Supper moto october 2016

EDITOR, PUBLISHER & PRINTER
Paresh Nath
maNagINg EDITOR
Rohin Nagrani
aSSOCIaTE EDITOR
Kartik Ware
aSSISTaNT EDITOR
Anubhav Sharma (Special Projects)
mOTORCYLINg & FEaTURES EDITOR
Ruman Devmane
SENIOR FEaTURES WRITER
Raunak Ajinkya
FEaTURES WRITERS
Avishar Dutta
Aadil Naik
CONTRIBUTORS
Alan Cathcart
Srinivas Krishnan
aRT DIRECTOR
Amit Naik
aSSISTaNT DESIgNER
Pranita N Mayekar
EDITORIaL, aDVERTISEmENT &
PUBLICaTION OFFICE
DELHI PRESS,
E-3, Jhandewalan Estate, Rani Jhansi Marg,
New Delhi-110 055,
Phone: 41398888, 23529557-62
Fax: 91-11-23625020
Email: advertising@delhipress.in
For editorial submissions and queries, write to:
mOTORINg WORLD
DElhi PRESS,
A4, Shriram Estate, Wadala, Mumbai – 400031,
Phone: 65766302, 65766303,
E-mail: motoringworldmag@gmail.com
For subscription contact:
subscription@delhipress.in or
visit http: //delhipress.in/subscribe
Subscription should be remitted through money
orders, cheques/ bank drafts drawn in favour of
Delhi Prakashan Vitran Private ltd.,
at E-8, Jhandewalan Estate, New Delhi - 110 055
COPYRiGhT NOTiCE: © Shobhika Media Private ltd.,
New Delhi-110055, india. All materials published in
this magazine (including, but not limited to articles,
quotations, extracts, or any parts of the article,
photographs, images, illustrations also known as the
“Content”) are protected by copyright, and owned by
Shobhika Media Private ltd.
VOLUME 3 ISSUE 10
As Motoring World October 2016
You may not modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer
or sale of, reproduce create new works from, distribute, perform,
display, or in any way exploit, any of the Content in whole or in
part. This copy is sold on the condition that the jurisdiction for
all disputes concerning sale, subscription and published matter
will be settled in courts/forums/tribunals at Delhi.
PRiNTED AT
DELHI PRESS SAMAcHAR PAtRA PVt. LtD.,
A- 36, Sahibabad, Ghaziabad & Delhi Press,
E-3, Jhandewalan Estate, New Delhi-110055
RIGht saId ed
Motoring has and will remain in our
blood, one way or another. Despite
the disagreements, the arguments, the
right and the wrong, the magazine
has grown to be resilient. There is no
reason why it shouldn't be so, because
it's always been greater than any one
individual. ‘Motoring, at the end of the
day, is a thought, an idea,’ as Bijoy once
said. The interpretation of Motoring
may vary from person to person, but
in the end, the idea has always been
the same.
Which is why, after 118 issues, it's
time for me to make way for younger
blood with fresher ideas and newer
approaches, hopefully with more fire
in their bellies and a greater thirst for
bigger and better stories. The good
thing is, you know them well and they
are just as merry as the men I started
out with.
Thanks, then, to all those who have
been a part of my life during these ten
years — from colleagues at Motoring
to colleagues at fellow publications,
blogs/websites and TV shows. From
industry and PR executives to owners
of fine machinery (most of whom I
count as friends) to you, the reader, and
anybody else who has played their part
in this journey. It's what has kept me
going and I hope you can continue to
do so for the fine lot that takes over.
Au revoir, folks!
17 years of Motoring fun
Formerly Business Standard Motoring
O
n a bright September afternoon,
as I entered the Business
Standard office for my job
interview, one hand in a cast and the
other clutching on to a copy of my
resume, I never quite knew what to
expect. The security guard manning the
phone booth gave me a quizzical look
when I said I had a meeting with Bijoy
Kumar Y, probably dismissing me even
before I had a chance to present my
case. I was quickly called in to the cabin
situated right next to the main door.
As the door opened, Bijoy, who sat
facing the door, had his expression
change from being welcoming to
being concerned; the cast, of course,
was the talking point. It came down
to me falling off a motorcycle for the
nth time and he said, 'I don't want to
see you near a motorcycle again.’ Sure,
that would have killed any chance of
being hired. In a while, the discussion
changed track to cars and planes,
my frayed nerves slowly relaxing as
the minutes went by. Shubhabrata
Marmar, or Shumi as he's known in
our fraternity, barged in at some point,
armed with a drawing on a sheet of
paper. Bijoy looked at it disapprovingly
and said, 'I asked you for a tulip chart,
not the drawing of a tulip.’ That broke
whatever little tension was in the air (I
am sure that was staged, just like we
staged the video recording of Aditya
Upadhyayula's interview).
Then, in a flash I was whisked in to
meet the rest of the team, introducing
me to a band of merry men, those
who continue to be friends and allies
to this day. Of course, I never got on a
motorcycle after that day.
THANKYOU!
A MEMBER OFFOLLOW MotoringWorld ON
ROHIN NagRaNI
Managing Editor
rohin.nagrani@delhipress.in / @rohinnagrani
6 | MOTORING WORLD | October 2016

38 experience
Land Rover Experience
Off-road Bias
42 short shift
Fiat Linea 125 S
Power Dressing
46 short shift
Audi A4
All Grown Up
UP FRONT
62 short shift
Mini Cooper
S Convertible
Top Gone
72 short shift
Hyundai Elantra
Comeback Kid
short shift
BMW 320i
Octane Rated
short shift
Mahindra Daybreak
Steroid Diet
THisMonTH
50
FOURs Field
12 Write hand drive
The Write Stuff
14 Lust
KtM Moto2
Heart Attack
16 reWind/pLay
triumph speed triple
Hooligan III
18 fast
volvo iron Knight
Horn Not OK Please
OctOBER 2016
58
78
short shift
Ferrari California T
HORSe POWeR!
20 cooL
Hot Stuff
22 Behind the sins
This Is How We Do It
24 'Bar taLK
Fast Talkin'
26 in the neWs
Peak Talk, Jeeps launched,
Mini Clubman Cooper S,
Toyota etios Platinum twins,
Land Rover Discovery,
Hyundai i30, and more

head to head
Aprilia SR 150 vs Suzuki Gixxer
Sporting event
88 Kit Bag
Bagging It
90 the grapevine
Batpod, Triumph Bulldog,
MV Agusta F4Z,
Ducati Multistrada enduro
launch, and more
112 experience
TVS Tyres Factory
Rubber Side Up
114 shutterspeed
Jexit and Fexit
116 tracK record
F1: Spa Francorchamps
and Monza,
MotoGP: Silverstone and
Misano & Red Bull Road
To Rookies Cup
mOTOFOcUs
152 the diffuser
Ride Away
iN cONclUsiON
104
126 survivors
Garage Band
138 Which car?
Listed Company
short shift
Yamaha Ray ZR
Lookin' Sharp
92
96
cover story
BMW G 310 R
Single Out

motoringworldmag
@gmail.com
twitter.com/
MyMotoringWorld
facebook.com/
MotoringWorld
Opinions expressed
here aren't endorsed by
Motoring World. Reader
discretion is advised.
things. He seems to, at least. Thanks,
nonetheless, for waiting for our
magazine patiently. Hit a couple of
snags this month. Cheers!
‘Stangarang
Glad I could catch an unbiased
review of the Mustang so early. I
read other guys’ review on it at the
track and it all seemed to be the
same, so a little bit of perspective
on regular roads was welcome.
Do tell, though. How much did
you guys fiddle around with the
burnout mode? Lots? Way too
much? Or just simply an indecent
amount? Come on, spill. That
thing just looks gorgeous in my
opinion. I would do a lot of illegal
things if it weren’t for the fact that
I still live with my grandmother.
She’s cool, but she’s not a felon.
Or an accomplice. Or able
to walk all that well, for that
matter. You guys know the
number for an osteopath?
Jai ‘I’m-56-and-living-it-up’
Mathur
Thanks, Jai. Do pass on a ‘hello!’
to grandma dearest. Please don’t
be thinking about carrying out a
bank heist with her. I’m sure she
has other things on her mind. The
Mustang was fun, albeit a little too
shortlived an experience. Didn’t
get around to the burnout mode too
much since the owner might have
gotten a bit angry at decimating
his tyres so early on. Thanks for
reading, though! Keep at it. Cheers!
here'swhatour
instagram-enabled
monkeyshavebeenup
towiththeir
opposablethumbs...
The Late Fate
Did you guys go on a
sabbatical? The September
issue took its own sweet
while coming to me, which
was strange even by your
standards. Anyway, despite
the delay, the stories
were pretty good. The
photography, too. Just so I
know, though, what do you
guys do with all that rubber
that gets thrown down after
those burnout shots that you
guys do? I’m assuming it’s
not a simple thing to do, so
there must be multiple shots
taken to ensure you get it
right. That should involve
a lot of tyre melting, and a
lot of rubber being flung. I really
like rubber. Never met someone
with the same fetish, really. Not
even women! Anyway, could you
guys do me a favour and
collect the rubber from your
burnouts and doughnuts
next time on? I’ll have it
collected from you guys as
and when possible. That’ll
be helping me out a bunch.
Thanks!
AJ ‘Fetish-for-latex’ Curzai
Er, we’re not in the habit
of looking out for leftover
rubber, AJ. Definitely one
of the oddest requests we’ve
gotten. Although, you must
get in touch with Sherman, our ex-
photographer. He shares your sense
of, well, oddity when it comes to these
WRITE HAND DRIVE

LUST
KTM MOTO2

Donor
HeartT
alk about being ‘Ready to race’. If you haven’t heard already, KTM is
planning to racing in the Moto2 class of the MotoGP championship
next year. This is all sorts of news because the Moto2 class is only
allowed to run slightly massaged Honda CBR600RR inline-four motors. Yes,
that’s right — KTM will go racing with a Honda engine. It shows KTM’s
commitment to racing, and this move goes hand in hand with its MotoGP
debut next year, too. The Austrian company aims to field a ladder all the way
from the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup to Moto3 to Moto2 and finally into
MotoGP, ensuring that talent is kept in the KTM family all the way to the top.
While we’re quite astounded by one manufacturer’s decision to go racing
with another’s engine, we have to say the prospect of a fairing with a big
‘KTM’ on its side winning a race powered by a Honda motor will be a sight
to behold. There’s every chance of that happening, since unofficial tests have
sprung rumours of some very competitive lap times. We wonder if other
manufacturers might consider following KTM’s example. Oh, and the bike
looks quite lovely, too, doesn’t it? M
October 2016 | MOTORING WORLD | 15

