7’s large front grille, balanced profile and Porsche Cayenne-like rear are sure to get it attention. On the inside, the show car had a fairly traditional looking dash, with a large screen at the centre and an iDrive-like rotary controller. There’s a good amount of space on the second row and there is a third row too. A novel feature is that the car will allow the driver to access information from the car’s on board diagnostics (OBD) system via a wireless link and an app.

Borgward has also been clever about how it has put the car together. A lot of  the engineering on the car has been done by various German component makers, who have the requisite skills and know-how. The chassis, Borgward claims, is its own, the all-wheel-drive system is a BorgWarner’s GenV ‘torque on demand’ system and, there are numerous safety system expected on the car like city braking assistant, active lane keeping, proximity cruise control, traffic sign recognition, and driver fatigue warning. Whether or not Indian car buyers find Borgward attractive is difficult to predict, but one thing’s for sure, the company certainly seem to be putting its shoulder to the wheel.

Courtesy : Autocar