Honda City 2014

Price : 7.18 – 10.92 lakhs (Ex-showroom Delhi)

Specifications:

Engine

Type (P) - 4 cylinder 1497 cc, Petrol

Type (D) - 4 cylinder 1498 cc, Diesel

Power (P) - 117.3 bhp @ 6600 RPM 

Power (D) - 99 bhp @ 3600 RPM power 

Transmission

Gearbox - 5-speed Automatic/Manual, 6-speed Manual

Type - FWD

Seating Capacity

5 seater

Steering

Power steering

Measurement

Dimensions - 4440x1695x1495mm

Ground clearance - 165mm

Mileage

City -14.3 kmpl (P), 23kmpl (D)

Highway -17.8kmpl (P), 26 kmpl (D)

Brakes

Front - Ventilated Disc

Rear - Drums

ABS - Yes

Suspension

Front - MacPherson strut

Rear - Torsion Beam

Tires

Tire size - 175/65 R15

Wheel size - 15”

Review:

The all new Honda City looks all premium this time with major changes on its exteriors that make it contemporary and poses it with an all new ‘Shark Conceptual design’. The changes have been intelligently done on the exteriors to make it more appealing than the forerunners and resemble it with the ideal Honda City fleet. What makes it more adorable is the exclusive package of New Solid Wing Face Chrome Grille with company’s ‘H’ Badge at the centre, Premium Headlights and Premium Tail lamps. Built with high tensile steel along with the light weight and rigid body structure, the City comes framed with the new edge technology. Added to this, it is also blessed with high balance chassis system than ensures comfort and safety at the same time. Smoothness while driving is ensured with the classy set of suspensions that irons the uneven roads with ease. Like the previous generations, the new Honda City is five on five in terms of practicality ensuring best in class vehicle operating and stability. Besides this, the new City becomes an ideal car for the typical Indian conditions as the company has improved its ground contact performance by modifying the exhaust layout across the wheelbase centre.

Exterior

The revised sedan is not a completely new product and development has taken place in terms of a sporty and aggressive design. This is based on the carmaker’s ‘Exciting H Design’ philosophy which is expected to make its way to all the upcoming cars from Honda. The changes include the modifications to the front and rear profile of the vehicle. The revised front grille displays a singular broad horizontal slat laden with chrome. It tapers upwards at the edges and gets the Honda emblem in the centre. The grille extends down to the bumper which sees another thin horizontal slat before the air intakes. The double barrel headlamps are wider. The front bumper, which houses the circular fog lamps with honeycomb surrounds, gets redesigned air intakes. The bonnet has two vertical creases to channelize the air.

The side profile of the car also exhibits the creases meant to reduce the overall aerodynamic drag. Though the overall length of the vehicle is the same, the wheelbase is longer. The top end variant of the car stands tall on swept back design alloy wheels while the lower models get wheel caps with a similar shape. A slight change can be seen on the rear bumper but what is worth mentioning is the two-part layout of the tail lamps. The outer part of the tail light extends into the sides of the car, while the inner part is on the boot lid. The chrome strip running horizontally above the licence plate slot spreads across the rear linking the lamps. The car is tall from behind but the height is unrecognizable thanks to the horizontal lines added to the back.

The overall length of new Honda City is 4440 mm which is slightly lesser than the rival Hyundai Fludic Verna. However, its wheel base is slightly more and measures, 2600 mm. This extended wheel base ensures plenty of leg-room space to the occupants. The width of this mid-size sedan is also sufficient and measures 1695 mm, while its height extends up to 1495 mm. Moreover, the ground clearance of the new Honda City is 165 mm.

Interior

The interiors of the new Honda City are very similar to the layout of the previous car. However, the plastic quality has improved. It now gets a beige and black colour scheme with leather upholstery on the top spec variants while the lower variants get a fabric trim. The steering wheel has been revised and is larger than the previous one. It gets more buttons on it for audio connectivity, phone controls and cruise control.

The instrument cluster has three circles with the one in centre for the speedometer, the left one for the tachometer and the one on the right side to display the other information like the trip metre, the fuel gauge and the instant fuel consumption. The speedo boasts of two colours for the backlight- blue and green. If you are driving efficiently, the blue light turns into green. For tuning the car to the best possible efficiency, the automatic car’s dashboard gets an ‘Eco’ button. A centre arm rest is also present.

he new City comes blessed with airy interiors. It gets premium quality upholstery, ample of headrests, leg-room, head-room and shoulder-width for all the passengers. At the rear, the Honda City comes with a large cargo volume (boot space), measuring 510 Litres. Besides this, ventilation is properly channelized in the car through front and rear AC vent

Engine and Gearbox

The new Honda City is being offered with two sets of engines and gearbox options. The diesel engine is the 1.5-litre i-DTEC unit from the Amaze sedan that churns out 98bhp and 200Nm of torque while the petrol is the retuned version of the 1.5-litre i-VTEC unit which produces 119bhp and 145Nm of torque. The diesel is mated to a six –speed manual while the petrol gets an option of a five-speed manual CVT gearbox.

