autox march 2012
DESCRIPTION
This one was mega! We got together 10 cars - 5 sedans each from 2 different segments - to see how much fun can you get out of these humble saloons, while also comparing the value they offer. We previewed the mental Morsus motorcycle and drove Ferrari's brilliant 458 Italia at the equally amazing Buddh International Circuit - India's first and only F1 circuit till now. another Italian brand in the pages of the issue was Ducati. We went riding on some winding roads on a couple of Ducati's and came back smiling.TRANSCRIPT
w w w . a u t o x . i n
7 0 | V O L U M E 6 | I S S U E 5 | M A R C H 2 0 1 2
Finest Selection of Small, Luxury, Classic, Sports Cars and SUVs
FIAT LINEAHONDA CITYHYUNDAI VERNANISSAN SUNNYSKODA RAPIDCHEVY CRUZEHONDA CIVICRENAULT FLUENCETOYOTA COROLLA ALTISVOLKSWAGEN JETTA
FORTUNERFORTUNER
NEW FORTUNER
24 | autox.in | march 2012
TEXT JARED SOLOMON
march 2012 | autox.in | 25
TEXT JARED SOLOMON
28 | autox.in | march 2012
march2012 | autox.in | 29
Hailing from the lands of
Slovenia, Akrapovi is
the leading manufacturer
of premium exhaust
systems for motorcycles
and performance cars.
It is also a leader in carbon parts and the
innovative use of titanium. The company
was founded by former motorcycle
racer, Igor Akrapovi , some twenty years
ago and it has grown to international
prominence by the successful support
of leading racing teams. Then we have
Dreamachine, another Slovenian company
that customizes motorcycles and which
was started by Tomaž Capuder. These two
companies have come together to produce
a one-off showcase designed to capture
your imagination. Wallah – lay your eyes on
the stunning Morsus.
Akrapovi decided to build this
machine with Dreamachine Motorcycles,
in Slovenia, to demonstrate that whilst
Akrapovi is known for racing prowess,
they also have such a breadth and
depth of in-house talent that entering the
competitive world of custom bikes is a
natural extension to what they do. A big
plus for the project is that Akrapovi also
managed to use materials that they excel
at producing – titanium, stainless steel
and, of course, carbon fiber.
What stands out the most on this
bike are the massive 26inch wheels,
and the scorpion look. The bike is truly
a piece of art and what’s better is that
it is a working machine that can be
ridden. The engine is an S&S 1852cc
unit that can lash out around 144bhp
– which by all means is enough to
give you quite a fix of adrenaline. The
transmission is an Ecoline with 6 gears
and the clutch is hydraulic. Most of the
components such as the exhaust and
the air filter are from Akrapovi , but
the frame, suspension and wheels are
done by Dreamachine.
And although the Morsus isn’t for sale
it still is one of the ‘sickest’ concepts to
approach our quest for finding truly radical
machines, which gives them a lot of
attention for their other lines of work.
march2012 | autox.in | 31
TEXT ISHAN RAGHAVA IMAGES KAPIL VASHIST
FerrariEsperienza
34 | autox.in | march 2012
march 2012 | autox.in | 35
42 | autox.in | march 2012
What can truly be
called a perfect
riding road – a
road where the
rider reaches
nirvana, a road
that can soothe the soul or pump your
adrenaline, a road that is worthy of being
called an Ultimate Riding Wonder? There
are very many factors that can come into
question, but most importantly the world’s
best riding roads need lots of curves, good
visibility, beautiful natural landscapes and
an added bonus could be the absence
of the police and traffic. They may also
need smooth tarmac depending on
which bike you choose to ride, and for the
same reason they might also need to be
challenging. However, at last year’s Shell
Advance Malaysian MotoGP race, the
Coorg to Munnar route was crowned the
world’s ultimate riding wonder by Ducati
MotoGP rider Nicky Hayden. A part of the
Shell Advance ‘7 Riding Wonders of the
World’ campaign, people from 8 different
countries voted and along with a panel of
experts the winning route was decided.
Apparently, the experts and the voting
TEXT & IMAGES JARED SOLOMON
ULTIMATE RIDING
WONDER
march 2012 | autox.in | 43
down side if you decide to take on a pillion
rider on this bike they might be a little
uncomfortable because the rear seat is
very small.
