The Indian Car Market Scene: A Review As Of the 29th of July, 2014

So, the Indian car market's been bubbling with numerous new launches. The latest, was the Mercedes Benz CLA AMG. It's truly an impressive product with a whopping price tag of 68.5 lakh Indian Rupees (EX-SHOWROOM DELHI). The CLA AMG's positioned a notch above the stock C class, and below the C63 AMG. The highlight of the CLA's spec sheet which will surely turn heads is its 2.0 litre, 4 cylinder, turbocharged petrol AMG engine which churns out 360 Bhp of power accompanied by a whopping 450 Nm of torque. On flooring the accelerator all the way down, Mercedes Benz boasts that the car touches a 100 km/h in 4.6 seconds. The engine is truly the most powerful 2 litre engine available in the Indian Market. However, the CLA was supposed to be a baby C Class which was supposed to be affordable compared to the rest of the Mercedes Benz range. Hence, I do hope that Mercedes Benz also brings along the stock CLAs to the Indian Market. If aggressively priced (between 25-30 lakhs) the CLA could take the sub 30 lakh car market by a storm.

However, strictly speaking about the sub 30 lakh premium car segment, the only car which I consider to be the best when it comes to value for money and the number of features loaded from the factory is Skoda's Superb. However, for those looking for brand value, the Mercedes A class also seems like a worthy proposition.

Another recent launch is Porsche's Macan SUV. Size wise, it's smaller than it's elder sibling, the Cayenne. The shocker here is that thee Macan is actually costlier than the Cayenne in India. The Macan comes fully loaded. It costs between 1.0 - 1.1 crore Indian Rupees. But, I still feel that Porsche should have launched the lower end Macan models in India at lower price points.

I had recently reviewed the Volkswagen Polo before Volkswagen introduced the new model. The new models have similar bodies with slight revamps in the headlamp design and a few more splashes of chrome here and there. Another highlight is the new steering wheel which looks a lot better. However, the greatest highlight on the new Polo (the diesel variants in particular) is the new 4 cylinder 1.5 liter diesel engine. Volkswagen is offering the 1.5 l Diesel at similar price points as the previous 3 cylinder 1.2 liter diesel engines. The new engine in the regular diesel Highline model churns out 90 bhp of power and 230 Nm of torque. That's a bump up of 15 bhp of power over the older Polo diesel variants ! The reason I'm excited about this new engine on the new Polo Diesel is the endless possibilities of tuning the engine with ECU mods and churning out better performance figures from it.

I also happened to read up about the new Toyota Corolla Altis. I really miss the times when the Toyota Corolla was a mass seller in the Indian Market (the Asian Spec E120 Sedan Models). However, now, the Corolla seems to have lost it's sheen completely. It actually seems overpriced. The Diesel variants of the Toyota Corolla seem ridiculously over priced. Nearly 16 lakh Indian Rupees for a 1.4 litre diesel engine which produces just 88 Bhp of power seems like a pure over kill. At a similar price point, the Skoda Octavia diesel seems like a lot more value for money compared to the new Corolla Altis.

German Engineering: The Volkswagen Polo: Small, Yet Built To Last

The Volkswagen Polo is probably VW's best selling product in the Indian market. It's supposedly a "Super Mini" hatchback in the international market. But in India, it's pretty much one of the larger and costlier contenders of the hatchback market. It's essentially a baby Golf in most aspects. It's not based on the widely spoken of Volkswagen Group MQB platform which the Skoda Octavia and the VW Golf are based on. Yet, it does live up to the high expectations we've come to have of vehicles built by the Volkswagen Group. Further more, it lives up to its ultra hyped advertising tagline - "German Engineering". Truly, it beats a lot of the competition at the game.

The Interiors:

The above photo is from a  May 2014 Volkswagen Polo 1.2 Diesel's interior. The interiors are simple and subtle. Some might also find the design of the interiors outrageously simple given the Polo's pricing in India. However, the Polo's interiors exude class. They might not look as sport or exuberant as those of the Suzuki Swift. But, a trip in the Polo is enough to fall in love with its interiors. Everything seems built to last. Simultaneously, every minute intricacy of the cabin reflects the amount of thinking gone into designing it.

