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Finest Selection of Small, Luxury, Classic, Sports Cars and SUVs

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FORTUNERFORTUNER

NEW FORTUNER

24 | autox.in | march 2012

TEXT JARED SOLOMON

march 2012 | autox.in | 25

TEXT JARED SOLOMON


march2012 | autox.in | 29

Hailing from the lands of

Slovenia, Akrapovi is

the leading manufacturer

of premium exhaust

systems for motorcycles

and performance cars.

It is also a leader in carbon parts and the

innovative use of titanium. The company

was founded by former motorcycle

racer, Igor Akrapovi , some twenty years

ago and it has grown to international

prominence by the successful support

of leading racing teams. Then we have

Dreamachine, another Slovenian company

that customizes motorcycles and which

was started by Tomaž Capuder. These two

companies have come together to produce

a one-off showcase designed to capture

your imagination. Wallah – lay your eyes on

the stunning Morsus.

Akrapovi decided to build this

machine with Dreamachine Motorcycles,

in Slovenia, to demonstrate that whilst

Akrapovi is known for racing prowess,

they also have such a breadth and

depth of in-house talent that entering the

competitive world of custom bikes is a

natural extension to what they do. A big

plus for the project is that Akrapovi also

managed to use materials that they excel

at producing – titanium, stainless steel

and, of course, carbon fiber.

What stands out the most on this

bike are the massive 26inch wheels,

and the scorpion look. The bike is truly

a piece of art and what’s better is that

it is a working machine that can be

ridden. The engine is an S&S 1852cc

unit that can lash out around 144bhp

– which by all means is enough to

give you quite a fix of adrenaline. The

transmission is an Ecoline with 6 gears

and the clutch is hydraulic. Most of the

components such as the exhaust and

the air filter are from Akrapovi , but

the frame, suspension and wheels are

done by Dreamachine.

And although the Morsus isn’t for sale

it still is one of the ‘sickest’ concepts to

approach our quest for finding truly radical

machines, which gives them a lot of

attention for their other lines of work.

march2012 | autox.in | 31

TEXT ISHAN RAGHAVA IMAGES KAPIL VASHIST

FerrariEsperienza


What can truly be

called a perfect

riding road – a

road where the

rider reaches

nirvana, a road

that can soothe the soul or pump your

adrenaline, a road that is worthy of being

called an Ultimate Riding Wonder? There

are very many factors that can come into

question, but most importantly the world’s

best riding roads need lots of curves, good

visibility, beautiful natural landscapes and

an added bonus could be the absence

of the police and traffic. They may also

need smooth tarmac depending on

which bike you choose to ride, and for the

same reason they might also need to be

challenging. However, at last year’s Shell

Advance Malaysian MotoGP race, the

Coorg to Munnar route was crowned the

world’s ultimate riding wonder by Ducati

MotoGP rider Nicky Hayden. A part of the

Shell Advance ‘7 Riding Wonders of the

World’ campaign, people from 8 different

countries voted and along with a panel of

experts the winning route was decided.

Apparently, the experts and the voting

TEXT & IMAGES JARED SOLOMON

ULTIMATE RIDING

WONDER


down side if you decide to take on a pillion

rider on this bike they might be a little

uncomfortable because the rear seat is

very small.

So if you were to ride the Multistrada on

the Coorg-Munnar route would it be the

best road to enjoy the ride? The answer

is yes and no. While, the Multistrada is

fun to ride on this road we don’t see why

roads such as the Zurich and German

Black forest highways, or the back roads

in Northern California would be any less

thrilling than this one. Yes the Coorg

and Munnar area is quite beautiful, but

the smoothly laid out twisty and pristine

road conditions of the Alps or the San

Bernardino Valley would be way more fun,

basically because you would be able to

experience more speed, less traffic, better

visibility and it would be safer. And this

I know because I have ridden all over

California, and have also driven in the

Alps many times and wished for years

that I would one day have the opportunity

to do it on a bike.