Triumph is hell benT on proving
Triples are here To sTay
rewind / play
1994 Triumph Speed Triple/ 2016 Triumph Speed Triple
2016:
Triumph Speed Triple
In the early ‘90s, the motorcycle industry was just
waking up to the streetfighter style and bikes like the
Ducati Monster were a tremendous success. Triumph,
not wanting to be left behind, got into the mix by
introducing their first street naked, the Speed Triple.
The Speed Triple borrowed many of its components
from the Daytona 900 and could well be considered
a parts-bin special. It came with clip-on handlebars,
a single round headlight and the same chassis and
885cc inline-triple cylinder carburetted engine from
the Daytona 900.
Making 98 bhp at 9000 rpm on a bike that weighed
209 kg, it was aggressive, raw and visceral. Triumph
used it to attract a younger audience, which was
aided by their one-make race series, the Triumph
Triple Challenge, which was a big success.
Super rare today, the original Speed Triple stuck
around for only three years, before getting a major
overhaul in 1997, which is when they introduced the
iconic bug lights, single-sided swingarm and upright
handlebars.
Triumph had
last updated the
Speed Triple in
2011, as most of
its focus was on
the smaller Street
Triple, which is still a
hot seller. However, with
the introduction of bikes
like the BMW S1000R
and the KTM Superduke
1290, the Speed Triple was
starting to look like a slow
dinosaur.
Triumph launched the
latest Speed Triple at
the 2015 EICMA show
in Milan and boasted a
total of 104 changes to the
engine alone. The 1050cc
triple now has more
power (140bhp), more
torque and consumes less
fuel than before. A revised
crankshaft, new cylinder
head and piston design,
along with a ram-air intake
and new exhaust makes
this an incredibly capable
motorcycle.
To keep in line with the
competition, electronic aids
such as ABS and traction
control are standard. Rider
modes, a slipper clutch and
Brembo Monoblocs make
it even more performance
oriented, and the R versions
come with higher-spec
Ohlins suspension at the
front and rear.
This is the most
comprehensive update for
Triumph in a very long
time and the tremendously
positive response it has
received is evidence that in
the world of big litre-class
supernakeds, Triumph’s
insistence on sticking to
inline triples is not a fool’s
endeavour. Not in the
slightest. M
NOW
1994:
Triumph Speed Triple
THEN

Heavy. Powerful. fast. volvo
VolVo Iron KnIght
Truck Off
S
ince it began, man’s obsession
with speed hasn’t diminished one
bit. From strapping motorcycle
engines to lawnmowers, to go-karts that
can hit 120 kph, the quest for making
things that were designed to not be fast,
go very fast, is never ending.
Volvo Trucks happens to be a
manufacturer that strongly ascribes to
this make-everything-faster ideology,
and it’s proved it with the hybrid Mean
Green record-breaking truck in 2012. But
they are back for more, with a brand-
new speed demon, lovingly called the
‘Iron Knight’. Weighing an incredible
4500 kg, this 12.8-litre six-cylinder diesel
engine pumps out a whopping 2367
bhp. That’s about the same power-to-
weight ratio as a Mclaren P1. With 611.7
kgm of thrust capable of catapulting it
to 100 kph in just 4.6 seconds, this is one
seriously fast truck, built with just one
goal in mind — breaking speed records.
Volvo Trucks got European Truck
Racing champion Boije Ovebrink to
pilot this behemoth up and down a
private airstrip. The result? Not one, but
two records shattered! The Iron Knight
covered 500 metres in 13.71 seconds and
1000 metres in 21.29 seconds, hitting a
top speed of 276 kph in the process. In a
four-and-a-half-tonne truck. Just let that
sink in. M

Scaled
down fun!
cool
This JDM beauty is based
on the tuned Nissan Fair-
lady Z that appears in the
1/18 NISSAN WANGAN
MIDNIGHT DEVIL Z - AUTOART
This one deserves to go onto the top shelf of any scale model display. It is
a 1/18 model of a 964 modified by the famed Japanese tuner
RAUH-Welt Begriff (RWB), founded by Akira Nakai. It
has all the trademark RWB features like the
canards up front, wide fenders and the
‘kamiwaza’ double-decker wing.
Price : ` 12,645
1/18 PORSCHE 911 (964) RWB - GT SPIRIT
Wangan Midnight Japanese
manga comic series, where
‘Wangan’ refers to the infa-
mous Japanese expressway
notorious for the midnight
street races held there.
Stunningly detailed, right
down to the tuned parts of
the L28 engine.
Price : ` 17,600
This is a painstakingly
accurate (down to the
mud-covered exterior)
scale model of the demonic
The competition history of
the Ferrari Dayto-
na is not as wide-
ly celebrated
as some of the
company’s other
models. It never com-
peted officially under the
Scuderia Ferrari colors, it
1/18 LANCIA S4 RALLY SANREMO 1986
CERRATO/CERRI - AUTOART
1/8 BUGATTI CHIRON - AMALGAM
1/18 KYOSHO FERRARI 365 GTB/4 - 1977 DAYTONA 24 HOURS
Lancia Delta S4 rally car. Its
turbocharged and super-
charged four-cylinder was
a bit hairy even for Group
B standards. This particular
example is modelled on the
one which competed in the
Italian WRC round in 1986
and was actually disquali-
fied from the rally!
Price : ` 19,135
was successful in the hands
of privateers, who used cars
After Martini, the Jagermeis-
ter livery has this ability to
make anything look absolutely
stunning. But a BMW E30 DTM
racecar doesn’t require much
effort to make it look good any-
way. This Kyosho scale model
is based on a 1992 year model,
which used to make an aston-
ishing 350 bhp from the 2.5-litre
four cylinder.
Price : ` 9800
1/18 KYOSHO BMW
M3 GERMAN TOURING
CAR CHAMPIONSHIP
1992 ‘JAGERMEISTER’
One of the first Chiron scale
models to hit the market, this
huge 1/8 example is exqui-
sitely detailed. How detailed,
you ask? It has been built
using Bugatti’s original CAD
data for the Chiron! Fur-
thermore, one can create their own personalised scale
model, down to the stitching on the seats.
Price : ` 7.04 lakh
built by Ferrari, with
class wins in 24 Hours
of LeMans. This scale
model is based on the
one which entered 1977
Daytona 24 Hours.
Price : ` 10,000
A roundup of the best
scAle model releAses of
2016 so fAr

Lights, Camera,
Blindness!
High Time
behind the SinS
this is how we do it
Buy-Ding Time
There’s the worry about the next day. An incessant fear of the
next year. Whether what you’ve been working toward will come
to fruition. An irrational need to predict the future. Allowing
fear and anxiety to seep into every decision and choice we make.
Not being bold enough when all there’s left to do is to stand up
for yourself. Commitments. Worries. Intolerances. Scepticism.
Doubt. Isn’t it time we dropped the act? Grew up? Moved on?
How much of it really matters anymore, really? At the risk of
sounding like a hypocrite, take a bit of advice from someone who
doesn’t really have all the answers, either. Get a nice ride, drive
to a beach, catch the sun as it yawns itself to life, and crack open
some bubbly. Think it’s time.
Huracán
It’s always a good day if there is a supercar shoot to help
out with, especially if the supercar in question is a bright
red Ferrari. But this time around, for me, it was the shoot
itself that was a tad more interesting than the car. We
did an indoor shoot of the California T, and Kartik had
bought a pair of huge Elinchroms flashes to light it up.
So I found myself talking about sync speeds, aperture
settings, flash brightness and reflectors, as much as tur-
bocharged V8s, manettino settings and exhaust notes.
By the end of the day, not only was I giddy with the car
and the fabulous shots, but also with the high-octane
fumes and the blinding flash of those Elinchroms.
Centenario
This was ‘sticker job’ month and I hated it. There were no really new motorcy-
cles to put through the grind and despite spending hours trying to hunt down
something worthwhile, it all came to naught. It’s made me restless. Agitated,
even. The chase is not just about having something to say. It’s about actually
clocking saddle time, trying to figure out who’s tried to reinvent the wheel;
about progression, advancement and evolution. So, what do you do
when you have absolutely nothing to ride and a lot of free time on
your hands? You go buy a motorcycle. So be it.
Ferruccio

Smoke of luck
There I was, sat in evening traffic, thankful for being in a car. The rain
came down like a vertical ocean, drowning the sidewalls of many a car
including mine. Motorcycles and scooters dived for cover wherever they
could find it, their riders unwilling to get drenched to their very souls.
And just as I was contemplating what I’d do if I found myself in their
shoes, sandals or chappals, I heard a familiar ring-a-ding noise coming up
on my left, the throttle hand full of determination. A Yezdi Roadking
rumbled into view, complete with a proud cloud of smoke around it.
He sat stuck behind a bus, getting soaked,
even as I wondered how any water wasn’t
getting into his fuel tank and/or elec-
tricals. The groups of sheltered riders
looked at this smoky mirage displaced
from its time. Perhaps they thought if
it could do it, they could, too. They ran
towards their bikes (don’t ask why)
and joined the old timer on the road. I
switched off the air-con’s recirculation
mode and let in that two-stroke smoke
mixed with the freshness of rain-scented
air. And drove home breathing in the
fragrance of undeterred inspiration from
twin exhausts of another time.
Reventón
Is this my fate?
The last month I spent almost two
weeks out of India. A week in Am-
sterdam, where you see more bicycles
than cars and rarely hear anyone honk.
A week in Germany, where the roads
ironically reminded me of India.
Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but it
was surprising to see motorists cut
lanes, disobey speed limits, not slow
down for pedestrians and even honk
regularly. Guess the West is learning
all the wrong things from us.
Balboni
Horn Ok
Please
I love my job. I don’t mind working holidays or getting up at 3am
to make it for a shoot. What I don’t like so much though is working
Sundays, because it usually means I miss MotoGP races. And thanks
to work, I have missed the last five races. The one Sunday that MotoGP
was on a break, I was at home. Irony, eh? Well, the last race I missed,
I was in Chennai to see the Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup, which was
some consolation. But please, I want to get back to watching Rossi.
Egoista

up to
speed
S
peed. A concept defined to allow
humanity to measure the rate of
its own prodigious progress. In
less than a couple of centuries, we’ve
come from staring at dung-ejecting rear
ends of bullocks and horses to sipping
champagne in pressurised winged
metal tubes flying at 40,000 feet above
the ground. Not bad for a bunch of
creatures, the fastest of whom (a certain
Mr Bolt) can only manage 44.64 kph.
Quite deservedly, we can marvel at
our own vast success as a species that
has made vast inroads into the realm
of velocity. But it looks like we’ve hit a
speed breaker of late.
The fastest man has ever gone is
39,897 kph when Apollo 10 was on
its way back home from the moon in
1969. That was 47 years ago. The land
speed record is held by the Thrust SSC
at 1227.985 kph, set in 1997 when I was
still in school. The fastest a motorcycle
has ever gone is 634.217 kph, a feat
achieved by Ack Attack in 2010, a
streamliner that quite aptly used two
Suzuki Hayabusa motors. Even Bolt’s
legs managed the aforementioned
record back in 2009. Are we slowing
down as a species?
There is a visceral need for speed
seated deep in our evolutionary
psychology. It probably began a
long time ago with the realisation
of not wanting to end up as a faster
animal’s meal, and I can think of no
better reason to invent the wheel. A
I don’t particularly care for numbers
which is why I prefer my own bikes
to not have speedometers. Though a
form of regulation, I find them to be
distractions at best.
The numbers might disagree, but
the sensations will always tell you that
a motorcycle is a mechanical platform
that is truest to the concept of speed. On
a motorcycle, there’s practically nothing
that stands between a human body and
the effects of speed. It’s a reality that
goes far beyond the numbers, the ideas,
the relativities, the advantages, the
pitfalls or the considerations of safety.
On a motorcycle, speed is a spiritual
phenomenon. And it irritates me that
a motorcycle is faster than only Bolt in
that collection of speedsters up there.
I suppose the splat a rider makes
at 300 kph cannot be all that different
than one made at 600 kph. However,
the numbers matter just as much as the
sensation, even though I don’t covet
the former myself. It has to be done
to prove human potential to future
generations and to lay down a marker
for them to beat. Are we slowing down?
I don’t know for sure, but I hope we’re
catching our breath so we can go
even faster at the next attempt. After
all, doing things at the right speed is
important. And the right speed just
might be defined as ‘as fast as possible.’
few millennia later, someone added
internal combustion between a set of
wheels, and mankind has been trying
to outrun itself ever since. And though
we might not have exceeded our own
achievements, our exposure to speed
itself has increased. The top speed of
humanity may not have improved, but
its average speed most certainly has.
And this bothers me.
Speed can shove you into trouble.
But it can also propel you away from
it. Speed is a byproduct of efficiency,
a result of everything working as it’s
supposed to. On a more intangible
but no less compelling plane, it is a
dream, a goal that we chase all our
lives. Understanding speed and
its effects should increasingly be
an essential part of growing up. It
is important to be familiar with its
advantages and consequences beyond
school textbooks and speedometers. [kartik.ware@delhipress.in]
’bar talk
k a r t i k w a r e
@kartik46
Speed can
shove you into
trouble. But
it can also
propel you
away from it

