Twist In The Tale

In 2006 Ratan TATA announced that TATA motors will make the world’s cheapest car the production cost of which will be Rs 1Lakh. And by 2008 the company achieved that massively impossible feat, pushing the boundaries of the word impossible itself.

TATA Nano is something that I’ve admired since its inception. Though most of the people think that the car is more of a toy than a car, but when you look at the feat that TATA motors have achieved you realise that if you work hard enough to realise your dreams, they do come true. TATA Nano is more of an inspirational story than just a car! TATA has done some extensive cost cutting to make the Nano possible. Using 1 windscreen wiper instead of two, fuel tank is placed inside the bonnet so there is no external fuel filler. and this is just the beginning of the places where TATA has cut back on costs. The engine is placed at the back instead of the more conventional front. The engine itself plays a very big role in the car and also helps it gain the position of the most fuel efficient car in india with an efficiency figure of 26kmpl!

The engine is a 624cc two cylinder fuel injected unit which produces a mealy 38hp and 51nm torque. this is capable of pushing the Nano to a decent top speed of 105kmph. But remember speed and power are not the USP of this car.
The car I drove was the Nano twist which also has a power steering which is a welcome feature considering that the standard car had a manual one which was a tad too heavy to operate in the city. Apart from the power steering, the twist also has a music system with Bluetooth, Aux in and USB connectivity, a decently powerful AC, front two power windows and space enough to seat 5 adults in relative comfort. And when you realise the fact that the twist is just Rs 13,000 more than the top variant without power steering, it also makes a good deal.

When Nano was launched in 2008 it had many build quality issues and many cars spontaneously caught fire. But TATA has taken criticism very well and has improved quality over subsequent years also adding more and more features.

The Ride

The Nano rides fairly well at city speeds and absorbs bumps very well. There is a hint of body roll in the corners but it is also very well managed. The ride gets a bit bouncy as the speed increases and the car feels very nervous at high speeds. The electric steering though is an absolute hoot to use in the city and is very light but doesn’t offer much feedback. But when zipping through the traffic nothing beats the Nano. Its small size and incredibly small turning radius helps it achieve an almost a two wheeler like agility.
 At rs 2.73 Lakhs the Nano twist makes a value for money which no other car can even dream to offer! It had a few quality issues but TATA has rectified them and at this price they have left very few things to complain about. But to name a few, the panels still are a bit loose and only 2 of the 4 speakers were working on the test car. Otherwise the car was in good condition. Its closest competitors, the Maruti Suzuki alto 800 and the Hyundai eon start at Rs 3lakhs and their top end models with similar features as the Nano twist cost around Rs 4lakhs.

Though Nano being a wonderful car its sales never really caught on. Major reasons being the early quality issues and the title of the cheapest car wasn’t very well received by the Indian audience. People don’t mind a cheap car but owning a Nano is seen as sign of how poor you are. But if given a choice I’d definitely buy a Nano! It’s a chic little car which is extremely well value for money and a hoot to drive in the city! The alto and eon are just cars, the Nano is the ultimate expression of how if you pursue your dreams, they do come true. With the alto and the eon, there are no emotions related, with the Nano you can see how hard the engineers of TATA motors would have worked to make it possible. And my god, have they done well! 

The German showdown

The executive luxury segment has seen one of the largest growths in the Indian automobile industry in the past 5 years. And not so surprisingly the segment is ruled by the Germans. And when it comes to the Germans they know their way round cars. Very well.

So today we have the AUDI A6, BMW 520D and Mercedes-benz E250 cdi. All of them have different USPs and none of the cars here are winners or losers. At this point of price range it is very difficult to mess a car up so much.

 The Looks

Every car here a very different design philosophy with the AUDI following very constrained and conservative design and looks just like any other car and is not very noticeable from the side or back, it’s just those sleek front headlamps that grab attention to otherwise a very conservative car.

 The MB on the other hand follows an exact opposite philosophy and is as showy and noticeable as a celebrity on a red capet. The chief attention grabber are the front headlamps which are now a single unit instead of 2 different lamps. The all LED blacked-out headlamps with catchy DRLs  turns heads everywhere it goes. The rest of the body also follows quite a sporty design theme and it is really hard to not notice as one passes you by .Personally though I prefer the looks of previous generation as it was more mature and less showy. You can tell just by the look of this one that it is intended to appeal to the younger section of the society which it unmistakably does.

The BMW though has mastered the looks with absolute perfection. It grabs attention but unlike the Mercedes it never screams about it’s presence. And unlike the AUDI you will know that someone rich has passed you by. The previous generation 5 series was a bit of a disaster in terms of looks but this generation has got the looks right in it’s bag. The car demands respect without being too showy.

There is no winner here because it totally depends on person to person and their choices. But for me the Beamer gets the looks spot on.

 The Interiors

All the cars come with millions of interior colour options all using leather made from the finest cows of god knows which country .But, Indians generally prefer beige or black. The AUDIs interior is very tacky with buttons that make noise and the screen popping out of the dashboard when the car is put into ignition.  The driver seat though is very nice with the rather neat speedometer console enveloping you and gives the driver a cocooned feeling. The AUDI also comes with maximum number of zones of climate control i.e. 4. The AUDI MMI interface though is not very easy to use and takes time getting used to as many of the functions on the display are controlled not just from the knob but also a few buttons. So the driver has to look down while driving to use the screen which is not good. So the interior is not well thought out. But if the car is chauffeured which it most probably will be, then it is no big problem.