The Multistrada is a sports-tourer and it

would be best to ride it in those conditions.

It can corner at high speeds, you can

get into the curves and most of all it’s got

enough power for you to feel the powerful

acceleration without worrying about the

road and what lies ahead. However, the

Coorg-Munnar route could be the best

road if you are looking for a challenge,

and the Multistrada would gladly accept

any challenge from any road. You will

feel composed and comfortable at high

speeds, and also along rough roads with

narrow hilly passes your body isn’t put

through overload because the bike is very

easy to control, even through tight traffic.

If the Multistrada had a mid-sized engine

with smaller wheels and better grip we

could very well say that the Coorg-Munnar

road is one of the world’s best roads to

ride on that sort of bike.

Luckily we also had an urban sports

bike, and sports bikes work best under

the ideal conditions. For example you will

need near perfectly smooth roads, and

plenty of high-speed curves, and most

importantly good vision further down the

road. And these kind of roads you can

find in very few places across India. So

the Monster 796 was the next bike I rode

along the route and boy was it ever fun

to ride. The stance of the bike is pretty

aggressive and the seating position puts

you in a zone were you feel the need for

speed. You lean to the front and rest your

weight on the low handlebars, while the

low seating arrangement allows you to

lean and control the bike effortlessly. It

would be a very good bike to ride around

on city streets, and that is probably why

the 795 was specially designed for Asia,

and I would definitely consider getting

a 795 for myself to cruise around Delhi

streets because it would be the most

practical bike to have. The mid-range

L-Twin Desmodromic air-cooled engine

has a capacity of 803cc, and although

the engine is not the most refined engine,

its power output of 87bhp is more than

enough to have some really good fun on

the Coorg-Munnar road.

However, like I said the road is not the

smoothest so you need to be careful on


the bumps. It was pretty scary in some

areas especially if you’re going fast around

a turn and you don’t see the bumps in the

road, your bike might just loose grip and

you could end up in a serious accident.

But still the road is pretty smooth in most

places and the Monster 796 was really

fun. Even though it is not the ideal bike

for such a long trip, it is still really fun

and fulfilling, so it is safe to say that the

Coorg-Munnar route is a pretty good

road for the Monster, but is it the best?

The Monster was definitely a great bike

to ride on this road, but I am more than

sure that if we were on a track such as

the Sepang International Circuit, which

by the way was also shortlisted to be the

Shell Advance Ultimate Riding Wonder,

we would have heaps more fun. Even on a

smooth road through the English country

side, the Monster would be a far better

performing machine and you would be

able to get the best ride possible from it.

It is very light at just 167 kilograms and

the lightweight frame and the adjustable

Sachs monoshock suspension makes it a

fantastic street performer. It’s got a great

pickup and plenty of torque to give you

that adrenaline rush and offer you great

ride quality, the only problem was yet

again, that its small size can be a bit of a

hindrance for tall riders like myself, oh and

also there is practically no rear seat, so if

you are thinking of bringing along a pillion

rider, you should forget about it.

So what have we concluded

here? The Multistrada is a superb

performer and very comfortable,

and the Coorg-Munnar route would

certainly be fun, but surely not the best

for this machine. In the case of the

Monster, the Shell Advance winning

route is definitely a fantastic road to

experience rider nirvana, but again it’s

not the best. An Enfield or a Pulsar

would allow you to experience

almost the

same level

of riding

excitement

on this road,

and, in

fact, may just be more ideal. There is

no doubt about it, the Coorg-Munnar

route is definitely a great route and

deserves to be called an ultimate riding

wonder, but after my experience with

it, I simply don’t think it is the best.

In fact, if you take into consideration

the vast options of other roads and

international circuits across the globe,

it would be silly, to name any of them

as the ‘best’ Ultimate Riding Wonder,

because each road has its own charm

and identity and more importantly each

rider has his own style of riding and a

different perspective or expectation

from each ride. Essentially, it would be

impossible to find the best riding road in

the world because there are so many to

choose from that are wonderful and have

different riding opportunities. A big round

of clapping sounds for Shell Advance

India and Ducati for allowing us to ride on

this magnificent road on two magnificent

bikes to come to this conclusion – after

all, an ultimate riding wonder is what we

are always searching for.


