Wednesday, May 14, 2014

TATA NANO TWIST with Power Steering




Uniquely cute & cool styling. A car that will make you smile
• New Electric Power Steering makes driving and parking a breeze
• Innovative packaging results in spacious interiors for 4 adults. Generous legroom & headroom
• Peppy performance at speeds <80 kph. Engine offers good urban driveability too
• Powerful air-conditioner will chill you to the bone
• Small footprint & tiny turning radius make the Nano a great urban runabout

Tata Nano is the world’s cheapest car but for Tata it has not been faring very well. To boost the sales of the little hatchback Tata has launched the facelifted version of the same. It is not a major revamp but brings a few interesting changes that surely boosts its appeal and makes it a good value for money car than before.

The new Nano looks similar to the outgoing iteration but brings a few new additions to the exteriors. It brings chrome strips on the front and rear of the car on the top end variant. In India people love cars with bits of chrome as it adds to the appeal and this works well on the new Nano. It also brings new fog lamps which not only look good on the car but also enhances the looks of its exteriors. The rear gets air intakes below the rear chrome strips for better engine cooling which improves the reliability and durability of the engine.
Nano in its latest avatar looks similar to the outgoing version from the side. It remains compact and the overall dimensions remain the same. Nano was always known for its cabin area and the new car takes its legacy forward. Tata motors have cleverly engineered the cabin space inside the Nano. It will easily seat four people inside and comfortably so thanks to the amount of leg room and head room available. Tata has done well to improve the quality of the interiors in the new version and it does feel noticeably better. The CX and LX variants bring ample storage areas in the form of twin glove boxes on the dashboard.

The AC remains a chiller and easily cools the car during hot summer climate. The interiors bring a small 12V power socket and cubby holes. The interiors are also quite airy and the visibility is just fantastic. The steering is easy to hold and turn although there is no option to adjust the steering. The top variant also gets front power windows. 
Tata Nano has very good performance from its 624cc petrol engine and it produces 38PS of power and 51 NM of torque. It has a light clutch and driving through the traffic is easy owing to the ample low end torque from the engine. It weighs only 650 kgs resulting in excellent power to weight ratio which gives it excellent acceleration. It picks up speed easily and will manage to stick to highway speeds if necessary. It brings a 4 speed manual gearbox and an ARAI rated fuel efficiency of 25.4 kmpl.

Nano is easy to drive and has a very small turning radius of just 4 meters. It manages to go over potholes and speed breakers easily owing to its high ground clearance. The steering does take some effort to turn at low speeds but as the speeds go up it is easy to use. The rear view mirrors do their job very nicely as they provide ample view of the road behind the car.
The new Nano brings ample features in the latest version and despite the minor upgrades it is still good value for money. It is cheap to run and offers excellent fuel efficiency which makes it easy to own keeping the maintenance costs very low. Tata has revised the price on the new Nano but the increase in price is just marginal compared to the older version.

Other Tata Nano Versions

Tata Nano STD 
624cc Petrol , 25 kmpl
Rs. 1,41,200 | Check on road price
Tata Nano CX 
624cc Petrol , 25 kmpl
Rs. 1,94,409 | Check on road price
Tata Nano LX 
624cc Petrol , 25 kmpl
Rs. 2,18,909 | Check on road price
Tata Nano CNG emax CX 
624cc CNG , 0 km/kg
Rs. 2,33,275 | Check on road price
Tata Nano CNG emax LX 
624cc CNG , 0 km/kg
Rs. 2,58,106 | Check on road price

Fiat New Face Lift LINEA 2014

  The Fiat Linea has always been a fun to drive car and the current model gets upmarket interiors and a healthy equipment list that makes it quite a good value for money offering. The interiors get a dual tone theme with a Fiat 500 like contrast mid section that houses circular chrome ringed air vents, the piano black housing for the middle air vents also look nice while the shiny black stereo compliments the air vent housing above. The Emotion variant also gets leather upholstery to give the car a premium appeal.
The Fiat Linea comes loaded with a stereo, power windows all around, tilt adjustable power steering, electrically adjustable ORVMs, automatic headlamps with programmable follow-me-home function, rain sensing wipers, central locking, mileage computer, rear defogger, disc brakes all around and anti-lock brakes as standard. Top end models also get, rear a/c vents, a rear arm rest with cupholders, front airbags, a rear sun blind, cruise control, alloy wheels, rear parking sensors, climate control, Bluetooth compatible stereo with steering mounted controls and a height adjustable driver’s seat.
Under the hood, the new Fiat Linea will continue to be powered by a turbocharged 1.4 litre petrol engine developing 116PS of power @ 6,000 rpm and 207Nm of torque @ 4,500 rpm, a naturally aspirated version of the 1.4 litre petrol engine developing 90PS of power @ 6,000 rpm and 115Nm of torque at 4,500 rpm while the 1.3 litre turbo diesel engine develops 93PS of power @ 4,000 rpm and 209Nm of torque @ 2,000 rpm.
Overall Length4596mm
Overall Width1730mm
Overall Height1487mm
Wheel Base2603mm
Ground Clearance185mm
Boot Space500Liters
Kerb Weight1220Kg

Ashok Leyland New Partner Join With Nissan


India’s second largest truck maker, Ashok Leyland today launched two new products, the Partner truck and Mitr bus, expanding its LCV range and plugging the gap in the 3.5-7 tonne LCV segment that sits above the Dost LCV. The Partner is priced at Rs 8.89 lakh and the Mitr is costs Rs 12.49 lakh, all prices ex-showroom Chennai. These new products will be showcased at the 2014 Indian Auto Expo next month. ALL has a fresh line-up for this year’s Expo. It includes the Boss and Captain truck range that was recently unveiled and also a luxury variant of the Stile.

Commenting on the new products ALL will be displaying at the Auto Expo, Dr V Sumantran, Vice Chairman ALL said, “I think with this Expo we will complete our trilogy. We had the Dost, the Stile and now we will show the Partner and its twin product, the Mitr Bus. Three platforms that will fill up our LCV range.”  

After the Dost and the Stile, the Partner and Mitr are the latest additions to the Ashok Leyland range from the ALL-Nissan joint venture in India. With these new products, ALL is also bringing the ZD30 diesel engine used in LCVs by Nissan. The engine produces 120PS of power and 320Nm of torque. ALL says that over 97 percent of the vehicle is built by sourcing components locally and that includes the engine parts. 

The Partner is based on Nissan Atlas LCV. The Atlas platform is manufactured by three manufacturers – Nissan, UD Nissan Diesel (owned by Volvo) and the Renault-Nissan Alliance. The Partner LCV at launch comes in a 6-tyre version with a choice of two wheelbases – 2850mm and 3350mm. A 4-tyre 2760mm wheelbase variant will follow soon. The larger Partner has a rated payload of 4 tonne and a GVW of 6.6 tonne. Power steering is standard and air-conditioning is optional.

The Mitr bus has been launched in 27 seater configuration in the six-tyre version. A 16 seater four-tyre Mitr will follow soon which will also get air conditioning. The Mitr will be available as a school bus and staff bus. Both products will go on sale as BS3 and BS4 versions.