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To help Honda Insight owners realize the full benefits of Honda hybrid technology, the Insight will feature a new interactive, driver-focused fuel economy enhancement technology named the Ecological Drive Assist System (Eco Assist™). Eco Assist combines multiple functions: a driver-activated ECON mode that optimizes control of the continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT), engine and related powertrain components to further improve vehicle fuel efficiency;a driver feedback function that uses an innovative speedometer display with changing background colors to provide real-time guidance to the driver on achieving higher fuel efficiency; anda unique fuel-economy scoring function using a plant-leaf graphic to provide feedback to the driver on current-trip driving efficiency and lifetime fuel-efficient driving performance.

All Insights are powered by an advanced 1.3-liter SOHC aluminum-alloy i-VTEC engine and CVT, along with a new generation of Honda's IMA hybrid system for exceptional fuel economy and fun-to-drive performance.

The Honda Insight's IMA system incorporates a 10-kilowatt (13 hp) electric motor and a compact Intelligent Power Unit (IPU) - recapturing and storing kinetic energy from vehicle braking and deceleration and supplying additional power for acceleration when needed. Packaging of the ultra-compact IMA battery and IPU in the vehicle's rear floor allows the enhanced utility of a 60/40 split and fold-down rear seat back.

The Insight's IMA system has the capability to operate exclusively on electric power in certain low- to mid-speed driving conditions. It also provides for cylinder deactivation within the gasoline engine during deceleration and for engine shutoff when the vehicle is stopped. With a 10.6-gallon fuel tank, the Honda Insight delivers an estimated maximum driving range in excess of 400 miles.

Standard safety features on all Insights include dual-stage, dual-threshold front airbags; front-side airbags with a passenger-side Occupant Position Detection System (OPDS); side curtain airbag system; anti-lock brakes with electronic brake distribution (EBD); driver- and front-passenger active head restraints and a front body designed to mitigate pedestrian injuries. All new Insights also feature Honda's Advanced Compatibility Engineering™ (ACE™) body structure, which provides improved crash compatibility between vehicles of different size and ride height, enhancing protection for Honda Insight occupants while reducing the potential for injury to occupants of the opposing vehicle in a frontal collision.

 Additional standard features on all new Insights include 60/40 split and fold-down rear seatbacks; two-tier digital instrument panels; automatic climate control; power windows, mirrors and door locks; a tilting and telescoping steering wheel and a 160-watt AM/FM/CD audio system with MP3 audio playback, an auxiliary audio input jack and Speed-Sensitive Volume Control (SVC).

Honda Insight EX models add alloy wheels, cruise control, 6-speaker audio system with USB audio interface,

The Car will give i10 and i20 run for their money. From the Front the looks are European and it does look like pretty young girl on delhi Streets :D. The Curves are good and the Height of the car is also worth appreciating. The only thing that looks little awkward is the rear. They say its arrow design, however it looked like that some truck had bumped it hard. It does not looked very bad, but does not have a appeal either

 

Not very Impressed with the grey interiors as opposed to the classy looks of i10.The plastic used is in no way of High standards. Also, the Dash has a tachometer which came as a surprise to me as while driving you have to look into two different panels which could be distracting. Overall the height of the car is worth mentioning. youe can actually see the road very clearly. After the test drive my Hcity looked very low on riding height.
The Boot is spacious as compared to other hatchbacks and you can actually fold you rear seats to accomodate more stuff

 

The Front seats are quite comfortable and adjustable. The Legroom is ample as compared to Swift. A 5’9" footer can easily sit in front as well in rear. The only drawback is the Rear seats. First of all the seats are very much straight and on that they are not comfortable. So if you want a car for your family and usually go for long drives then look somewhere else as your family is surely going to complain.

I am a petrol car enthusiast. So how this diesel car faired. Well from outside the car does not produce much sound as compared to other diesel cars. However, during the initial gears 1st and 2nd the car does produce sound and its heard in the cabin clearly. However, I was amazed with the pickup, it so good and just fires up on 3rd and a slight press of Paddle. The Gear shifts were smooth with force feedback. The Gear is placed at such a excellenct position ust like i10 sportz and it feels so good to drive. The steering is little heavy on turns.