Sure, everyone knows, as

the various broadsheets

have publicized, the

global economic

condition is still far from

being colourful. To say

that the whole of Europe is struggling

would be a gross understatement. And,

while America may see some light at the

end of the tunnel, they’re still keeping

both fingers and toes crossed to ensure

that they can maintain, and build on, the

current momentum. And, while India was

able to buck the trend during the global

economic slowdown, things have been

far from ideal more recently. Due to the

ill effects of inflation, high interest rates,

high petrol prices, and let’s not even talk

about governance issues, growth in India

is expected to drop below the 7% level –

with car sales following a similar trend.

And while small cars are still the mainstay

of the Indian car market, it’s this segment

that seems to have been the hardest hit as

first time buyers are thinking twice before

putting their money down. A recent auto

industry report indicated that small cars

have dropped below 50% of new car sales,

while SUV sales are growing by over 30%.

What this indicates is that, as the Indian

market matures, car buyers want more

from their vehicles – and that’s where the

mid-sized cars come in. The C segment

consists of the smaller mid-sized cars in

the 8-11 lakh range, while the D segment

consists of slightly larger mid-segment

sedans in the 12-18 lakh range.

So, we’ve assembled a collection of the

best of the C and D segments to see how

NISSAN SUNNY

HONDA CIVIC RENAULT

FLUENCE

SKODA RAPIDCHEVROLET

CRUZE


much fun you can have while being sensible

at the same time. Till a few years ago, if

you would have told me that your main

criteria for zeroing-in on a car is the outright

purchase price and its fuel efficiency, I

would have called you sane and moved on

to suggesting a Maruti or a Hyundai. Today,

the trends are changing and the buying

public isn’t shy of experimenting. That’s

why we’ve lined up a collection of cars from

a range of manufacturers with the aim of

finding the ones that please the most – and

to judge if the fun that they offer is justified

by their overall value.

So, ladies and gentleman, for the first

time in our 5-year-and-some-months

history, autoX is going blatantly sane

– well, sort of – and doing a shoot-out

based on practical parameters. The four

reviewers – Dhruv, Ishan, Jared and I –

put our thinking caps on and awarded

points for quality (10 points), comfort (10

points), refinement (10 points), design &

style (10 points), engine & transmission

(10 points), ride & handling (10 points),

value for money (20 points), and, because

a car has to have je ne sais quoi (a certain

something) to get into our hearts, we rate

the cars on X-Factor (20 points) too!

So, we had the ingredients ready – 10

cars (5 in the C segment, and 5 in the D

segment), some very empty, unrestricted

roads, testing equipment, measuring

tapes and humans of all body shapes –

from short (Prithvi), to fat (our circulation

guy), to tall (me), to bald (Ishan), and we

also threw in an orangutan (Jared) for

good measure – then we put our driving

shoes on.

HYUNDAI VERNA

VOLKSWAGEN JETTA

HONDA CITY

TOYOTA COROLLA ALTIS

FIAT LINEA

TEXT ASHISH JHA IMAGES KAPIL VASHIST


As a kid – actually, also

as a grown-up – you

would certainly have

experienced several

theme parties. So,

one day you go, do

a lot of hunting around, lighten your

wallet happily and fi nally hop into your

friend’s house to realize that you’re

the only pig around. Everyone else

is basically smartly dressed – men in

sharp tuxedos and ladies in sensuous

fl owing evening gowns. The central

theme was changed from ‘animal’ to

a ‘gentlemen & lady’ sort of an affair.

But, of course, you were busy checking

yourself out in the mirror while trying

on that deer dress, or worse still, the

pig outfi t that you fi nally bought.

You still don’t fl inch, and enter

with confi dence. You carry the funny

appearance with sublime ease, and

actually get a lot of pats on your

shoulder for being brave enough

to do so. You carry on, and take

that atrocious moment with you.