The BMW has a mind blowing interior with fantastic attention to detail and everything is where it should be. There is no popping locking drama in here. Also this is the most beautiful interior of the 3 cars. You just know you are in the right place as soon as you step in. The centre console is inclined 7 degree towards the driver in typical BMW fashion. Also the Beamer has the least number of buttons on the console so most of the functions are controlled by the BMW I-drive system which is controlled just by a knob so it is very easy to use and takes no time at all getting used to.

The Merc follows it’s youthful approach inside too and my god have they pulled it off! The interiors are all black with brushed aluminium finish all around. Merc has somehow made the interiors look both classy yet modern. The centre console takes hints from the previous generations of mercs and has the most buttons of the 3 cars so it looks a bit old. But in the interior terms I’d definitely go with the merc. It’s not that the Beamer and AUDI are inferior but it’s just that I belong to the part of the society on which the E-class is focusing. Also the Mercedes interface is easy to use, it still cant match the ease of use of the BMW I-drive

 Under the hood

 The AUDI comes with a 2.0L diesel engine which is the least powerful of the 3 and makes 177bhp and 380Nm of torque. The power is transmitted to the front wheels by a quick and smooth 7speed DSG. AUDI here is the only one with a dual clutch transmission.

The BMW borrows the same engine of 3 series i.e. a 2.0L diesel unit. It produces 184Bhp and 380Nm of torque. But the difference here is that while in the 3 series it revs to an unworldly 6000rpm here it revs only to 4500rpm. The tuning of engine is also quite different from 3 series to pull the extra weight that the fiver carries. Like all the other Beamers, this one also gets the ZF eight speed gearbox which is quick and smooth.

The Merc here has the biggest engine though by just 200ccs, but it still is the most powerful with the 2.2L diesel churning out 206bhp and 500Nm torque. The power is transmitted to the rear wheels through a butter smooth 7speed g-tronic+ gearbox.

Though the AUDI comes with a dual clutch, there is no need as none of these cars are ever going to see a track.

The engines though are only a one side of the coin, how these cars drive is totally different.

The AUDI plainly is cursed. It is a FRONT-WHEEL drive car!!! That is why there is no proper weight distribution and also this makes it the lightest of the three. This is where it’s lack of power is compensated by the lack of weight. It feels almost as fast as the Beamer .

Though all these cars are capable of reaching 100kmph in under 10seconds, there is no drama involved in it. All the cars pull cleanly with very linear acceleration characteristics. And you have to be really really attentive to realise that the E-class is more powerful and hence faster and the only way to notice that is to look at the speedo, ‘cos if you were in the AUDI or the Beamer you’d be travelling at 140kmph while in the merc at the same time you are travelling at 160kmph.

The Ride

This is the most important selling point of these cars. If these cars are not the most comfortable thing you ever sat in then there is no sense of buying one. But fortunately all of these are extremely comfortable. There is absolutely no noise coming in all of these cars even at 140kmph. And it you don’t notice how fast you are travelling until you look at the speedo.

It is the high speeds where the BMW shines with phenomenal stability and yet suppleness which other cars fail to provide. The AUDI is the least stable with improper weight distribution and because it is the lightest of the three. The Mercedes also has decent high speed stability but it just can’t match the Beamer.

What happens when you show all of these cars a corner?

Well the AUDI as expected from a front wheel drive car understeers and has large amounts of body roll even in the sport mode.

The Beamer firstly understeers with quite some body roll and then as you progress into the corner the back starts kicking out. Though once in sport mode the car transforms totally and is very sharp in steering and throttle input with almost negligible body roll.

The Mercedes again keeping up with the youth policy is a joy to drive into corners with almost negligible body roll and very precise steering. The steering is almost telepathic, it always knows where you want to go and points the car in the exact direction. But this quality to handle corners well has it’s drawbacks and therefore the Mercedes doesn’t offer the suppleness of ride which the AUDI and BMW are capable to offer .

The Verdict

As I said before no car here is the winner or loser since it is very hard to mess up a car at this point of price range. All the cars offer more luxury than my home, all cars are fast enough and look appealing. It’s just that every car is chosen by people who have different tastes. I might not like the screen popping out of dashboard of the AUDI but someone else might. So there is no point in declaring a winner. But if I have to choose one, I’ll go with the BMW 5 series. It is overall the best package and with the 260bhp 3.0l diesel in the 530D this car is everything I want from a car though it is Rs.10 lakh dearer than the 520D but it is still worth it . But again this is what I like, not what is the best. Every car involved in this review is perfect and is the best at what it is supposed to do.

What a s-Treet!

Harley Davidson has been the one brand which has been very ambitious about its plans in India and has seen amazing growth since it entered India in 2010.

India is only the 2nd country where HD has assembly plant. Rest of the world has to import the whole motorcycles. Also HD has designed a new bike called the Street 750 which is specifically meant for the Indian market. It is also manufactured here in India. So the bike is dirt cheap relative to the rest of the HD range though still quite expensive relative to other manufacturers and you can easily buy 2 tata nanos in top variant! Yeah, it costs Rs. 4.66 Lacs on road but still it is the cheapest Harley you can buy today anywhere in the world! And that shows when you realise that the bike got 1000+ bookings within a week when the bookings started.