 
Above is the VW Polo's factory spec steering wheel. The particular model I had a look at (POLO TDI 1.2 HIGHLINE) came with steering mounted audio controls for audio volume and answering phone calls via the head unit through bluetooth.

The aluminium chin like insert on the lower half of the steering along with the all chrome VW Polo add the much needed bling to an otherwise plainjane design. The steering's plastics are of high quality and feel sturdy. However, I still feel the need for a thicker, chunkier steering wheel as the factory fitted one's rim feels too thin for my liking. The steering wheel also comes with an integrated driver's airbag. As of this article's writing, Volkswagen has started offering dual front airbags across the VW Polo range. Models manufactured before February 2014 do NOT come equipped with airbags on the base variant though.

This was a move from VW after a recent crash test of numerous Indian spec vehicles including the polo, which did not come with airbags fitted on their base variants. Numerous of these vehicles did desperately in the crash tests due to bad build quality and due to the lack of airbags. The VW Polo lacked airbags on its base variants. Hence, it didn't do very well on the crash test despite having excellent build quality. However, now under the "Safer Cars For India" initiative, VW Polos scored an NCAP score of 4 out of 5 stars which is excellent compared to many other similarly priced vehicles in India.

The Polo's central console, yet again is simplistic. There's numerous blank buttons on the Indian Spec Polo which represent multiple controls on foreign spec Polos. Numerous features such as traction control have been omitted on Indian Spec Polos. One of these buttons represents the button to turn on and off traction control on foreign spec Polos. Yet again, chrome inserts come in to cater to our design preferences. Because well, the bland grey design of the central console would seem extremely unappealing without these accents. 

The head unit in question on the Volkswagen Polo TDI Highline is Volkswagen's famous RCD 320. This unit is a 2 DIN headunit featuring USB, AUX and Bluetooth connectivity. However, something it really misses out on is a touchscreen. Had VW just thrown in the RCD 510 which features a 6 inch touchscreen, with the Volkswagen Polo, it would have just sweetened the deal.

Seen above is a frontal view of the factory fitted RCD 320 on a Volkswagen Polo. The RCD 320 boasts of a multitude of buttons for various functions - making it confusing to use at times. Speaking of connectivity and media options, it features Bluetooth, USB, SD cards, AUX and a slot loading CD drive. The VW Polo comes factory fitted with 4 speakers. At their highest bass setting (9 on a scale of -9 to 9) they were extremely good in my opinion. They sound much better than numerous other factory fitted counterparts. 

The Air conditioning features climate control. The AC performs well and cools the cabin quick despite our relatively hot Indian climate. The VW Polo has air conditioning vents only at the front. It does not possess any rear air conditioning vents. 

The gear knob fits well in the hand and seems quite sporty. Inorder to put the Volkswagen Polo into reverse gear, one needs to push the gear knob vertically downwards and then move it to the left of the first gear. This mechanism is something not usually seen on cars in the segment and it requires getting used to. There's a storage curb behind the gear knob which is sufficiently shallow. Seen in the photo below is a Sony Xperia Z1 in the space behind the gear knob.

Another example of the Volkswagen Polo's great build quality is the quality of it's glove box door. This is, of course, one of such numerous instances which exemplify the VW Polo's good build quality. I've been stressing on good build quality because the Polo's build quality has truly taken me by surprise. It's alot better than I'd expected it to be. Everything seems incredibly well put together. Further more, not once have I been able to spot any place in terms of material quality which I've been able to complain of.

The glove box comes with a sunglass holder in its door. Older versions of the Volkswagen Polo come with the audio USB port in the glovebox. However, the newer models come with it right on the RCD 320 head unit itself.

