Sub 5 lakh Showdown

                     The name indicates that this post is about cars which rule the segment below 5 lakhs... These seem to be the best hatchbacks available in the Indian Market currently under 5 lakhs....

The main competitors in this sub 5 lakh segment are the Chevy Beat and the Honda Brio. I won't be mentioning the i20 here because, the variants worth considering are all above 5.5 lakhs...

First, the American choice... The Beat !

The Chevrolet Beat is a peppy petrol hatchback with an evident young streak in its design. The elongated lights, compact yet aggressive looking side profile and eye catching rear lights make this a great attention magnet. The Chevy bow tie in the middle of the divided front grille looks pretty good. On the interiors, the Beat tries to look modern but falls flat on its face in a few design aspects.

The External side profile of the Beat

One of the modern touches of the Beat's cabin...

The Beat starts at an Ex showroom price of 3.80 lakhs in Delhi and is worth considering.

Then, the Jap ! The Honda Brio !

 The Brio is an impressive product from the Japanese Honda car stable. It is a well built, refined car and the deal is further sweetened by the i - VTEC engine revving under its hood... The Cabin is good looking except for the off centre music player and the strangely placed air con vents...

The Final Verdict:

Both the cars are worth considering and if you're budget is strictly below 5 lakhs, then I recommend the Chevy Beat... But, if your budget can be stretch by about half a lakh, then the Brio is surely the way to go. However, if your budget is further stretchable by a lakh more, then i'd recommend going for the Korean Hyundai i20.....

- Naayl Humza,

  14 year old car enthusiast...

The STORM : Tata Safari Storme

                  It had been quite a while since Tata's work horse, India's first true blue off roader the Safari had undergone a proper refresh.... Then came the new Safari Storme which I first had a look at at the Auto Expo... It was amazing ! Though some parts of the new design looked similar to the previous gen, the new car looked much more refined and handsome.... At a first look, it seemed as if Tata has just changed the nose and the rear of the car...but then, looking closer, I realized how much better a car the Storme is than the previous gen Safari...  It looked better and it seems like Tata Motors' designs are getting better from release to release... The Indica Vista and the Manza....then, the Aria and now, the Safari Storme.... Each release seems better built and sturdier... The pricing too was quite good... I had expected Tata to hike up prices to the 12 lakh + range.. But, surprisingly, the Base Storme LX comes in at 9.95 lakhs (EX Showroom Delhi) !
This seems to be a much better deal than the other competiton such as the XUV 500, the Scorpio and the Duster.... Along with this, another shocker is that the Storme VX 4x4 variant comes in at just 13.67 lakhs EX Showroom Delhi ! THAT IS AN AMAZING DEAL !

  

Moving on to the interiors:

The new Safari's interiors seem much better built, solid and comfortable... The wood inserts on the dashboard and door grab handles look well integrated and the beige and wood finish combination exudes class. The use of beige in and around the cabin makes the whole cabin look spacious and expansive. Everything in the Safari looks really good... but something which terribly stands out in the centre console is the single DIN music player which looks extremely out of place and sticks out like a sore thumb in the Safari's cabin... Even the competition nowadays comes with stock, factory fitted touch screen music systems which at times even integrate GPS and tyretronics... So on the Dashboard, hats off to the guys at Tata for the impressive job they've done.. 

   The beige color looks really good on the gear lever and it gels well with the wood finish trim !

The interiors look comfy with oodles of space for the 2nd row passengers ! Looks like the Safari may just be the best car for comfortable family holidays as well as as a luggage carrier... An ideal car if you're searching for the best offroader under 15 lakhs with loads of comfort and cabin space...

The seats seam well padded and comfortable... I think that one of the variants of the Safari comes with leather seats too !

Door trim looks quite good !

Moving towards the Exterior:

The projector headlamps look very eye catching and attractive.

The tail lights look tall and look good on the new Safari !

The tail gate looks well designed and is a good change from the regular Safari tail gate design with the spare wheel mounted on it... The plastic cladding with the Tata logo on it looks good and the rear looks well executed. Another detail I noticed which I appreciated alot is that Tata has even integrated a step into a black cladding at the bottom for people who find it difficult to climb into the rear jump seats..

The step is visible in this photo clearly... The new dual exhaust design looks stylish and gives the rear a kind of macho stance !

The alloys aren't amazing looking...but, they are bearable...thumbs up for disc brakes on all 4 wheels !

AAAND.....TAADAAA.... The monster powering this beast resting under the Hood !!

The 2.2 Liter Diesel "Varicor" Engine.. This power plant produces 140 Bhp @ 4000 RPM & 32 kgm of torque !!

Final Verdict:

 The Storme from Tata Motors is an impressive improvement over the older gen both in terms of refinement as well as quality.. But, even this car has certain negatives which need to be smoothened out... The music system could be improved by putting in a 2 - DIN unit with GPS... Also, instead of the jump seats, I would like it if Tata offered front facing 3rd row seats.... But, on an overall the new Storme is an excellent car for those rare offroad adventures or for long family drives... So, if you're in the market for a large family car for about 10 lakhs, look no further than the Tata Safari Storme !!

- Naayl Humza,

14 year old car enthusiast !

The Honda Brio : Some thoughts..

                                              Honda launched the Honda Brio recently in India.. It was aimed to be a car for a person with a budget below 6 lakhs and a person who wanted a compact, easy to drive and comfortable city car... When the Brio first launched, truly, I wan't quite amazed by it. I still felt that the top contender in this segment was the Hyundai i20 which was still going strong... But, after having a look at the car, I'm quite impressed with what Honda has achieved... It was an excellent package for city driving - the   i-VTEC engine combined with a well built interior seemed like an amazing combination...
                                             
                                            Then, my aunt was looking out for a compact car for city driving. At first, I told her that she HAD TO GO FOR THE I20... But in a while, my perspective of the Brio changed... And as I looked through its brochure, I felt that I had to check this one out !