So if you were to ride the Multistrada on
the Coorg-Munnar route would it be the
best road to enjoy the ride? The answer
is yes and no. While, the Multistrada is
fun to ride on this road we don’t see why
roads such as the Zurich and German
Black forest highways, or the back roads
in Northern California would be any less
thrilling than this one. Yes the Coorg
and Munnar area is quite beautiful, but
the smoothly laid out twisty and pristine
road conditions of the Alps or the San
Bernardino Valley would be way more fun,
basically because you would be able to
experience more speed, less traffic, better
visibility and it would be safer. And this
I know because I have ridden all over
California, and have also driven in the
Alps many times and wished for years
that I would one day have the opportunity
to do it on a bike.
The Multistrada is a sports-tourer and it
would be best to ride it in those conditions.
It can corner at high speeds, you can
get into the curves and most of all it’s got
enough power for you to feel the powerful
acceleration without worrying about the
road and what lies ahead. However, the
Coorg-Munnar route could be the best
road if you are looking for a challenge,
and the Multistrada would gladly accept
any challenge from any road. You will
feel composed and comfortable at high
speeds, and also along rough roads with
narrow hilly passes your body isn’t put
through overload because the bike is very
easy to control, even through tight traffic.
If the Multistrada had a mid-sized engine
with smaller wheels and better grip we
could very well say that the Coorg-Munnar
road is one of the world’s best roads to
ride on that sort of bike.
Luckily we also had an urban sports
bike, and sports bikes work best under
the ideal conditions. For example you will
need near perfectly smooth roads, and
plenty of high-speed curves, and most
importantly good vision further down the
road. And these kind of roads you can
find in very few places across India. So
the Monster 796 was the next bike I rode
along the route and boy was it ever fun
to ride. The stance of the bike is pretty
aggressive and the seating position puts
you in a zone were you feel the need for
speed. You lean to the front and rest your
weight on the low handlebars, while the
low seating arrangement allows you to
lean and control the bike effortlessly. It
would be a very good bike to ride around
on city streets, and that is probably why
the 795 was specially designed for Asia,
and I would definitely consider getting
a 795 for myself to cruise around Delhi
streets because it would be the most
practical bike to have. The mid-range
L-Twin Desmodromic air-cooled engine
has a capacity of 803cc, and although
the engine is not the most refined engine,
its power output of 87bhp is more than
enough to have some really good fun on
the Coorg-Munnar road.
However, like I said the road is not the
smoothest so you need to be careful on
46 | autox.in | march 2012
the bumps. It was pretty scary in some
areas especially if you’re going fast around
a turn and you don’t see the bumps in the
road, your bike might just loose grip and
you could end up in a serious accident.
But still the road is pretty smooth in most
places and the Monster 796 was really
fun. Even though it is not the ideal bike
for such a long trip, it is still really fun
and fulfilling, so it is safe to say that the
Coorg-Munnar route is a pretty good
road for the Monster, but is it the best?
The Monster was definitely a great bike
to ride on this road, but I am more than
sure that if we were on a track such as
the Sepang International Circuit, which
by the way was also shortlisted to be the
Shell Advance Ultimate Riding Wonder,
we would have heaps more fun. Even on a
smooth road through the English country
side, the Monster would be a far better
performing machine and you would be
able to get the best ride possible from it.
It is very light at just 167 kilograms and
the lightweight frame and the adjustable
Sachs monoshock suspension makes it a
fantastic street performer. It’s got a great
pickup and plenty of torque to give you
that adrenaline rush and offer you great
ride quality, the only problem was yet
again, that its small size can be a bit of a
hindrance for tall riders like myself, oh and
also there is practically no rear seat, so if
you are thinking of bringing along a pillion
rider, you should forget about it.
So what have we concluded
here? The Multistrada is a superb
performer and very comfortable,
and the Coorg-Munnar route would
certainly be fun, but surely not the best
for this machine. In the case of the
Monster, the Shell Advance winning
route is definitely a fantastic road to
experience rider nirvana, but again it’s
not the best. An Enfield or a Pulsar
would allow you to experience
almost the
same level
of riding
excitement
on this road,
and, in
fact, may just be more ideal. There is
no doubt about it, the Coorg-Munnar
route is definitely a great route and
deserves to be called an ultimate riding
wonder, but after my experience with
it, I simply don’t think it is the best.