Here, above is the Volkswagen Polo's instrument dial. Both the tachometer as well as the speedometer have large, easily legible numbers. The fact that VW has it's speedometer marked all the way upto 240 km/h represents the fact that the Polo is capable of alot, and VW is confident of its capabilities. Though it might not be able to touch such speeds with the engines it's currently selling with in India, the fact is that the Polo's platform is capable of alot more. Hence, after market modders and people planning to chip the Polo's engine should rejoice.

At first glance, the Volkswagen Polo's doorpads may seem incredibly bare. They also seem to offer no value for money when looked at - Because they seem extremely under designed and rudimentary when compared to the doors of competition like the Suzuki Swift. However, to truly appreciate these doors, one has to open and close them once. Just once. Because no other car in the price segment replicates that "THUD" you get when closing the door. That heavy thud gives one a feel of the Polo's tank like build. This feeling can truly be recreated only by Volkswagen's commendable "German Engineering". Seen above is a picture of the driver's side door. The VW Polo's power windows support anti pinch technology too.

The Exteriors:

To be honest, the Volkswagen Polo does not make me go"wow" when I look at it. The Polo's is a design which grows on you. It just gets better with time. Like wine. But yes, the more you look at it, the better you feel it looks. The Indian Polos receive double slat grills, while the foreign spec ones receive single slat ones.

When one looks at the Indian spec Polo's exterior and then compares it to that of the foreign spec Polos, one's left wanting alot more. As of now, Polos abroad are offered with different grills as well as different head lamps. The head lamps in the foreign spec Polos feature DRLs, a feature which hopefully will make its way to Polos in India soon.

The headlamps available factory fitted on the current VW Polos feature halogen lamps. They have a smoked effect to them (which was a design cue I always wanted VW to bring to the Indian spec Polos). The headlamps are fairly powerful and do a good enough job.

The Volkswagen Polo's side mirrors look sturdy as well as well designed. The only down side is that they don't come equipped with integrated turning indicators.

The VW Polo's side mirrors are another instance of thought having gone into their design. The mirror bodies don't only swivel in one direction. They swivel backwards too. This prevents the mirrors from breaking off in case bikers or cyclists bump into them (This may only be understood by Indian readers, who've spent time in hay wire traffic on our rods). Further more, the mirrors can be adjusted from inside the cabin electrically. 

The Volkswagen Polo comes with clear lens type factory fitted fog lamps. They are sufficiently strong. Though, like in the case of most factory fitted fog lamps, certain users may need to replace these units with more powerful units.

The Volkswagen Polo Highline variants as well as the GT TDI and GT TSI come equipped with alloy wheels. These are 15 inch rims whose design is called "Estrada" by Volkswagen. They seem quite sporty and add a touch of eye candy to the Polo's otherwise subtle design. Most 2014 VW Polos in India come equipped with Apollo tyres. Despite the Estrada wheels being 15 inch wheels, the spare tyre in the Volkswagen Polo is a 14 inch space saver. This is somewhat of a disappointment. 

The Volkswagen Polo comes equipped with a flexible radio antenna. This is an especially useful feature when parking in garages or basements with awfully low ceilings because the antenna being flexible eliminates all worries of it breaking.

The VW Polo's boot opens wide. It's quite cavernous and holds 5 shopping bags and a beach umbrella with ease. This makes the Polo the perfect weekend getaway car for a family of 3 or 4.

The Volkswagen Polo's boot handle is concealed behind the huge chrome Volkswagen Logo on the boot door. One has to push the upper side of the logo inwards and lift the lower side of the logo outwards in order to open the tail gate.

Under The Hood:

I've always had an evident bias towards petrol engines. However, after having had a look a the Volkswagen Polo's 1.2 TDI diesel engine, my thoughts regarding diesel engines have changed. What really surprises me is that the VW Polo's diesel engine is JUST a three cylinder unit, and despite this, it never seems like an under performer. It puts up a tough fight against the other diesel competition in the segment. It never seemed under powered or lacking in torque. Under the Polo Diesel Highline's hood is a three cylinder 1.2 litre engine which produces 75 bhp @ 4200 RPM and 18 kgm of torque at 2000 RPM. Initially, this engine does seem sluggish. But, once the accelerator's floored down and the revs are above 2000 RPM, the Polo shoots ahead like well, a "Diesel Rocket". 