I've been a HD bikes critic since the day I heard about them! According to me these are the bikes which are owned by rich fat old blokes who are not fit enough to cruise long distances on it! But what is the harm in having a test drive and get to know what is all the fuss about the cheapest Harley! It's still the biggest and the most powerful bike I've ever driven.

It is also one of the most controversial, mainly because of the looks, but i think that the bike looks perfect for the purpose it is meant to serve- cheapest Harley. You know that it is the cheapest one as soon as you look at it from the front where the short windscreen is merged into the round headlamp. The bike looks retro yet there are cues all around the bike to tell otherwise. The alloys are the first one to give away. Also, the bike has a massive rear wheel which is the one thing Indians die for. 

Now this being a Harley, there is no compromise with build quality and the materials used are very nice. The only disappointing thing is that the Harley have used black plastic panels which hide the steel exhausts coming from engine till the start of the single large exhaust pipe from which the melodious roar of the phenomenal V-twin comes. 

The seating position is slightly leaned back with the handlebars coming towards you. The seat comfort is amazing and as soon as you sit on the bike you realise how comfortable the bike is.

For this bike HD has developed a new 750cc V-twin engine which is liquid cooled. The engine is very torquey and is quiet revv happy too, all of the things i didn't expect it to be. The engine churns out 60Nm of torque which is more than enough to get the 213kg motorcycle moving. If you are insane enough you can also get to do spectacular wheelies on the bike! YES wheelies on a Harley! But then i said that you have to be a complete looney to do that. 

The throttle response is very sharp and it takes time to get used to it. For the first few times you ride it, you'll always end up going at speeds in excess of 80kmph with a slight twist of the wrist. But if you deliberately twist the throttle all the way round you end up at speeds in excess of 140kmph within a few seconds and you won't even notice it until you read the speedo and back off the throttle. But with the phenomenal firepower Harley engineers have failed to give enough stopping power to the bike. The brakes provide very less feedback and don't provide enough stopping power even when applied fully. This might prove fatal to many owners and bad-luck stricken people on the road. The bike also doesn't come with ABS and it is also not an option. So you have to be very careful when you ride it on the highway, specially in India where stray animals are more common site on the roads than they are in the forests. 

The engine is very smooth throughout the revv band and you never feel any vibrations at all even if you are redlining the engine. Harley engineers have done a brilliant job in tuning the engine, as new riders can easily learn to ride a bike this powerful without any accidents. The power delivery is smooth and at no point of time did the bike overwhelm with its power. This is a good news for all the riders who will ride a Harley for the 1st time. 

THE RIDE

This being a Harley there is no doubt that the bike absorbs bumps like they were never there, but the low speed ride is a bit jumpy but it evens out as soon as you begin to gain speed. The bike at 213kg is very light according to the Harley standards but it still is quite heavy. The bike, though once it gets on its feet, feels very nimble and agile in traffic. But when you take it on the highway and above 100kmph, this is where the bike shines and is in a class of its own. You can easily cruise at 120kmph and even perform quick overtakes at that speed without any hesitation. You can ride the bike at these speeds for hours and still have more to give.

The bike overall, is extremely great value for money considering the fact that you still have a relatively cheap price tag with a relatively expensive badge. Harley Davidson India has done a fantastic job in designing and developing the bike and have fulfilled every criteria which an average Indian wants from a Harley. It has the legacy, the looks, the power and the engine which are worth every penny of the Rs 4.66 lacs which you pay to buy it. Harley Davidson have struck a major chord with the street 750 and have well executed their aggressive strategy for covering the market in India. If this is just the beginning i wonder how the future will be!

The Pride of India

In 2012 Indian automotive scene witnessed a revolution and its a matter of proud for us that the revolution was initiated by Mahindra, an all Indian car manufacturer.
The revolution was: The XUV 500.

Xuv 500 created a new segment called the crossovers. These cars are basically designed to look like SUVs but are a bit soft, modern and more efficient. The XUV is the best of the lot!

The car has the appeal of a super-model and there is literally nothing on the Indian roads that looks this stunning, The car has the presence of an SUV but still manages to look quite decent. Well played mahindra, the 1st impression is very important for a buyer. And by the looks of it any buyer would give 10/10 for its looks. And the story continues as we enter the vehicle.

The interiors of the car are very well built and look very premium. The customer by now is already thinking of which colour he'd buy it in. The fit and finish of interiors exceeds the mark and leaves nothing for you to complain about.

The third thing that a buyer wants is features, more than a space shuttle, XUV has got not as much as a space shuttle but more than enough to keep the buyer interested.

Now pricing can make or break car sales figures, and guess what! Mahindra had this in the bag too! With the fully loaded W8 version costing around Rs. 14lacs is one hell of a bargain.

At this point you may start wondering that how can mahindra get everything right?! Well mahindra has played it dirty! VERY DIRTY! What they have done is taken advantage of an average buyer who doesn't care on which end of the car the power from engine goes! They have made the XUV front wheel drive, Satan's work in a petrolhead's sense. Conventional SUVs have engine at the front and the drive goes to the rear wheels! For example: Toyota fortuner. But rear wheel drive cars are costlier to make and to make them cheaper, we have to remove all the features which the owner is going to brag about in front of his neighbours. So to make XUV accessible yet feature rich mahindra gave it front wheel drive which is considerably cheap and more economical.