Quite Benign
The fifth-generation Audi
A4 (B9), and the third
iteration of the executive
sedan since the first was
launched in India more than
a decade ago, was officially
launched in India. Based on
the MLB modular platform,
it’s slightly bigger, lighter
and roomier than the pre-
vious-generation car. The
new A4 follows Audi’s new
styling cues, which debuted
box. The car will be available
in two trims: Premium Plus
and Technology. It’s priced
at ` 38.10 lakh for the former,
while the Technology variant
is available at ` 41.20 lakh,
both prices being ex-show-
room, Maharashtra.
Earlier this month the iconic
Jeep brand was official-
ly launched in India by
revealing the prices for the
Wrangler Unlimited and the
Grand Cherokee range. And
they don’t make for pretty
reading. The Wrangler Un-
turbocharged four-cylinder
diesel producing 197 bhp and
47 kgm, the Grand Cherokee
has been launched with two
engine options; the diesel
Grand Cherokees comes
with a 3.6-litre V6, in Limited
and Summit variants, which
Jeepers Creepers
limited has been priced at `
71.59 lakh, while the cheap-
est Grand Cherokee – in the
Limited trim – will set you
back by ` 93.64 lakh, all pric-
es being ex-showroom, Delhi.
While the four-door Wran-
gler comes with a 2.8-litre
produces 239 bhp and 53.6
kgm. Sitting on top of the hill,
with its 463 bhp 6.4-litre HEMI
V8, is the Grand Cherokee SRT
and that has been priced at
` 1.12 crore. Which, consid-
ering the price of its diesel
siblings, is pretty reasonable.
with the new Q7, and retains
the front-wheel-drive layout
of the non-quattro engine
options. For now, the only
engine available is a 1.4-litre
TSI petrol making 146 bhp
and 25.5 kgm, and instead of
the CVT which the older car
used to come with, the new
car gets a 7-speed DSG gear-

ProblemSource
Action
HEPA&Active-CarbonFiltersNegativeIonizers
BadOdours•Dashboard&otherplasticswhichemit
evenhigheramountofVOCs/gaseswhen
thesunisatitspeak
•
carpets,seats&rooflining
•Cigarettesmoke
•Moldetc.
Performancedependsonvolume
ofairbeingdrawnintotheunit
isextremelysmallforeffective
cleaning;struggletoremovebad
odoursasaresult
NoactionNeutralisesallodoursincluding
gases,toxins&VOCsnotonlyfrom
theairyoubreathebutalsofrom
varioussurfaces
Dust,Dust
Mites&Soot
•Shoes&clothes
•Cityair
•Construction
•Vehicularpollution
Filterstrapdustparticlesifdrawn
throughtheunit
Ionsbindwithdustparticlesand
mitesandmakethemheavy.
Thiscausesthemtofalltothe
closesthorizontalsurface,evenon
occupantsofthevehicle.
Infections/
StaleAir
Allpassengersarebreathingthesame
recycledairwhentheACisturnedon
NoactionNoactionKillsinfection-causingelements
byrenownedlabs
Cost5,000-7,000tobuy;1,500-2000
perannumonmaintenance
1,500-5,000foralifeoftypically
oneyear
11,990one-time.Norecurringcosts
forupto6yearsiftheunitisrun8
hrsaday
NOWWHONEEDS
ACARAIRPURIFIER!
comfortable,cocoonedair-conditionedcabinsofourcars,vans&SUVs.Sowhatare
thefacts?Here’sacompletelyblack-and-whiteview(nearlyliterally)ofitall.Includinga
CallSharp’stoll-freehelplineat18004254321formoreinformationBreatheClean.LiveHealthy.

instrument cluster remains,
but now it comes with a dig-
ital tachometer While earlier,
dual airbags were standard
across the range, all variants
now get ABS too, along with
ISOFIX points.
The Mini Clubman will be
the next addition to the Mini
range in India. BMW has im-
ported an example, a Club-
man Cooper S, for homolo-
gation and it’s expected to
be launched early next year.
The Clubman is like a station
wagon version of the Mini
Cooper hatchback, with five
doors and an elongated trunk
which, at 509 litres, offers
twice as much cargo space
The Audi A6 Matrix trim line,
is now available 1.8-litre TFSI
petrol, with the A6 Matrix 35
TFSI launched at ` 52.7 lakh
(ex-showroom, Delhi). While
the 1.8-litre engine puts out
only 190bhp, those 18-inch
forged alloys and the S-Line
kit sure looks the part.
Mercedes has launched the
GLS 400 petrol, priced at
` 82.9 lakh (ex-showroom,
Delhi). The 3.0-litre V6 pro-
duces 328 bhp and 49 kgm,
with a lot of that torque avail-
able at a low 1600 rpm. Like
the diesel V6, it is coupled
with the 9G-Tronic gearbox,
with air-suspension and
4MATIC as standard
The lack of an auto in the
Hyundai Elite i20 range was a
glaring hole which Hyundai has
filled up with the launch of a
petrol automatic in the Magna
trim at ` 9 lakh (ex-showroom,
Delhi). The rather steep price is
because it gets a new 1.4-litre
petrol engine producing 98 bhp
and 13.5 kgm, coupled with a
4-speed torque convertor.
SHORT
BURSTS
ElitE PriCing
400
Matrix rEloadEd
than the Mini hatch. The
most interesting bit about the
Clubman is that instead of
a traditional hatch, the tail-
gate is split into two doors
which open out. Unlike the
Countryman, the Clubman
doesn’t sit any higher than a
normal Mini hatch, but since
it is based on the new BMW
UKL2 platform, which also
underpins the new BMW
X1, the wheelbase is 100 mm
longer than the hatchback
and the overall length has
grown to 4.3 metres. The
Clubman S gets a 2.0-litre
turbocharged four-cylinder
engine producing 189 bhp,
coupled with a 8-speed au-
tomatic transmission which
is unlike the 6-speed unit
found in the Mini hatch sold
here. Expect the Clubman
Cooper S at around ` 38-40
lakh in India.
Club Wear
going
Platinum
After two years, the Etios
range has been given a bit
of an update, now called
the Etios Platinum and
Etios Liva Platinum. They
have been launched at a
starting price of ` 5.24 lakh
(ex-showroom, Mumbai)
for the hatchback and ` 6.43
lakh for sedan, with mostly
cosmetic changes, the 1.5-li-
tre diesel and 1.4-litre and
1.2-litre petrols remaining
unchanged. Up front, there is
a new a V-shaped grille and
more pronounced cowl-
ings for the front foglamps.
Inside, the centrally-placed

The Mustang has gone through several
design iterations in the last five decades.
What, in your opinion are the key character
defining lines that have stayed constant?
The Mustang has evolved with changing
times and customer preference.
However, in the past five decades Ford
engineers have worked carefully to stay
honest to its legacy, its quintessential
character that the Mustang is known for
across the globe. The four-seat cabin,
sizeable boot, long hood, short deck,
bold grille, shark-front nose, fastback
profile, side hockey stick contours and
rear tri-bar tail-lamps are some of the
elements that the Mustang is identified
with and all these defining elements
have been carefully retained in the
current generation vehicle as well.
With so much emphasis on muscularity, how
do you translate the exterior design to reflect
the same on the interior?
The new Mustang features a sleek,
modern and muscular interpretation
of the iconic pony car form that is
more aerodynamically efficient. The
interior elements are tastefully crafted
to showcase their conjoint relationship
and packed to achieve optimum fit and
finish. And it’s inspired by the cockpit
of a plane! All the gauges, registers,
toggle switches and other design
elements are placed into the wing. We
also took advantage of modern lighting
technology at both ends of the car.
Indirect LEDs illuminate the blade style
tri-bar tail-lamps with a uniform glow.
LEDs are mounted inboard of the high-
intensity-discharge headlamps, recalling
the gills moulded into the headlamp
buckets of the original 1965 Mustang.
How much would you characterise design's
role in ensuring the success of the current
Mustang versus the emphasis on a refined
and more mature driving experience?
Ford designers have worked very hard
to retain distinct design elements of
the Mustang intact through its 50-year
history, at the same time ensuring that
the car looks extremely contemporary
and fresh. Retaining the original DNA,
the Mustang’s bold and aggressive,
whether you look at the face, the
detailing or even the athletic stance on
its tyres. Even with the classic, forward-
leaning shark-bite grille and a more
aggressive stance for the new Mustang,
the car slices through the air providing
increased fuel efficiency while in car and
driver assistance technologies keep the
car planted and the driver in complete
control at all times.
Since this is a Mustang for 'global'
markets as much as it's for North
America, how American is the
Mustang still?
The Ford Mustang is more
than just a car, as it has
come to symbolise
optimism and
independence
for millions of
people. Its five
decades of
legendary
performance and looks has made it
an American icon and has secured its
place within pop culture and history.
Designed and developed in America,
the all-new Mustang is instantly
recognisable as a Mustang, yet entirely
new — to satisfy not only current fans
but also broaden its appeal.
Three performance Fords from across eras
that you think are
timeless designs.
The 1966
Mustang
GT350,
1966 Ford
GT and the
Ford Capri.
M
Kemal CurriC
PEAK TALK
Kemal CurriC, the new Ford mustang’s exterior
designer, talKs passionately about its design

in the news
Shiny DiSco
BallS
i-next
which is exactly what Land
Rover got adventurer Bear
Grylls to do as a publicity
stunt. Of course, Land Rover
doesn't expect skydivers to
be using this feature often,
but the idea is that if the
owner is saddled with a lot
of shopping, we can use the
app to alter the arrangement
of the last two rows to create
more space. Other than
this, the new Discovery is
expected to be use the new
2.0-litre Ingenium engine,
more use of aluminium in
the monocoque chassis and
will move away from the
boxy, square proportions of
the older cars.
is still a month away. But
what we do know is that
the new Discovery will
come with a very intriguing
feature. With the help of a
mobile app, the owner of
a Discovery can remotely
alter the arrangement of the
seats from quite a distance
away, even while skydiving,
What iS it?
The third-generation Land
Rover Discovery, which is
going to be revealed at the
2016 Paris Motor Show.
What’S neW aBout it?
Actually, that is something
we don't know much about,
since the launch of the car
What iS it?
The new generation
of Hyundai’s biggest
hatchback, the i30. The same
one to which Hyundai adds
a boot to and names ‘Elantra’
in India.
Hyundai is very excited
about the new i30 because
early next year it will reveal
the i30 N Sport, the first
Hyundai which has
been developed
from the start
to have a
performance
‘N’ version.
Unlike the
current spate of Hyundais,
the i30 seems to have ditched
the ‘Fluidic’ design and has
more demure European lines
with a large front grille, a
strong shoulder line and
an almost Golf-like rear.
Hyundai has experimented
with the interiors, too, with
the central infotainment
screen separate from the
dashboard and above it,
while the rest of the climate
control buttons housed in
a small pod below the air
vents, making the dashboard
look simpler and with less
buttons than any current
Hyundai. A 7-speed dual-
clutch transmission will
help the i30 mingle well
with the German sedans in
this range, while the engine
options include a 1.4-litre
138-bhp petrol and a 1.6-litre
130-bhp diesel. While we
will definitely get the
Elantra sedan version of
this in maybe in two
years time, Hyundai
could create an
all-new segment by
launching the i30
hatchback in the `
12-15 lakh segment.
in the news