The Volkswagen Polo is also available with a 1.2 litre petrol 3 cylinder engine (75 bhp @ 5400 RPM and 11 kgm @ 3750 RPM), or a 1.2 litre 4 cylinder petrol TSI engine (105 bhp @ 5000 RPM and 17.5 kgm @ 1500-4100 RPM), or a 1.6 litre 4 cylinder Diesel engine (105 bhp @ 4400 RPM and 25 kgm @ 1500 - 2500 RPM).

All the VW Polos come equipped with 5 speed manual transmissions, except for the 1.2 TSI unit in the GT TSI Polo. The Polo GT TSI comes equipped with a 7 speed DSG transmission. 

Final Verdict:

The Volkswagen Polo doesn't come extremely well loaded when it comes to the sheer number of features. In comparison, the Hyundai i20 comes with truck loads of more features. However, if you don't need your vehicle to be equipped with tons of gadgets (half of which you'll probably never use), the Volkswagen Polo does have alot to offer when it comes to sheer design and build quality. Volkswagen is so confident of the Polo's reliable, long lasting build that it even offers a 6 year anti corrosion warranty for the Polo's body. Volkswagen also boasts on its Indian website about the Polo's steel frame which gives the Polo additional passenger safety. 

Hence, if you're in the market for a hatchback under Rs. 10 lakhs which is extremely well built and sturdy and are okay with a gadget feature list shorter than that of the competition, look no further than the Volkswagen Polo.

Further, if you're able to extend your budget a little more, enthusiasts will find much to enjoy about the Polo GT TSI's 1.2 litre petrol TSI engine coupled with the 7 speed DSG transmission. This particular model opens up your prospects to modifying your VW Polo alot more. Numerous GT TSI buyers on Team Bhp have been able to fit steering wheels featuring paddle shifters on their Polos. 

Thus, despite the VW Polo not being much of a looker, I'd recommend it to anyone searching for a reliable and sturdy hatchback. Not to forget, it comes with the amazing "German Engineering" too.

- Naayl Humza,

  16 year old automobile aficionado. 

Old Faithful : Maruti Suzuki Alto

           The Caprice rolled out of our drive way in 2004. Dad drove the Caprice as well as a Maruti 800. Now that the Caprice was gone, dad started looking at compact, easy to maneuver cars to replace the 800. So that's how he stumbled upon the Alto.
          She rolled into our driveway some where in the middle of 2005 - with the elegant silver paint job and the glistening Suzuki badge on her grill. I was around 6 then. Though I couldn't really understand a thing about cars, all I knew then was the jumpy excitement of a new car rolling up our drive way !

That "Spectra ALTO" badge has been there since ages... It's been there for 8 years now and is still intact in it's more or less new state ! Another sign of how much dad LOVES this car, and how well she's been taken care of !

Moving on to the Interiors:

           So, there's not much to boast about here. Well, except simplicity. And serenity. Tranquility too. Well, enough of this. Lets just describe the car's interiors as inspired by the Japanese concept of "Zen".

So, here's the steering wheel. Pretty plain Jane. No modern bells and whistles here. No on steering controls. But it is light. And makes the car easy to drive. The plastics still look okay owing to the fact that dad constantly gets this car serviced. The leather wrap is an after market add-on.

This is to the right of the steering wheel. Two dummy switches, and a headlamp leveler.

Again to the right of the steering wheel, here's the Headlamp and turning indicator control stalk. Plasticky, yet brute and durable.

And here, to the left of the steering wheel is the trusty wiper stalk. Guess she's going to be used alot more now. (The monsoons've kicked in yesterday in Mumbai)

The "control station". Or simply put, the dashboard. Simplicity prevails here. Dual Tone dash - black and gray.

So, there's no obvious reason for this floor hump at the rear. That's because the Alto's got a Front Wheel Drive system, so there's no need for a transmission tunnel at the rear. But all I can conclude is that probably this hump was incorporated in the underpinnings for the 4 wheel drive Alto which was available abroad.