On the technical front the engine is the same 2.2L diesel mHawk engine used in the Scorpio which is tuned to produce 140bhp and 320Nm torque. The engine is quite smooth and you dont get much engine noise in the cabin. But, when revved hard you do get a fair share of engine overrun which slows down your gear changes and is quite irritating. The gearbox on the other hand is worse than the gearboxes used in trucks in 1960s! Through the whole test drive i wasnt able to find the 1st gear and whenever i had to start the vehicle from idle i used to do in 2nd gear! You have to be a wizard to slot into the right gear when you drive it the first few times. 

The Ride.
This is again a place where the XUV shines. The XUV being so tall and heavy make you think that the car has enormous body roll! Well, it doesn't! the car is extremely composed in taking corner and makes you think again if you are sitting in a 7 seater SUV or a hatchback. You think that this must be some kind of sorcery! The suspension is very rightly tuned for Indian conditions and isn't as hard as a rock but it isn't even very soft. 

So with the XUV mahindra has brought a revolution in Indian motoring with world class quality and features at an affordable price. This has given this car a success which has never ever been seen before by an all Indian car manufacturer.

The XUV is a very nice car with all the worldly features at an affordable price point with very few things to complain about. The gearbox in my opinion is the only giveaway but that is just fine because an average consumer is never going to care how fast his gearshifts are as long as he gets the desired gear. Its a matter of proud for India that we have an extremely good looking, powerful, efficient, reliable, and cheap car which rules the segment and has set up a benchmark for other manufacturers to reach for. So next time when you see an XUV feel proud.

The duke of hazard

Last time i wrote about the duke 390, i hadn't been much clear about the details and the review was quite superficial. So I've ridden the 390 once again.

The duke 390 has taken the country by storm and has created a new dimension for fast but affordable bikes and given a new meaning to the words 'value for money'.

At Rs. 2 lacs you would think that either i am drunk as a pirate or have gone as mental as a rabid dog saying that this is an 'affordable' amount. But wait till i tell you that the bike produces 44-world-shaking-earthquake-bringing-horsepower! Yes even 2 times as much costlier ninja 300 produces 5hp less than the duke. Now let me introduce you to a new term called power/lac then the 390 scores an amazing 22bhp/lac which is less than only one bike that is pulsar 200ns with 23.5bhp/lac. But the pulsar though being the best Indian bike still is very poorly built in comparison to the duke! 

So now that i have proved that the 390 even though for Rs. 2lac is amazing value for money and that i am totally in my senses!

The 390 looks absolutely identical to the duke 200 with just the colour scheme and the decals indicating otherwise. The 390 though has a bit higher riding position than the 200's already high position. There is also not much difference in the exhaust note of the two dukes with the 390's being a bit more deep and loud. The build quality and materials used are of the utmost quality and leaves nothing for you to complain about.

Its when you start riding the bike you realise the difference between the 2 dukes. The first major difference is the engine which in the 390 produce 44 hp, 20 more than the 200! So as soon as you revv the bike hard and the tacho goes past 4000-4200rpm, all hell breaks loose and you feel like instead of having the accelerator in your right hand you have a hyper space jump button. The torque kicks in past 4000rpm and the speed rises much faster than you can cope with. Revv the engine till the redline in 1st gear you get a surprising power wheelie. Trust me you wont like this surprise. 44hp on paper sounds very manageable until you take a spin in the 390. This machine redefines the laws of physics. 60kmph comes in 3 seconds and in 3 more second you reach 100kmph. These are mind boggling numbers. 

And because the bike accelerates so fast it is given very potent brakes which are assisted by ABS so that even if you commit a mistake you are forgiven.The bike sheds speed like a stripper sheds her clothes. The ABS can be turned off but is suggest that you shouldn't take that risk! The bike is very stable during braking in any road condition, but the ABS kicks in very early and takes a bit of joy out of braking, but this isn't very significant and most of the owners won't even notice it.

The Ride
This is one of the most important factors which differentiate the 200 and 390! Because in the 390 the ride is even more harder than the 200. The suspensions has been stiffened to handle the extra weight of the bigger engine. If the roads are smooth enough, the bike is an absolute hoot to drive around town. But if you encounter speed breakers often you'd be angry because as the courtesy of bigger engine and stiffer suspension you have to cross them at the lowest speed humanly possible otherwise you are bound to have a broken back, increasing speed doesn't help. But with stiffer suspension comes the ability to corner like rossi, so you can take a corner at almost breakneck speeds and coming out alive with a smile on the face that is so large, it can be seen from the moon.

So overall the duke 390 opens a new dimension into the world of performance where you don't have to sell your house to get decent performance. But, this cheap performance also has its share of drawbacks. Looks similar to duke 200, stiff suspension and high riding position to name a few, but the biggest problem with the 390 is the same thing that is its biggest advantage:power. Because of the price tag a major share of population can buy the 390. Now this major population has never experienced this sort of power ever before. The maximum they have got their hands on is 25hp. So it takes quite a long time to get used to its power delivery and if you are even a bit careless while riding this bike, it can be fatal for you. This is not a bike on which you can trundle along thinking about stuff, this bike needs 100% of your attention and if you don't give it, you'll regret it later.