Courageous stuff – but that’s possible

only

if you’re French. No, I’m serious – it’s

happened to Renault in

the past. And Renault is a

French company.

This party of trick SUVs and full-

blown ‘trucks’ – even pseudo ones

that we now call soft-roaders – back

in the day was full of tall, strong-

chinned, square-faced vehicles. But,

of course, the French were left out of

the update and they joined in late with

the Koleos. The previous generation

model was a funny looking thing – had

a silly face basically. It was a lot like

being Donatella Versace – it had great

proportions, but the face was just a bit,

ehm, weird.

But Donatella is now a thing of past.

And the world has moved on the likes

of Keira Knightley and Eva Mendes. A

gorgeous face and scintillating curves,

both are a must. And that’s where the

Koleos comes in. Of course, Nissan

still thinks that being a women wrestler

is quite cool, that’s why the X-Trail. But

look at Chevy, they do the Captiva,

and I think it’s rather charming – got

a nice voluptuous stance to it. Honda

went wrong and ruined the CR-V with

that hideous front-end. And the two

bestsellers – Ford and Toyota – are still

fi ghting manly battles in the Victorian

era. The odd one out is the German.

The BMW X1 isn’t particularly stylish

or SUV-ish, neither is it desperately

capable. But it’s a classic case of

brand equity. You’d still want to

watch a fi lm just because it says that

Demi Moore or Julia Roberts stars

in it. Neither celebrity is probably

as attractive as their younger, more

‘enhanced,’ rivals. But they’ve created

a halo around their name – they’re

brands.

The Koleos is a nicely proportioned

car, and looks vastly better with its

recent aesthetic nip-and-tuck. The

front end gets a grille section that’s

pronounced, but not loud at the same

time. The rest of the shape essentially

remains unchanged from the previous

generation, and that’s a good thing.

I like the rear end a lot. And it’s a

practical vehicle too – split tailgate is a

nice thing to have, and there are lots of

cubby holes inside the cabin to store

your small stuff. But, one thing that

surprised me was the fact that there’s

more branding for Bose on the car

than anything else! I call it the Renault

Bose. I mean, why the need to sticker

it with Bose on the outside even when

it’s not a special edition for Bose?

Well, whatever – at the end of the day

the ‘Bose’ audio unit sounds simply

amazing.

I mean, at this point, I basically

get more interested in the way a car

drives, but grant me just one sentence

to dedicate to the audio system – it’s

a blockbuster. Sure, I’ve heard many

impressive entertainment units in high-

end cars, but the Koleos manages to

match, even beat, some of them at a

price that’s basically half of those high-

end cars. Speaking of price – I think

the Koleos is perched a bit high up. A

couple of lakhs less and it could have

been the perfect value proposition.

The Koleos is an X-Trail in a party

frock. The underpinnings are capable,

and doing a drive to your farmhouse is

an easy thing. The approach road to

the brilliant resort that Renault had put

us up in was nothing short of – well,

let’s just say that it wasn’t really a road.

Still, the Koleos managed it without

a hint of discomfort and the ride

quality – both on and off road – was

sensational. The engine is suffi ciently

powerful for such a vehicle, but you’re

not going to be doing impressive light-

to-light sprints. The gearbox, however,

is a letdown. It’s like the guard at my

society – extremely lazy.

The Renault Bose, sorry Koleos, is in

tough territory. Charm alone might not

work – but the fact is that the Koleos is

not just charm, but also functionality.

And this should work in its favour.

Meanwhile, Donatella means you

lads at Renault have a good sense of

humour, but thank you for also giving

which renders first gear completely

useless. The Rapid, contrary to its

name, has virtually no grunt in first

at all. Change up and things improve

thankfully – and, by the time you get

to third gear, you’re really flying down

the road thanks to the very refined

diesel under the hood. Once you

have the engine in its powerband,

it’s very responsive indeed. In true

Skoda fashion, it also has a gear-shift

indicator to tell you when to change

up just in case you get carried away

with the torque and power.

