Volkswagen Polo’s India Price out on February 23

The Volkswagen Polo is finally all-set to hit the roads in February. The price which has been a closely guarded secret will also be announced on February 23. VW has been working aggressively on localisation to price the Polo competitively so you can expect the base Polo to start at around Rs 4.5 lakh.

There will be three engine options available, but the first one to hit the showrooms will be the 1.2-litre 75bhp petrol. The other two engines – 1.2-litre 75bhp diesel and a 1.6-litre 104bhp petrol will follow shortly. The Polo promises to bring class leading levels of quality and comfort to the segment and will be available across three trim levels – Trendline, Comfortline and the Highline.

Source - Autocar India

Coming Soon - Renault’s Twizy Z.E. Concept

French car manufacturer Renault is looking for an Indian partner with whom its Zero Emission cars can be developed for India. The Twizy Z.E Concept occupies the prime spot in Renault’s zero emission plans for India.

The Twizy Concept has a four-wheel chassis and offers the driver and passenger – seated one behind the other – an all-electric means of transport which produces zero CO2 emissions. With 2.30 meters long and just 1.13 meters wide, the Twizy ensures that it sneaks through the urban traffic without much problem.

It has a turning circle of just three meters and a footprint barely larger than that of a scooter. So, parking should not be an issue in India’s crowded streets. Powered by a 20 bhp electric motor the car develops 7.14 kgm of max torque and can attain a top speed of 75 kmph. It combines comfort with responsive performance at all engine speeds and it can accelerate at a similar rate to a 125cc bike.

Ford Figo launch due Next Month [India], New Models Coming Soon

Ford will be launching its sub-B catagory car – the ‘Figo’ in India before the end of the next month. It will be the sixth new model to be introduced in India by Ford. However the company is tightlipped about the pricing of the car. According to Ford India president and MD Michael Boneham -

“It (the price) will be very competitive. We will compete with the i10 and Swift and others as we are targeting the segment, which accounts for 70% of all new vehicles sold in India; The definition of small car in India is a “bit different”

Mr Boneham said Ford intends to introduce a series of new products to the market in a 12-18 month span. It would take about 5-6 years to reach full capacity, he said, responding to a query. Though it would focus on the compact car segment, it did not necessarily mean that Ford would not look at other segments.

Maruti Suzuki to launch Kizashi in India Next Year (2010)

Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) will introduce its sports luxury car Kizashi in India at 2010 Auto Expo. The Kizashi, which is Suzuki’s first big car developed in-house, has already been launched in the US.

Features

• First-all-wheel-drive luxury car in India
• Suzuki developed 2.4-litre Euro IV engine
• Standard six-speed manual transmission
• Optional automatic transmission based on continuously variable transmission (CVT) technology with paddle shifters mounted on the steering wheel (like those in Honda City and Toyota Corolla Altis).
• Large tyre size of a 21 inch wheel (against Honda Civic’s 15 inch.)

Price

• The Car will be come in price bracket of Rs. 10-13 lakhs

Competition

• Maruti Suzuki’s Kizashi will compete with the likes of Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Sonata, SkodaAuto Octavia and Volkswagen Jetta. Maruti engineers have already started work on Kizashi and are likely to customise the luxury sedan for rugged Indian road conditions.

Acc to Sources, the Kizashi Project is the most ambitious project by Maruti in India in the 26 year old history of the carmaker.

Maruti will pitch it as a D-Segment sports crossover — a vehicle that derives from a car platform while blends features from a sports utility vehicle.

Maruti is expected to manufacture Kazashi at its sprawling 500 acre Manesar Facility.