AUTHENTIC CARS

Skoda has unveiled the new Kodiaq SUV in Berlin. The new Kodiaq SUV will come to India by September 2017. Here's all you need to know.   1. It’s Skoda’s first ever seven-seat vehicle Skoda has done SUVs before, as we’ve seen with the Yeti, but Skoda has never done a seven-seater before. This is the first one in the company’s 120-plus-year history and that’s a big moment for the Czech brand. It’s named after an Alaskan bear, the Kodiak, and fittingly, it looks quite rugged. But Skoda says it’s not an all-out off-roader, but rather a family car that can traverse rough terrain. 2. It is based on the Skoda Superb No wonder then, that it’s based on the VW Group’s MQB platform that also underpins the Skoda Superb and Octavia in different guises. It is stretched and raised for its duties as a seven-seat SUV, and top-spec versions get the latest version of the VW Group’s transverse-engine AWD system, supplied by Haldex/BorgWarner, though front-wheel-drive is what you get on...

The new month has opened with not-so-good news for motorists in India. At the stroke of midnight, oil marketing companies (OMCs) announced a substantial price increase of Rs 3.38 a litre on petrol and Rs 2.67 a litre on diesel. With the latest price increase, the price of petrol in Mumbai now stands at Rs 68.40 a litre, Rs 63.47 in Delhi, Rs 66.84 in Kolkata and Rs 63.02 in Chennai. A litre of diesel now costs Rs 58.48 in Mumbai, Rs 52.94 in Delhi, Rs 55.15 in Kolkata and Rs 54.43 in Chennai. Since the last price revision on August 15, albeit a downward one, the new prices for both petrol and diesel constitute a five percent increase. The price differential between the two fuels is now Rs 9.92 a litre in Mumbai. The retail selling prices of petrol and diesel have been reduced on four occasions in the past two months on the back of decreasing international oil prices. As a consequence, the prices in Delhi were reduced by Rs 5.56 a litre for petrol and Rs 4.92 a litre for die...

Jaguar India is gearing up to launch the second-generation XF sedan in India sometime this month. The launch of the XF will precede that of the F-Pace SUV, which was earlier slated to launch first but will now roll out in October. The British carmaker, which launched the XE at the Auto Expo 2016, is keen to bring its new line-up to the Indian market in a bid to gain ground in the luxury vehicle segment which is currently dominated by the German makers. The XF will be launched with two engine options, including the new 2.0-litre, four-cylinder diesel from Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) Ingenium family. While the 2.0 unit is available in two power outputs, the India car will get the 180hp version. The sedan will also come with 2.0-litre petrol engine, which produces 240hp and 340Nm of torque. An eight-speed automatic gearbox will send power to the rear wheels. The entry of the Ingenium diesel engine in India is significant as it paves the way for its introduction on the Jaguar X...

Mahindra is exploring potential for launching a production version of the XUV Aero concept which was displayed earlier this year at the Auto Expo 2016.  Talking to journalists recently in New Delhi, Pawan Goenka, executive director, M&M, said, “We would want to launch it. We have already done some initial engineering work but we have not finalised anything about its business viability.” This means the XUV Aero may make it to production once the manufacturer is convinced of sales and if the company sees sustainable demand. Nevertheless, if there’s a green signal for the project, it will take two years from the go-ahead for the production car to hit the road. While Mahindra has received some positive feelers from the market, it is not yet convinced that the Indian market allows a local company to launch products that fall in a premium price segment. According to Goenka, the Indian market is not yet ready for local players to launch premium products as the volumes do not j...