In fact, if you take into consideration
the vast options of other roads and
international circuits across the globe,
it would be silly, to name any of them
as the ‘best’ Ultimate Riding Wonder,
because each road has its own charm
and identity and more importantly each
rider has his own style of riding and a
different perspective or expectation
from each ride. Essentially, it would be
impossible to find the best riding road in
the world because there are so many to
choose from that are wonderful and have
different riding opportunities. A big round
of clapping sounds for Shell Advance
India and Ducati for allowing us to ride on
this magnificent road on two magnificent
bikes to come to this conclusion – after
all, an ultimate riding wonder is what we
are always searching for.
march 2012 | autox.in | 47
50 | autox.in | march 2012
march 2012 | autox.in | 51
Sure, everyone knows, as
the various broadsheets
have publicized, the
global economic
condition is still far from
being colourful. To say
that the whole of Europe is struggling
would be a gross understatement. And,
while America may see some light at the
end of the tunnel, they’re still keeping
both fingers and toes crossed to ensure
that they can maintain, and build on, the
current momentum. And, while India was
able to buck the trend during the global
economic slowdown, things have been
far from ideal more recently. Due to the
ill effects of inflation, high interest rates,
high petrol prices, and let’s not even talk
about governance issues, growth in India
is expected to drop below the 7% level –
with car sales following a similar trend.
And while small cars are still the mainstay
of the Indian car market, it’s this segment
that seems to have been the hardest hit as
first time buyers are thinking twice before
putting their money down. A recent auto
industry report indicated that small cars
have dropped below 50% of new car sales,
while SUV sales are growing by over 30%.
What this indicates is that, as the Indian
market matures, car buyers want more
from their vehicles – and that’s where the
mid-sized cars come in. The C segment
consists of the smaller mid-sized cars in
the 8-11 lakh range, while the D segment
consists of slightly larger mid-segment
sedans in the 12-18 lakh range.
So, we’ve assembled a collection of the
best of the C and D segments to see how
NISSAN SUNNY
HONDA CIVIC RENAULT
FLUENCE
SKODA RAPIDCHEVROLET
CRUZE
52 | autox.in | march 2012
much fun you can have while being sensible
at the same time. Till a few years ago, if
you would have told me that your main
criteria for zeroing-in on a car is the outright
purchase price and its fuel efficiency, I
would have called you sane and moved on
to suggesting a Maruti or a Hyundai. Today,
the trends are changing and the buying
public isn’t shy of experimenting. That’s
why we’ve lined up a collection of cars from
a range of manufacturers with the aim of
finding the ones that please the most – and
to judge if the fun that they offer is justified
by their overall value.
So, ladies and gentleman, for the first
time in our 5-year-and-some-months
history, autoX is going blatantly sane
– well, sort of – and doing a shoot-out
based on practical parameters. The four
reviewers – Dhruv, Ishan, Jared and I –
put our thinking caps on and awarded
points for quality (10 points), comfort (10
points), refinement (10 points), design &
style (10 points), engine & transmission
(10 points), ride & handling (10 points),
value for money (20 points), and, because
a car has to have je ne sais quoi (a certain
something) to get into our hearts, we rate
the cars on X-Factor (20 points) too!
So, we had the ingredients ready – 10
cars (5 in the C segment, and 5 in the D
segment), some very empty, unrestricted
roads, testing equipment, measuring
tapes and humans of all body shapes –
from short (Prithvi), to fat (our circulation
guy), to tall (me), to bald (Ishan), and we
also threw in an orangutan (Jared) for
good measure – then we put our driving
shoes on.
HYUNDAI VERNA
VOLKSWAGEN JETTA
HONDA CITY
TOYOTA COROLLA ALTIS
FIAT LINEA
TEXT ASHISH JHA IMAGES KAPIL VASHIST
march 2012 | autox.in | 53
As a kid – actually, also
as a grown-up – you
would certainly have
experienced several
theme parties. So,
one day you go, do
a lot of hunting around, lighten your
wallet happily and fi nally hop into your
friend’s house to realize that you’re
the only pig around. Everyone else
is basically smartly dressed – men in
sharp tuxedos and ladies in sensuous
fl owing evening gowns. The central
theme was changed from ‘animal’ to
a ‘gentlemen & lady’ sort of an affair.