So the dashboard does have space for a two din Head Unit. But, we never got down to installing one. So, we've ended up using it as a tiny storage area. Seen here's my 52mm Lens UV Filter and my tiny Xperia Ray.

There's this scoop on the left of the dashboard. I'm guessing that this was the place the passenger airbag was installed in Altos sold abroad. But, this tiny nook does provide a bit of space for tiny stuff. My Xperia Ray fits in comfortably. But, my dad's Galaxy Grand doesn't fit in well. So that does give you an estimate of space.

So, the boot opens. But, there's no button to push or lever to pull inside he cabin to open the tail gate. That's done by getting out of the car, and opening the boot with the key. Not really a convenience, but it's acceptable on a car which was bought 8 years ago. Further more, the boot is tiny. Really tiny. But, on numerous occasions, we've shockingly managed to pack in  a lot of holiday luggage !

The windows on the front door go down all the way. But, on the rear doors, the windows go down three fourth of the way and don't go any further.

Pulling at this lever opens the bonnet. This car's bonnet is not house to a power house. It's house to a minuscule 3 pot engine. But the engine is EXCELLENT for short city runs. And, for getting through the chock-a-block traffic on Mumbai's streets.

Moving on to the Exteriors:

These are the 2005 Alto's tail lamps. Old school, no frills. But, they get the job done. They're not like today's LED containing lamps. However, they're well built and well looked after. I see numerous cars on Mumbai's road after the rains with headlamps and tail lamps full of water. But these lamps on our Alto, they've never broken. Neither have they ever leaked and allowed water in. That's clear proof of how well this car was built as well as how well dad's maintained her !

These are the car's knobby little tyres. Standard, factory fitted rims. No alloy or spoke business here. They came from the factory with tyres from JK Tyre, but down the way, dad's upgraded them to Goodyear tyres.

This car's passes the Bharat Stage 3 emission norms. These norms are the Indian equivalent of the Euro 3 standard.

The under body is absolutely clean. There's no hanging wires here. Everything is well assembled.

Under the Hood:

Here's the Alto's tiny 3 pot petrol engine. It's got 4 valves per cylinder and 3 cylinders in all. It produces 45 bhp accompanied by around 6 kgm of torque. It's mated with a 5 speed manual gear box. The engine can push the Alto up to speeds of 100 km/hr. But after that, the ride gets jittery and unstable.

Final Verdict:

This car's 8 years old. So, I can't really give it a rating. Further more, I can't say much about what it should have and shouldn't have. All I can say is that Old Faithful's served us well. Very well. She's faced the rains and summers of Mumbai. She's faced trips across the Western Ghats. She's covered around 50,000 kilometres in this lifetime of her's. Yet, she forges forward, not giving up on us once. Hence, hats off to Old Faithful !

- Naayl Humza,

  15 year old Car Enthusiast.

The Car To Save The Planet In : Mahindra's Reva e2o

       

             So it's name ends with an "o". It's an easy guess that it's a Mahindra (every Mahindra branded car's name ends with an "o"). AND when you read "Mahindra", the first thought that enters your mind is a massively large diesel guzzling SUV. But, Mahindra's newest introduction in the Indian market is quite contrary to Mahindra's brand image. The "Reva e2o" is a petite hatchback which makes it easy to zip around in the city. And, it DOES NOT run on diesel. It's an electric. All electric. No hybrid or micro hybrid stuff hear. PURE ELECTRIC.

The e2o costs 6.03 lakhs ON-ROAD MUMBAI. This price is applicable to the Base of the Range model, the T0. Due to this pricing, the e2o enters Hyundai i20 and Maruti Swift territory and that may not make it very appealing.

Exteriors:

The e2o looks amazing when viewed from the front. It's small, compact. Yet, it has stunning looks. The stylish headlamps rounded around the wide grille look really good. The Mahindra logo adorns the grille. However, when i had a look at the e2o for the first time, the front bumper and grille design didn't appeal much to me. But, as time passes, the looks grow on you and you actually begin to like them alot.

