Confirming the speculation, Ford is all set to showcase the ‘KA’ sedan at the 2014 auto expo. We reported you all the Ford plans till 2016
Ford has already launched the Ka hatch in Brazil. Hence in all probability, Ford would unwrap the covers off the KA compact sedan on Feb 3rd (special unveiling to media). KA compact sedan will be powered by the 1.0L ecoboost engine and 1.5L diesel engine. KA compact sedan would be perfect replacement for Ford Ikon – the josh machine. The interim successor fiesta classic will drive into sunset once KA compact sedan kicks-in . Stay tuned for more updates
Tata plans to launch Mouvs, the re-branded version of Sumo Grande. The Movus will replace the current Sumo Grande. It will receive some minor changes on its exterior side like side body graphics, steel rims and black bumpers. It will not get any badges on its rear.
On the Interior side, The Movus will get 2.2 litre, 4 cylinder VARICOR engine instead of 2.2 litre DICOR engine. The 2.2 litre VARICOR engine is derived from Safari Storme. The engine can develop net power of 140 Ps and 320 Nm of torque. The engine is mated to a 5 speed manual transmission gear box. It can return an ARAI certified mileage of 15.2 Kmpl. The VARICOR engine gets 1lakh Km of warranty.
It will get independent, wishbone with coil springs suspension at the front and parabolic leaf spring suspension at the rear. The design of wishbone suspension uses two wishbone shaped arms inorder to locate the wheel. The parabolic leaf spring rear suspension provides smooth riding with their greater flexibility.The front will include disk brake and the drum brake at the rear.The wheelbase and the ground clearance of the Movus will be 2550mm and 180mm respectively.The steering type will be a rack & pinion steering. It is to be displayed at the 2014 Auto Expo.
Hyundai i10, Maruti Alto 800 and Tata Nano fails miserably in NCAP crash test. Ford Figo and Volkswagen Polo couldn’t pass the test though appreciated for featuring some structural rigidity.
Volkswagen adds airbags as std in all variants of polo and vento.
At the time india is finally looking to set-up it own crash testing centre in oragadam, chennai. Here comes another wake-up call which urges the government and industry body to act soon. Before going into the story two quick facts vicky.in wishes to remain its readers
1) Over 1,40,000 dies in road accident every year in india making
India’s road safety record is the world’s worst though india’s passenger vehicle market is still 1/10 of America and China
2) India is worlds 6th largest car market and 2nd largest motorcycle market yet we are the only country which do not have car safety testing procedure
Global NCAP decided to carry out a test on some of India’s best selling cars, in partnership with India’s Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE). The idea was to assess the safety levels of some of the country’s most popular small cars. This is not intended to spoil the image of made-in-cars by some western agencies. All the manufacturers and Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) were informed of these tests, before they were held. Representatives from each manufacturer were also invites to witness the test, and the results are being shared with them all too.
* The per-requisite to pass the NCAP test is to have mandatory airbag but the selected variants for this test were base or entry variants which means none of the safety features were available except the seat belt
Hyundai i10 – Pitched as made in india for global market failed miserably at the NCAP crash test. Its surprising considering the fact European i10 (which is also exported from India) fared better. Experts wonder whether two kinds of cars are being made for india and exports
Tata Nano and Maruti Alto 800:The awesome car and Indias new favourite brought up no surprises by failing completely in all fronts
Ford Figo:
Figo shows reasonably better structural rigidity yet the lack of safety features grounded figo too
Volkswagen Polo:
Polo similar to figo has a safer cabin through some structural strength. Recently,the manufacturer added twin airbags to all its variants of polo and vento.
Finally the comparitive results among the failed cars
Polo is safer than Figo, figo is safer than i10 which is safer compared to nano and alto 800. Caution here is not to take the word “safety” as an option
What’s better lines to quote, other than from the global director of New car Assessment programme
This is very disappointing and partly due to the lack of airbags as standard, but the real problem is the substandard safety of their body structure. Body structures that collapse onto the people inside can have fatal or life-threatening consequences in real-world crashes. These zero rated cars are built by companies that produce good, safe five star cars and at affordable prices for buyers in other parts of the world. Now is the time for car buyers in India to be able to choose five star models that exceed global safety standards.