But, of course, you were busy checking
yourself out in the mirror while trying
on that deer dress, or worse still, the
pig outfi t that you fi nally bought.
You still don’t fl inch, and enter
with confi dence. You carry the funny
appearance with sublime ease, and
actually get a lot of pats on your
shoulder for being brave enough
to do so. You carry on, and take
that atrocious moment with you.
Courageous stuff – but that’s possible
only
if you’re French. No, I’m serious – it’s
happened to Renault in
the past. And Renault is a
French company.
This party of trick SUVs and full-
blown ‘trucks’ – even pseudo ones
that we now call soft-roaders – back
in the day was full of tall, strong-
chinned, square-faced vehicles. But,
of course, the French were left out of
the update and they joined in late with
the Koleos. The previous generation
model was a funny looking thing – had
a silly face basically. It was a lot like
being Donatella Versace – it had great
proportions, but the face was just a bit,
ehm, weird.
But Donatella is now a thing of past.
And the world has moved on the likes
of Keira Knightley and Eva Mendes. A
gorgeous face and scintillating curves,
both are a must. And that’s where the
Koleos comes in. Of course, Nissan
still thinks that being a women wrestler
is quite cool, that’s why the X-Trail. But
look at Chevy, they do the Captiva,
and I think it’s rather charming – got
a nice voluptuous stance to it. Honda
went wrong and ruined the CR-V with
that hideous front-end. And the two
bestsellers – Ford and Toyota – are still
fi ghting manly battles in the Victorian
era. The odd one out is the German.
The BMW X1 isn’t particularly stylish
or SUV-ish, neither is it desperately
capable. But it’s a classic case of
brand equity. You’d still want to
watch a fi lm just because it says that
Demi Moore or Julia Roberts stars
in it. Neither celebrity is probably
as attractive as their younger, more
‘enhanced,’ rivals. But they’ve created
a halo around their name – they’re
brands.
The Koleos is a nicely proportioned
car, and looks vastly better with its
recent aesthetic nip-and-tuck. The
front end gets a grille section that’s
pronounced, but not loud at the same
time. The rest of the shape essentially
remains unchanged from the previous
generation, and that’s a good thing.
I like the rear end a lot. And it’s a
practical vehicle too – split tailgate is a
nice thing to have, and there are lots of
cubby holes inside the cabin to store
your small stuff. But, one thing that
surprised me was the fact that there’s
more branding for Bose on the car
than anything else! I call it the Renault
Bose. I mean, why the need to sticker
it with Bose on the outside even when
it’s not a special edition for Bose?
Well, whatever – at the end of the day
the ‘Bose’ audio unit sounds simply
amazing.
I mean, at this point, I basically
get more interested in the way a car
drives, but grant me just one sentence
to dedicate to the audio system – it’s
a blockbuster. Sure, I’ve heard many
impressive entertainment units in high-
end cars, but the Koleos manages to
match, even beat, some of them at a
price that’s basically half of those high-
end cars. Speaking of price – I think
the Koleos is perched a bit high up. A
couple of lakhs less and it could have
been the perfect value proposition.
The Koleos is an X-Trail in a party
frock. The underpinnings are capable,
and doing a drive to your farmhouse is
an easy thing. The approach road to
the brilliant resort that Renault had put
us up in was nothing short of – well,
let’s just say that it wasn’t really a road.
Still, the Koleos managed it without
a hint of discomfort and the ride
quality – both on and off road – was
sensational. The engine is suffi ciently
powerful for such a vehicle, but you’re
not going to be doing impressive light-
to-light sprints. The gearbox, however,
is a letdown. It’s like the guard at my
society – extremely lazy.
The Renault Bose, sorry Koleos, is in
tough territory. Charm alone might not
work – but the fact is that the Koleos is
not just charm, but also functionality.
And this should work in its favour.
