FORD ECOSPORT

Ford ecosport is a compact suv for the indian market which cuts off from the excise duty posed by the indian government since it is only 3999 mm in length , Due to this the bookings for the ecosport had taken along que.

As for the styling the ecosport looks very attractive with swept back sleek headlamps and the huge hexagonal grille makes it tough looking vehicle and at the rear the ecosport gets wraparound tail lamps and the boot release knob is integrated into the headlamps. and there is a spare wheel attached to the boot which gives it a suv look . Overall the car looks muscular and gives it a lot of road presence.

The space inside is the decent and can comfortably seat four adults , where 5 would be cramped .

The dash board layout looks attractive with its futuristic design and looks similar to the ford fiesta's dashboard . The top end titanium variant gets leather upholstery and also comes with voice control and ford sync by microsoft , it also gets automatic climate control ,as well as push button ignition , keyless entry, tilt and telescopic steering and powered mirrors.
Safety wise it gets 6 airbags and ABS in titanium option variant.

The eco sport comes with a 1.5 litre 1489 cc 4 cylinder common rail diesel engine (crdi) with 90bhp of power @3750 rpm and 204 nm of torque at@2000-2750 rpm and comes with a 5 speed gear box . It also comes in a 1.0 litre 999cc ecoboost petrol engine and 1.5 litre 1499 cc petrol engine.
 It has got 200mm of ground clearance . And comes with 205/65  r16 tyres. ford ecosport comes in 10 variants and the price starts from 6.15 to 9.49 lakhs.(ex-showroom Delhi).

PETROL VARIANTS:

Ambiente 1.5 Ti-VCT      @ 6.15 lakhs.
Trend 1.5 Ti-VCT           @7.09 lakhs.
Titanium 1.5 Ti-VCT       @8.04 lakhs.
Titanium 1.0 ecoboost    @8.43 lakhs.
Titanium 1.0 ecoboost(o) @8.96 lakhs.
Titanium 1.5 Ti-VCT AT    @ 8.98 lakhs.

DIESEL VARIANTS:

Ambiente 1.5 TDCi   @7.19 lakhs.

Trend 1.5 TDCi         @8.04 lakhs.

Titanium 1.5 TDCi     @ 8.97 lakhs.

Titanium 1.5 TDCi(o) @ 9.49 lakhs. 

(prices @ ex-showroom Delhi).

NISSAN TERRANO

Nissan has their compact suv for the indian market the nissan terrano . though it is based on the  Renault duster platform , nissan had tried to make the terrano every bit different from the duster by changing each and every panel on the exterior , from the front bumper to the tail light.

From the front the terrano gets redesigned headlamps and front gets a new bumper along with Nissan's new signature grille and the tail gate hosts a new tail lamp , but the side profile looks like the renault duster.

In the inside Nissan has made the Terrano look more premium then the duster. It now comes with a new audio system and can get a touch screen infotainment system as an option. The central air vents are now rectangular in shape rather than the duster's circular air vents.

On the top end version the seats are offered in leather and a rear a/c vent with fan speed adjuster .
The cabin space remains the same as compared to the duster and there are not too many changes.
The boot space is large and remains the same and now can get a third row of seats as an accessory for the children .

Under the hood it comes with same range of engines with a 1.6-litre petrol and 108 bhp and 84 bhp diesel engines.
It comes in a price range of 9.48lakhs- 12.30lakhs (ex-showroom delhi) and comes in 7-variants.

Variants :

XE(D)                   @9.48 lakhs
XL(P)                   @9.53 lakhs
XL(D)                   @10.49 lakhs
XL(D) plus          @ 10.85 lakhs
XL(D) THP110ps  @ 11.09 lakhs
XV(D) THP110ps  @ 12.01 lakhs
XV(D) THP premium 110ps @12.30 lakhs.
(prices ex-showroom delhi).

RENAULT DUSTER

After the launch of the duster, Renault has hit the market with huge success for it's low pricing and compact styling with its muscular wheel arches, wide chrome grill , squarish head lamps and a metal roof rails make it look like a rugged SUV.  

The side is pretty simple with its bulging wheel arches and scuff plates overall it looks compact simple and has a quite bit of road presence .

    
Inside the duster goes for a simple design for the dash with tough plastics which looks not so premium but built for a cost.

          
Seats are comfortable enough and the rear legroom space is also decent it has an humungus boot and can increase space by folding rear seats the top and get leather seats rear ac vents seat .The audio system gets bluetooth connectivity and phone controls behind the steering wheel which is difficult to use while driving.
Under the hood it gets both petrol and diesel engines with the 1.6 litre engine with 102.5 bhp of power and 14 8 kgm of torque and diesel is offered in 1.5 litre with 108 bhp and a 84 bhp with 25.3 kgm of torque @ 2250 rpm 
Duster starts at a price of 7 .7 8 lakhs - 1.7 9 lakhs it comes 11 variants.