And the Rapid certainly goes

where you point it, but the ride-

and-handling compromise seems to

The Rapid comes to

you from a blue chip

brand in the Indian

auto space – Skoda.

The Skoda brand is

well established, and

enjoys a strong reputation in India.

The Laura and Superb are amazing

machines that we all completely

adore. The Fabia, too, we think has

the potential to become a hot-hatch.

In fact, with the 1.6 litre petrol engine,

the Fabia is actually quite a spritely

little car. The Superb has done very

well in the upper D-segment, and

the Laura is still dancing elegantly

against its rivals. There was a spot

to be filled, though – that of an entry

level sedan – which the Rapid fills

nicely now.

Of course, you realize very quickly

that this is really a Volkswagen Vento

with a Skoda grille. But, it’s a Vento

that’s more competitively priced, and

that’s precisely why it’s been eating

into the sales of the Vento ever since

it was launched late last year. It has

the same underpinnings of course,

which means that the diesel version,

which we have here, has the gutsy 1.6

litre turbocharged CRDi mill that puts

out 105 horsepower and 250Nm of

torque. Skoda seems to have played

with the gearing a little bit, however,

BADGEENGINEERING

57.75TOTAL POINTS


SKODA RAPID

us Eva Mendes.

have been altered a little too much

in favour of a compliant ride. What

you’re actually left with is a car

that’s a little skittish on the road,

with wheel control issues on a rough

surface. On the whole, though, the

Rapid is very composed – but you

do get the sense that the Vento is a

little more refined.

On the inside, you do get a lot

of comfort and space. Even with

a 6-feet tall driver, there’s enough

legroom for another tall person to

sit directly behind in comfort. And

the two-tone dashboard is great in

concept, but the brown is a little

dreary in reality. The quality of

plastics is good, and the features

on our test car included climate

control and rear AC vents. But,

you just can’t help wondering that,

for a little bit extra, you could get

better refinement from its sibling –

the Volkswagen Vento. And, at 9.2

lakhs (ex-showroom) for the Rapid,

you’re certainly paying enough for

that refinement. With the Skoda,

however, you do get a trusted badge

and the value that brings in the

resale market.

OVERALL SCORE

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION


OLD STEEDAGING NICELY

63TOTAL POINTS

OVERALL SCORE


too. The driver is certainly made to

feel right at home in the Civic – the

seating position is awesome, and

the layout is just spot-on. And, it’s

pretty good in the back as well. The

colours are pleasing, and the flat

f loor gives it a bit of a living room

feel in the rear. Plus, you can control

some of the basic stereo functions

from the rear as well.

And, incidentally, the

stereo sounds pretty

good too.

At the front, the

steering wheel is

not only a joy

to hold, but

Now, here’s a car

that become more

than just a little

long in the tooth.

But that’s okay,

you say, because

it’s a Honda. Well, the truth is that it

would have been okay a few years

ago, when the Honda brand still

wielded some sort of black magic

on the Indian consumer. The brand

used to be so aspirational that

when the Civic was launched a few

years ago, it was the equivalent of

the Pussycat Dolls. But the Civic is

now a generation old, and the latest

generation hasn’t exactly been met

with adoring praise in the American

market thus far.

With that said, surprisingly, the

Civic that we have here still has a

lot going for it. As we’ve discussed

before, the Honda brand value

means high residual values and

that helps it in the value-for-money

stakes. The low maintenance costs

almost offset the lack of a diesel

engine (notice how I said almost).

But what really makes the Civic a

great place to spend time in are the

high quality interiors. The cockpit

layout of the Civic still retains a great

deal of novelty, even after all this

time. And it’s incredibly functional


HONDA CIVIC

the pointy front end responds

well to your inputs. What lets the

Civic down, though, is the way it

drives. The suspension bottoms

out over anything that’s bigger

than a pebble, and the brakes are

as wooden as they come. Even

its brill iantly rev-happy 1.8 litre

engine can’t save the day for it. The

automatic transmission behaves like

a confused puppy in the company of

more accomplished boxes here, and

the outright zest of the 130 horses

just can’t be felt. Had the test car

been a manual, maybe – just maybe

– we could have enjoyed the

Civic a wee bit more, but

this one just didn’t

quite get us

excited.