This is how the e2o originally took birth. This concept, the Reva NXR was designed by the famous Indian car modification firm DC Design. After years of working on building something practical, the guys at Mahindra achieved the stunning, road ready design of the e2o.

So this is the side view of the Reva e2o. It is visibly tiny. Very tiny. The flared wheel arches add alot of the good looks to the e2o. Note that the e2o is a two door car which seats four. This is a first in a car of this segment and is something which will be liked a lot by teens buying their first car. However, quite a few people may not like the fact that the e2o is a two door.

Another point to be noted is that the e2o's body is not painted. The colour is impregnated into the body panels, thus preventing the e2o's body from getting scratched easily. This is a very clever thought on Mahindra's part.

The e20's rear looks compact. And tiny. And miniscule. And zippy. It's a new design in the Indian market and I guess that it'll go down well. But, it's a design which takes time to get used to. It grows on you.

The Reva e2o's alloy design is striking. It's stylish and is in keeping with the modern theme of the car.

Interiors:

Compared to previous generation Reva cars, this car's interior job is better. By leaps and bounds ! It looks and feels better built and everything is put together really well. Mahindra has added a bit of gloss to the dashboard centre panel which is a design element borrowed straight from it's diesel guzzling cousin, the XUV.

The steering feels chunky and is nice to hold. However, do note that the e2o DOES NOT have a power steering. So this is a major down side when you're driving in the city. Another thing which I noticed in the e2o's steering was that steering mounted controls were sorely missed. Mahindra should've had steering mounted controls especially due to the presence of such a high tech music and entertainment system.

This is the e2o's automatic gear lever. It's well contoured and fits well in the hand. Notice the "B" which stands for boost mode which gives your Reva some extra juice. This is especially useful when overtaking or when you need faster short sprints.  The presence of an automatic gear box in the Reva makes it really easy to drive by people of all ages.

Further, the power window controls are placed in the centre between the Driver and Passenger's seats behind the gear lever. This is similar to the Mahindra Scorpio.

This is the e2o's speedometer combined with the battery, efficiency and gear display. Further, it houses the e2o's odometer. The blue and white colour scheme looks very Tron-esque.

Shown here is the e2o's 6.2 inch entertainment screen. Actually, it does alot more - it displays GPS information, doubles up as a reverse camera display and it also shows you your driving efficiency. So, let's just call it the e2o's "Control Panel". 

Talking about control panels, another interesting feature of the e2o is that it's got an app available on iOS, Android and Blackberry devices using which you can remotely control and view stats of your e2o. Using the app, you can remotely turn on your e2o's airconditioner before entering the car inorder to cool down the car's cabin. The app also shows you your car's available range on that charge. You can also remote lock and unlock your e2o using the app on your phone !

The app is a cool and smart idea on Mahindra's part to add something interesting to the Reva brand image.

Further, Mahindra has teamed up with JBL for the audio system of the e2o. So that's something you may find interesting too.

Under the Hood:

So...um. There's nothing under the hood. Actually there is something - it's a spare wheel. And a brake booster. And the wiper fluid. Not much more.

So the e2o's electric motor is a 3 Phase Induction Motor. It produces a paltry 25 bhp at 3750 RPM. And 5.3 Kgm of torque. These figures can't compete with those of the e2o's petrol counterparts. But again, the e2o is a city car where alot of power isn't needed. 

Final Verdict:

               The Mahindra Reva e2o is a car you'd buy as your 2nd car. Don't expect it to do everything a petrol or diesel car can do - it's not good for highway driving, overtaking or carrying a family of 5 along. Further, the car being a 2 door may not be liked by many because climbing into the rear seats may be tough for adults.

             If you're buying your first car, don't have to ferry around more than 3 people and need a car which is very cheap to run, the e2o is your best bet. But then, be ready to sacrifice quite a few bells and whistles available on the e2o's petroleum run counterparts.

- Naayl Humza,

  14 year old Car Enthusiast .