Range Rover Evoque - first look

I fell in love with this car ever since I first laid my eyes on it. This car was really fresh to look at and very beautiful too. I was eagerly waiting for the launch of the car in India and a chance to drive the beauty. There were few confusions regarding how the pricing of the car would be. Rumours had it that the price would be as low as 35 lacks. The version I fell in love with was the three door one but I have to admit that the five door version is highly attractive too. With Tata taking over both Range Rover and Jaguar, it was sure that Indian market wouldn’t have to wait too long after its launch in the global market and rightly so, Evoque is finally here. It looks like I will have to wait little more to drive the Indian version. Recently, however, I got a chance to drive the European version of the Evoque. To be completely honest, the new Evoque surprised me in many ways. Here are few of those reasons….

It will be a real effort not to notice an Evoque that’s passing you. The looks of the car guarantees that many heads would be turned. Range rover has used a completely new design language for the Evoque. This is entirely a new car, which is being introduced in a whole new class and is aimed at new kinds of customers. I have to admit (and I bet that only a minority will disagree) that this vehicle is million times better looking than any other Range rovers. Evoque comes 100 kg lighter than the Freelander 2. The extensive use of aluminium in body panels and suspension is highly noticeable and resulted in considerable weight loss. Evoque also has substantial use of plastics on its body. However, the commanding view of the regular Range rover is missing in the new Evoque. Unlike many other Range rovers, the seating position is lot lower and as a result Evoque feels more sportier and very ‘un-Rangie’. On the whole, the Evoque is a real treat to look at. The vehicle is highly attractive on the outside and shows high promises in terms of the looks.

Honda's newest baby - Brio

Now, this was a car that kept me anticipated so much. I’ve always loved Honda, for their powerful engines and neatly attractive looking designs. Honda had many surprises for Indian market this year. They reduced the price of their all time favourite City and very recently they made huge reduction in the price of their B+ segment hatchback, The Jazz. But what really excited me was the news that they are going to launch a B segment car that will give us good mileage and good city drive. But despite all these, the sales of Honda only went down due to the tough competition and rivalry. And so finally, Brio is here. And it faces a very huge competition, fighting nearly 10 other giant manufactures and their cars. Will it crumble under the serious pressure of competition or will it rise among the other rivals to become peoples’ favourite? Only time will tell. But what I can do is tell you guys what I thought about this little of a beauty and how well it behaves on our road and in our condition.

The new Mahindra XUV 500

To be honest, I have never been that a big fan of Mahindra. The only vehicle that impressed me was the Scorpio, but even she had her own problems. So when I first heard about XUV 500 I remembered not to get my expectations too high and at that time I had no idea what Mahindra had in store for us. And then I saw their advertisement that only showed a cheetah running towards us making me wonder what the resemblance would be, but when I first saw the picture of XUV 500, I understood the resemblance it had with the cheetah. And boy wasn’t it good looking. What Mahindra did was way above what I expected from them. And this vehicle looks great from top to bottom and side to side. The whole stance off the vehicle is like a cheetah that’s about to jump at you. And I am pretty sure this vehicle will do great in the global market. And something inside me whispered that this vehicle’s ride will be as better as its looks.

Ducati 795 Monster - On its way to India.

This is the newest Ducati that’s coming to India. Since the newest of the factory is in Thailand it was eventual that the price of all the Ducati to fall. The newest of their product for India is the 795 Monster. This particular bike comes just under the range of the all time favourite Monster 796. The aggressiveness of the bike is evident in its looks and even in its pricing. This is the cheapest Ducati ever (yet!), but when I say cheap don’t get me wrong. Ducati has not compromised with the standards at all. They have made the vehicle cheap keeping the Ducati standards intact. Like all other Ducati this Monster 795 is assembled for India in Thailand. The whole bike is designed and engineered in Italy. The engine is born in Borgo Panigale factory in Bologna. All these are shipped to Thailand and then assembled there for the Asian market.  The bike gets a triple parabola headlight and a very good digital instrument cluster. The rev counter is up to 12000 rpm. The LED tail is slim and looks very neat and attractive. The whole monsterish gene had been retained for the bike and is clearly evident in the looks of it.

BMW SS 1000rr - a first look at the beast

 BMW is really famous for their cars. The German giants have already planted their root deep in the Indian automobile market. What many people did not know much is that BMW produced bikes for the global market. Recently, with the entire sports bike arriving in India, it was essential and inevitable that Beemer brought their fair share in the segment.

Yamaha R15- first look

I woke up getting a call from my friend and he greeted me with very appetising news. When I first heard about this news that Yamaha is launching a bike I prayed it to be something in the 200 cc range, but it wasn’t to be. When I heard that Yamaha is just launching the same bike again it got me wondering whether my friend is going crazy. But he was saying the truth and Yamaha is launching the same 150 cc bike, Yamaha R15, again but this time with many changes. When I went on and searched more about this news I was pretty impressed and on the other hand very much confused. Why would Yamaha do the same launch again while the competition is so high and tough? Only Yamaha knows. But at this first look I can tell you guys how this bike looks and the major changes this bike have undergone. And it will be up to you to decide whether you need this 150 cc bike at the price of a 200 cc bike.

The new Maruti Suzuki Swift 2011

The euro Spec swift

‘First impressions are the best and the lasting impressions’ I have heard. And so it is true. And here is a car that proved me wrong.  When I first laid my eye on this car I didn’t find anything much special about it. Yes, I could see some changes with this vehicle getting a new set of attractive headlamps (big too!) and it fits the car as perfectly as should the boots to your feet. Like I always do, the first thing I noticed about the car was its looks. It looked awfully similar to the old swift from far away. Where is the change? I kept on asking myself. But as I got closer the changes were right there to be seen. You might just not notice if this car was parked somewhere in the lot, you might think it’s the good old swift but a closer look would change that. And all it took for me to fall in love with this car was just a drive…