You still get glimpses into what

made this car great in the past.

Every now and then, you get a sense

of true Japanese engineering and

innovation, and the Civic is able

to recapture some of its mystique

from the past. But, to really build on

its reputation for engineering, the

Civic now does need to be more

dynamically capable than it

actually is.


JE NESAIS QUOI

65.13TOTAL POINTS

In India, Renault hasn’t quite

enjoyed the status it would have

ideally wished for. After the 51:49

joint-venture with Mahindra in

2005, Renault launched the Logan

in 2007. But after their not-so-rosy

time in the Indian market, Renault and

Mahindra ended their JV in 2010.

Now, Renault is back as an independent

automaker and has introduced three

models thus far: the Fluence, Koleos and

Pulse – the third being a Nissan Micra in

a party frock. The Fluence is the most

interesting in the portfolio. The design

of this French sedan is quirky, but in a

good way. It looks hugely interesting

– it’s comical from some angles, and

strikingly gorgeous from some. The front

is characterized by a funny grille section

that grows on you, while the rear end gets

beautifully shaped tail lamps. Let’s just

say that the many contours make it an

attractive car all around.

When the Fluence was dropped off

at our office, and I drove it for a brief

moment to check it for any faults, I

slammed the door shut and entered the

office completely fuming. The damn thing

has no power, and has an on/off switch

for a turbocharger – but that was just

my initial impression after only 5 minutes

of driving. As I spent more time with the

Fluence, I started to really like it. The

engine – though only a 1.5 litre, 104bhp

affair, and quite rough & audible – warms

up nicely once you get past 2000 revs,

and really shows its strength between

2500-3500rpm. And the slick shif ting

gearbox makes piloting this car a modestly

entertaining experience.

The Fluence is a big car, and it shows

on the inside. There’s plenty of space,

and the seats are supremely comfortable.

The suspension is soft enough to handle

the potholed Indian roads, while also

being sufficiently rigid to aid responsive

handling. The steering is light for city

driving, and weighs up with speed in a way

that’s confidence inspiring. When turning

the wheel in anger, you experience safety

understeer, but modulating the throttle

negates it completely. It may not be as

much fun as, say, the Cruze, but it sure

isn’t a dull car.

The best bit about the Fluence though

is its interior. It’s very peculiar, simplistic,

and interesting – all at the same time. Yet,

it’s massively irritating for anyone with…

fingers. The buttons on the main fascia are

small and dif f icult to fiddle around with,

but the entire layout looks and feels very

attractive. However, there is a secondary

control unit just behind the steering

wheel on the right, and it is very intuitive

to use. We all thought that the Fluence

was actually a lot of car for its price (at

14.4 lakhs), but the unimpressive history

of Renault keeps it from being an instant

superstar. Also, the Fluence is yet to prove

its worth in the pre-owned car bazaar, and

the fact that not a lot are seen on the road

doesn’t make its case any stronger. All

said and done, though, this is the perfect

car here for comfort and style.


RENAULT FLUENCE

OVERALL SCORE




YOUR CAKE& EAT IT TOO

73TOTAL POINTS

CHEVROLET CRUZE

The Chevy Cruze

has always been

a favourite here in

office, but no one

anticipated just how

well the Cruze would

do amongst this very diverse bunch

of cars. There were some clues

early on, when all four members

of our jury seemed to gravitate

towards the drivers’ seat of the

Cruze all at the same time – even

though it’s a diesel!

The appeal of the Cruze starts as

you approach the car – it just looks

right. The massive honeycomb

grille and sharp headlamps lend

an aggressive look, while the

prominent shoulder line continues

this theme along the length of the

car. The rear, however, isn’t as

cohesive – with its rounded tail

lamps. But, that apart, the Cruze

fits in very nicely indeed with

the new-age, and brash looking

(in a good way), Chevrolets.

