In the rear, Mahindra has retained existing variant’s looks and styling. But the tail lamp detailing has been slightly tweaked with an additional clear lens stacking. The additional rear spoiler enhances the sportiness of  new Xylo. All columns have been black taped to improve side profile. There is not much change in the interiors. There will be  an additional variant for facelifted Mahindra Xylo called  Xylo E9.

There are reports suggesting that Mahindra may plant a detuned 2.2 ltr mHawk engine in New Xylo. The engine is well received in Indian market in Mahindra Scorpio and Mahindra XUV500 (with different power output profiles). Even Mahindra may continue with current  mEagle engine line up in base and mid-level variants and top end (E9) may get mHawk engine. The mHawk engine engine is lighter compared mEagle and will improve the fuel economy and acceleration characteristics.

Mahindra Xylo has been in the market for the last three years. It is doing fairly well in the segment but we think company wants to improve the sales further. No doubt new Mahindra Xylo looks much better than outgoing model. Will this  facelift lift sales of Xylo..? We reserve our comments till Mahindra announces the price.

New Mahindra Xylo debuts on Wednesday! is originally published on : Wheelosphere - Indian Car and Bike Blog

A  new  variant (ZXi) has been added and  it  will run on a set of factory fitted alloy wheels. New A-Star will also get a rear spoiler which enhances the sporty look. The top end variant will get air bags and ABS as optional features. The new Maruti A-Star will be available in two more shades – Pearl Metallic Brown and Glistening Grey. Company is currently offering five shades, Bright Red, Pearl Arctic White, Paradise Blue, Silky Silver and Midnight Black.

“The smart modifications in the spiced-up A-star are in line with customer feedback and seek to enhance the overall look, feel and comfort of the buyers,” said  Shashank Srivastava, Chief General Manager (Marketing) – Maruti Suzuki India (MSI).

The ex show room (New Delhi) prices of new Maruti A-Star are

LXi       – Rs. 366,618

VXi       – Rs.397,268

VXi AT  – Rs. 447,175

ZXi       -  Rs.422,250

ZXi       -  Rs.440,503 (With Air Bags and ABS)

Maruti A-Star was debuted in India in 2009. In the initial phase, A-Star fared moderately well but later sales took a nose dive. But Maruti Suzuki had decent demand in European markets where A-Star is sold with Suzuki Alto label. Also Maruti Suzuki supplies  A-Star to Nissan for overseas market. The latter sells A-Star as Nissan Pixo there.

Back in home, Maruti A-Star failed to impress prospective family car buyers. The major reasons could be lack of luggage space and cramped rear row seats. But A-Star Automatic variant gained popularity among city dwellers as there are  not much options available in the segment. Let us see how the A-Star is going to perform in our market.

Maruti A-Star gets minor upgrades is originally published on : Wheelosphere - Indian Car and Bike Blog

“There are cheaper cars available and newer players have entered this segment but Alto remains the car that India needs. Very safely, we will see double-digit growth for the car in 2012,” said Mayank Pareek, managing executive officer, marketing and sales, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. “Despite the slowdown in the domestic industry, Alto numbers have grown over the last year,” he added.

In 2011, the overall sales  of Maruti Suzuki Alto grown by 3.46% and stood at 311,367. While Alto became the only representation from India, VW Gol and Fiat Uno represented Brazil with their second and third positions. The VW Gol managed to find 293,454 buyers while Fiat Uno with 19.28% growth clocked 273,537. Fiat Uno managed to outsell VW Golf (last year’s third position) as well.

As Maruti Suzuki’s official said, even though there were many adversities Alto managed to repeat the success story this year as well. We saw a host of car launches in 2011, out of them Hyundai Eon was projected as Maruti Suzuki Alto killer. Though Hyundai Eon is available in Indian market from October-2011, it is still struggling to make decent sales figures. Sensing the trouble Hyundai Eon LPG and three more variants were  launched recently.  So we need to wait for  few more months before jumping into conclusion.

Another point is, Fiat Uno’s sales performance underlines it’s capability to compete in highly price sensitive markets. Though Fiat has ruled out bringing Uno to India, we still hope that company may actively consider this model for our market in two-three years down the line.

Source:- HT

Maruti Suzuki Alto is world’s largest selling car for second year!! is originally published on : Wheelosphere - Indian Car and Bike Blog

Currently Volkswagen Up! is available with one engine option (1.0ltr gasoline) only. The engine has been tuned for two out put profiles. The first variant  produces  60 bhp maximum power while the second variant develops 75 bhp. The fuel efficiency claimed by company is above 24 km per liter which is  an advantage of Up!

Volkswagen Up! sports company’s latest BlueMotion technologies which includes stop/start system. Another feature worth mentioning is, City Emergency Braking which will automatically apply brake in case there is a possibility of collision.This system will work only  when the car speed is below 30 km/hr. Up comes with Volkswagen’s maps+more Portable Infotainment Device (PID) which offers touch  screen navigation, Bluetooth and entertainment.

The price of  five door variant of Up! is just 400 Euros more than it’s three door variant. Volkswagen India is expected bring Up to our market by 2014. As of now, company has not disclosed accurate timelines for Up India launch. Up will be a crucial product for Volkswagen in emerging markets including India. We will be tracking this development very closely so stay with us for further updates.

Volkswagen unveils India bound Up five door variant is originally published on : Wheelosphere - Indian Car and Bike Blog

More importantly, Mitsubishi said the vehicle features company’s  new design language. That means all new vehicles from Mitsubishi will features similar styling characteristics. According to company the styling language is still in the development stage and may get polished in the future.

The car featured in the teaser image sports an attractive front fascia. The two tier horizontal grille which houses Mitsubishi logo has been nicely designed and integrated to the headlights and bumper. The bumper has been redesigned and the lines are more  prominent now.

The vehicle will hit mass production line by end of this year.

With the teaser image, Mitsubishi presented a new business plan called “Jump 2013″. The new business plan says company will focus on green and global  vehicles in the future. That means company may axe some products like Galant, Eclipse and Endeavor from it’s line up while extending their global vehicle models.

Back in India, Mitsubishi and their partner Hindustan Motors are struggling to prove their mettle. The join venture has not made any significant launch for the last two-three years. Their last major launch was Evo X but a hefty Rs.50+ lakh price tag ensured it’s enthusiasts staying away from showrooms. Now we are waiting to see Mitsubishi Pajero Sport in India. We expect Pajero Sport India launch by next month. Do you think Mitsubishi and Hindustan Motors will impress us this time.? Let time answers. Stay with us for more updates.

Mitsubishi releases teaser image of an all new SUV is originally published on : Wheelosphere - Indian Car and Bike Blog