So the 390 is an awesome value for money and there is absolutely no bike in the market which can give this bike a competition. It is an absolute hoot to ride and is mind numbingly fast. But again you have to be very responsible riding it! "With great power comes great responsibility" is the thought you should always have in mind before riding it. But once you get used to the power there is no stopping and it turns into a dimension jumping machine with a smiling piece of meat on top of it.

Entry Level Crisis

Yamaha R15 or the Honda CBR150R is the question on mouths of many people planning to buy an entry level sports bike. Quiet a dilemma for an enthusiast.

Yamaha R15 was launched in India quiet some time ago and has thrived since the day it was launched with a hefty price tag of Rs. 1.1lakh in 2008. But contrary to popular beliefs the bike was legendary and was something in terms of performance, handling, dynamics and looks that India had never seen before in entry level segment. 

Honda motorcycles and scooters India(HMSI) launched the CBR150R with aspirations of killing the well established R15 in 2012. But R15 has also upped its game with the version 2.0. Lets see how they fair against each other.
Both the bikes are very good looking and are sporty with R15 borrowing its looks from its dad R1 and CBR150R looks like a smaller version of CBR250R which further draws its looks from the Honda VFR1200F which rather than being a race bike is a sports tourer. Still Honda has managed to make it look sporty by adding sporty graphics and flashy colour schemes. The R15 has very sporty and dedicated riding position which takes time getting used to and is not recommended for long rides, while the CBR has more relaxed riding position and better suited for long rides. 

Build quality of Yamaha R15 is fabulous and its very hard to find anything wrong with it. The panels though made from plastic feel very premium and you never feel once that you wasted your Rs. 1.35lakh buying this bike. On the other hand the Honda has disappointed everyone with the CBR in terms of build quality that even some 100cc Honda bikes are better built than it or at least make you feel that you are getting the max worth of quality you can buy. The plastics used are very cheap and the fit is also very bad. There are panel gaps so large that a midget can live in it. The speedometer console has no housing in it and you can see all the wires and piping behind it. The switchgear is used from Hero splendor and there is no pass and engine kill switch which even the Honda stunner has. So negative points to Honda here.

The Engines.

Both the bikes come with 150cc single cylinder, fuel injected engines. R15 produces 17bhp power while CBR150R produces 17.5bhp so you'd be thinking that the CBR would be faster obviously! And in straight line IT IS a bit faster but the difference is so small that it is insignificant. But same power doesn't mean the same riding experience!The tuning of both the engines is very different. The R15 though being a sports bike, its engine has been tuned to produce phenomenal mid range torque so that you never have to shift down in traffic for overtaking. The CBR's engine on the other hand is truly an engine of sports bike which is a drawback in India because you never get to revv the engine hard enough to reach the peak power which is the sweet spot of this engine. So you have to shift down quiet a lot to perform overtaking manoeuvres. But the CBR's mill is definitely the better sounding of the two and has better peak performance. So if you want to buy an engine purely based on your priorities, go for the CBR if you like peak performance and go for the R15 if you like better mid range torque. I, personally would go with the R15.

The Ride.

Both the bikes have pretty stiff suspension setup and it is quiet difficult to differentiate both on this front. The suspension though being stiff, is not hard like a rock so both are ride able in India without thousands owners breaking their backs everyday. But with stiff suspension comes ferocious cornering and you can take a corner at atleast 10kmph faster than your brain allows you with lean angles so high that if you lean a bit more you can kiss the road. literally. Also put a humongous smile on your face. So both these bikes will entice you without posing any threat to your backbones.

So what we have here are two similar bikes with same engine capacities, different delivery styles and awesome handling. These aren't very powerful and you get used to them very easily. Both the bikes come from manufacturers which are renowned for their reliability. These bikes will only be able to enthral you in the city traffic but for the open roads they are just not meant to be. What these bikes give you is a glimpse of what it would feel to ride a super-sport bikes and what might be waiting for you if you someday choose to buy their high performance counterparts.

As a better buy i'd suggest you to go for the Yamaha R15 because it is a better bike overall in terms of riding dynamics, build, power delivery and quality. It gives you a feel of quality that the CBR is not even remotely capable of providing.Also there are more aftermarket parts available for R15 if you choose to customise your ride. It is also much better equipped and is also cheaper by Rs.10k.

Honda even though being one of the premier 2 wheeler manufacturer in India has failed in this segment and failed very bad. Yamaha whose other products have failed miserably in India have played a masterstroke with the R15 bringing the company back in the competition. Well played Yamaha.

The Ultimat'3'

BMW has the motto of producing cars which are the ULTIMATE DRIVING MACHINES and they have always lived upto this motto. Can the new 3 series live up to the mark?

The previous generation 3 series was a cracker of a car in terms of looks and driving dynamics. But BMW has always been designing cars which look much ahead of time. Though BMW cars are STRIKING to look at they are not good looking. Because the cars look different, we choose to think that they are good looking. It is the same the case with the new 3 series. Its design has been a controversial one and there only 2 views about it- one of those people who like it and one of those who don't and still think previous gen 3 series is better looking. I choose to be amongst the latter ones. The thing around which all this controversy are the headlamps which merge into the signature double kidney grill. 

Otherwise the car looks very elegant with very strong lines which define the character of this car. The rear looks very similar to the 5 series the only difference being the single exhaust pipe instead of 2 in 5 series. The exhaust was also better in the previous gen 3.