GranD ViSion
the difference being made
up by three electric motors.
The Mercedes-Benz Vision
Gran Turismo concept car
from 2013 is a good reference
point for how this hypercar
might end up looking. Like
the concept it is going to
come with gullwing
doors,
The Mustang GTE is the
cheapest way one can flaunt
the Shelby brand name. It is
basically a standard Mustang
with a ` 12 lakh Shelby perfor-
mance kit. This kit includes 19-
inch wheels, a less restrictive
exhaust, a power dome on
the hood, a carbon-fibre front
splitter and a spoiler, and an
ECU remap which bumps up
the power of the 5.0-litre V8 to
456 bhp.
Australian tuner, StreetFX Mo-
torsport has heard you all who
wished for a more powerful
GT-86 by bulldozing in the
Nissan GT-R’s R35 V6! They also
increased the capacity to 4.1-li-
tres and added bigger turbos
to make it a 1000-bhp engine.
Talk about a power bump.
SHORT
BURSTS
cut-price coBra
poWer exploSion
What iS it?
The AC Cobra Mk1 260
Legacy Edition.
Actually, nothing, since the
$500,000 (` 3.34 crore) price
claSS of ‘62
What iS it?
After the Aston Martin-Red
Bull RB001, Mercedes-AMG
is now throwing its hat into
the ring with plans to build
an F1-derived hypercar.
WhatS neW aBout it?
To celebrate their total
domination in F1, the
Mercedes-AMG hypercar
is going to be built around
the turbocharged V6 F1
engine and will be
taking advantage
of the F1 team’s
vast knowledge
of aerodynamics.
Power output is
going to be higher
than the 700 bhp
that the F1 engine
makes — it is said to
be over 1000 bhp — with
tag is because
these are going to
be perfect replicas
of the original
Mk1 AC Cobra.
While AC Cars
had downed
its shutters
long back, a
company called
AC Heritage had
purchased most
of the original
build plans and tooling.
Which is why they are able to
manufacture these cars today
to the original specifications,
down to the aluminium body
panels which are going to
be hand beaten to shape and
the twin-tube chassis with
the live rear axle. They even
managed to source a couple
of original brand-new
4.25-litre Ford V8s, which
will go into the car. Carroll
Shelby had asked AC Cars
to fit these Ford V8s into the
AC Ace, which had created
the original AC Cobra in
1962. While 75 Mk1 Cobras
were made in the early ’60s,
exported from England as
kits to be reassembled by
Shelby’s team in California,
AC Heritage will make
only nine complete cars, to
be delivered to their lucky
owners in the United
States of America.
Ferrari has announced that
they will make one more
LaFerrari coupe, making it
the 500th example of the
hypercar, which will then be
auctioned with the proceeds
going towards helping all
those affected by the recent
earthquake in Italy. Thats
charity done right!
encore
too. Interestingly, 2017
also marks the 50th year
of AMG’s existence, so
it would be reasonable
to expect that AMG will
coincide the hypercar’s
launch with its anniversary.

NEWSBRAKE
SKODA KODIAQ
WHAT'S
IN A NAME?Skoda iS gunning for the SuV Space in a
big way. the kodiaq iS juSt the Start
T
he SUV space has been quite a
catch for many manufacturers in
recent years and Skoda couldn't
be seen to be a slow mover in this direc-
tion. Globally, the Yeti has been a suc-
cessful case study despite its lukewarm
reception in India. And its second SUV,
the Kodiaq intends to build on this, its
first seven-seat SUV.
Based on the MQB platform that also
underpins the Octavia and the Superb,
the Kodiaq measures 4.7 metres in
length and will be powered by one of
three powertrain options to start with
— a 2.0-litre diesel with two different
power outputs (148 and 188 bhp) and
two petrols motors, the 120-bhp and
148-bhp 1.4 TSI, and the 178-bhp 2.0
TSI. Of these, India will get both diesel
variants and the more powerful 2.0 TSI

ond row has a classic 60:40 split, while
the optional third row can be stowed
away flat into the floor.
A car that derives its name from the
city of Kodiak in Alaska, one that itself
gets its name from the Kodiak bear
found in North America, the car follows
the same design language as the current
Superb. Designed under the leadership
of Josef Kaban, the Kodiaq uses a com-
bination of straight and toned muscular
lines to offer a larger stance. The light
catcher line provides just the right
amount of muscle, while the highly de-
tailed headlamps, tail-lamps and grille
add a premium tone.
The North American reference has
time and again been brought into the
spotlight, not just from a nomenclature
standpoint, but even the entry of Skoda
into the world's most important car
market. And the Kodiaq would be the
perfect car to create an impression, feels
petrol variant, although at this time it
isn't clear whether all three variants will
be launched together.
All motors come either with front-
or all-wheel drive, 6-speed manual
or 7-speed DSG gearbox options. The
Kodiaq is a well-loaded and well-kit-
ted-out SUV with lots of mechanical
and electronic features like drive mode
select, in-car communication, city emer-
gency braking, adaptive cruise control,
traffic jam assist for the sat nav, driver
alert and more. India will get most of
these features on the high-end variants,
save for certain features that require
government clearance.
The Kodiaq is offered internationally
with both five and seven-seat variants.
The seating is flexible with the five-seat-
er getting a full-sized spare wheel
while the seven-seater makes do with
a space-saver. The driver's seat is fully
electric with memory function, the sec-
Bernhard Maier, CEO, Skoda. In the
wake of the diesel scandal, this might
be a good way for the VAG group to
reduce some of the negative baggage by
bringing in an 'unknown in the US but
well respected elsewhere' brand.
Skoda will launch the car in the
second quarter of 2017-18 in India as
a CKD/SKD from its operations in
Shendra, near Aurangabad in Maha-
rashtra. The positioning of the Kodiaq
will follow a premium one and will
be placed above the Superb. Expect a
starting price tag in the region of ` 30-33
lakh for a possible front-wheel-drive
variant, with top-end variants going
up to ` 38 lakh or thereabouts with all-
wheel drive. That would put it against
the likes of the smaller SUVs like the
BMW X1 and Audi Q3 and the larger
full-size SUVs like the upcoming Toyota
Fortuner, Ford Endeavour and Hyundai
Santa Fe. M

Text PARANJAY DUTT
Photographs LAND ROVER
Our drive in
an urban range
rOver uncOvers
surprises; a lOt
Of surprises
ExpEriEncE
Land RoveR expeRience
I
n July this year, JLR posted its
best-ever monthly sales which, for
a brand that was desperately look-
ing for a revival a couple of years ago, is
nothing short of brilliant. Of the 33,000
Land Rovers sold, 8,208 units were of
the Evoque. We took one on a small yet
challenging off-road course — at least
for an urban SUV and a city-dweller
like me — to see if it does anything to
deserve the ‘Land Rover’ monicker.
Land Rover Experience, for the
uninitiated, is a way of introducing its
customers and enthusiasts to the im-
mense capabilities of its products. The
Discovery Sport and the Evoque were
two options for the event. ‘My’ Evoque
led the way. Planned around Damdama
Lake in Gurgaon, the obstacle course
by Cougar Motorsport looked
tough enough to test the Evo-
que’s capabilities.
Of the various technolo-
gies that make LRs such huge
favourites off the road, the
Terrain Response System is
very close to the top. It gets
four modes: general, sand,
grass, and mud. For most part
we dealt with mud, hence the
mode remained unchanged
once we were off the tarmac.
It was only a matter of
a few metres that we got
to grips with getting stuck
speak
Evo
speak
Evo
The Discovery Sport had no qualms
about gobbling up bad terrain!

and recovering, as if nothing
happened. The Evoque’s an expensive
piece of machinery and a good-looking
Brit at that, so I was trying to be a bit
more careful than I was the last time I
beached an SUV. Lack of momentum
meant that during the early parts of the
course, I, embarrassingly, ended up get-
ting stuck halfway through an incline.
But with the vehicle’s traction control
sending power to the right wheel(s), all
it took was a dab on the accelerator ped-
al and the proverbial leap of faith to get
unstuck. And when it was time to de-
scend, the Hill Descent control worked
wonders (going downhill without hav-
ing to use the brakes). The system can
be manually overridden, which might
be the preferred choice when you want
more control, but relying on the Evoque
surprisingly doesn’t take the confidence
away. In fact, once you get acquainted
to the way the systems work, you start
working with it. Bollocks to ‘they don’t
make them like they used to…’.
Apart from this, whatever we threw
at the Evoque was dealt without hesita-
tion. The drivetrain, chassis, suspension,
tech wizardry, and even the plush cabin,
all of them ensure that the Evoque’s ace
at tackling bad roads. That despite hav-
ing one of the best on-road dynamics
package in the segment, deserves
an applause.
The Evoque sits on a fine line be-
tween an off-roader and a midsize exec
saloon. Think about it as the best way to
plunge mud without having to change
your three-piece suit. It amazingly
excels at doing things you thought were
a tad too much for it. Hardly a surprise
how the smallest Range Rover has
garnered fans (and buyers) across the
globe. Cue oohs and aahs… M
The sight of off-roaders masquerading as
urban SUVs was surprising, to say the least
If the original LRX concept impressed you, the
Evoque’s abilities just take it all one level further

T
here’s something to be said about
Fiat’s prospects in India. There’s so
much promise surrounding each
and every one of its cars, and it’s all done
away with because of tiny yet consequen-
tial details here and there. If I can draw a
parallel, I’d liken Fiat to Italian racer Teo
Fabi who, during his 64-race F1 career,
scored all of three pole positions, but he
has the distinction of never having led
even a single lap. Cruel fate, indeed, and it
seems like Fiat, in India at least, seems to
be suffering the same kind of there-but-not-
really-there fate.
Its new Linea 125 S is, I’m positively not
delighted to say, more of the same. The
highlight of this update is the 1.4-litre T-Jet
engine that’s been tuned to put out 11 bhp
more than the earlier one. The thing is,
though, that the Linea keeps playing ping-
pong when it comes to its good and bad
bits. Find two good bits and I’m sure you
can follow that up with two bad ones.
Take the engine, for instance. The extra
power makes so much of a difference. On
the move, lower down the rev range things
are a bit slow, but keep at it and there’s so
much of power to lean on. It’s not Punto
Abarth-esque, but the power’s abundantly
apparent and it sounds so sweet when you
rev the pants off it. But then you slot it into
another gear. Sorry, let me rephrase that.
You attempt to slot it into what feels like a
ShortChange
By RAUNAK AJINKYA Photographs KARTIK SADEKAR
Was more poWer really
the need of the hour
for the linea?
short shift
Fiat Linea 125 S