Meanwhile, Donatella means you
lads at Renault have a good sense of
humour, but thank you for also giving
which renders first gear completely
useless. The Rapid, contrary to its
name, has virtually no grunt in first
at all. Change up and things improve
thankfully – and, by the time you get
to third gear, you’re really flying down
the road thanks to the very refined
diesel under the hood. Once you
have the engine in its powerband,
it’s very responsive indeed. In true
Skoda fashion, it also has a gear-shift
indicator to tell you when to change
up just in case you get carried away
with the torque and power.
And the Rapid certainly goes
where you point it, but the ride-
and-handling compromise seems to
The Rapid comes to
you from a blue chip
brand in the Indian
auto space – Skoda.
The Skoda brand is
well established, and
enjoys a strong reputation in India.
The Laura and Superb are amazing
machines that we all completely
adore. The Fabia, too, we think has
the potential to become a hot-hatch.
In fact, with the 1.6 litre petrol engine,
the Fabia is actually quite a spritely
little car. The Superb has done very
well in the upper D-segment, and
the Laura is still dancing elegantly
against its rivals. There was a spot
to be filled, though – that of an entry
level sedan – which the Rapid fills
nicely now.
Of course, you realize very quickly
that this is really a Volkswagen Vento
with a Skoda grille. But, it’s a Vento
that’s more competitively priced, and
that’s precisely why it’s been eating
into the sales of the Vento ever since
it was launched late last year. It has
the same underpinnings of course,
which means that the diesel version,
which we have here, has the gutsy 1.6
litre turbocharged CRDi mill that puts
out 105 horsepower and 250Nm of
torque. Skoda seems to have played
with the gearing a little bit, however,
BADGEENGINEERING
57.75TOTAL POINTS
58 | autox.in | march 2012
SKODA RAPID
us Eva Mendes.
have been altered a little too much
in favour of a compliant ride. What
you’re actually left with is a car
that’s a little skittish on the road,
with wheel control issues on a rough
surface. On the whole, though, the
Rapid is very composed – but you
do get the sense that the Vento is a
little more refined.
On the inside, you do get a lot
of comfort and space. Even with
a 6-feet tall driver, there’s enough
legroom for another tall person to
sit directly behind in comfort. And
the two-tone dashboard is great in
concept, but the brown is a little
dreary in reality. The quality of
plastics is good, and the features
on our test car included climate
control and rear AC vents. But,
you just can’t help wondering that,
for a little bit extra, you could get
better refinement from its sibling –
the Volkswagen Vento. And, at 9.2
lakhs (ex-showroom) for the Rapid,
you’re certainly paying enough for
that refinement. With the Skoda,
however, you do get a trusted badge
and the value that brings in the
resale market.
OVERALL SCORE
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION
march 2012 | autox.in | 59
OLD STEEDAGING NICELY
63TOTAL POINTS
OVERALL SCORE
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION
too. The driver is certainly made to
feel right at home in the Civic – the
seating position is awesome, and
the layout is just spot-on. And, it’s
pretty good in the back as well. The
colours are pleasing, and the flat
f loor gives it a bit of a living room
feel in the rear. Plus, you can control
some of the basic stereo functions
from the rear as well.
And, incidentally, the
stereo sounds pretty
good too.
At the front, the
steering wheel is
not only a joy
to hold, but
Now, here’s a car
that become more
than just a little
long in the tooth.
But that’s okay,
you say, because
it’s a Honda. Well, the truth is that it
would have been okay a few years
ago, when the Honda brand still
wielded some sort of black magic
on the Indian consumer. The brand
used to be so aspirational that
when the Civic was launched a few
years ago, it was the equivalent of
the Pussycat Dolls. But the Civic is
now a generation old, and the latest
generation hasn’t exactly been met
with adoring praise in the American
market thus far.
With that said, surprisingly, the
Civic that we have here still has a
lot going for it. As we’ve discussed
before, the Honda brand value
means high residual values and
that helps it in the value-for-money
stakes. The low maintenance costs
almost offset the lack of a diesel
engine (notice how I said almost).