The car has grown in length which is quite prominent and a very welcome change with more than enough space for everyone in the car and this one being the benchmark in terms of interior space.

The 3 series is available in 3 models with same diesel engine or 2 petrol versions with 2 engine options. I drove the diesel version. The price of the diesel cars start at Rs 38lac and Rs 42lac both on road indore. The cheaper version is called just the 320d while the costlier one comes in 2 trims, one the sport and luxury.

The diesel engine that comes with the cars is the same 2litre turbocharged diesel that comes with the 1 series but here it produces 184bhp while the 1 series has to make do with 143 bhp. The torque is also increased from 320nm to 380nm. So the car is no slouch and with the awesome ZF eight speed gearbox this car makes mincemeat of most of the competition. The speed climbs the speedo like a squirrel climbs a tree and if you find an open straight of road, it is not long before you are going at speeds in excess of 160kmph and you wouldn't know that until you look at the speedo. The engine in itself is masterpiece and anyone can tell that just by looking at the specific output of this engine. This type of output is petrol territory but somehow BMW have managed to do it in a diesel. Okay! So it has high specific output, but when you make high specific output diesel engines it has its share of drawbacks like enormous after-runs and turbolag but kudos to the engineers who have tuned this engine have escaped all of this. So you have an engine which has output figures of that of a petrol, which revvs as fast as a petrol, produces torque like it made for a truck and is more efficient than petrol. This is where it shows how passionate people at BMW are to make their cars perform no matter whatever fuel is used.

The car has very good sound deadning but you can still hear engine noise at low speeds. Not that the engine note is bad! The steering though is and is quite heavy at slow speeds and takes time getting used to but if you want to avoid gym you can just go round the city strolling in the car at 10kmph, that would be quiet a workout! 

I drove the costlier 320d in the sport trim. The interiors in this car are sporty and come with a single tone dashboard with a red line going through the center. The seats come in 2 different configurations in sportline while the luxury line comes with dual tone dashboard and beige seats!

The Ride.

I drove the sport line and it had an absolutely, spine shatteringly, jaw breaking ride. The suspension even after being softened for Indian roads is still too hard and is absolutely undrivable. Though hard suspension calls for better stability in corners but i don't want to take corners with a broken back! The luxury line which has a softer suspension setup has got it absolutely spot on! The car handles almost as well without breaking your back.

Another issue with the car is that it is big and it feels that when you drive it so you have to be VERY careful when you drive it, you don't want to total an car this expensive and especially when it is not yours! This reduces your confidence when you drive this car enthusiastically, which in turn reduces the amount of fun you can have with this car and of what it is capable of delivering.

Overall the car is very nice and with the amounts of luxury, performance and space it delivers, makes it far more desirable than the competition. The 3 series is much more exclusive than the competition and when you own one you would like to save its use for special occasions only. That is quiet strange coming from me but it is a fact. The car pampers you and makes you feel like you are the king of the road. This car is just a better place to be in than other cars. The car is undoubtedly the segment leader until next year when the all new mercedes c-class comes to india.
With the new 3 series BMW have done a wonderful job and yes it has not just lived up to the mark, it has overshot it!
Ultimate driving machine it is!

The Royal Leap

Launched on November 26th 2013 in India, i finally got my hands on the Royal Enfield continental GT.

When this bike was first displayed at the 2010 auto expo in Delhi, i became its fan just by the looks of it! The bike was launched internationally in the middle of last year and Royal enfield took 6 more months to send it to India. This is the first Indian motorcycle which was launched internationally before it was launched here. 

The bike has been very successful in international markets with Europe its centre of focus.

I totally understand why it is so successful outside, because it is extremely beautiful and relatively cheap than other cafe racers.

The Bike as i mentioned earlier IS very beautiful and probably the most good looking bike you can buy in India under Rs. 4 Lac.

The bike though has been priced at Rs 2.06 Lac(On-road, Indore)

Well priced, I'd say because once you see it even you would say that.

The bike carries the royal enfield's motto of designing modern old bikes like the bullet and the classic bikes. The bike is basically a cafe racer and it surely looks the part. But by not any means does it looks dated and you somehow get the sense that the bike is modern.

When you compare the C-GT to other Royal Enfields you realise that the company has gone to enormous lengths to make this bike look and perform unlike any other enfields. It is totally out of league of the others and broken every benchmark that were set by The Thunderbird 500. 

The bike is very well made but the build could've been better. You can see the welds on the chassis which is not a very welcoming sight for a bike worth Rs. 2 Lac. But still as i said earlier the build quality is at par with other enfields. The bike looks like it has a very dedicated riding position but trust me it ins't and contrary to its looks it is quiet comfortable. 

But trust me looks aren't the only party piece of this enfield. The engine used in this bike is the same fuel injected 500cc unit used on classic 500 and thunderbird 500, but here it is stroked out to 535cc. With more CCs comes more power, exactly 29bhp and 44Nm of torque. These are entry level performance bike figures! But here is the catch- the bike weighs 180 Kgs! The engine is much much better than the 500cc unit. It is much much quicker and happy revving. You can revv it to its 5500 Rpm redline without any lag. The throttle response is also much much better. The Bike also boasts awesome performance with 60kmph coming in 4 seconds and 100kmph in 12 seconds. These are not record shattering figures but still the best of royal enfield. 

