indian cars

While you might call it as MPV (Multi-Purpose  Vehicle) or MUV (Multi Utility Vehicle), Maruti would love to call it LUV – Life Utility Vehicle and for the car buyers there are good enough reasons to love this new vehicle from the staples of Maruti Suzuki. One can love its sedan-like handling, impressed by its  fuel efficiency, floored by its  better driveability and ofcourse fall for its sensible pricing and making this 5+2 seater a sure shot winner on our roads.

Key Features of Maruti Ertiga

With Ertiga, Maruti Suzuki aggressively re- enters the Multi Utility Vehicle segment hitherto ruled by segment leader Toyota’s Innova and Mahindra Xylo.

Measuring 4,265mm in length, 1,685mm in height and 1,695 in width Ertiga is chiselled with much detailing for design and visual appeasement, unlike its earlier vehicles like Omni and current van like Eeco. The end product is pleasure to watch from whatever angle you look at.

Ertiga? wonder what the name means? In Indonesian language, Ertiga means Three Rows.

Incidentally, Ertiga will also be exported to Indonesia by end of the next month.

Inside of Ertiga gives a deja vu moments for all those familiar with new Swift. The dashboard especially is borrowed from the new Swift and one cannot complaint about it since it fits well into Ertiga’s scheme of things though it sports a  different shade.

The interiors are quiet vibrant and has a good quality and finish. The light beige interiors makes the vehicle roomy and bright, though one might also have to take extra care to keep it clean, considering the dusty environs we have.

All the variants comes with power and tilt steering and with A/c, though the seat height adjustment comes only with the top variant.

Like the Mahindra XUV, Ertiga is built on monocoque design, compared to a body on frame chassis in the Xylo and Innova, resulting in better handling.

Ertiga Engines, variants and fuel efficiency

Ertiga is available both in petrol and diesel engines and in total 6 variants – 3 in each engine types. LXi / LDi, VXi/VDi, ZXi/ZDi

The petrol variant of Ertiga is powered by a 1,373 cc K14 engine with VVT (Variable Valve Technology) which delivers a maximum power of  95 ps at the rate of 6,000 rotations per minute (RPM) and with a good  fuel efficiency of 16.02 km per litre.

The diesel variant is powered by a 1,248 cc D13A DDiS super turbo engine which produces a max power of  90 ps at the rate of 4,000 RPM with an impressive  fuel efficiency of 20.77 km per litre.

Ertiga is available in 6 colors

Competing models to Ertiga  from rivals in near future

Indian UV segment is fast growing and currently has a  370,000 unit per annum utility vehicle (UV) market. With Ertiga, Maruti has in it to carve a good pie of the market share. Though competition would soon close in with Renault to launch its own compact SUV Duster and Ford to drive in its EcoSport and also M&M set to launch a mini Xylo and Nissan to offer Evalia.

Priced between Rs.5.89 lakh and Rs.7.30 lakh for the petrol variant and Rs.7.90 lakh and Rs.8.45 lakh for the diesel-powered one (ex-showroom Delhi) Maruti has sensibly priced Ertiga and with the features, styling and performance combined with Maruti’s branding you would definitely see a large numbers of Ertiga soon on Indian roads.

We would come up with our complete test drive and review soon.

There is a Scorpio, Innovo and then there is  the likes of Toyota Fortuner, Ford Endeavour, Chevrolet Captiva, Mitsubishi Pajero. Mahindra very intelligently has positioned XUV500 in between the two far ends  to bridge the wide price gap and for buyers who want something better than your now common Scorpio or Innovo but can’t loosen their purse to the likes of Fortuner etc. Smart move indeed! Going by the bumper opening bookings, Mahindra has indeed hit a jackpot!

If looks can kill, XUV500 is a killer in designer attire – muscular, intimidating yet sophisticated.  The design is inspired by Cheetah and gives a menacing stance ready to pounce  on roads.

XUV500 is build on monocoque technology and the company’s first. The construct technology integrates body and chassis into single unit and is applied in most modern SUV’s around the world. So this helps in lower structural weight and in turn better power to weight ratio as well as gives a stable ride and performance.