This is certainly one of the most

individually styled sedans out there

– let’s just say that it’s not shy

about making a statement.

The best part of the visual

appeal, however, is that it has

the driving dynamics to back it

up. Once you immerse yourself in

the driver’s seat – you sit low in a

cockpit that cocoons the driver –

you feel as though you’re a part

of the car. The highly supportive

seats keep you glued in your seat,

as you throw the Cruze around

without any sense whatsoever that

there’s a supposedly heavy diesel

mill under the bonnet. The handling

is immediate, and the steering has

great feel as it responds perfectly

to your inputs. The chassis is very

neutral, and the Cruze corners

completely flat – there isn’t even a

hint of understeer, which completely

defies the fact that this is a diesel

engined front-wheel drive car.

The flip side of this is that, while

the ride is compliant, you do feel

the road undulations – although,

they don’t really upset the car

either. The Cruze is, however,

lacking a few vital bits in company

such as this. For starters, it doesn’t

have a dead-pedal – a foot rest for

your left foot – which is essential,

or Bluetooth connectivity for your

phone, which would be a nice

option. And, the quality of the

plastics aren’t quite on par with

the likes of the Jetta and Civic.

Plus, in the rear seat, the sloping

roofline means that headroom is at

a premium.

But, none of that matters when

you get in the drivers’ seat and fire

the 2.0 litre, 150bhp smile-inducing

engine. Yes, the rev range is small

in second gear, but that only means

that you get to work the very sporty

gearbox into third, which is where

the Cruze really takes off. Add to

that direct steering and fantastic

on-road manners, and what you’re

left with is a practical four-door

sedan that has an almost coupe-

like feel to it. The cherry on the

cake is that you sit facing the same

three-spoke steering wheel that

you would find in the fire-breathing

Chevrolet Camaro. Jokes apart,

though, the real cherry on the cake

is the fact that the top-of-the-line

LTZ manual Cruze will cost you a

relatively affordable 13.8 lakhs ex-

showroom. It’s proof, then, that you

can have your cake and eat it too

– you can actually be sensible, and

have fun at the same time.

OVERALL SCORE



We were all pretty

excited going into

this mega test.

And, thankfully,

the conclusions have been quite

heartwarming.

First of f, the overall quality,

features, and dynamic abil ities of

the cars that we’ve assembled here

are light years ahead of what we

would have been able to choose

from just a couple of years ago. The

fact that the Indian consumer is

so spoilt for choice is a good thing

indeed. And no other car represents

this better than the Hyundai Verna,

which is a thoroughly modern

package that’s of fered in 10

dif ferent states of tr im to f it all

budgets and needs. However, our

emphasis in this test was two-fold.

Features and af fordability was one,

but character and a sense of driving

pleasure was another. And no other

car combined this better than the

Chevrolet Cruze. It of fers a value

proposition that means you don’t


have to break the bank to have fun

behind the wheel – and that’s the

most heartwarming thing of all.

That being said, the scores were

incredibly close and the range of

abil ities of all these cars so varied

that it was vir tually impossible to

discount any of the cars here. The

Sunny of fers tremendous space in

its segment, while the Fiat stands

for Italian style and f lair. But, if

it’s f lair you’re af ter, the Renault

is trumped by no one. On quality,

Honda makes up some lost ground,

but it’s the Jetta that of fers a really

well rounded quality product.

All in all, though, this test shows

just how far mid-sized sedans have

come – to the extent that they’re

challenging their more premium and

stately rivals. While the D segment

itself is knocking on the doors of

the entry level luxury cars. And

amidst this f ierce competition, it’s

the Indian consumer who benefits –

so choose wisely, because the ball’s

in your court.