So, moving on to the Interiors...

PS: image borrowed from Team BHP... sorry about that...

At first, the interiors look quite different.... Stuff I noticed about the Dash:

- Good quality plastics (mostly)
- Off centre stereo wasn't to my taste
- Aircon vent positioning wasn't very nice
- Good quality, solid looking steering wheel with audio controls on it...
- I felt that the glove box was kind of small
- General performance of aircon = excellent !

The Stereo in detail:

- Quite good sounding audio !
- Comes with USB, AUX or FM for your musical needs... I don't think it has Bluetooth
- No CD slot...
- Audio controls mounted on steering wheel (in certain variants)

The rest of the interior:

The seats seemed quite OK, except for the fact that I felt that the front seats come with less under thigh support.... the doors are well built and seem sturdy except for one tiny fault I found in them.... there's visible body metal in the bottle holders ! That was the only negative I felt on the door panels... Door handles seem to be sourced from the standard Honda part bin and are well built.....

Moving to the Exteriors:

The Brio's exterior is something which some people may like alot as well as some people may hate.... I personally liked Honda's new approach to the tail lights which make it look like Tuner lights... Seems pretty cool..... Also, something to be observed in the Brio is that the rear hatch door is complete glass..... Nice new touch on Honda's part.... Makes the rear portion of the car look big...

The Hatch !

Some Concluding Thoughts...

        The Brio is an excellent car for someone who needs a car for the city; AND it is not your car for weekend escapades....with the rear seats up, luggage place is pretty small. If the Brio's going to be a family car for a family of 5, look else where (i20 maybe)... Honda has an amazing car on their hands and it would be an excellent move on Honda's part to release a Brio Sedan version positioned below the City....

- Naayl Humza,

  14 year old car enthusiast !

Cars In India: The 10 to 20 lakh segment

                It's been quite a while since I've last seen the Indian car market actually bustling like this.... Every automotive segment seems to have innumerable buying options for the customer - be it the below 5 lakh segment, below 15 lakh segment or any other segment.... All of these have one thing in common - multiple options for the buyer... So, this post is kind of about the 10 lakh to 20 lakh large car buyer segment.....

                   This year has seen multiple cars enter the Indian automotive market such as the Renault Duster, the Skoda Yeti, and Mahindra's latest, the XUV 500. All of these are extremely competent products, live up to customer expectations (most of the time) and they are all excellent contenders for a vehicle which is ideal for city driving as well as one which is ideal for those weekend getaways....

So first up, the Renault Duster... The Duster seems to be a "hatchback on heels". It's a pretty good deal, but it just isn't up to the mark.... It's Renault first step into becoming an integral part of the Indian market especially after the Logan which seemed to be designed with no more than a pencil and a ruler ! From the outside, the Duster looks brute, strong and large.... But once you enter the car, it seems to be a completely different story itself ! The interiors have an over dose of chrome on the dash....as well as, the dash kind of reminds you of the Logan.... In some places, many parts seem to be after thoughts - such as the rear aircon blower jutting out of the floor barely leaving place for a fifth passenger ; or the music controls placed behind the steering wheel ! All of these contribute to a not so good feeling, especially the fact that they seem like after market add-ons and the quality doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of the car...

Now, moving on to the XUV 500.... The first time I saw the XUV, my reaction was" Hmm .. it looks OK .. but, the looks grow on you... the front lights with the projector beams, the DRLs, the "Cheetah inspired grill" (as Mahindra claims) as well as the big, bulky looks... Now, I really like the way it looks.... Plus, with this XUV, M&M seem to be trying to enter a very important market segment..... the car comes with features expected of maybe 30 lakh+ cars at an amazing price point of about 13 to 17 lakhs ! The W8 variants are the most attractive ones... Available with either 2WD or 4WD, they are absolute Value for Money with the stuff they offer - touch screen navigation, cruise control, leather seats, tyre pressure sensors, SIX airbags, a well tuned 140  Bhp engine, steering mounted controls, Disc brakes on all 4 wheels, rain sensing wipers,  Voice Commands (I think)...The list is just endless ! To appreciate every aspect of this car, you have to experience it in person... This car from Mahindra is an amazing feat and is a huge upgrade from the Scorpio...

Finally moving on to the Czech beauty - The Skoda Yeti... It seems like a Fabia from the front, looks like a box at the rear, but step inside the cabin and experience Skoda Superb like comfort... PLUS, a magnificient boot.... out of the 3, this seems most car like and is an excellent option for those weekend escapades.... it's almost like a Superb with 4WD... Out of the competitors, it seems the most worthy... but, Skoda India's after sales service is what this depends on.... I haven't experienced Skoda After Sales Service so i can't say much about this....

THE FINAL JUDGEMENT:

The Duster is for some one with a budget of essentially less than 10 Lakhs.... Its a good car for a small family of maybe 4 plus luggage...but thats it...

If you have a larger family, then look no further than the XUV 500 ! The features it comes with beat all other competitors at the price...

If you were looking at maybe a Volkswagen Jetta, or a Skoda Superb or Laura; or any other such executive car and your work takes you places where such cars would take a bad beating, the Yeti is the car for you ! It's loaded with everything these cars come with, is comfortable and, still has that "Show value" that you would get with a Jetta, a Civic, a Superb or an Elantra !

- By Naayl Humza,
  14 year old car enthusiast.