The jaw like front grille is loud in design and matches the size of the SUV and at its menacing best giving it a beastly look.  I very much fell in love with the spread of honeycomb grille giving it loads of character and uniqueness.

Check out the bold lines…  two strong lines marking the sides and the accentuated curves highlighting the wheel arches giving a muscular yet polished looks…

When compared the front and side, the rear is not very dramatic…

The lights both front and rear compliment XUV500′s looks with projector headlamps, LED day-time running lights and also headlamps with their “bending” ability is very useful and practical while cornering. The vertical rear light sits pretty and there is even a curious looking motif engraved on it.

The exteriors gives a promising and an overwhelming presence and the trait is carried inside too.  You have lots of surprising elements inside.  XUV500 is quiet spacious with plenty of leg room and head room in the front as well as  between the front and middle seats.  The dashboard is well laid in dual tone.

The steering looks sturdy, meaty and hold well on your hands. It has bigger control switches and rotary knobs and side stalks on both ends and all are quiet easy and accessible to fiddle around while on a ride. So you can controls to toggle  audio, controls to activate voice commands, controls for phone calls and control for activating the cruise mode.  There is a large central pad on the steering sporting the mahindra logo giving a sense of muscular character as well as sportiness. The steering has tilt and telescopic adjustments.

The seats are spacious, comfortable and well laid with leather upholstery on the top variant and fabric seats for the  base variant.

The instrument console had loads of tell-all signs. The twin circular pad has the speedo, fuel guage and rev counter and also the temperature and oil indicators. While the central screen between the two pads gives you a plethora of information that might just dazzle you.

The music console looks classy in waterfall central bezel that flows all the way down right to the first row. On top of the music console is a touch screen infotainment.

I am a sucker of touchscreen gadgets  and it was delight to fiddle around it. As the screen would say, you got music, video, phone, car info and a navigation system. Navigation system is quiet hand

There quiet many handy boxes – glove box with laptop holder and a box above the glove box and also on dashboard above the touchscreen. There is a large cool box between the two seats in the front row.

The Air-condition vents are neatly done and is quiet good. Even the third row has a/c vents on the sides along with side holders and mobile charging points.

The top version comes with a sporty alloy wheels…

XUV500 comes in 7 colors: Dolphin grey, Opulent purple, Tuscan red, Moondust silver, Amazon green, Valcono black and Satin white.

Now coming to the heart of the matter. It’s here Mahindra proves that the company has come of age.  Though the engine under the hood is the same that Scorpio sports, it comes with some noticeable tweaks.  Neatly packed inside is a 2.2 litre mHawk engine delivering 140 bhp and an impressive torque of 330 Nm. Mated to this engine is a six-speed manual gearbox (I heard it is the first by an completely Indian made vehicle and build in-house by Mahindra) which gives the extra thrush to the car taking it 0-60 km in just 5.4 seconds.

As far the riding and performance, it is a delight to ride. It behaves like a cheetah indeed – ready to pounce, very agile in the movement, in control of the roads and yet gives you a commanding position and pleasure to ride.  With 200 mm of ground clearance, you can be well assured of riding in even the worst of Indian roads and road humps

ARAI certifies a healthy 15.1 kmpl mileage which is quiet good for  this segment.

The car comes in two variants : w6 and w8 and with w8 coming with front wheel drive and an All wheel drive option.  Unlike the regular four wheel drive, the AWD in XUV500 sports an interactive torque management system which automatically monitors the road condition and shifts from 2 wheel drive to all wheel drive whenever necessary.

The key differences between the two variants:

The coup de grace comes in the pricing. It is where Mahindra had won the battle with a launch prize of 10.91 L for the base model (w6) and 12.07L and 13.02L for 2 Wheel drive and All wheel drive of W8 variants. (All prices are ex-showroom, Bangalore)  With the impressive array of features and a brilliantly crafted vehicle both in terms of looks and performance, no wonder the vehicle has clocked 8000 bookings within the first 10 days and Mahindra has to stop taking fresh bookings. I was told bookings will restart in the first week of November.

A very appealing and wonderfully crafted SUV that is a sure value for money with a killer looks and a pleasure to ride. Cheers to Mahindra for coming of age with this world-class vehicle.