 

I liked a car and will surly recommend the diesel varient for people with heavy rate of Driving. I think all of the Muruti cars suffer from cabin space but this one does not but lacks the comfort of Driving

 

Maruti Suzuki's Swift revolutionized the small-car market. Looks that were called radical and concept-car like make it stand out in a crowd. Suzuki's position as the world leader in manufacturing compact cars is well known.

With this popularity, the company put together great brains from India's 21 engineers and designers to create a unique model. With cutting edge technological features, 'Swift' was created with Japanese technology and European styling.

With the recent launch of the feature rich Fiat Grande Punto & Hyundai i20, Maruti Suzuki India has launched a limited edition variant of the Swift called the Swift Glam. The Maruti Suzuki Swift Glam limited edition is only available in the petrol.

 

The concept car like styling of the Swift makes it standout spectacularly in traffic, while its compact dimensions allow it to squeeze into crowded parking lots.

The interiors are well-appointed, simple to use, classy but are little cramped at the rear. The seats offer good support but legroom and shoulder room is at a premium. The rear passengers will find it rather uncomfortable owing to limited travel of feet under the front seats and lack of headroom.

As for the comfort, the Swift is fitted with front and rear electric windows. Central door locking facility is available only for the VXi and ZXi variants. All the three trims come equipped with 3-spoke steering wheel

The high-end Swift comes fully loaded with added safety features and accessories including automatic climate control, driver seat height adjuster, 12V accessory socket in the luggage area, electromagnetic type tailgate opener, rear window wiper and de-mister, dual front airbags, Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), keyless entry and seatbelt pre-tensioners

 

The Swift suffers in the ride quality department – the Chevy U-VA and Hyundai Getz offer better comfort levels. The damping is quite acceptable on regular roads but slightly severe treatment makes the suspension start acting up, jostling the passengers around. Handling is the sportiest among hatchbacks but the experience would have been a lot better had the tyres been better and wider

 

Source:-autos.maxabout.com

Today, India's largest passenger car manufacturer has launched the new variant of its popular sedan model Maruti SX4. The newer version if Maruti SX4 is packed with the newer generation BS IV compliant petrol engine. Maruti has also launched two variants of Maruti SX4 which is packed with the automatic transmission gearboxes. The newly launched variants of Maruti SX4 are much more stylish than its earlier variants and it features with honey-comb front grille that makes its front appearance more aggressive. Some other newly added features that makes Maruti SX4 more luxurious and stylish are its dual tone beige dash board, 10-spoke stylish light weight alloy wheels, and wooden finish panels. The exteriors of this car is almost same as its older version but the interiors of Maruti SX4 revamped with exciting new features. All variants of Maruti SX4 are priced in the range of Rs 6.68 lacs to Rs 8.35 lacs (as exshowroom prices in New Delhi).

 

Available in 16V DOHC engine type Maruti SX4 is extremly powerful in delivering a displacement of 1586cc. With a power out-put of 102hp and with a torque of 145Nm Maruti SX4 is belived to be man among the list of cars. Presently the New Maruti SX4 is avaialble in five speed manual transmission. The EPS type of steering the chassis of Maruti SX4 is believed to be very powerful. Style and comfort are the two important pre-requisites of Maruti SX4. Beside this muscular body and very appealing dynamic exteriors are making Maruti SX4 a popular car among men. Moreover European design trends gives Maruti SX4 a sporty look. All helping to make this car a real debut in the Indian market.

With a 16V DOHC type engine the Maruti SX4 possess four cylinders with 16 valves with a piston displacement of 1586cc. The car is capable of delivering a maximum power output of 102 bhp at the rate of 5500rpm. Moreover the car can deliver a maximum torque of 145Nm at the rate of 4200rpm. Maruti SX4 offers a five speed manual transmission. Considering the chassis of the car we have a EPS type steering and brakes of ventilated disc in the front and drum type at the back. With a sitting capacity of five people along with a 50 litres fuel tank capacity this car is highly capacitive.

Considering the features of Maruti SX4 we have some comfort providing features like manual AC, single zone auto AC, heater, front door and front back seat pockets, center room lamp etc. Interiors of the car are provided with day/night rear view mirror, passenger vanity mirror, driver's ticket holder, accent rear and front door trims. With the instrumental panel of the car are added features like techometer, speedometer with illumination control, switch illumination color, information display (temp, clock), head light levelling, integrated stereo and a stereo remote.