The Ride

The bike has very nice suspension setup with a little inclination towards ride than performance. But still this is still no slouch when you show it some corners and is very confidence inspiring in corners even better than the Honda CBR250R. The bike is best handling Royal Enfield ever. It is the same during braking. The bike sheds speed like a child sheds his clothes when he sees a pool.

But all of the performance, braking, power and speed stuff doesn't matter with this bike! The only thing that matters with this bike is the feel and attention you get when you ride this bike. Royal Enfield is probably the only bike maker in India which make bikes that have souls. At this point most you might be thinking that i have gone insane talking about souls in bikes. But no, i am 100% aware of what i am saying. If you look at the spec-sheet of a RE you will realise that its bikes are technologically as advanced as a spoon. Then why do people buy them? Because of the 'feel' REs offer. You can never be sad when you ride a RE. And this is the reason why REs are most. You bond emotionally with REs. And then there is the sound these machines make. The sound is literally an orgasm for ears, same is the case with C-GT. The sound is very different from other REs but still is sweet for the ears. 

Being RE this also has its drawbacks. Not a big list but still there are a couple. Firstly the bike has a very big problem of vibration which starts from around 3000-3200RPm and stays till the end of rev band. The vibration is a very big problem because vibration loosens everything up on a bike which is not exactly built like a Mercedes. Long distance cruises in speeds in excess of 100kmph are hard and will leave your hands numb at the end of the journey, But cafe racers are not exactly built for cruising. The other problems are not major and are only concerned with visible welds and some glitches in painting.

With this bike RE have gone to enormous lengths to make it look, perform and specially feel like a cafe racer and they have certainly achieved what they sought after. So what it is not the best motorcycle, It is no doubt the best RE. And a person who doesn't know what is it like to own a RE will never consider this bike as an option if he/she is looking for performance. Every performance enthusiast will prefer the KTM Duke 390 which is similarly priced but offers much better performance and incorporates state of the art technology, but as i said earlier it is never about performance when you talk about REs. A RE can never give you worldly pleasure like speed and acceleration but what they are capable of only few bikes will do that. They capture your heart. You will buy a KTM duke 390 and when you will be riding it and once in a while you will see this bike in traffic and you will think what a douche! He bought the wrong motorcycle! similarly when the RE rider will see you he will think the same for you. He might be true or he might not be true but i am pretty sure that he loves his motorcycle much more than you ever will.

Buying a bike in this range takes a lot of thinking becaus Rs. 2 lac is not cheap and you probably have worked your ass off to earn it.  so you will make a desicion that makes sense in the head. Most of the decisions you make in life are made by your brain. But once make a decision with heart you will have a sparkling red, beautiful Continental-GT standing in your garage waiting for you.

Welcoming you.

Power To The AAM AADMI

Every time I review an exotic car or bike which is much much away from a common man's reach. This time I break the norm.

This time I've gone for the much accessible TVS Apache RTR 180. Well at rs 90k on road it still is not so cheap but for an enthusiast on a budget this makes a very tempting buy.

The bike has a very controversial design with the devil's eyes headlamps. I, personally like the design very much and think those headlamps are pretty cool. Except those headlamps the bike looks pretty neat with very few cuts and flares. You might as well call it conservative. The bike is available in 3 very conservative colours: black, white and grey.

The bike comes with a lot of equipment for its range and even bikes which are much costlier don't have it!
The instrument panel is very neat with a digital speedometer which also couples up with 2 trip meters, a 0-60kmph timer and a top speed recorder. There is also an analog tachometer. The backlight colour is blue which gives proper visibility in the night. The buttons and switches are of top quality and don't leave you with anything to complain about. The instrument cluster is very neatly surrounded by high quality plastic which has a texture like that of carbon fibre. The fit and finish is very well and build quality is top notch and of levels you don't expect in this price range.

So even before starting it you are already impressed by it. Score 1 for TVS.

Now as soon as you sit on it you you that your legs are very close up to your body. TVS calls it mass centralisation, I call it cramped riding position. The bike is very compact and that further helps your driving abilities in traffic. 

The Engine

So as soon as you thumb the starter a very throaty and deep voice welcomes you and the same voice stays with you till the better part of 9000 RPMs with larger intensity and more frequency added. Then you slot it into first gear with a neat gearshift pedal and you realise the gearshifts are very precise and butter smooth. Then as soon you start riding it in traffic at speeds of 30-40 you realise what a phenomenal engine it is! The engine is a 180 cc single cylinder which produces 17 ps of power but that power is the peak power which you get at 8500 RPM and top speed of 126 kmph  upto which most of the people wont even take it!
But the sweet thing about its engine is its mid range torque which gives you almost instantaneous change of speed and then you realise what a missile this bike is. Most of the bikes deliver their peak torque very close to their peak  power but in apache you get peak torque at just 6500 RPM. Once you get past 3000-3500 RPM you drown in an enormous wave of torque and before you realise you are in speeds in excess of 80kmph. One of the biggest reason to love this bike is the midrange. It is so phenomenal that you get addicted to it and you deliberately ride it below 3000 RPM to experience the midrange.