Eon is launched and you can even spot it on roads.  After the very successful Fluidic Verna, Hyundai is on a song with Eon to shake up the entry level subcompact car. With the King of small car, Maruti Suzuki battling labor problems, Hyundai drives the wheels right into its competitors forte.

To begin with numbers, Alto clocks more than 20K units every month. Its a way huge number and a pie every car maker would dream to eat into.  With Hyundai setting a target of 1.5 L units in first year,  there is no guessing where their eyes are set upon.

First look at Eon, it would make feel Alto a car back from a time machine. Eon whips a drastically  refreshing feel, soul and flavor for a small car. The car specifically made for India and might do rounds in other markets after tasting success here shows the Hyundai’s commitment and involvement in the Indian market where even the likes of Toyota are going bit conservative in their design approach. The fact that they are the country’s second largest car maker with a good distribution network already set up would help Hyundai take the initiative and the risk that comes along, since they have already the customer’s faith.

The fluidic design that one saw in the new Verna flows into Eon.  Do note the almost artistic fluid stroke of lines that flow in the side profile of the car and the flow of the car from the front to rear. It is smooth, free flowing  presenting the  Hyundai’s new design charm.

The front sports a hexagonal face with Hyundai logo and a chrome strip wings,  chrome tipped radiator grille and sporting a  curiously large headlamp for a small car sweeping all the way back to the A-pillar. A look at the cute little  fog lamps (unfortunately available only in the top most model, more about this later) talks a lot about Hyundai’s eye for detail.

The tail light is equally a intriguing design element. While Hyundai calls it a half-moon shape, on a lighter note,  a closer perspective reminds me a pointed shoe design, the power of imagination is the key for innovation. So call it crescent moon or pointed shoe, the fact is the large tail lamp sits pretty going all the way up almost kissing the edges of the integrated spoiler. So that brings us to highlight the next nice touch – the integrated spoiler that is standard in all the variants. It adds the extra bit of charm for the rear.

So external look wise – Eon is a stunner that pales Alto into an antique design. Period.

When the exteriors speaks volumes, Interiors naturally have to speak the same language else would be a disappointment. Eon does not let you down.

A dual tone in small car is something worth mentioning. The cockpit is quiet modern, neatly arranged and again wakes up the entry level small car segment to new possibilities.

The instrument cluster gives a warm neon green glow. You need to check it out while the engine is on and moving  and in night it glows with quiet a bit of greens and few oranges in a warm glow.  All the variants sports the same instrument cluster that has a dual tripmeter, low fuel warning, graphic band fuel gauge, gear shift indicator.

The top most variant sports a trendy metallic finish 3 spoke steering wheel while the rest sports a 2 spoke non-metalic steering wheel.

Check that small spoiler type protrusion on the dashboard above the A/c vent, I like that small cobra hood effect that it brings.  Except for the base variant, rest comes with A/c fitted. While you have to burn the pockets  if you want to go for the music console since it is available only in the top 2 variants. Again, the metallic finish would go hiding in the starting two variants…

The glove box in beige color and deep enough and also a neat looking dashboard storage on top serves the practical needs…

side pockets …. and then you got couple of cup holders too…

The front seating is quiet comfortable with enough leg room and head room and the bucket type single unit front seats soaks you well into a riding position. While the rear can comfortably sit two adults. If you complain if the leg room is bit cramped, don’t get carried away with the exterior and interior look and feel, we are still driving a small car. So three adult means you would be stuffed with not much room to turn around.

For a small car, Eon comes surprisingly with a larger boot space. 215 L space is larger than even what Honda Brio sports. I wondered  if few inches of the boot space could have been released to give the rear leg room a bit more.

So that is about the interiors and exteriors – which are uber ocol and striking for the segment.

Hyundai comes in 6 colors:  Coral white, Sleek Silver, Mushroom, Dark Grey Metallic, Pristine Blue and Maharajah Red.

Now lets claw into the heart of the car…

Under the hood of the small wonder baby is a 814 cc , 3 cylinder engine that delivers 56 PS @ 5,500 rpm and 75 Nm torque @ 4,000 rpm.  If you want to compare it with Alto, again Eon is notch up  with Alto having the figures of 47PS and 62Nm.