The 4th Generation Honda City is all good in terms of acceleration and pick-up. The 1.5 Litre i-VTEC petrol mill is the same one borrowed from the predecessors that attains speed range of 0 – 100 kmph in just 10 seconds with its top speed of 170. Besides this, the newly introduced diesel engine is also commendable in terms of acceleration and pick up and its NVH level is also quite low.

Competition

The new Honda City will rival the Hyundai Verna, Volkswagen Vento, Ford Fiesta, Skoda Rapid, Nissan Scala and the next generation of the Maruti Suzuki SX4.

Colours

Carnelian Red Pearl

Golden Brown Metallic

Alabaster Silver Metallic

Taffeta White

Crystal Black Pearl

Urban Titanium Metallic

Verdict

At a starting price of Rs 7.18 lakh for the petrol model and Rs 8.62 lakh for the long-awaited diesel, Honda has banged the nail on the head, rather hard. The all-new, feature-packed interiors and shockingly spacious back seat havent just raised the bar, they have catapulted it out of reach of its competition 

Harley Davidson Street 750

 Price: 4.1 lakhs (Ex-showroom Delhi)

Specifications:

Engine

Type – 2 cylinder 749 cc, Petrol

Power - 47 bhp  @ 4000 RPM power

Cooling system – Liquid cooled

Transmission
Gearbox - 6-speed Manual
Type – Belt Drive

Measurement

Dimensions - 2,226x815mm

Seat height - 709mm

Ground clearance - 144mm

Brakes

Front - Disc Brakes

Rear - Disc brakes

Suspension

Front - Telescopic forks

Rear - Gas charged shocks, Rectangular swingarm

Tires

Tyre size – Front :100/80 R17, Rear: 150/70 R15

Wheel size – Front :17”, Rear: 15”

Review:

The new Harley Davidson Street 750 has not just been made for India but will also be Made in India, with the assembly taking place at the manufacturer’s Bawal facility in Haryana!

Design and build

The bike draws design traits from a lot of older generation of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, but the final result is a fresh and rather simplistic bike. And that’s because the Street 750 is intended to be a blank canvas for imaginations to run wild. But every bit of this motorcycle’s designs screams that it’s meant to be on urban roads.

Right from the skinny tyres and café-style headlamp fairing, to the flat teardrop tank, over the low slung frame and the LED tail-lamps, everything about the Street 750 has a very young look. But the first impression, a rather lasting one at that, is that the Street 750 is a rather compact motorcycle, by Harley standards.

The paint job is brilliant, and so is the overall finish. The buttons and electricals are of very good quality, and none of the plastic attachments rattle away. The seat height is at 25.4 inches off the ground, which gives it a rather comfortable upright riding stance. However, taller riders may have to opt for the additional ‘Tall Boy’ saddle.

Engine performance

The liquid-cooled 749cc Revolution X V-Twin engine that powers the Street 750 is an all new one. And it screams refinement. The most impressive bit about the engine is how it feeds the healthy torque to the low and mid range of the power bands. The torque peaks out at 60Nm, and kicks in rather early at 4,000 rpm.

This results in an engine that is peppy, with really sharp throttle response – but it isn’t overdone, so you can easily crawl in heavy traffic too. Mated to the engine is a six-speed gearbox, which has very reasonably distributed gear ratios. There’s a sharp audible response too, when you shift gears.

There are a couple of niggles though. While the overall heat dissipation is quite good, thanks to the new liquid cooling system and the engine’s geometry, you do feel a bit of the engine heat on your left thigh when you’re at a standstill in traffic after a good, long run. Second, the exhaust note just doesn’t pack the Harley-Davidson character. As opposed to the Forty Eight or the Iron 883, which literally roar when revved, the Street 750 produces a rather docile whirr. But then the manufacturer does give an option to upgrade to the Screaming Eagle exhaust kit, so a better exhaust note can be had for a price.

Ride and handling

This has to be the most agile and manoeuvrable motorcycle that Harley-Davidson has ever built. The higher ground clearance (higher, if you consider other Harleys) saves it from scraping its underbelly on Indian speed humps, and the low and centralized centre of gravity lets you do some insane cornering.