Exterior fo the car include tubeless tyres, alloy wheels, full wheel cover, body colored bumpers, body colored side moulding, body colored outside door handle, high mount stop lamp, front fog lamps and rear fog lamps. Considering the safety the car is added with airbags for the driver and passanger, 3 point rear seats belt and two lamp belts, rear door of the car is child lock, front seat belts are height adjustable, side impact protection beam and iCATS all being available in the standard quality and variation.

Now Maruti SX4 is available in five variants that are Vxi and Zxi, Zxi Leather, ZXI AT, ZXI AT Leather. All variants of Maruti SX4 are available in seven different color varieties.

Power come performance, Sporty looks, dynamic design and style

 

Source:-cardekho.com

There is no dictionary definition for "Hilux". But if there was, it's a safe bet it would read something like "Tough pick-up truck with durable off-road capability that can carry anything from livestock to hay bales, fence posts, concrete blocks and building materials. Goes for ever over hundreds of thousands of kilometres with bullet-proof, iron-clad reliability."

Now, the Hilux has been around for over four decades, and has set benchmarks with each new generation. So we could mount a credible argument for a dictionary entry, after all, words like Jeep, Hoover and Fridge can be found. These names are established in our language and originate from brands and products which carved out a solid reputation for performing a particular job exceedingly well.

The Toyota Hilux is now offered in numerous formats, with 2 wheel drive, four wheel drive, Single Cab, Double Cab, Extra Cab, petrol, diesel, manual and automatic. There's a Hilux for every application.

For 2009, Toyota's robust pick-up has had something of a facelift, with the mild makeover extending to subtle grill and bumper enhancements, extra chrome finishes outside, a few subtle mods on the inside and some engine enhancements.

Three engines are offered for the new Hilux, a 118kW 2.7 litre petrol producing 241Nm of torque, a 126kW 3.0 litre turbo diesel producing 343Nm of torque and a 175kW 4.0 litre petrol powered V6 producing 376Nm of torque.

The ride is predictably bumpy when the tray is unladen, but improves enormously when the Hilux is used for its main purpose of carting a heavy load. Load up the tray and the bouncy ride disappears and the vehicle becomes far more tractable.

Of the models we tested, the 3.0 turbo diesel SR5 double cab 4x4 versions provided the best combination of on road stability and handling, coupled with high ground clearance giving excellent off-road capability.

Available with a 4 speed automatic or 5 speed manual transmission, the 3.0 litre turbo diesel engine provides plenty of power no matter how heavy the load. In fact, the heavier the load, the more the Hilux seems to like it. Fuel consumption for the 3.0 diesel is quoted at 8.3L/100km for the manual and 9.3L/100km for the automatic.

The 4.0 litre V6 petrol engine is only available in the SR5 Double Cab and only with the automatic transmission, but in this case, it's a 5 speed unit. Fuel consumption for the V6 is quoted as 13L/100km.

Inside the SR5 cab, you'll find a car-like interior, with plenty of space and logical, well laid out instrumentation and good ergonomics. Interior trim is of a high standard and switch gear is of the quality we've come to expect from Toyota.

SOURCE:AA.CO.NZ

Hold on to your cardigans! The next-generation Honda Legend has been snapped at the Busan Auto Show in South Korea, revealing a shape that is both pleasant and inoffensive - much like the middle-class retirees that are most likely to buy one.

I kid, I kid, old people are cool and this facelifted Legend adds a sense of dynamicism that was lacking in its sleek-but-uninspiring predecessor. The engine is expected to be the same 3.5-litre V6 as the new Accord, which will bring with it the same fuel-saving Variable Cylinder Management system to curb the car’s thirst during cruising. Drivetrain layout is still a bit of a mystery, but don’t be surprised if the same SH-AWD system that underpins the outgoing model makes a comeback with this one. Being Honda’s premium sedan, you can also expect generous lashings of luxury and some high-tech gizmos too.

As for us? We’ll wait for the Mugen version, thanks

Source:-themotorreport.com.au