Fiat Linea 125 S
POWERTRAIN
Displacement: 1368cc, i-4, turbopetrol
Max power: 123 bhp@5000 rpm
Max torque: 21.2 kgm@2000-3500 rpm
Transmission: 5-speed, manual
TYRES
F/R: 205/55 R16
DIMENSIONS
L/W/H (mm): 4596/1730/1494
Wheelbase: 2603 mm
Ground clearance: 190 mm
Kerb weight: 1258 kg
Fuel capacity: 45 litres
PRICE
` 10.46 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi)
AUTODATA
designated slot for the gear you want.
The shifts are so rubbery that Bridge-
stone should probably think of cashing
in on some gearbox branding opportu-
nities with Fiat.
Then there’s the way it drives. It
has a hydraulic steering and you don’t
need to drive it to tell that it’s going
to be good. It’s so much fun to chuck
it around corners because body roll is
kept in check and, aside from a bit of
understeer when you push it too hard,
it’s reasonably happy to go along with
your senseless requests. That is, until
you see a crater that you think the Lin-
ea can handle because it rides beautiful-
ly well otherwise, but you’d be mistak-
en. The Linea crashes, and crashes hard.
I could give it the benefit of the doubt

and say that the test car that I’d been
driving might have already had some
damage, but then it would have made
itself apparent at other instances, too.
Which it didn’t. Thankfully, it’s quite a
bit off the ground (190 mm, to be pre-
cise) and that’s the best in its segment,
so you’ll probably never have to worry
about large speed bumps.
Then there’s the equipment list. New
for the 125 S is a touchscreen that’s big
enough for an ant and it even has nav-
igation. It even gets auto headlamps,
auto AC, rain-sensing wipers and a
solid boot to boot (500 litres of storage!).
But Fiat deemed it unnecessary to equip
it with a reversing camera. And finally,
the seats. Just like the Punto, good luck
finding the right seating position. The
steering wheel is big and you can never
seem to find the right position for it,
either. Oh, and long distances turn into
a back-breaking endurance thanks to the
uncomfortable seats. Shame for a car that
drives so well, really.
Should you buy one, then? The Fiat
Linea isn’t quite the package to beat just
yet, as you may have figured. It has its
plus points, sure, but it backs that up
with an equal amount of flaws. The big-
gest of which is probably its after-sales
service, which is still nothing close to the
best. For ` 10.46 lakh (ex-showroom, Del-
hi), it’s a fair bit of money for a car that’s
not at its best yet. Hopefully Fiat can
turn this around and salvage a product
that has a fair bit of potential. Or is it too
little, too late? I fear it might be. M
Tiny 5-inch touchscreen is responsive, at least
Where it all comes together — the engine isgood
Short Shift | fiat Linea 125 S

short shift
AUDI A4
MOLECULAR
AUtOMObiLE
By ROHIN NAGRANI Photographs KARTIK SADEKAR
Small motorS and luxury carS.
can it make for a taSty recipe?

B
ack in 2007, the famous Nandu
aka Shreenand Sadhale and I
were on a drive through Ger-
many in a fleet of Volkswagen Passats.
This hurriedly conjured up fleet saw a
mix of motors, and as luck would have
it, we were left with a 1.6-litre 100-bhp
version for the 200-odd km drive.
Out on the German autobahn, the
lack of power in the 1.3-tonne car was
telling. With the foot buried to the
floor on the derestricted sections of the
‘bahn, we were inching from speeds of
150 kph to an indicated top speed of
160-165 kph. I distinctly remember that
process taking eons; so ingrained is that
memory in my cranium that at times it
smashes through the Passat’s firewall
in agony.
Cut to 2016 with the all-new Audi
A4 on stretches from Bhubaneshwar to
Konark and yet another small motor
had found its way into a 1.45-tonne
sedan. The 25.4 kgm and 148 bhp
should have been enough on paper,
and honestly it didn’t feel as bad as that
Passat. Yet, it felt strained. The 1.4-li-
tre TFSI engine that felt perfectly fine
around the urban stretches of Bhu-
baneshwar was suddenly feeling a bit
out of breath on the highway. Sure, the
turbos were kicking in nice and fast and
the 7-speed dual-clutch transmission
was doing a stellar job, too, but with
the 6200-rpm redline approaching and
the gears holding for long in Dynamic,
the hand would immediately tug at the
right paddle. There’s only so much ears
can take.
To cut a long story short, the 1.4
TFSI is just about adequate for the job
at hand. Sure, Audi’s claims of it being
just 0.3 seconds slower than the outgo-
ing 1.8 turbo motor may be true, but
there’s nothing like the seat of the pants
to discern that. At this point, then, Audi
may have made a strategic error in of-
fering a downsized petrol motor (that’s
the only option for now) on a car that
costs ` 38.1 lakh to ` 41.2 lakh, ex-Delhi.
Or it might have seen something that
product-focussed journalists like us fail
to discern.
The lack of surety, despite the lift-
ing of the diesel ban in the NCR, has
brought petrol motors back into focus
on luxury cars. And Audi was keen on
bringing in a motor that didn’t take too
much of a hit on performance yet pro-
vided good efficiency (an ARAI-claimed
17.4 kpl). What better, then, than to get
the 1.4 turbo motor that also does duty
on the VW Jetta, Beetle and Skoda Octa-
via in India. Besides, in urban usage, the
1.4 is perfectly adept at handling stop-
go traffic or generally cruising around
town, given most of these cars would be
chauffeur driven.
Still, those seeking performance will

have to wait a few months more for the
2.0-litre diesel and more powerful vari-
ants await. Does that mean we ignore
the rest of what the new A4 offers?
Not quite.
Built on the MLB platform, one that
underpins cars like the A4 all the way
up to the upcoming Lamborghini Urus
SUV, the A4 is lighter than its prede-
cessor by a good 85 kg. This difference
can be felt when you operate the doors
or bootlid, or generally let your hand
go over the trim. But at no point does
the rebooted A4 feel cheap. On the
contrary, the wide and flat dashboard
with the stick-out MMI (it doesn’t fold
in), the horizontally slatted air-vents
and the virtual cockpit make it feel
special. In stark contrast to the carefully
detailed Mercedes-Benz C-Class, the A4
feels sportier and youthful, the colours
and materials, the way the steering
wheel falls to hand or the speedboat-in-
spired gear lever gives you a sense that
the interior will last the 6-7 year lifecy-
cle rather well.
And it’s gotten comfier, too. Unlike
the previous car, the new A4 does offer
more comfortable front seats, better
under-thigh support at the rear and
Built on the MLB platform,
the A4 is lighter than its
predecessor by a good 85 kg
The cabin's been subtly improved and it's all the better for it. Overall a very nice place to be in now
Virtual cockpit is pretty neat and easy to use
7-speed auto is brilliant and intuitive to use
Tiny though it may be, it still packs a decent punch

AUDI A4 30 TFSI
POWERTRAIN
Displacement: 1395cc, I-4, turbo
Max power: 150 bhp@5000-6000 rpm
Transmission: 7-speed auto
SUSPENSION
Front: Independent
Rear: Independent
BRAKES
(F/R) Disc/disc
TYRES
225/60 R17
DIMENSIONS
L/W/H (mm): 4726/1842/1427
Wheelbase: 2820 mm
Ground clearance: ~130 mm
PRICE
` 38.1 to 41.2 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi)
A U T O D A T A
that the design picks up the gauntlet
where the last one left off. What Audi
has offered is a package that is rather
irresistible if you are in the market for a
premium executive sedan. Even if you
do wait a while for the other variants
to turn up at dealerships, you will have
found a car that’s pretty damn hard
to beat. M
indeed on display! Which isn’t a bad
thing necessarily since if it ain’t broke,
just apply a fresh coat of paint and a
few trinkets. It’s hard to believe at times
that every single panel on the car is
new, but that’s true nonetheless. Spend
a lot of time with the car and you will
find interesting details like the stepped
LED headlamp or the wavy texture on
the grille or even the door-mounted
mirrors; it’s details like these that slow-
ly lift the veil of sameness away.
It’s not that the dynamics have
remained the same, though. Despite
it being a front-wheel-driven car and
running 17-inch tyres, overall grip and
poise has shown improvement. The ver-
tical oscillations of the suspension have
reduced and it now has a nice balance
between firmness and suppleness. Only
when you tackle ridges at high speed
does it transmit judders to the cabin.
Otherwise it’s a perfectly well balanced
car that feels agile and easy to flick. This
is also thanks to the lower kerb weight
and the new electric steering that really
weighs up well.
Which brings us to the question —
does the small engine really matter?
It actually doesn’t. Nor does the fact
more knee-room and head-room. The
space on offer does feel at par with the
C-Class, its main rival, and definitely
better than cars like the Jaguar XE.
That’s great because the previous car
felt like sitting in a concentration camp,
if the occupants in front were towering
in build.
It’s also a well-loaded car for all in-
tents and purposes. The virtual cockpit,
as we’ve seen on the TT/R8/Q7 offers
you a myriad screens to choose from,
making the central MMI redundant if
there’s just the driver in the car. New
to the A4 is a wireless mobile charging
pad, useful for those who have a
tendency to forget cables. Even the
driver’s key has a memory function to
store several details, like the last radio
channel you were listening to, your seat
preference and so on. Suddenly, the
lack of a powerful motor isn’t starting
to sound bad at all.
What Audi has done with the exte-
rior is more evolutionary in nature. I
distinctly remember the new A4 stand-
ing at the Auto Expo, and it took not
just me, but several Audi fans several
retakes and self-pinching situations to
convince ourselves that the new car was
Short Shift | Audi A4

short shift
BMW 320i
Petroller
Just something about these petrol bmWs...
T
hank you, Government of
India. If I may be so bold, your
ever-so-rational logic and
sound decisions have always benefitted
this thriving country of ours, and it’s
evident that the decisions you make on
behalf of — and for — the citizens have
brought us nothing but contentment
and peace. Without you, we’d be a fum-
bling excuse of a population, struggling
to comprehend the more important
issues like which toilet paper would be
less abrasive and who really did let the
damn dogs out.
Now, kudos to those who picked up
on the mordancy of the previous few
sentences, but the government has, for
once, albeit indirectly, done some good.
Thanks to the sound logic of the diesel
ban (which has since been lifted, yes, I
know), the people who provide us cars
to get places have been busy making
petrol power a bit more accessible,
which is why I found myself sitting
in the confines of a lovely BMW 320i
one morning. And man, do these guys
know how to make their cars.
It takes a man of special skill to not
appreciate a finely balanced pet-
rol-powered rear-wheel-drive sedan. I’d
assume that man enjoys long barefoot-
ed walks on a beach splintered with
broken glass and a nice relaxing drive
through a war zone. There are very few
cars that you feel absolutely content
in, ones that don’t make you question
whether you’ve simply settled and
joined the herd. It’s amazing how the
320i manages to evoke just that.
On the move, it’s as comforting as
it is transformative when you switch
driving modes and entertain the juve-
nile in you by squeezing the accelerator
pedal down as hard as a stress ball.
The 320i’s 2.0-litre inline-four may not
sound like much — and the 181 bhp
and 27.5 kgm figures would attest to
that — but it’s about as inadequate as
the funds pumped into Thailand by
people who ‘just want to have a good
time’, which is to say it’s anything but.
Its driving modes allow it to really
play the part you want it to, because
switch to Eco Pro or Comfort and a
steady right foot will allow you to drift
off and focus on better things, like that
upcoming bachelor’s in Thailand. But
I hear drifting off while driving is a bit
of a no-no, so probably best not to do
that. Instead, switch to Sport+, hold
down on that traction control button
for five seconds and enter a roundabout
how you really should — rear tyres
lit up, completely sideways, and with
you having absolutely no idea of what
you’re doing. That said, the 320d does
feel a bit more willing to let its tail out
thanks to the diesel engine pumping
out more torque, but it’s not like the

I'll say it again — there's a case to be made for the simplicity of BMW's interiors. Just fantastic!
Slides like this one is what the 320i loves indulging in. Just be sure to not overcook it, will you?
320i falls short when it comes to driving
pleasure. Yep, that’s right. There’s only
one place to be in a car like this — the
driver’s seat.
I fall hard for cars like this one.
Despite what I just said, it’s a forgiving
car; one that will allow you to correct
your lurid, terribly-executed slides and
emerge slightly more alert thinking, ‘I
definitely need to do that again.’ And
that’s the beauty of it all, isn’t it? It’s
just such a good-looking car and it has
so much of class on the inside. Some
people may call the interior minimalist
and not up there with the best, but I’d
prefer calling them out for their lack of
taste. It’s got character, the 320i, and
it loves indulging you in a good time.