 But once you get to speed you don't have to worry about it because the you have another big reason to love it: BRAKES

I was wrong above because midrange torque is not the only thing you'll get addicted to. Braking in this bike is another big thing you'll love about it. The brakes are very precise and have very gradual bite. But once you pull the lever as hard as you can then you realise their awesomeness. There is no drama at all! The bike comes to a very rapid halt. The only damage done is to your face which is teared off during the braking. YES the bike stops that quickly. The bite that these brakes offer is tremendous and so addictive that you might find your face teared off more often than you imagined.These are the most confidence inspiring brakes you can get in this price range. Also you have to get used to it because initially you tend to stop much earlier than you thought. The bike also comes with an ABS option which is 5k more than the standard. 

The Ride

The bike rides very well with the suspension setup more inclined towards sportiness than comfort. But it doesn't mean that it is uncomfortable in any way. This is where its cramped riding position comes into play and gives you proper control of bike while taking corners. The bike remains planted all through the corner.The suspension setup hence is very driver friendly and confidence inspiring.

The Cons

The only con that this bike has is the vibration and like the midrange torque the vibration also comes in lumps and spoils the experience. The vibes start just around 4500-5000 RPM and stay with you till the redline. The vibration is very prominent and after a long time it starts killing the machine with the front headlight cluster and all the footrests getting loose and start making noise.But mostly the this bike is used for commuting and so it doesn't affect most of the people.

I don't see a reason for someone having budget of around 80-90k buying any other motorcycle than this!
It is practical, reliable and mostly gives you adrenaline rush at a price that wont burn a hole in your pocket. I am still awestruck by its braking and its midrange grunt. It sounds nice too. It disappoints me that despite all these qualities the bike is mildly successful and though much ahead of the competition it hasn't caught on. But if you give me Rs. 90k I'd get myself one without waiting for a minute and without thinking about any other bike. And my love is not new found for this bike, I've loved it since it was launched and it would be delight if i owned one.

Senselessly it does make sense.

This time I drive THE ULTIMATE DRIVING MACHINE. Yes a couple of BMWs and both of them are absolutely perfect for the job they are designed to do.

SO in this post I'll tell you about the cheaper one and save the best for last. So the cheapest BMW - the 1 series. Its not cheap though the basic model without any convenience features costs rs. 31 lakh (on-road indore) . The second variant which I would suggest to go for with all the features except Bi-Xenon headlamps is Rs. 34 Lakh(on-road indore) and The one with Bi-Xenon headlamps for some senseless reason costs Rs.37 lakh(on-road indore). So having dropped the price bomb first I'll now continue with the review.

SO, how Good is the 1 series? Let me tell you one thing that it spits in the face of all the people who say it's priced senselessly and say that the Merc-A class its chief competitor costs less as much as Rs 10 lakh is better buy. The car is an absolute hoot to drive.I've waited all my life to drive a car like this. It is so fun to drive that ever since I've driven it, i cant get over the fact that i don't own one and wont be able to own a 1 series of this generation. Everything on that car is absolutely perfect! The steering despite being electrically assisted gives proper feedback and is very very responsive. The ZF 8 speed automatic gearbox installed in it is globally acknowledged as one the best gearboxes of all time, and it's not just me, everyone in the world of motoring loves it! the gearshifts are smooth and fast despite it being a single clutch transmission. The only thing which would further enhance gearshifts are paddle shifts. But without those also the gearbox is awesome!

The Ride

I cannot Imagine how much thought and research has gone into configuring the suspension of this car!
The ride is Perfect. I believe there is no car with a better ride/stiffness balance than this one. The suspension is an engineering marvel. The ride despite being comfortable, always gives the driver confidence to drive it sportily without any body roll whatsoever! Until driving this car i believed it was impossible to have this sort of suspension setup, its always either sporty or comfortable but somehow this car does both effortlessly!

But the party piece of this car is the engine! I drove the BMW 118D that is the diesel and from being a petrolhead, for me diesel is a satanic fuel. But my thoughts about diesels are now totally changed. The 2 litre turbocharged diesel produce 143Bhp and an ample 320NM of torque. This sort of power is nothing short of astounding for diesels! And despite Being  a diesel it Revvs up to 6000 RPM! YES 6000!! again despite being diesel this one is free revving. Until now i couldn't associate free revving with diesel but this one changes the norm. The engine is also very refined and there is not even the slightest hint of turbo-lag.

The Interiors

The interiors of this car follow typical BMW approach of function over form. Still the interior quality is pretty nice but i feel for a car that costs Rs. 34 lakh more leather could be used.

Overall the car is an extremely tempting buy for an enthusiast. But still this is the car for young generation and it shows. The only thing that stands in the competition is the BMW 3 series. But its not even close to this in terms of the driver friendliness which this car offers. Even I was a big critic of this car because of its pricing but from the time I've driven it I've become a die hard fan of this car and now i realise that pricing is perfect! What more can you expect for a car costing Rs. 34 lakh? This car gives you everything that an enthusiast seeks- rear wheel drive, outstanding ride, marvellous gearbox and a butter smooth engine. Every car has its faults and this one also has some like it isn't as Striking as the BMW 3 series or as beautiful as the Merc A class but once you drive this one you wouldn't mind if this car looked like a HM Ambassador. Literally.

The more I think about this car the more it grows over me and the more it makes me SAD. why sad??
because by the time I will be old enough to buy one the 1 Series will come with front wheel drive. Now i am absolutely sure that BMW will make the front wheel driven car as much fun to drive as this one but it will never be this one! So if you are planning to get one, get one NOW because you might never have a chance to buy a car which is as perfect as this one!

So Ultimately when Its a beemer it always makes sense.