Tata plans to introduce next generation Winger which is based on Renault Master MPV. Recently, the left hand drive, test mule has spotted at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. This next generation MPV has already spotted in Pune, Maharastra. For this all new Winger MPV, Tata will use the platform of Renault Master MPV as seen in the spyshots.
The current Winger is based on the old Renault Trafic’s platform. Tata will continue to sell its Current winger with the next generation luxurious version. The all new Tata Winger will be positioned above the current winger and it will get the highest price among the Winger MPV models.
The engine specifications are not revealed. The launch of this next generation Winger MPV will be delayed. We can expect the new model with various seating configuration like the current Winger model.
The Pulsar 200 NS FI is expected to be unveiled at the upcoming 2014 Auto Expo along with the Pulsar 375, Pulsar 200 SS and Pulsar 150 NS. It was recently spotted near Satara on NH4, Maharashtra. Pulsar 200 NS FI is an all new variant of Pulsar 200 NS with Fuel Injection (FI) system.
Bajaj launched its flagship model, Pulsar 200 Ns in the year of 2012 with the triple spark technology. It was most powerful and fuel efficient and Pulsar 200 NS became best selling bike in that segment. But it did not get Fuel Injection system. So the Bajaj now plans to introduce an all new variant of Pulsar 200 NS with FI system.
The Pulsar 200 NS FI is expected to provide better top speed. It will also get triple spark technology. We can expect the price of the new Pulsar 200 NS FI variant is Rs 7000 more than the carburetor variant. The company will share all other details of Pulsar 200 NS FI at 2014 Auto Expo.
Skoda to unveil Yeti facelift at the upcoming 2014 Auto Expo. The company plans to fill its SUV space with this Yeti facelift. The new Yeti facelift follows the same design language from its recently updated Superb. The new Yeti is already available in some International markets while in India it is likely to be displayed at the upcoming 2014 Auto Expo
It will get new conventional squarish head lamps instead of the round fog lamps. It also receives an all new hood, reworked front bumper and chin. At the rear side tail lights are reworked as reflectors and the bumper also receive some changes.
On the Interior side, the new Yeti facelift will get a new steering wheel. It will also include some minor changes to the seats and colors. It is expected to be powered by the same engine from the current models. The new Yeti facelift is expected to get an attractive and competitive price.
Bajaj is expected to unveil Pulsar 375, much awaited bike at the upcoming 2014 Auto Expo. Pulsar 375 will be the first expensive full faired bike from Bajaj which will get ABS and twin headlights. The bike has been spotted testing at many places. The bike features daytime running LED lights.
The bike was spotted recently on Pune-Banglore route. It will get the same 375cc single cylinder, fuel injected liquid cooled engine from KTM Duke 390.The engine can develop maximum power output of 40 bhp and 32 Nm of maximum torque output and mated to six speed manual gearbox. It is expected to get a price of Rs 1.75lakh.
The 2014 Mahindra Scorpio facelift (Codename: S-594) has been spotted at testing in many places in India. The new Scorpio facelift will get LED tail lights instead of conventional multi reflectors, a new revised grille and refreshed headlamps.
The front bumper will also get changes with the new design of air intake. The updated Scorpio facelift will get a new dashboard and derived steering wheel from XUV 500.The face lifted Vehicle is expected to get the same 2.2 litre mHawk turbo diesel engine which can generate maximum power output of 120 bhp.It will also include 140 bhp engine with six speed gearbox from XUV 500.
Recently the Bolero has spotted with the 2014 Scorpio facelift. It may include a new front bumper with larger air dams. The rear bumper will also be the revised one. The wheel arches on the vehicle are larger when compared to the previous one.