How to make a 2.0-litre fun? BMW has the answer
Well, obviously. It won't be 'Poverty Line', right?
What helps is that it rides brilliantly
and the ZF 8-speed gearbox gets telepa-
thy as a standard fitment. Even the way
the steering communicates with you is
nothing short of magic. Whether you’re
driving around in dense traffic or hur-
tling past that heavily modified Swift
that had no right going as fast as it did,
the 320i feels like it’s in its element. It’s
a solid driving machine that’s ready
and willing to do as you say.
It’s looking pretty perfect then, eh?
Well, no. It could sound better and the
mid-range punch thanks to the turbos
is addictive, but I’d have liked to have
had a naturally-aspirated BMW that
screams all the way to the redline like
the older BMWs. It does run on petrol,
after all. The rear seat could have been
more accommodating as well and a bit
of a wider body kit wouldn’t have hurt,
either. But, I’m sorry. These just aren’t
the kind of things that would make
you turn around and call BMW out for
wasting your time. I think it’s offering
you a pretty sweet deal. So what if it’s
priced it at ` 42.7 lakh (ex-showroom,
Delhi) for the top-spec Luxury trim?
That’s not cheaper than the same spec
in diesel form, but it’s a fine car to drive
nonetheless. Go on, then. Do it. Just be
sure to call us if and when you overcook
that inevitable slide around a bend and
a trash can calls it a day. Fun times! M
BMW 320i
POWERTRAIN
Displacement: 1997cc, i-4, twin-turbo petrol
Transmission: 8-speed, auto
TYRES
F/R: 225/50 R17
DIMENSIONS
L/W/H (mm): 4633/1811/1429
Wheelbase: 2810 mm
PRICE
A U T O D ATA

short shift
Mahindra daybreak
Crush ‘em!
Mahindra’s got a new way for
you to deal with roadblocks
W
hen I got wind of the fact
that the Mahindra Daybreak
would be making its way to
me, I was so excited that I had to have
a bit of a lie down. Here’s why. The
Daybreak is nothing if not achingly and
surprisingly rugged and good-looking.
Underneath, it’s just a regular Thar, the
go-anywhere, s***w-you-I-don’t-need-
roads vehicle that off-roading enthusi-
asts have adopted as a son. That’s why
you won’t have any trouble believing
me when I say it’s as capable and
effective off the road as a wrecking ball
being guided by an enraged, hormonal
teenager looking for payback because
his girlfriend ‘talks’. About ‘free willy’.
Or something to that effect.
Essentially, what you need to know
is that the Daybreak is the product of
Mahindra’s in-house customisation
team, who have been given a free hand
here to compensate for designs as,
well, peculiar as the XUV5oo. It’s just
such a sweet rethinking of the rugged
silhouette we know and love, with cues
that have obviously been provided by
someone who understands what the
word ‘taste’ entails. So what you get is
a matte-grey paint job, no roof to speak
of, some red inserts splashed around
here and there for good effect, and
some very cool LED rings and LED tail-
lamps. The standout bits, of course, are
the immense 37-inch Maxxis Trepador
tyres that threaten the very existence
of those shady autorickshaw drivers.
These things will manhandle just about
anything the road throws up, and they
give the Daybreak some insane crawl-
ing abilities over grounds that look like
the remains of a nuclear attack.
To keep things interesting, the
Mahindra guys have added a bunch
Crush ‘em!

of little things that make the Daybreak
memorable. For instance, the A-pillars
can be dropped down to flip the wind-
screen on its front — a hat tip to the
original Willys, of course. Then there’s
a massive, reinforced front bumper that
also houses a winch, and a beefed-up
rear that houses that immense spare
tyre. Speaking of which, if you plan on
backing up using the inside rear view
mirror, you’d rather rely on an infant to
give you directions. And you’ll find a
bunch of other changes, too.
What hasn’t been touched at all,
however, is the engine. Don’t worry,
that’s a good thing. Good guy Mahin-
dra has left the 2.5-litre diesel as is, so
it still makes 104 bhp and 25.1 kgm,
which are useful numbers to have when
you’re stuck in the sticky stuff. Why
good guy? It’s simple. Leaving the
engine and the mechanicals as is allows
Mahindra to skip all the messy, legal
and time-consuming stuff with the RTO
and allows you to drive this car legally
on the road. Now what you might be
thinking is that with the gain in body
weight, the Thar’s power output won’t
have the same effect in the Daybreak.
You’d be wrong in thinking that. The
Daybreak is bonkers capable, like I
Muck-strewn, red-highlight-littered, touch-screen-equipped, and barely functional. Just perfect, we say!
Not visible here but the LED lamps are super bright
Ridiculously cool LED rings are ridiculously cool
This is after a typical day of murdering the roads

Mahindra daybreak
POWERTRAIN
Displacement: 2498cc, i-4, turbodiesel
Transmission: 5-speed, manual
TYRES
F/R: 37-inch MaxxisTrepadors
DIMENSIONS
L/W/H (mm): NA
Wheelbase: Really short
Ground clearance: Enough and more
Kerb weight: Heavy enough
PRICE
` 19 lAkH (inclusive of theThar itself)
A U T O D ATA
said earlier, and it’s almost angry when
you’re driving it, as though it has a
point to prove. But it proves it, all right.
Thanks to the transfer case, there’s an
ample amount of driveability to get
you out of the silliest of ditches your in-
competent behind can manage. It’s just
bonkers good at this whole business
of going off the road. I wish we’d have
been a bit quicker with some of our im-
age capturing because the articulation
that the Daybreak gives you is quite
insane. I even managed to make it dive
nose-first into a pond that was decep-
tively deep. I swear I checked before-
hand with the tried-and-tested ‘Throw
a big-a** stone into the pond and wait’
test, but apparently soft mud responds
differently to different weights. Who’d
have guessed.
Anyway, the point is that this thing
is every bit as good as it looks. The
bigger point is, would you be willing
to cough up the dough for it? If you
ask Mahindra to do your Thar up, it’ll
need around two months to execute
the whole thing, one if you ask nicely.
Oh, and there’s also the small matter
of coughing up close to ` 19 lakh for
the Daybreak, too. That, obviously, is
including the cost of a Thar. If you ask
me, it’s totally worth it. It will look like
nothing else on the road and you won’t
tire of how easily it’ll go over anything
and everything. Just do yourself a
favour, cough up a little more dough
and get the optional roof. Stepping out
of the Daybreak looking like a drowned
rat might ruin the point you’re trying to
make. Slightly. M
Short Shift | Mahindra daybreak

short shift
Mini Cooper S Convertible
Fun
Run
The Cooper S, driven The
way iT’S meanT To be
M
ini’s here to tell you that you
can put a price on uninhibited
fun. Well, that, and a gener-
ous amount of bird droppings falling
on you while you’re having the fun.
You see, a few months ago Mini sent us
writer folks to Goa for a day of riveting,
convoy-led Cooper S Convertible en-
joyment. Suffice it to say that it wasn’t
fun then. That’s my issue with these
media drives. Sure, you’re giving a lot
of people the chance to drive your car at
the same time, but in the midst of all the
rules and limitations (‘It’s best if you
stick to the planned route’ and ‘Please
don’t drive fast with the top down and
have your passenger flash passers-by’),
you’re ruining what is an experience, in
essence, in an extremely fun car. Well,
fun car in this case, at least.
The most loveable trait that the Coo-
per S has is its tendency to behave like
an absolute child. I loved it so much
that I asked the guys if they could loan
me one for a week, just to see what the
other side lives like. It’s not bad, let me
tell you. Not bad at all. Especially when
you give it a retractable soft top and a
wonderful sound system, it’s an expe-
rience that’s only topped by an activity
with a ludicrous amount of nudity
involved. Like when you know you’re
going to be home alone for a while.
Anyway, getting back to it.
The Cooper S Convertible Mini sent
over has three driving modes. One’s
where everything switches to full attack
mode, one’s for the tree huggers, and
the last is for the confused lot who
don’t know what they want in life. I,
for one, prefer the tree huggers mode,
because polar bears and the ozone layer
are what really matter. That, and the
fact that the Cooper S sounds way, way
better in that mode. Well, 99 per cent
the latter. Confused? Shouldn’t it sound

the best in full attack mode? Well, yes,
it does sound pretty good, but you
need to get in one and hear the way
the Cooper S sounds like Satan’s being
tortured by a pack of puppies when
you’re in ‘Green’ mode. You don’t get
those typical cracks and pops on the
overrun, but revving the pants off of it
is satisfying nonetheless. Another thing
I gathered over the week with it is that
you just can’t drive this thing slow.
Mini’s packed in a 2.0-litre inline-four
that produces close to 190 bhp, and in
a car that weighs the equivalent of an
anorexic on a carb-free diet, that makes
for some pretty entertaining drives, let
me tell you.
Bits that I didn’t appreciate? Well,
with the top down, it’s almost impossi-
ble to see anything at the back through
the inside rear view mirror. So you’re
left craning your neck out from the
door hoping that you don’t run over
a puppy. It’s also not the most, well,
spacious of cars. It’s got space for a
passenger and a few bags of shopping
at the back if you’re lucky, but the way
I see it, you’re better off driving alone
anyway. This maybe a front-engined,
front-wheel drive car that’s not prone
to oversteer in the least, but that hardly
takes away from the fun. What makes
that possible is that it’s compact and
has the most deliciously direct steering
possible. Even a tiny jink left or right
on the steering wheel will have you
squealing past a corner. Our car also
had a few rattly bits when the top was
down, especially from the A-pillars, but
that I suppose is thanks to the regular
abuse that a media test car is subjected
to. Other than that, the only downside
is that the car rides a bit firm, so your
back takes a bit of a beating after a
while. The solution? Drive faster and
get there sooner. Not the most respon-
sible bit of advice, but an effective way
to go about things, nonetheless.
In short, this car is wonderful. Its
spirit animal would be a puppy that’s
been unleashed onto an unsuspecting
crowd. Its motto would be to drown
your sorrows with a hilarious dose of
laughter, and its way to achieve that
would be by going topless and expos-
ing you to the elements (those damn
pesky pigeons will have their karma
coming their way). Would I advise it?
Absolutely. Sell your neighbours’ kids
if you have to, but do it. And wear
a hat when you’re driving with the
top down. M

Odd image for a story that says nothing — check!
Mini Cooper S
Convertible
POWERTRAIN
Displacement: 1998cc, i-4, turbopetrol
Max power: 189 bhp@5000-6500 rpm
TYRES
F/R: 195/55 R16
DIMENSIONS
L/W/H (mm): 3850/1727/1415
Wheelbase: 2495 mm
PRICE
A U T O D ATA
Toggle switches! A huge, circular infotainment screen! Adjustable colours for the lighting! Quirky at its best
Short Shift | Mini Cooper S Convertible