But what really makes the Civic a
great place to spend time in are the
high quality interiors. The cockpit
layout of the Civic still retains a great
deal of novelty, even after all this
time. And it’s incredibly functional
66 | autox.in | march 2012
HONDA CIVIC
the pointy front end responds
well to your inputs. What lets the
Civic down, though, is the way it
drives. The suspension bottoms
out over anything that’s bigger
than a pebble, and the brakes are
as wooden as they come. Even
its brill iantly rev-happy 1.8 litre
engine can’t save the day for it. The
automatic transmission behaves like
a confused puppy in the company of
more accomplished boxes here, and
the outright zest of the 130 horses
just can’t be felt. Had the test car
been a manual, maybe – just maybe
– we could have enjoyed the
Civic a wee bit more, but
this one just didn’t
quite get us
excited.
You still get glimpses into what
made this car great in the past.
Every now and then, you get a sense
of true Japanese engineering and
innovation, and the Civic is able
to recapture some of its mystique
from the past. But, to really build on
its reputation for engineering, the
Civic now does need to be more
dynamically capable than it
actually is.
march 2012 | autox.in | 67
JE NESAIS QUOI
65.13TOTAL POINTS
In India, Renault hasn’t quite
enjoyed the status it would have
ideally wished for. After the 51:49
joint-venture with Mahindra in
2005, Renault launched the Logan
in 2007. But after their not-so-rosy
time in the Indian market, Renault and
Mahindra ended their JV in 2010.
Now, Renault is back as an independent
automaker and has introduced three
models thus far: the Fluence, Koleos and
Pulse – the third being a Nissan Micra in
a party frock. The Fluence is the most
interesting in the portfolio. The design
of this French sedan is quirky, but in a
good way. It looks hugely interesting
– it’s comical from some angles, and
strikingly gorgeous from some. The front
is characterized by a funny grille section
that grows on you, while the rear end gets
beautifully shaped tail lamps. Let’s just
say that the many contours make it an
attractive car all around.
When the Fluence was dropped off
at our office, and I drove it for a brief
moment to check it for any faults, I
slammed the door shut and entered the
office completely fuming. The damn thing
has no power, and has an on/off switch
for a turbocharger – but that was just
my initial impression after only 5 minutes
of driving. As I spent more time with the
Fluence, I started to really like it. The
engine – though only a 1.5 litre, 104bhp
affair, and quite rough & audible – warms
up nicely once you get past 2000 revs,
and really shows its strength between
2500-3500rpm. And the slick shif ting
gearbox makes piloting this car a modestly
entertaining experience.
The Fluence is a big car, and it shows
on the inside. There’s plenty of space,
and the seats are supremely comfortable.
The suspension is soft enough to handle
the potholed Indian roads, while also
being sufficiently rigid to aid responsive
handling. The steering is light for city
driving, and weighs up with speed in a way
that’s confidence inspiring. When turning
the wheel in anger, you experience safety
understeer, but modulating the throttle
negates it completely. It may not be as
much fun as, say, the Cruze, but it sure
isn’t a dull car.
The best bit about the Fluence though
is its interior. It’s very peculiar, simplistic,
and interesting – all at the same time. Yet,
it’s massively irritating for anyone with…
fingers. The buttons on the main fascia are
small and dif f icult to fiddle around with,
but the entire layout looks and feels very
attractive. However, there is a secondary
control unit just behind the steering
wheel on the right, and it is very intuitive
to use. We all thought that the Fluence
was actually a lot of car for its price (at
14.4 lakhs), but the unimpressive history
of Renault keeps it from being an instant
superstar. Also, the Fluence is yet to prove
its worth in the pre-owned car bazaar, and
the fact that not a lot are seen on the road
doesn’t make its case any stronger. All
said and done, though, this is the perfect
car here for comfort and style.
70 | autox.in | march 2012
RENAULT FLUENCE
OVERALL SCORE
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION
march 2012 | autox.in | 71
74 | autox.in | march 2012
YOUR CAKE& EAT IT TOO
73TOTAL POINTS
CHEVROLET CRUZE
The Chevy Cruze
has always been
a favourite here in
office, but no one
anticipated just how
well the Cruze would
do amongst this very diverse bunch
of cars. There were some clues
early on, when all four members
of our jury seemed to gravitate
towards the drivers’ seat of the
Cruze all at the same time – even
though it’s a diesel!