So far irresistibly  good  but how it rides and performs?

So I revved up and went into the roads, Eon engine is fairly refined well. It’s a smooth rush forward and comfortable to ride in city condition. The steering feels good on your palms and responds well and it is easy to navigate through the  chaos of the Indian roads.  Eon has a good turning radius and turning, parking all is a pleasant affair. For a small car, the suspension is decent enough. A few complaining note would be gear shift is not very smooth and there is a vibration in the gear knob vibrates a bit. Also a dash of chrome on the gear knob would have added an extra zing to the look. It looks bit antiquated.  The road view is clear and great from riding position. For a small car, I think Hyundai has done extremely well both look wise and performance wise.

Eon comes in 6 variants:  D-Lite (the starting variant) , D-Lite(o), ERA, Magna, Magna(o), Sportz.  Personally, I hate digging into information of so many variants, it just confuses a customer. One has to sit and analyze, ponder and figure out his best buy pouring into various spec sheets.

As far as mileage is concerned,  Eon boasts of  ARAI certified mileage of 21.1 kmpl, again a best in the class.

GingerChai Verdict: It’s all about Money, honey! Why Alto sells? It is perceived to give a good value for money. After the demise of 800, Alto fulfilled the motor dreams of vast majority of middle class households who wanted a budget car that would be their first car.  So with Eon eyeing at the share of Alto pie, it has to got the pricing right and the value for money factor. Looking at the spec and price chart, obviously Eon is pricey entry level small car.  The top two variant (you can include the middle fourth variant too) are too pricey that If you relax your purse strings a little bit more you get the likes of Beat, Figo etc who sports a better engine and other specs. So Hyundai is actually placing their bets on carving a new segment on the entry level small car with its premium offering.  Definitely, the car has is futuristic, no doubt it has turned the notion of entry level small car with its out of box offering but then it also comes for the extra price.  Being a price sensitive market, how far it would rattle the Maruti Suzuki’s Alto cart, we need to wait and watch.  One thing, Eon will sell. It will bring numbers to Hyundai.

Honda has unveiled their new baby called “Brio”. Brio means vigor, vivacity – full of life.  True to its name, Brio has an infectious appeal and character that let you fall in love with it and also as the Honda tag line goes “Brio Loves You Back”, definitely the car has a life in it that would love you back. Do I sound smitten by love? I am and you will know why, read ahead.

In India, Honda has always been  identified with premium cars with their lineup of Jazz,  City, Civic, Accord and CR-V. While  City was a run-away hit and market leader in its  segment, Jazz was a promising car but Honda bungled in its pricing.  Recently Honda dropped prices to began an aggressive retailing phase for the company in the Indian market and the company pins a lot of hopes on its new model, Brio which could add the numbers and the bottom line profits.

Honda has done lot of homework into the making of Brio (pronounced: Br-ee-oo) considering the fact that the car is designed from scratch especially for India and Thailand market to begin with. The entry level hatchback  segment is over-crowded with well established models plus new entrants rolling in.  This is also a segment where one successful model means a huge volume for the company but the problem is cracking the segment which is demanding as well as price-sensitive.  So what Honda did? It patiently went about doing surveys and collecting facts, understand the customer demands and mindset and then collaborated with European designers along side taking inputs and involving the engineers from the targeted segment countries and arrived at what Honda calls double triangle form for Brio. The below picture explains it. (For more interesting aspects on Honda’s design talk, read HERE)

pic courtesy: Honda.com

So finally Honda Brio is here. Brio has a large-cylinder-design halogen headlights, a front grille that spells character and class of Honda’s styling. The bumper is flanked with wide lip like lines that give a wide stance. The two bold lines that draws up the front grille gives a strong presence and masculine nature to the car. Am I impressed by the front stance? Definitely yes.

A bold front…

The rear is interesting and Honda has taken a risk with the large glass hatch. You might like it or hate it or some of you might be slightly paranoid over the naked glass hatch. But trust Honda, the glass are really sturdy and fits very well.  Its a hard reinforced glass hatch door and it isn’t definitely fragile at all, you can slam it shut as hard as a normal one. Personally, I liked this and it keeps the Brio stand apart from the rest since not many uses this design form factor these days.