Diving deep into the cultural indulgence
called Jaipur
TIME
TRAVEL

Motoring World Special

O
ur self-appointed tour guide
walked perhaps a bit too briskly
for his girth, racing through
airy corridors and dim-lit
tunnels within the Nahargarh Fort, reeling
off chunks of history he had memorised
only too well. The informative discourse,
entirely devoid of passionate interpretation
and heart-wrenching storytelling, threw a
few things into perspective; driving down to
Jaipur had been a good call, and we really
didn’t want a self-appointed tour guide
ruining the experience for us.
In an instance of clever navigation and
some truly crafty footwork, we managed
to lose said guide to Nahargarh’s complex
architecture, due thanks muttered to
Maharaj Sawai Jai Singh II under our
collective gasps for signing off on what
stands today as an example of visionary
The Nahargarh Fort is a sightseer's paradise
design, especially in the matter of losing
unwanted tour guides. Thus, with the place
entirely to ourselves, we set about exploring
what can be duly credited as one of the early
foundations of the city of Jaipur.
While the walkaround, despite the life-
threatening heat, was expectedly surreal,
what left us perplexed was that we’d been
ushered right in – no holds barred – with
our Hyundai i20 Active. Caretakers of
heritage structures typically keep all things
automotive at bay, but not here. For an urban
dweller, then, this is quite an out-of-the-
world experience, driving through a series
of arches over the cobbled driveway, once
the domain of wooden-wheeled chariots
which, presumably, may have offered quite
a bumpy ride back in the day, far from the
plush mannerisms of the i20 Active.
From within the climate-controlled
confinesofthei20,westoppedintermittently
to gape, admire and photograph Nahargarh’s
splendid expanse. It’s quite something,
looking at a significant chapter of history
from within something as contemporary
of the Hyundai we happened to be driving
– a heady sensory contrast, you could say.
The sunlight bouncing off the i20’s roof
rails did make it look particularly imposing,
though, especially in that earthen shade
which complemented the fort’s rustic walls
only too well. Unlike the fort, however,
the i20 stood undamaged by the explosion
of human population, a fragment of which
had discovered an inexplicable urge to etch,

in gory detail, a few highly questionable
aspects of a certain Sapna’s sensory (for
lack of a printable word) appetite.
With us having gone decidedly touristy
this time around, we decided it was time to
head away from the Aravallis in favour of
a ring-side view of where the action really
was – Jaipur city. First on our list was the
Hawa Mahal – built so royal womenfolk
could enjoy an undisturbed spectacle of
the many festivities – a hugely popular
tourist must-visit, bang in the middle of
the city. The demanding drive into the
cramped, chaotic lanes within the city was
made effortless by the i20’s well-weighted
steering wheel and general ease of driving
and, in not much time, we had parked
right outside the famed structure. Except,
we weren’t really sure if we had, indeed,
arrived where had intended to. To explain
things a bit, the Hawa Mahal, strangely
enough, looks only like a facsimile of itself.
There’s no explaining it. It’s just not as big
or grand as it appears on visual media; just a
flat-ish collage of windows, somewhat like
a film set.
A bit underwhelmed, partly also due to
the utter mayhem the adjoining marketplace
brings about, we decided to go not by the
guidebook but by instinct. And thus began
Traditional handicrafts are a Jaipur must-buy
Jaipur never runs out of culture and colours

the quest for a sumptuous lunch which ended
exactly five minutes later, at the Lakshmi
Mishtan Bhandar, a busy, hugely flocked
source of traditional meals and desserts.
The cuisine in Rajasthan is predominantly
vegetarian (although heavily-spiced red
meat is a highlight in the state’s culinary
acumen) and we dug into a rather elaborate
spread, the sort that would be frowned
upon by supermodels, for its abundant use
of ghee and sugar. While lunch may have
been a biological requirement, it also gave
us a resplendent view into the people and
the city they inhabit. Jaipur, really, is all
about colours. It may seem uncomfortably
indulgent to the reserved, but it’s definitely
a far cry from the dull, unimaginative
greys and blacks us city slickers are so
accustomed to.
With matters of lunch and introspection
duly dealt with, we decided to work off the
sensory overload (and bloated tummies) by
driving around in the city, without a plan.
This turned out to be a good idea, because
there is no better place to experience a place
in its unadulterated form than on its streets.
Okay, this may not be entirely true, but
when you get pampered like you do in an
i20Active, it’s easy to resist going anywhere
on foot instead. And so, we drove, into
claustrophobically narrow bylanes and out
of them (thankfully), past traditional homes
replete with holy basils in the courtyard,
and ones where the sacred plant had been
replaced with the ubiquitous white SUV.
Signs of life never really thin out in
Jaipur but, a few turns of the wheel brought
us on to the absolutely magnificent Jal
The Hawa Mahal looks surreal by night. Chaotic surrounds take away from its charm

Mahal Palace, the preferred retreat of the
Rajputs of yore, set amidst the Man Sagar
Lake. A masterpiece of art and awe as
good as they come, the Jal Mahal Palace
was envisioned along the sidelines of the
construction of a dam (which still exists), a
sort of necessity for the famine prone region
of Amer. The palace itself sprung up not
long after, around the same time as the three
forts (a 10-minute drive away) took shape.
While it, and the lake around it, has been
under restoration for the better part of a
decade, nothing takes away from watching
the sunset while the flaming rays of the sun
cast their glow over this fascinating piece
of history. While not glaringly so, the Jal
Mahal Palace is a sort of valiant example
of what Jaipur really stands for, amidst
experiences and perceptions.
With dusk having turned into night,
we walked back towards the i20, looking
forward to watching the city cool its heels
from within its swanky, inviting cabin.
Nearly-golden street lights bounced off the
paintwork as we drove, gently, into the city
again, the generous all-round visibility of
the car allowing the city, in its cultural glory,
to flood into the cabin and our collective
psyches. The mercury never really dipped
below a still-quite-humid 32 degrees that
night, but with the luxury of individual
climate control and an infotainment unit
that will get the collective approvals of
geeks and audiophiles alike, we witnessed
Jaipur complete its daily cycle of life until
the festive lights finally faded into darkness,
one after the other.
Jaipur really is an asymmetrical
confluence of traditions, a sort of non-
conformist participant in the scheme of
evolution. It’s where the new has followed
the old, but not replaced it. It’s a city that
takes pride in what it has stood for, while
still taking huge strides towards the future.
A strange co-existence, especially in times
like the ones we live in, where nearly
everything is built to a perishable quality.
Driving to Jaipur really did turn out to be a
good call, then. Just avoid the tour guides
and leave it to the i20 to take you places.
Palaces like Amer offer a lot for shutterbugs
Jaipur really is an asymmetrical
confluence of traditions

short shift
HYUNDAI ELANTRA

Breathe
easy
By ROHIN NAGRANI Photographs VISHWAJEET CHAVAN
The new elanTra picks up where
The lasT one lefT off. BeTTer?
C
linical. It’s not something that
one would use to describe a Fer-
rari. But a Toyota Corolla? No
second thoughts there. A dominating,
everlasting model that continues to be
favoured, it’s been in India for the past
12-13 years and despite competition
from the likes of the Skoda Octavia/
Laura, VW Jetta, Chevrolet Cruze and
Honda Civic, it’s managed to keep its
head high.
For Hyundai, the Elantra was a bit
of a mixed bag. The first one made a
fleeting appearance, but never quite
managed to wow the Indian audience.
The segment, too, was yet to mature
and Hyundai of the early 2000s wasn’t
the Hyundai of today. What arrived
in India in 2012 (the fifth generation)
is what changed the Elantra’s fate. It
was a well-thought-out, well-designed
automobile that could really take the
fight to the established lot, the Corolla
included. And let’s face it, it did well
for itself, even if the entry D-segment as
it was once termed, was shrinking and
continues to shrink.
Which brings us to the question —
why yet another Elantra? The answer
is in three parts. Firstly, with a target of
300-350 units a month, Hyundai’s CKD
operation for the Elantra could still
make financial sense. Secondly, Hyun-
dai desperately needs a flagship saloon
that works as a torchbearer because,
thirdly, the new Verna that’s arriving in
2017 could do with some inspiration.
And a stepping stone.

Cabin looks somewhat familiar? Heavy parts-bin sharing here, but we can't say it looks bad, honestly
Diesel engine's got a very nice spread of torque
You know where we're going with this, right?
From the outside, the Elantra seems
to have enhanced the design language,
going for sharper lines instead of
curves that adorned the fifth-gen. The
trapezoidal grille is better defined,
while the slimmer headlamps and
new foglamp surrounds reduce a fair
chunk of bulk from the nose area. A lot
of it is down to the adoption of newer
pedestrian safety requirements as well
as improved aerodynamics. In profile,
the gradually rising beltline, combined
with a flatter tail-lamp profile makes
the car appear less bulky and yet bold-
er. Clearly, Hyundai’s ‘fluidic’ design
is coming of age with the new Elantra.
On the inside, the Elantra has a flat-
ter profile for the dashboard with the
same use of lines rather than curves

to accentuate the design. However,
some of it does end up looking a touch
bulky and bereft of design flourish-
es. That doesn’t affect functionality,
though. The 8.0-inch HD touch screen
has simple functions and incorporates
both Android and Apple CarPlay
connectivity. The thick-ribbed steering
is easy to grip, but I wish the material
felt a touch richer than it actually is.
The use of high-quality plasto-chrome
and leather lifts the overall ambience,
even though the interior is an all-black
affair. The higher SX(O) variants get
aluminium pedals, 10-way electrically
adjustable driver’s seat, hands-free
trunk release, ventilated front seats
(only on the auto), electronic stability
program and vehicle stability control
as well as six airbags as standard.
Space, too, isn’t much of an issue; not
that the last car had much to complain
about. The rear seat ditches curvatures
for a flatter squab and there’s am-
ple knee- and leg-room. Head-room
is okay, and unlike the last car, the
sharply-raked window line does not
make you feel hemmed in, thanks to the
addition of a quarter glass.
For India, Hyundai offers two motor
options. The tried and tested 126.5-bhp
diesel motor with a few software up-
dates to improve fuel economy, while a
new 2.0-litre petrol motor with 150 bhp
rounds off the range. Both motors are
offered with the choice of 6-speed trans-
missions — manual or torque converter.
We had a brief spell with the petrol
auto and we quite liked what we saw.
The motor had a good spread of torque
and, we must add, a fruity note from
under the hood. The auto ’box shifts
reasonably quickly on upshifts, with
downshifts slightly on the slower side,
although a longer drive might help us
to gauge its finer aspects.
It’s the diesel, though, that will
drive the bulk of the sales. The 1.6-litre
motor does feel slightly out of breath
at high speeds, as was the case with
the previous car as well, but does a
brilliant job of low and mid revs. There
is some characteristic turbo lag, but
the closely spaced first three ratios
and the slick shifting manual gearbox
make short work of it, as does the
light clutch. Indeed, of all the diesel
Short Shift | hYUNDAi ELANtrA