The appeal of the Cruze starts as
you approach the car – it just looks
right. The massive honeycomb
grille and sharp headlamps lend
an aggressive look, while the
prominent shoulder line continues
this theme along the length of the
car. The rear, however, isn’t as
cohesive – with its rounded tail
lamps. But, that apart, the Cruze
fits in very nicely indeed with
the new-age, and brash looking
(in a good way), Chevrolets.
This is certainly one of the most
individually styled sedans out there
– let’s just say that it’s not shy
about making a statement.
The best part of the visual
appeal, however, is that it has
the driving dynamics to back it
up. Once you immerse yourself in
the driver’s seat – you sit low in a
cockpit that cocoons the driver –
you feel as though you’re a part
of the car. The highly supportive
seats keep you glued in your seat,
as you throw the Cruze around
without any sense whatsoever that
there’s a supposedly heavy diesel
mill under the bonnet. The handling
is immediate, and the steering has
great feel as it responds perfectly
to your inputs. The chassis is very
neutral, and the Cruze corners
completely flat – there isn’t even a
hint of understeer, which completely
defies the fact that this is a diesel
engined front-wheel drive car.
The flip side of this is that, while
the ride is compliant, you do feel
the road undulations – although,
they don’t really upset the car
either. The Cruze is, however,
lacking a few vital bits in company
such as this. For starters, it doesn’t
have a dead-pedal – a foot rest for
your left foot – which is essential,
or Bluetooth connectivity for your
phone, which would be a nice
option. And, the quality of the
plastics aren’t quite on par with
the likes of the Jetta and Civic.
Plus, in the rear seat, the sloping
roofline means that headroom is at
a premium.
But, none of that matters when
you get in the drivers’ seat and fire
the 2.0 litre, 150bhp smile-inducing
engine. Yes, the rev range is small
in second gear, but that only means
that you get to work the very sporty
gearbox into third, which is where
the Cruze really takes off. Add to
that direct steering and fantastic
on-road manners, and what you’re
left with is a practical four-door
sedan that has an almost coupe-
like feel to it. The cherry on the
cake is that you sit facing the same
three-spoke steering wheel that
you would find in the fire-breathing
Chevrolet Camaro. Jokes apart,
though, the real cherry on the cake
is the fact that the top-of-the-line
LTZ manual Cruze will cost you a
relatively affordable 13.8 lakhs ex-
showroom. It’s proof, then, that you
can have your cake and eat it too
– you can actually be sensible, and
have fun at the same time.
OVERALL SCORE
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION
march 2012 | autox.in | 75
We were all pretty
excited going into
this mega test.
And, thankfully,
the conclusions have been quite
heartwarming.
First of f, the overall quality,
features, and dynamic abil ities of
the cars that we’ve assembled here
are light years ahead of what we
would have been able to choose
from just a couple of years ago. The
fact that the Indian consumer is
so spoilt for choice is a good thing
indeed. And no other car represents
this better than the Hyundai Verna,
which is a thoroughly modern
package that’s of fered in 10
dif ferent states of tr im to f it all
budgets and needs. However, our
emphasis in this test was two-fold.
Features and af fordability was one,
but character and a sense of driving
pleasure was another. And no other
car combined this better than the
Chevrolet Cruze. It of fers a value
proposition that means you don’t
78 | autox.in | march 2012
have to break the bank to have fun
behind the wheel – and that’s the
most heartwarming thing of all.
That being said, the scores were
incredibly close and the range of
abil ities of all these cars so varied
that it was vir tually impossible to
discount any of the cars here. The
Sunny of fers tremendous space in
its segment, while the Fiat stands
for Italian style and f lair. But, if
it’s f lair you’re af ter, the Renault
is trumped by no one. On quality,
Honda makes up some lost ground,
but it’s the Jetta that of fers a really
well rounded quality product.