The rear lights are interesting as well.  Large, round red eye of the tail lamp and stop lights at the edges of the body accentuates the wider stance and protrudes and wraps up neatly to the sides and neatly slices the glass hatch diagonally.

In short, Brio has a pointy leaping forward wide stance, bold lines on the side that sprints upwards to the rear and a well sliced hatch with large glass and a curious tail lights all put together  gives a contemporary, stable look to the car which is aerodynamic as well as boasts a terrific individual character and a strong presence.

Sit inside the car and you will smile at the tagline. Yes, Brio loves you back with one of the best in class interior quality. Inspite of the obvious pressure to keep the costs minimal, Honda has surprised as with a rich interior in the form of high quality plastic, fit and good upholstery. The dual tone beige upholstery brightens up the interiors as well as very comfortable and gives a uber cool rich feel to the car.

The dashboard is not as steep as in Jazz inspite of the forward design.  A dual tone dashboard that nests the instrument console and other controls.  Not overly glamorous, functional, pleasant and decent.

The 3 spoke design steering with a dash of smoky silver finish is compact and wonderful to hold and soft on your hands. Except for the start variant, all the other variants has steering mounted audio controls.  The three pod analog 3D meter cluster with a soft orange illumination sits pretty. The MID display is basic and indicates trip distance info and average fuel consumption.  The good part is the amber  illumination stays even during the day light and is easy on eyes and to read. There is an Eco lamp function, when it is glowing green, it indicates  you are driving economically. A green thought indeed!

Curiously, the music system controls are positioned slightly away from the driver but then the audio console is part of all the variants except for the basic variant.  And one sore note,  the audio console does not have a CD support.  So you got to do with the USB sticks and other aux-in.  Understood, a 4 GB USB costs very little now and can transport music in a pocket but then we still have a large population that are comfortable on CDs even now.

A long view from the rear…

The front door with side pockets. Note the blue color? well, its the lining pocket and strangely Honda decides to leave it bare showing the metal color of the car and not lining it with fabric.  Yes, it adds a color but then I feel a fabric lining would have been a better idea.

The front sports a very comfortable riding stance with good legroom and headroom. The rear is decent enough not exceptionally roomy but average size to fit in easily the average Indian sizes.

The 175 liter boot space is well,  small.  The rear seats can be folded but no split folding.  Don’t fret over the large glass hatch that might make your baggage visible in case you are paranoid about it, you might want the glass tinted dark or better grab a parcel tray. Personally, I found the glass hatch pretty and would not complain about it.

The heart, ride and performance of Brio:

The Brio is powered by the same 1.2 Liter  SOHC i-VTEC petrol engine that is tucked inside the bigger sibling, Jazz. Though it is tuned marginally lower.  The 4 cylinder engine delivers  88 BHP @ 6000 rpm and 109 Nm @ 4600 rpm.

Inspite of sharing the same engine as Jazz, being a lighter sibling Brio’s power to weight ratio is superior providing a peppier drive.  City driving is a delight on Brio and feels very agile and willing. Handling is surefooted and reassuring in city traffic. It corners amazingly well thanks to a very responsive electric power steering.  Drive it into highway, the car is more delight to ride, thanks to the characteristic refined engine of Honda staple.

ARAI certifies a 18.4 Km/litre fuel efficiency. Even if it is couple of notches below on realistic note, it is still a good score.  Since it is Honda, it is only petrol engine as of now but Honda is believed to be working on a diesel engine but then it might take couple of years more for them to actually bring it to production level.

There are in total 4 variants of Brio and the top two variants come with front driver i-SRS and passenger SRS Airbags and also sports ABS with EBD.  All the variants sports electric power steering and air conditioner with heater and also front power windows and central locking. The rear power windows is in all models except the starter one. Except the basic variant, all the variants also has keyless entry.

Brio comes in 6 colors – Energetic blue, Rallye Red, Urban Titanium, Alabaster Silver, Taffeta white and Crystal Black pearl.

Pricing:

Now, this is where Honda has got it all right, learning their bitter lesson from their Jazz experience.  The base variant starts @ Rs.  3,95,000 and the top variants has a sticker price of Rs. 5,10,000.