The gap has been narrowed
to make it appealing to both
ends of the spectrum

HYUNDAI ELANTRA
POWERTRAIN
Displacement: 1582cc, I-4, D/1999cc, I-4, P
Max power: 126.5 bhp@4000 rpm/
150 bhp@6200 rpm
Max torque: 26.5 kgm@1900-2750 rpm/
19.6 kgm@4000 rpm
Transmission: 6-speed manual/6-speed auto
SUSPENSION
Front: McPherson strut
Rear: Torsion beam
BRAKES
(F/R): Disc/disc
TYRES
205/60 R16
DIMENSIONS
L/W/H (mm): 4570/1800/1465
Wheelbase: 2700 mm
Kerb weight: 1250-1280 kg
PRICE
` 12.99 to 19.19 lakh, ex-showroom, Delhi
A U T O D A T A
it steers with a fair degree of confidence
with better load characteristics.
This really is a car that does justice
to its sharp exterior lines and interior
treatment, by making it a sharper car to
drive. Sure, it’s not entirely in the same
league as the Skoda Octavia or VW
Jetta, but the gap has been narrowed
enough to make it a more appealing
package to both ends of the spectrum
— those who seek driving finesse and
those who want comfort and ease of
driving. At a price tag of ` 12.99 lakh
to ` 19.19 lakh, ex-Delhi, the Elantra
does offer a fair number of trim options
(nine!) to choose from. Enough ammo to
take the fight to the big T! M
sedans in its segment, this is the best
manual-equipped diesel for urban use
by a mile. Driveability and NVH have
always been strong points of this pow-
ertrain and it continues to remain so.
On the move, though, the biggest
changes are to the overall dynamic
package. The previous Elantra had a
soft setup. As a result it would roll,
pitch and dive on any stretch of road
that offered a set of twisties. That
has been put under control with the
new one. A stiffer suspension setup,
combined with a high-tensile steel shell
has made the car more predictable
around corners. There is very little of
the unnecessary suspension chatter and
Short Shift | hYUNDAi ELANtrA

short shift
Ferrari CaliFornia T

DarkHorse
Could this ‘t’ off the
California for ferrari?
A
round 5 am on a sleepy Thurs-
day, it began. The scarlet sil-
houette was ready and waiting,
looking oddly at home on the cobble-
stone street, and yet all I could fathom it
doing was screaming down the adjacent
road in a fit of uncontained laughter at
its self-attested superiority. It’s amazing
what the mind allows you to experience
when you’re expectant. Even before
I could get a grubby thumb over the
steering, my mind was speeding. A
steady, glowing pulse just waiting to be
squeezed into a devastating shriek and
a squiggle of glowing, scarlet lines. My
mind was all over the place. What I was
to step into in moments was a legend.
It didn’t matter that this isn’t where
it began for Ferrari. At that moment,
it mattered more that it began then
for me.
And so it did. It’s common knowl-
edge that repetition breeds familiarity,
and that in turn breeds an easiness
that’s hard to put your finger on. Of
course, it could also be said that famil-
iarity breeds boredom, but I can assure
you that a Ferrari would cough up
nothing of the sort. Over the past while,
I’ve gotten accustomed to a fair bit of
extravagance in terms of exotica made
from aluminium and steel, and fitted
with engines that bellow and bark, and
spit fire, even. Getting into this car,
however, is different. There’s a wave of
familiarity that hits you instantly, and
at the same time, you’re in awe at the
newness of it all. It’s a strange feeling,
really. Strange enough to warrant an
unusually long time getting to know
your surroundings better. This car is
what Ferrari calls the California T.
Let me take you through the bul-
let points. To begin with, the original
California (sans the ‘T’) had a less-than-
ideal start. It was riddled with faults
that had the best of the lot cringing at
what Ferrari had given birth to. Can
you imagine that? A rubbish Ferrari.
It’s true, though, and it didn’t go down
very well with most. It was almost
like Jamie Oliver serving up a roasted
turkey with chestnut and sage stuff-
ing and flavoured butter… garnished
with goat droppings. It somehow just
didn’t fit. But it doesn’t take long for
Ferrari to understand its folly, and rest
assured, the new California T is about
as far away from being a polished turd
as Mika Hakkinen is from being an aces
ballerina instructor. It took me not
more than a little while to truly grasp
that feeling.

The manettino, currently in the wrong setting
Unbelievably quick is what this gearbox is, really
For when it's not stupidly obvious where you are
That's all you need to focus on while driving
Howdoesanenginebayenduplookinglikeart?!
Pitlane speed limiter. Because let's kid ourselves
This Cali, thankfully, is a true Ferrari.
What you should know is that the ‘T’
in the car’s name stands for The-Polar-
Bears-Shall-Live. A 3.9-litre twin-turbo
V8 is what’s responsible for giving
you a major case of goosepimples, and
as such, it’s almost like it’s tugging at
your heartstrings all the way through.
Listening to, and feeling this engine
waking up is the reason people fall in
love with it. Every blip of the accelera-
tor is served up to you in a condensed
ball of the happiest moments of your
life. You’re almost reluctant to shift up,
really. What I believe goes on, exactly at
the bottom of the ‘V’, is a tiny explosion
caused by Ferrari gremlins whose sole
purpose is to fire up an everlasting
grin on your mug, which is to say that
I believe it’s magic. Don’t believe me?
Well, how else do you explain the fact
that it has two turbos and drives — and,
importantly, sounds — exactly like a
naturally aspirated engine? You could
say that it’s not as strong nearer to the
redline as it is anywhere else, but that’s
a bit precious coming from you unless
your day job involves driving on the
weekends throughout the year in cars
that make the LaFerrari and 918 Spyder
look like pocket-sized radio-controlled
cars. Ferrari may have resorted to tur-
bocharging after a long time (think F40),
and it’s done so not out of choice this
time, but what it’s managed is simply
astonishing. Trust Ferrari to keep the
magic of an N/A engine alive — sort of
a finger to the naysayers who predicted
the death of speed.
Every fibre of my being wanted to
strangle the California T and bring it
alive. I wanted it to betray its weakness-
es, because on paper, this front-engined,
rear-wheel-drive convertible shouldn’t
ideally be right up there with the best
when you make it dance along the
twisties, but it’s just so shockingly good
at that, too. Getting the Cali to make
quick direction changes is about as
cumbersome as asking Usain Bolt to col-
lect another medal at an Olympic meet.
Driving the Cali as though you’re being
chased by a pack of seriously pissed-off

Sort of a finger
to the naysayers
who predicted the
death of speed
wolves is much too easy, and it’s gen-
uinely such a relaxed drive when you
bring things down by a few notches
as well. How does Ferrari do this?
It’s genius.
Ferrari knows that its cars are known
to rev their pants off. It knows that we
expect that, and so its engineers simply
restrict the amount of torque in first,
second and third gears to around 60
kgm of its listed 77 kgm. As you go
up the gears, that number gradually
increases until you reach seventh, which
is when all of that torque is readily
available. What this allows the Cali to
do is feel like a naturally-aspirated car
in lower gears, and a regular, relatively
lazy GT car in the higher gears. Pardon
the nerdy trivia, but to know exactly
what I’m talking about, there’s no other
place to be other than the driver’s seat.
Each gear is a delirious explosion of
all that is right with this world, and
that lasts all of a few seconds at best,
and then you shift up, and repeat. The
V8 lulls you into an all-encompassing
trance, and it’s all orchestrated by that
twin-clutch transmission. I do believe
it’s quicker than it’s legally allowed to
be, if there is such a thing. It’s a genuine
wonder why Ferrari doesn’t use its
powers of telepathy to decimate the war
on peace we’re currently having.
At this point, it’s taking a consider-
able amount of restraint to not launch
off into another paragraph or two to
tell you about how well the California
T handles the less glamorous stuff.
Call me old-fashioned, but that’s not
how things are supposed to be. Yes,
you absolutely can drive it around like
a geriatric in an Alto wondering if he
left his glasses at the shops, because

for some reason, Ferrari’s made it ride
pretty well and given it enough ground
clearance for you to not go past every
speedbreaker and pothole with you
sobbing uncontrollably and wondering
how you’re going to explain this one to
daddy dearest. But that isn’t the point
of this car. I am under no illusions that
this can be passed off as a track car,
either, because it can’t, but a Ferrari isn’t
meant to be taken down to the shops
to refill your heart medication. Use it
as the GT car it’s meant to be, and stop
droning on about how it can be the ‘best
of both worlds’.
You’d be missing out on what the
car can be so good at thanks to its
exceptional handling balance. Like I
mentioned earlier, the Cali’s a front-en-
gined, rear-wheel-drive car and that
means there’s a slight tendency for it
to understeer, but unlike most, the vast
reserves of torque and power can have
you exiting a corner hilariously side-
ways. The limited-slip differential will
help you keep things in check, although
that ‘ESC off’ setting on the manettino
can be a huge invitation for trouble if
done wrong. And that’s what I love
about this car. Despite being such a new
A Ferrari isn’t
meant to be
taken down to
the shops to
refill your heart
medication

Ferrari CaliFornia T
POWERTRAIN
Displacement: 3855cc,V8, twin-scroll turbo
Max torque: 77 kgm@4750 rpm
TYRES
F/R: 245/40 R19 / 285/40 R19
DIMENSIONS
L/W/H (mm): 4569/1910/1321
Wheelbase: 2670 mm
PRICE
` 4.5 cRoRe (ex-showroom)
A U T O D A T Aexperience, it somehow lulls you into a
strange sense of familiarity, and that’s
what gets you so connected to the drive
right from the start. It’s as tempting to
drive the pants off of it as it is to drive
up to your neighbouring coastal town
with the top down.
The Ferrari California T, then, is
the real deal. So what if Ferrari didn’t
exactly nail it with the previous one,
and so what if it’s looked at as the baby
Ferrari? Yes, it’s true that it’s hack-
neyed to say that a Ferrari is great, but
like I pointed out earlier, the previous
Cali wasn’t, by any yardstick. And if
you look back on Ferrari’s rather long
history, it’s made the odd mistake here
and there. The way the Cali’s sales have
gone so far, it’s become clear that a ma-
jority of the people buying it are buying
into the Ferrari family for the first time,
and it’s a fine way to get in, too. A
claimed 0-100 kph time of 3.6 seconds
and a top speed in excess of 300 kph are
figures even the best of the lot wouldn’t
scoff at. And unlike its predecessor, the
Cali T will happily take on its rivals.
So what if, at the end of it, you have to
pay north of ` 5 crore for it? That’s what
armed robbery is for, right? M

kitbag
bagging it
MotoGP coMes to
IndIa (well, In
a way)
M
otoGP is the pinnacle of motorcycle racing, which
makes it next to impossible to get into. However, while
you train your five-year old to race, you still need to
look the part. And nothing screams passion like putting on some
official licensed MotoGP apparel, and an Indian company has
managed to do just that. Achhe din are here, it seems.
Roadster, a brand owned by Myntra, has become India’s first
company to enter into an exclusive partnership with MotoGP,
and launched what they refer to as an ‘inspirational and func-
tional range of jackets, denims and T-shirts.’
The jackets come with well-placed air vents to keep you cool
and accordion-stretch panels to facilitate freedom of movement,
while adjustable straps ensure a snug custom fit and a remov-
able thermal liner keeps you warm in winter. Keeping in line
with the biker theme, there are pockets to add elbow, shoulder
and back armour which need to be purchased separately. Retail-
ing at ` 10,000, this could well be the perfect daily use jacket for
you MotoGP fanatics.
The denim riding pants, which retail at ` 3,600, are a bit more
universal in use. They are made of handcrafted indigo fabric and
incorporate a certain amount of stretch and abrasion resistance
into the textile itself. They come with pockets for knee armour
inserts and look cool enough to wear on and off the bike.
Besides these, Roadster has also launched cotton T-shirts and
shirts, which they claim are specifically designed to absorb mois-
ture and increase rider comfort in a hot country like ours. While
this claim is yet to be tested, the apparel does look very good.
Dyed with glow in the dark paint, there are a bunch of different
prints and styles available.
With the interest in MotoGP steadily increasing, and Rossi
doing really well (go Vale!), there has never been a better time
to wear your passion on your sleeve. Head over to Myntra and
give these a good long look. M
Wear your
passion.
everyWhere

Supper moto october 2016

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (10)

Similar to Supper moto october 2016

Similar to Supper moto october 2016 (11)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Supper moto october 2016