Honda launches new variant of Amaze with dual front airbags

Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) today launched a new variant of its Amaze sedan featuring additional safety features as front dual airbags. Amaze SX would be priced Rs 7.12 lakh for the Diesel varient and Rs 6.2 for the Petrol (ex-showroom Delhi).

Moreover, the Petrol varient of Amaze SX would have ABS (Anti-Locking Braking System) which comes as standard equipment in all variants of Diesel Amaze.

Commenting on it, HCIL Senior Vice President, Marketing & Sales Jnaneswar Sen: We are pleased to introduce 'SX' variant of the Amaze with added safety features. The S variant has been the most popular variant in the Amaze range and with the addition of SX variant, we are confident that this new variant will appeal and bring delight to the customers seeking safety features at the volume range".

Honda Amaze has witnessed great success in Indian market by selling more than 60,000 units from its launch in April 2013.

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Maruti Suzuki's Celerio AMT to be called EZ Drive, first teaser inside

Maruti Suzuki's upcoming YL7 which we confirmed last week that would be called as Celerio. The first ever teasers have been released by the Japanese carmaker and the car would be displayed at 2014 Auto Expo. The new car would replace the Alto (and Celerio in some countries) globally and A-Star and Estilo in India.

The Japanese carmaker also announced that Celerio would get an Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) and would be called as EZ Drive.An AMT would provide a clutchless drive to the passengers like an automatic transmission. However, as per Maruti Suzuki the benefits of AMT is its more fuel efficient gearbox which the company claims to be 5 percent more fuel efficient and also much cheaper than the conventional automatic transmissions available in India.

The Celerio would be powered by 1.0L K10 engine which would be currently available only in Petrol fuel. The company also plans to introduce a Diesel version of the same in year 2015, however no official confirmation is done by the carmaker as of now. The engine will be available with a power output of 68PS and 90PS of torque.

Stay tuned for more information during the launch from 2014 Auto Expo. 

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Mercedes to assemble S Classs in India, to double annual capacity to 20,000

Stuttgart based Mercedes Benz, which had just launched the S Class in India at Rs 1.57 Crores is all set for the local manufacturing of its product in India. The new car S500 long wheelbase measures 5,246 mm in length, 1,494 mm in height, 1,899 mm in width and comes with a 3,165 mm wheelbase. It tips the scales at 2,200 kg.

Mercedes Benz which had sold 9,003 cars in India last year, a 32% growth over last year is all set to replace the top luxury carmaker in India - Audi to second slot. Audi in 2013 had crossed 10,000 mark sales. In the second half of 2013, Mercedes had taken the top slot and is now hoping to outpace the market leader again on the back of its new launches.

Mercedes, which had introduced eight new models in India last year, is planning to enhance its local assembly operations to beat competition and fill the SUV deficit in its portfolio. In India, it assembles four car models—the C-Class, E-Class, ML-Class and the GL-Class. The company is planning to introduce its globally successful GLA SUV and the CLA sports sedan in India to tap its growing affluent class.

Mercedes Benz has already sold the 125 SClass launch edition cars allocated by its German headquarters for India. Deliveries of the locally assembled car, which will be available with both diesel and petrol engines, is expected to start in April.

Moreover, the carmaker plans to double its annual capacity to 20,000 per annum in India. We wish Mercedes Benz, all the best for achieving its target of being the largest carmaker in India outpacing its rival Audi in 2014. Watch out the close rivals as the year progresses.

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Honda City sedan 2014 launched - Starting at price of INR 7.42 Lakh

Japan's Honda Motors have launched their fourth generation City sedan in India starting at Rs 7.42 Lakh for the petrol variant and Rs 8.62 Lakh for the Diesel variant.

The new car is based on Jazz platform and the Petrol variant will be powered by 1.5L i-VTEC engine delivering 119PS of power and 145 Nm of torque. It can purchased with a 5-speed manual transmission, which is claimed to deliver 17.8 km/l, or with a CVT gearbox which promises fuel efficiency at 18 km/l.

The diesel City is powered by the same 1.5-liter i-DTEC engine found in the Amaze and it produces an identical 100 PS and 200 Nm of torque like the Amaze. However, Honda has opted to give the City diesel a 6-speed manual transmission as compared to the 5-speed gearbox of the Amaze. The ARAI rated fuel efficiency of the new City diesel stands at a class-leading 26 km/l.

The prices of the new car are as follows -

Gasoline variants
Honda City Petrol EMT - Rs 7.42 Lakh
Honda City Petrol SMT - Rs 8.04 Lakh
Honda City Petrol SVMT - Rs 8.49 Lakh
Honda City Petrol VMT - Rs 8.99 Lakh
Honda City Petrol VXMT - Rs 9.93 Lakh
Honda City Petrol SXAT - Rs 9.49 Lakh
Honda City Petrol VXAT - Rs 10.98 Lakh

Diesel variants
Honda City Diesel EMT - Rs 8.62 Lakh
Honda City Diesel SMT - Rs 9.24 Lakh
Honda City Diesel SVMT - Rs 9.66 Lakh
Honda City Diesel VMT - Rs 10.16 Lakh
Honda City Diesel VXMT - Rs 11.1 Lakh

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Audi India to launch RS7 on 6th January 2014

Audi India has asked for a press conference on 6th January to launch their new model. The company through its Facebook page has announced to launch RS7 in India.

At same time last year, Audi showcased the car at Detroit Motor Show. The RS7 would be powered by 4.0L TFSI twin cylinder V8 diesel engine producing 560 bhp of power at 6700 rpm and 700 Nm of torque at 1,750 rpm. The RS7 is capable of doing a sprint of 0-100 Kmph in just 3.9 seconds.

The top speed of the car is resticted to 250 Kmph in India whereas the International models have an option of choosing variant capable of doing 305 Kmph.

The RS 7 will feature Audi’s traditional Quattro four-wheel drive system. An 8-speed automatic transmission will send 60 percent of the power to the rear wheels, while 40 percent goes to the front. Thanks to a Cylinder On Demand (COD) system, the RS 7 achieves 10.2 km/l in the European driving cycle.

Stay tuned for more information at Wheel-O-Mania. 

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Maruti's A-Star replacement codenamed to be called as Celerio, first images surfaced

Maruti Suzuki had already stopped the production of its running Estilo and as already reported, the new car codenamed YL7 will replace the Estilo and A-Star. The car will be called as "Celerio" and will be launched at 2014 Auto Expo.

Here are handful of images of Celerio being displayed wherein we could guess that the car could be showcased to masses sometime soon. The Celerio is basically the production avatar of the Suzuki A - Wind concept that made its debut at the 2013 Thailand Motor Show.

The new car is expected to be powered by 1.0L K10 Petrol engine delivering 67HP at a peak torque of 90Nm@3,500 rpm. Currently this engine was tested at ARAI for a fuel efficiency of 20.2 Kmpl whereas we would not be shocked even if the new engine is remaped to a little higher fuel efficiency.

The new Celerio shall take on to the likes of Hyundai Grand i10 and Chevrolet Beat. The Diesel engine currently under development is also expected to be fitted in this car some where around 2015. Stay tuned for more.

Image source - Motoroids

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