VARIANTS:
RxE petrol                @ 7.78 lakhs     
85ps RxE diesel        @ 8.62 lakhs
RxL petrol                @ 9.03 lakhs                           
85ps RxL diesel        @ 9.59 lakhs
85ps RxL diesel plus  @ 10.26 lakhs
85ps RxL diesel opt   @ 10.82 lakhs
110ps RxL diesel       @10.70 lakhs                                                      
110ps RxZ diesel       @11.28 lakhs
110ps RxZ diesel plus @ 11.74 lakhs      
110ps RxL adventure   @ 11. 79 lakhs 
110ps RxZ diesel opt   @ 11. 79 lakhs 
                  ( Prices Ex-Showroom delhi).

HONDA CRV

The 2013 CR-V is longer and more sophisticated than the earlier model and design wise it seems to be like a volvo from the rear. The front looks  aggressive with bold front grille along with the projector headlamps.

Inside the layout is very good with twin lcd screens and it is loaded with features the instrument cluster also has and lcd screen .
The seats are comfortable and spacious with biege leather upholstery.
The driver's seat is power adjustable and the rear seat passengers get ac vents.

      It also get dual zone auto climate control, electric sunroof ,touch screen multimedia system with bluetooth connectivity ,cruise control, rear parking sensors are offered on all variants for more fuel efficiency it has an e-con mode which lights up the instrument cluster green and drives in an eco-friendly mode to increase its fuel efficiency.

Under the hood the CR-V comes with a 2354 cc mpfi 4 cylinder petrol engine with 187 bhp of power @ 7000 rpm and 226 nm of torque at 4400 rpm  and also get a 1997 cc petrol engine.  

Safety friend CR-V gets traction control motion adaptive steering , four disc brakes with ABS.

VARIANTS:          
2.0 litre 2wd manual     @ 20.25 lakhs
2.0 litre 2wd automatic @ 21.25 lakhs                             
2.4 litre 2wd automatic @ 22. 88 lakhs
2.4 litre 4wd automatic @ 24 .36 lakhs                                                 (Prices ex-showroom delhi ) .

MAHINDRA SSANGYONG REXTON

Ssangyong Rexton has been introduced in india by Mahindra and Mahindra who owns an Ssangyong and now they have their flagship model ssangyong rexton which is in the competition with toyota fortuner mitsubishi pajero and ford endeavour.

The styling is simple with angular projector headlamps and a wide chrome grille  with the bumper housing the fog lamps and the side profile has huge wheel arches with 10 spoke alloy wheels which look stylish and it has got electric ORVM's with turn indicators. 

Inside the interiors are of high quality and very luxurious with leather seats the driver gets power seats with memory function the top end variant gets electric sunroof climate control and double-din audio system with USB , AUX-IN bluetooth connectivity along with GPS navigation. It also features rain sensing wipers automatic headlamps reverse parking sensors and cruise control.

 Safety wise it gets ABS , dual airbags ASR and ESP and for off roading it gets hill decent control . The seats are comfortable and spacious but the 3rd row is only for kids . The third row also features an A/C went with fan speed adjuster. 

Under the hood it gets a 2.7 liter 5-cylinder Mercedes engine with a 5-speed manual and also an automatic with 183 bhp and 41 kgm of torque for the rx7 variant.

And the rx 5 gets a 2 .7 litre diesel motor with 162 bhp and 34.6 kgm of torque.
It starts at a price range of 18.87-21.11 lakhs (ex showroom delhi).

THE MAHINDRA XUV 5OO

After four years of development mahindra had launched their global suv the XUV 5OO on sept 2011 , since then mahindra's sales have drastically increased and still retains it.

As per the styling, the car looks very aggressive and very attractive to look at. The car's design is cheetah inspired and can immediately notice with the cut's and creases on the bumper , the projector headlamps along with the day-time-running lamps and mahindra's typical grille adds for the styling . And the side profile looks muscular with its bulging wheel arches and claw like door handles.

Inside the dashboard has a nice layout with a waterfall like design for the centre console along with wood and chrome inserts . It has got a lot of storage bins and is loaded with features , it is equipped with a touch screen multimedia display with integrated audio system , navigation phone sync feature along with USB , AUX-IN and Bluetooth . you also get climate control, start stop feature for fuel efficiency , four disc brakes , cruise control , steering mounted controls , rear parking sensors , rain sensing wipers, automatic headlamps and a hell lot features.
The seats are comfortable and spacious and the third-row also gets a power socket and A/C vents with fan speed adjusters.

Under the hood the XUV comes with a M-Hawk 2179cc diesel engine with 140bhp of power @3750rpm and comes with a 6-speed manual all wheel drive or a 6-speed automatic front wheel drive.
It is available in 4-variants W4 , W6 , W8 and W8 AWD.

To meet the competition with the nissan terrano renault duster and ford ecosport they have recently launched a lower spec version called the W4 variant.
The Mahindra XUV 5OO starts from price tag of 10.70 lakhs - 14.48 lakhs (ex-showroom Delhi).