(Prices Ex-showroom, New Delhi)

It is quiet a competitive and aggressive pricing considering the styling, performance , quality and goodies that come along with the car.

GingerChai verdict:

A compact car that carries the Honda’s engineering and quality mantra.  At a very aggressive sticker price, it is definitely a value for money and a owner’s pride. Brio definitely loves you back. Fall in love, well I have. Brio has in it to be the car of the year in its segment.

Old wine in a new label – this is the apt description for Mahindra Verito which is nothing but the erstwhile Logan in new branding.  Barring minor cosmetic changes, Logan is here as it is but with Mahindra badge.

Even after its divorce with Renault, Mahindra managed to sustain a decent sales figure to its entry level sedan, Logan.  Now with Renault charting its own path, Mahindra inevitably has to rebrand the Logan and so we have the new label Verito. The name is derived from the Latin word ‘Veritas’, meaning truth.

• As you see, the Verito comes with the prominent Mahindra badge replacing the Renault badge
• Verito sports a new fog lamp now.

• Verito sports a rail rack for a trendier look.
• It also sports side cladding now.

• A prominent rear chrome strip gives a style quotient to the car unlike the bland read of the logan.

With small but visible cosmetic changes, Veritos now looks sportier and more stylized when compared to the dull looking old Logan. Along with the new welcome change, it also retains the rugged feel that it infuses.

There is not much change in the interiors except for the new plush fabric upholstery. It retains the same roomy feel of Logan and as it is the most spacious car in its segment. The dashboard is the same from Logan and the instrument cluster with LCD display includes a tachometer, digital clock, mileage both total and partial and temp guages and intelligent panel that informs you the trip meter, average fuel consumption, distance to empty (ofcourse , don’t expect the intelligent reports  in the base model)

Verito comes in both Petrol and Diesel engine.  The 4 cylinder, 8 valve 1390 cc petrol engine revs a 75 PS max power  while the 1461 cc diesel engine revs up a 65 PS max power. Though the numbers are not impressive when compared to its peers, the Verito scores over its competitors when it comes to one factor that is all important for average car and bike users – the mileage. The petrol version boasts a 16 kmpl and the diesel version boasts an impressive 21 kmpl. Remarkable numbers considering the concern in most minds with the fuel prices shooting up and up.

Verito comes in 7 colors.

Mahindra has sensibly prices the Verito. With the starting price tag of Rs. 4,82,100 for petrol variant and Rs. 5,61,800 for diesel variant (ex-showroom price, Chennai)  it is a car over all decently packaged.

GingerChai verdict: With a refreshing facelift though not very drastic but still making it more sporty and stylized than the erstwhile Logan and with the same old Renault engine giving a great mileage and with a sensible pricing Verito is a value for money in its segment.

When the going gets tough, the tough gets thinking. Well, the going is definitely a rat-race in the Rs. 3.5 – 4.5 Lakhs car segment with Beats, Figos, i10s, Sparks, A-stars among others vying for the road space.  Bring more range of cars and grab a big slice of the pie is what Maruti’s mantra appears to be.  Already, Alto is the largest selling car in India and Maruti has spruced up its flagship model to bring out a new variant to carve a new segment in the entry level hatchback. They have given a new wardrobe and a heart to the 10 year old Alto and christened it Alto K10. Let’s get into the body and soul of the new baby in the road.

No one can question the brand value of Alto, it has numbers on its side.  So Maruti decides to smartly ride on the brand success instead of bringing out a new car with a new name. The design team has added some 125 mm to the front of the car to nest the 1000 cc K-series engine. The front sports an eagle eye shaped head lamp with an amber colored turn indicators.  The body colored bumper with a large air dam that also holds a fog lamp in the top end model.  K10 also is treated with an all new grill that adds to the cosmetic change in the front.

The rear now sports a new tail lamp that blends well with the body. Overall, the cosmetic changes is bit refreshing and gives k10 a bigger stylized image than the previous version.

Get into the K10, the seemingly bigger Alto could not hide the small car that actually is. What came into notice immediately is the plastic quality of the dashboard which could have been better, considering the rival carmakers are raising the standard in their offerings. Same is with the instrument cluster which is not very inspiring in design terms. The head room is the same as the previous alto and the rear leg room is still tight inspite of few extra mm released.