All in all, though, this test shows
just how far mid-sized sedans have
come – to the extent that they’re
challenging their more premium and
stately rivals. While the D segment
itself is knocking on the doors of
the entry level luxury cars. And
amidst this f ierce competition, it’s
the Indian consumer who benefits –
so choose wisely, because the ball’s
in your court.
march 2012 | autox.in | 79
80 | autox.in | march 2012
TEXT ISHAN RAGHAVA IMAGES KAPIL VASHIST
march 2012 | autox.in | 81
86 | autox.in | march 2012
THE CALL OF THE
TEXT SHAHWAR HUSSAIN IMAGES INCREDIBLE SPITI
march 2012 | autox.in | 87
The call of the mountains
is a dangerous thing – it
tugs at your heart so
strong that if you fail to
heed its call, you will
undoubtedly brood for
a long time indeed. You will regret the
missed chance to return to the folds of the
mighty mountain, breathe the cold fresh
wind, walk by the lakes, watch the football
sized stars make holes in the black sky
at night, and make some more friends
among the monks – they all look the
same, don’t they? You may even introduce
yourself to an old friend once again!
And I answered the call of the
mountains last year, I decided to ride to
the beautiful Lahaul and Spiti valley – as
opposed to an overwhelming number
of riders who point their front wheel
beyond Manali and end up riding to the
Leh region. It is a beautiful ride indeed,
through some of the world’s highest
motorable roads, water crossings, snow
peaks, and deep gorges – with a number
of pristine high altitude lakes thrown in.
But, of late, it’s become far too crowded
and commercialized for my liking. And
I always try and avoid crowded touristy
places, and, at present, Leh certainly
fi ts this description. But, that’s just my
personal point of view.
I wanted to ride to Spiti, but didn’t
really want to take the additional burden
of getting all the logistics. I met an old
friend Vishesh, who runs his motorcycle
tours in the Lahaul and Spiti valley (www.incrediblespiti.com), along with Tsering
Bodh and Subhansu Singh. Riding solo
is a nice feeling, as you drift with the wind
without any set itinerary. But time was at
a premium, and riding with Vishesh and
his group made perfect sense.
We started early from Shimla, and
stopped at Narkhanda for breakfast.
Riding in the hills invariably gives me a
good appetite, and after having our fi ll we
rode on to Sarahan. This 110 kilometer
stretch is a lovely ride on winding roads
through a Deodar forest. Although we
rode for about 10 hours on winding roads,
it wasn’t overtly tiresome and we spent
the night at Sangla in tents at the Kinnaur
Camps. It’s the ride that matters – and the
ride is considered a success if they can
enjoy a good camp fi re at the end. Well,
that’s exactly what we got. And yes, we
did do the touristy thing too, as we went
to see the 900 year-old Bima Kali temple
– which is simply amazing, and we didn’t
regret this touristy bit of activity one bit.
An early morning start again, as we
made our way to Kalpa via Chitkul, which
is the last village on the Indo-Tibetian
border. It’s a very scenic ride from Chitkul
to Kalpa, and we could see the Kinnaur Kailash peak, which seems to change
colour during the course of the day. The
apple orchards along the way accentuate
the feel good factor of the ride as did the
sparse traffi c. Vishesh had the tour nicely
paced out. After the 10 hour ride the day
before, it was four-fi ve hours of easy riding
– so we arrived at the Apple Country hotel
in much better shape.
The next day the terrain changed quite
a bit, as we again rode for 10 hours from
Kalpa to Tabo via Nako. At Khab before
Nako, we could see the confl uence of the
Sutlej and the Spiti rivers, and the hills
became barren and brown as we entered
the cold desert. The two checkpoints at
Spillo and Chango didn’t take much time
as we were the only ‘tourists’ around.
Travelling with people who know the
area has its advantages. After Kalpa,
Vishesh suddenly pulled up by the side of
a rather old tree and announced ‘lunch!’
I certainly didn’t see any place or anyone
who would serve us lunch, but as we
climbed a few stone steps by the side of
the tree, a small dhaba came into view that
had the most amazing paranthas ever.
After we crossed the Sumdo
checkpoint, we took a diversion on the
right that took us to Gheun – whose claim
to fame is the naturally preserved 600
year old mummy of a Buddhist monk
that was discovered after a landslide
exposed it. It is a little off the way, and not
too many tourists visit this area – all the
better! Gheun also has an ITBP base.
Tiger Den was our den at Tabo for
the next two days, as we moved in and
around Tabo. The Tabo Monastery is a
marvel indeed. The monastery was built in
88 | autox.in | march 2012
march 2012 | autox.in | 89