HONDA AMAZE

Honda has their new car in the indian market the honda amaze as a sub 4-meter car (compact sedan segment) to stand against its main rival the maruthi suzuki swift dzire.
Honda believed that they would take on the competition with this car along with their new diesel engine which was the main break through and successfully they did succeed with this car. 
The amaze was a big hit for honda ,there was such a demand for this car that honda has already foreseen this would happen and started its production even before it was unveiled. 
From the front the amaze looks same as the brio but moving to the side the cuts and creases are extended nicely till the boot . And the boot seems to be nicely integrated into the rest of the body unlike the swift dezire which looks like the boot has just been stuck on it .

Inside too it is similar to the brio with the same layout of the dash board that looks plain and simple. The audio system gets only USB and AUX-IN capabilities and misses out on bluetooth and a cd player. Since the front seats are thin it carves out a lot of room for the rear seat passengers which is the class leading of its segment . And the boot is also very spacious and packs in a 400-litres of luggage space.

Under the hood the amaze comes with a 1.5-litre i-DTec diesel engine with a claimed mileage of 25.8 kmpl and also comes with a 1.2-litre i-VTec petrol engine with a claimed mileage of 18kmpl.
It is offered in 12- variants 7 in petrol including 2 automatics and 5 in diesel.

 It comes at a starting price of 5 lakhs-7.55 lakhs(ex-showroom Delhi).

THE DATSUN GO

Datsun was an automobile brand which was discontinued in 1986 is now owned by nissan. They have made it a brand for low cost vehicles for emerging markets and with their new car the datsun go for the entry level hatch-back segment they have now re-entered into the indian car market.

It looks attractive with the diamond shaped shaped grille , angular sweft back headlamps and the nice character lines across the body makes it smart looking. And even from the rear it looks attractive.
The only down side for the exteriors are the tyres which look small and disproportinate to the car that size.

And inside we will immediately notice that the interiors are built to a cost and looks very basic yet simple . The hand brake is located on the dasboard ,the glove box doesn't have a cover and there is no audio system but instead you have your mobile docking station with AUX-IN and USB(only for charging).
It has got two power windows for the front but they are independent and rear windows have manual winders.

The front and rear seats are spacious but as the front seats are connected seats it obstructs the A/C flow for the rear seat passengers.

As per safety airbags are not offered even on the top end variant , seat belts are not auto retractablethey should be adjusted manually.

Under the hood the datsun go gets a 1198cc 1.2-litre 3-cyclinder petrol engine from the micra active with 67bhp@5000rpm and comes with a 5-speed gear box.  
It comes in four variants D,D1,A and T with a starting price of 3.12 lakhs-3.70 lakhs (ex-showroom Delhi).

Though it loses on features the datsun go is a pratical spacious hatch back for the entry-level segment.

THE ALL NEW HYUNDAI SANTA-FE

The korean car maker hyundai has finally launched the all new santa fe in india. With the hyundai's fluidic design language the santa fe is no longer a conventional looking suv , it's stylish and has attitude, the front now gets xenon headlamps and adaptive cornering fog lamps , and a strong hexagonal grille . The side has a nice profile with the rising waist-line gives it a bit of character and  the rear now gets LED tail lamps.  Even in profile , the santa fe manages to hold your attention by it's bold shoulder-line and glasshouse. Rear styling is neat as well with a smart cut that arcs across the tailgate. A closer inspection will also have your eyes locked on to the superb detailing on the headlights. The xenon units come lined with LED daytime running lamps.

Over-all it feels like a big car with an imposing stance.

Inside the santa fe gets new up-market looking interiors with a wide layout of the dashboard with 2-tone brown and beidge glossy plastics along with wood and chrome inserts looks premium and gets  loaded with equipment. 

The santa fe now gets a steering system called flex drive ,it comes with three modes comfort , normal and sporty, along with steering mounted controls. With spacious and comfortable seats along with the 3rd row of seats it makes it a practical family car .

Under the hood the santa fe gets 3rd generation 2.2-litre crdi engine that produces a 197bhp@3800rpm it is a refined engine that's got an ample of power. It produces 436 Nm of torque@1800-2500rpm. It also comes with a responsive 6-speed auto gearbox. 

It is offered in 3 variants :

2wd manual tranmission @26.30lakhs

2wd automatic tranmission@27.33lakhs

4wd automatic tranmission @29.25lakhs

(prices EX-showroom delhi)

The santa fe gives a fuel efficency of 14.74kmpl for the manual and 13kmpl for the automatic.

Hyundai Santa Fe AT 4WD

Engine: 2.2-litre CRDI
Max Power: 197bhp@3800rpm
Max torque: 436Nm@1800-2500rpm
Gearbox: 6-speed auto H-matic
Wheelbase(mm): 2,700
LxWxH(mm): 4690x1880x1690
Top Speed: 9s est
0-100kmph: 190kmph est
Price: Rs.29.25 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).