TEXT ISHAN RAGHAVA IMAGES KAPIL VASHIST


THE CALL OF THE

TEXT SHAHWAR HUSSAIN IMAGES INCREDIBLE SPITI


The call of the mountains

is a dangerous thing – it

tugs at your heart so

strong that if you fail to

heed its call, you will

undoubtedly brood for

a long time indeed. You will regret the

missed chance to return to the folds of the

mighty mountain, breathe the cold fresh

wind, walk by the lakes, watch the football

sized stars make holes in the black sky

at night, and make some more friends

among the monks – they all look the

same, don’t they? You may even introduce

yourself to an old friend once again!

And I answered the call of the

mountains last year, I decided to ride to

the beautiful Lahaul and Spiti valley – as

opposed to an overwhelming number

of riders who point their front wheel

beyond Manali and end up riding to the

Leh region. It is a beautiful ride indeed,

through some of the world’s highest

motorable roads, water crossings, snow

peaks, and deep gorges – with a number

of pristine high altitude lakes thrown in.

But, of late, it’s become far too crowded

and commercialized for my liking. And

I always try and avoid crowded touristy

places, and, at present, Leh certainly

fi ts this description. But, that’s just my

personal point of view.

I wanted to ride to Spiti, but didn’t

really want to take the additional burden

of getting all the logistics. I met an old

friend Vishesh, who runs his motorcycle

tours in the Lahaul and Spiti valley (www.incrediblespiti.com), along with Tsering

Bodh and Subhansu Singh. Riding solo

is a nice feeling, as you drift with the wind

without any set itinerary. But time was at

a premium, and riding with Vishesh and

his group made perfect sense.

We started early from Shimla, and

stopped at Narkhanda for breakfast.

Riding in the hills invariably gives me a

good appetite, and after having our fi ll we

rode on to Sarahan. This 110 kilometer

stretch is a lovely ride on winding roads

through a Deodar forest. Although we

rode for about 10 hours on winding roads,

it wasn’t overtly tiresome and we spent

the night at Sangla in tents at the Kinnaur

Camps. It’s the ride that matters – and the

ride is considered a success if they can

enjoy a good camp fi re at the end. Well,

that’s exactly what we got. And yes, we

did do the touristy thing too, as we went

to see the 900 year-old Bima Kali temple

– which is simply amazing, and we didn’t

regret this touristy bit of activity one bit.

An early morning start again, as we

made our way to Kalpa via Chitkul, which

is the last village on the Indo-Tibetian

border. It’s a very scenic ride from Chitkul

to Kalpa, and we could see the Kinnaur Kailash peak, which seems to change

colour during the course of the day. The

apple orchards along the way accentuate

the feel good factor of the ride as did the

sparse traffi c. Vishesh had the tour nicely

paced out. After the 10 hour ride the day

before, it was four-fi ve hours of easy riding

– so we arrived at the Apple Country hotel

in much better shape.

The next day the terrain changed quite

a bit, as we again rode for 10 hours from

Kalpa to Tabo via Nako. At Khab before

Nako, we could see the confl uence of the

Sutlej and the Spiti rivers, and the hills

became barren and brown as we entered

the cold desert. The two checkpoints at

Spillo and Chango didn’t take much time

as we were the only ‘tourists’ around.

Travelling with people who know the

area has its advantages. After Kalpa,

Vishesh suddenly pulled up by the side of

a rather old tree and announced ‘lunch!’

I certainly didn’t see any place or anyone

who would serve us lunch, but as we

climbed a few stone steps by the side of

the tree, a small dhaba came into view that

had the most amazing paranthas ever.

After we crossed the Sumdo

checkpoint, we took a diversion on the

right that took us to Gheun – whose claim

to fame is the naturally preserved 600

year old mummy of a Buddhist monk

that was discovered after a landslide

exposed it. It is a little off the way, and not

too many tourists visit this area – all the

better! Gheun also has an ITBP base.

Tiger Den was our den at Tabo for

the next two days, as we moved in and

around Tabo. The Tabo Monastery is a

marvel indeed. The monastery was built in


autox march 2012

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