The suspensions soak up more bumps on the road than one could imagine. The travel on the rear suspension was enough to go over some of Delhi's worst roads, and the front telescopes are neither too stiff nor too spongy. The stock suspension setting is spot on, for India. Braking is a bit of a disappointment, though. The rear brake feels very spongy, and we are not happy with the stopping distances. For a motorcycle with such sharp riding characteristics, braking could have been a bit sharper.

There’s hardly any vibration to be worried about, even when the needle crosses the 150kmph mark. Sure, the wind blast is rather unsettling, but we’re guessing that the optional windscreen might fix this to an extent. Also, while the turning radius has improved over its bigger siblings, it’s still just a bit wide by Indian standards.

Colours

•  Red

• Black

Verdict : 

It is well suited for urban riding, we think that this can take on a bit of touring as well. For an ex-showroom price of ₹4.1 lakh, this is a Harley-Davidson that entry-level riders, especially the younger ones, would love riding. 

Maruti Suzuki Ciaz

Launch date - September 2014

Launch price - 7.25 - 10.5 lakhs

Maruti Suzuki ‘YL1’ also known as Maruti Suzuki Ciaz is expected to replace the SX4 sedan and will be based on the Ciaz Concept that Maruti Suzuki showcased at the 2014 Auto Expo.The production-spec Ciaz will draw design inspiration from the concept and will get a sleek and sporty stance. Suzuki is benchmarking the car against Hyundai’s fluidic sculpture design philosophy that is seen on the Verna.

Therefore, we expect that the bodywork, headlights and taillights will feature flowing curves and creases that look more contemporary. Maruti Suzuki is targeting the cosmopolitan and young audience with this sedan and therefore the styling and the dynamics are expected to be sportier than the SX4 sedan. A wide range of engines and states of tune are being tested on the Ciaz, but more importantly, the sedan will also get the automated manual transmission (AMT) technology that recently debuted on the Celerio.

Unlike the SX4 sedan, which had a limited reach, the Ciaz will be a global sedan. The equipment levels, however, will vary as per market requirement. We expect the India-spec Ciaz to get a push-button starter, climate control, rear A/C vents and automatic headlamps and wipers. The Maruti Suzuki Ciaz will be launched in the Indian market in September 2014. 

Upon its launch, the Ciaz will compete with the likes of the Honda City, the Hyundai Verna, the Volkswagen Vento and the Nissan Sunny.

Maruti Suzuki Celerio

Price: 3.79 -4.81 lakhs (Ex-showroom Delhi)

Specifications:

Engine

Type - 3 cylinder 998 cc, Petrol
Power - 67 bhp @ 6000 RPM power

Transmission
Gearbox - 5-speed Manual/Automated manual
Type - FWD 

Seating Capacity

5 seater 

Steering

Power steering

Measurement

Dimensions - 3,600x1,600x1,560mm

Ground clearance - 165mm

Mileage

City - 19 kmpl
Highway - 22 kmpl

Brakes

Front - Ventilated Disc Brakes

Rear - Drum brakes

Suspension

Front - McPherson strut with coil spring

Rear - Coupled torsion beam axle with coil spring

Tires

Tyre size - 165/70 R14

Wheel size - 14”

Review:

Every time we feel that Maruti is marginally going out of their way and loosing market grip, in comes a reply from the automaker that usually decides the fate of the future Indian auto industry. Maruti Suzuki's latest offering Maruti Celerio , which will be a replacement of the average performing A-Star and Estilo models, falls in this category. The hatchback will be available in some other countries as well besides India. Given the propelling small car market, the new Celerio certainly bounds a lot of potential to place the brand up against its rivals. Talking about the company’s success in the auto industry, then particularly, the hatchback segment has made a greater contribution to the company’s success. This time with the all-new Celerio, the company is aiming to reach greater heights in the coming future.The new Celerio is robust, sporty and has engine mechanics that are certainly upgraded to deliver the driving experience like never before.

Exterior

Maruti Celerio’s exteriors are pleasing and are designed keeping in view the choices of the young audiences. It gets a sporty stance with front having sharper edges. The styling cues of the model have been taken from the A-Wind concept that was recently unveiled. The company has clearly chalked out its plans to target the young generation and is confident to churn on the sales numbers. It can be said that the company needed one such product to sustain amidst the challenging market conditions existing in India. 

The all new Maruti Celerio gets a sporty stance and a taller height in comparison to its predecessor, A-Star. It measures 3600mm x 1600mm x 1540mm ( length x width x height) when it comes to its exterior dimensions, while the wheelbase measures 2425mm making it offer generous space inside the vehicle. The rear room is enough to accommodate three passengers. The side profile is also done elegantly with the prominent crease flowing from rear to the front fenders of the car. 