The main selling point of the K10 of course is the 998 cc K-series engine which gives a max power of 68 PS @ 6200 rpm.  Up the ignition, the three cylinder engine comes alive a bit more refined and lively than the 800cc older sibling. Step up the pedal and K-series engine shows why Maruti thinks it is a smart move to bring this Alto variant.  The car is peppy and quicker and hits the century mark in 13.3 seconds, much quicker than the Alto you have driven so far. The drive in bad roads is quiet bouncy , as we hit further into open roads, the car feels well balanced with a decent ride quality in high speeds. One commendable thing is the Air-conditioning, which I would rate is one of the best in the class. The heavy accelerators and the break pedals are the sore points along with slight engine vibrations.  Overall the driveability and the decent handling makes it a good city car.

The car comes in two variants:  LXi and VXi.  Both the versions comes with power steering and body colored bumpers while the VXi boasts of power windows, fog lamps, tachometer and manual central locking.

K10 comes in 6 colors: Superior white, Midnight black, Fire brick red, Sunlight copper, Ecru beige, Silky silver.

ARAI has  certified a 20.2kmpl fuel economy which is quiet impressive.

The ex-show room price of the LXi and VXi models in Bangalore are Rs. 3, 11207 and Rs. 3,24323 respectively.

GingerChai verdict: The cosmetic changes have added minor refreshing changes and few mms to the K10 but inside it is still the same old small car, which is cramped slightly. Considering that with few thousands more we have a better competition from various car makers, the established brand image of Alto, Maruti’s goodwill and service factors should be the only reason to steer the K10 into Indian roads.

Small is beautiful and Chevy’s beat brings a new meaning to the definition. Here comes a car that is visually appealing, boldly cute and packs lots of punches in terms of design, technology and performance.

Exteriors:

The front look of the car is quiet a stunner. The trademark Chevy dual front grille,  front headlamps cluster with twin barrel design headlamp, bold front chrome rimmed fog lamps, high bonnet gives a jazzy, skip-your- heat beat, hot look. The mirror wraps around the whole car to give a sturdy look.

Come to the sides, the raised waist line, slight but definite curves and the rear door handle sitting pretty in the place where usually the quarter glasses used to be gives a very sporty and fresh look. Have a look at the rear, a retro-looking twin circular rear lamp clusters with smooth flowing lines that reaches the bumper gives a complete compact look to compliment the good looks of the front.

In nutshell, the car bowls you out in any angle.

Interiors:

The open & shut of the car feels good, the door handle is comfortable and catchy and welcomes you into with a feel of a big car. As you seat in, you find the seating comfy and just laps you into it by good cushioning.

The instrument cluster in the dashboard is a delight to watch with LED backlit analogue speedometer, LCD digital tachometer and ice blue illuminated controls. 

The sporty console gives the beat an edge over other cars of its category and provides a zingy feeling. Overall, the dashboard is very functional, space wisely used and yet sporty and peppy. 

The legroom, headroom are fairly good for the car of this category. May be your  kid may not be amused with the missing quarter glass in the rear seat that has been taken by the stylish rear door handle but then this very change is also a highlight style of the car. Nevertheless, the rear portion is good enough. Legroom is fairly good. The boot space is little small but then don’t forget we are talking about small car here. The 40:60 rolling seat takes care of extra storage part when in dire need.

Drive quality:

Ignite the 1.2-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine and you are greeted with silence and smoothness. Hit the accelerator it effortlessly surges ahead. Even with the A/c on you don’t find the drop in power, that makes it a ideal candidate for city driving. The staff claimed it gives 14 Kmpl, well in practical driving, it may be a little short of it. The suspension of the car is quiet remarkable and it is easy on our city potholes and uneven bumps. Riding a small car, you tend to have a big car feel.

GingerChai Verdict: A heady combination of beauty and performance – a city stunner. Chevy’s Beat looks gorgeous, performs wonderfully and at a base price of 3.34 Lakhs it can give any competitor a run for money. Add to it the Chevy’s 3 year warranty package you have a new winning horse in the market.