Interiors and variants

The interiors of the hatch look decent with the dual-tone effect and a roomier cabin. The seating arrangement is aptly done with sufficient space that offers better legroom and headroom to the occupants. More practical and functional elements are added inside the car. Maruti Celerio has got a class-leading luggage space and also features touch-screen display, leather wrapped steering wheel and gear knobs.

Engine and gearbox

Under the hood, the new hatch gets a 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder K-series petrol engine which belts out top power of 67bhp and peak torque of 90Nm. The engine is combined with four-speed automatic and five-speed manual gear transmission. The company has tuned the engine to make it offer better mileage as well as greater performance. Presently, Maruti has no plans to launch a diesel Celerio but they may come up with one in the future.Inside, the top-spec Celerio gets beige and black upholstery, Bluetooth enabled music system and electric OVRMs. On the safety front optional features include ABS and dual front airbags. However, we expect the dealers will offer many company approved accessories for the Celerio.

Competition

  

Maruti Suzuki Celerio competes with the Hyundai Santrro Xing and the Chevrolet Beat.

Colours

Colors available with all variants of Maruti Celerio.

• Blazing Red
• Sunshine Ray
• Cerulean Blue
• Silky Silver
• Glistening Grey
• Cave Black
• Pearl Artic White

Verdict :

 The Celerio might just set the charts on fire with its Automatic Manual Transmission. In our opinion, Maruti have another winner on the cards here.

Datsun GO

Price: 3.12 -3.74 lakhs (Ex-showroom Delhi)

Specifications:

Engine

Type - 3 cylinder 1198 cc, Petrol

Power - 67 bhp @ 5000 RPM power 

Transmission
Gearbox - 5-speed Manual
Type - FWD 

Seating Capacity
5 seater 

Steering
Manual steering 
Power steering

Measurement
Dimensions- 3,785x1,635x1,485 mm

Ground clearance- 170mm

Mileage

City – 17 kmpl
Highway – 20.6 kmpl

Brakes

Front - Ventilated Disc Brakes

Rear - Drum brakes

Suspension

Front - Mcpherson Strut with suspension member and double pivot lower arm

Rear - H-type Torsion Beam with high performance linear damper

Tires

Tyre size - 155/70 R13

Wheel size - 13"

Review:

The Datsun GO is the new budget hatchback from the Nissan stable. The brand was revived after a period of 30 years and will be used to sell budget cars in various developing markets. Each of these markets will get a model suited to their specific needs and for the hatchback-crazy Indian market Datsun has brought GO and will eventually also launch the GO+ MPV.

Exterior

The Datsun GO hatchback in the front gets a hexagonal grille with chrome inserts and headlights that flow from the front of the hood to the middle. The grille and bumper in combination with the lines of the hood work to give the car a muscular appearance despite its small size. The side profile is reminiscent of the Nissan Micra as the GO is based on the former. A speciality is that Datsun has fitted the windows with black cladding and this matches the black colour OVRMs.

At the back the GO gets a vertically stacked light design, openable boot lid but looks clean due to minimal badging. Datsun has also fitted the black cladding at the back in a bid to keep the appearance even throughout the vehicle. In terms of measurements, the GO is 3.7 meters long (2.4 meters wheelbase), 1.6 meters wide and 1.4 meters high.

Interiors and variants

The GO gets two tone interiors with beige trim and grey as the second colour. On the feature list the GO gets air-conditioning and AUX-IN with two speakers. There is also a USB port but strictly to be used as a mobile charging point only.

Standard features across all variants include digital tachometer, drive computer that displaysinstantaneous fuel economy, average fuel economy and distance to empty, follow-me-homeheadlamps, speed sensitive wipers and a silver finish front radiator grille.

The mid-level A variant adds an air conditioner with filter, chrome front grille, body coloured bumpers and Jacquard seat upholstery to the equation. The top of the line T variant comes with speed sensitive electric power steering, front power windows, Mobile Docking Station (MDS) with amplifier, universal mobile holder, aux-in and USB charger, front speakers, central locking and full wheel covers.

Engine and gearbox

The Datsun GO is powered by a 1.2-litre engine that produces 67bhp and 104Nm of torque. It is mated to a five-speed manual gearbox and has an ARAI certified fuel efficiency of 20.6 kmpl. At present the car is only offered with this engine but we expect that in the future they will also offer kits for LPG and CNG conversions.

Competition

The Datsun GO competes in the A+ segment with the Hyundai Eon, Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 and the Chevrolet Spark.

Colours

Colors available with all variants of Datsun GO.

Sky

White

Silver

Ruby

Verdict :

 With the price expected to be under Rs. 4 lakh, the Go is likely to shake up the small car class