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Upgrading tyres for performance: Sticky Business

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Tyres may not be the most glamorous topic of discussion in the automotive world, despite arguably being the most important. Most enthusiasts, when talking about the most track-focused supercar, will focus on horsepower and torque figures or incredible downforce, but seldom, if ever, will you find a mention of those black circles doing all the dirty work. The truth, however, is that whether your car has 50hp or 500, it means absolutely nought if it can’t be transmitted to the road. Which is why, if you are serious about extracting the most performance from your car, tyres are the first things you should consider upgrading. Why upgrade from OEM tyres The tyres that manufacturers choose to equip their cars with have to serve several very specific criteria. For one, they have to be as efficient as can be to achieve those ARAI mileage figures that customers swear by. They also need to be quiet and absorbent so you aren’t put off by tyre roar and a harsh ride when you take a test drive. The...
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3 reasons to buy the KTM 250 Adventure and 2 reasons to skip

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Sitting at the bottom of KTM ’s Adventure range, the 250 Adventure borrows its styling and much of its equipment from its larger siblings while being powered by the same 249cc engine as the 250 Duke . Here are the three things we liked most and two areas where we think it could be better. 3 reasons to buy the KTM 250 Adventure 1. Rich feature list The latest-generation 250 Adventure finally gets the equipment it always deserved. A crisp 5-inch TFT display with Bluetooth connectivity, turn-by-turn navigation, music and call controls brings it up to date, while a bi-directional quickshifter and switchable rear ABS add genuine functionality rather than unnecessary gimmicks. 2. Quick, yet efficient engine The new 249cc single-cylinder engine strikes an impressive balance between performance and economy. It feels smooth and responsive, offers a strong mid-range and top-end, and returned 34kpl in the city and 39kpl on the highway in our tests, giving it a potential range of over 450km on ...
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Opinion: It's time to embrace the “crossover” as a body style.

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India has a fascination for the “SUV” moniker. Vehicles of all shapes and sizes are advertised as SUVs if they have a taller roof than a hatchback or sedan and do not have a third box at the back. Study the SIAM classification, and you see vehicles like Syros , Exter , Fronx and Magnite sitting alongside the likes of Thar , Bolero , Gurkha and Jimny in the “UVC” sub-segment under the B segment.  The Thar and the Fronx are supposed to be “competitors”, but in what way? How can one evaluate the Gurkha versus the Exter? It’s a bit like putting Hulk Hogan and Bruce Lee in the same category for a fight till the end!  It is time that we logically had a new category in the SIAM classification simply called “Crossover”. These are vehicles between a hatch and a true SUV. They are taller than the hatch, but not as tall as the SUV. They have higher ground clearance than the hatch, but not as much as the SUV. They are, as the word is, a cross between a traditional hatch and an SUV. T...
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Hero Xoom 160 performance tested and explained

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The Hero Xoom 160 is one of the few locally-made scooters available in India with a liquid-cooled engine. Considering that the biggest Xoom is the first product to use this motor, we had no reference point going into our tests. Here’s how the Xoom performed in our instrumented performance tests as verified by our Vbox. Hero Xoom 160 acceleration 0-60kph 5.96s 0-80kph 10.66s 0-100kph 18.62s The Xoom 160 ’s liquid-cooled engine is rated for 14.8hp at 8,000rpm and 14 Nm of torque at 6,250rpm - numbers that are very similar to its only rival at the moment - the Yamaha Aerox 155 . The Xoom’s engine is quick to build power and there’s linear power delivery all across the rev band although the accelerator’s travel could be a little shorter. The numbers the Xoom achieved in our tests are fairly respectable, especially considering that at 142kg, it is one of the heavier scooters on sale today. Hero Xoom 160 roll-on acceleration 20-50kph 3.11s 30-70kph 6.89s 50-80kph 8.29s Roll-on acceleration...
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Hero Xtreme 250R vs KTM 250 Duke performance compared

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Hero MotoCorp has been quite vocal about the fact that the Xtreme 250R is the fastest machine in its segment. Said segment is rather small with only the KTM 250 Duke in it. To verify whether Hero’s claims about its biggest Xtreme ever are true we tested both bikes back using our VBox and here are the results. Hero Xtreme 250R vs KTM 250 Duke: Acceleration   Hero Xtreme 250R KTM 250 Duke 0-60kph 3.15s 3.44s 0-80kph 5.2s 5.50s 0-100kph 8.22s 8.50s Straight out of the gate, the Xtreme starts building an advantage over the Duke and the gap between the two at any given speed is near the 0.3 second mark. The KTM has long been the king of the quarter-litre sporty segment but the Hero’s stronger low and mid range punch have allowed it to usurp that throne. Also at play here is the fact that the Duke’s engine only really comes alive only post 7,000rpm and below that threshold, its power delivery is quite linear and mellow. Hero Xtreme 250R vs KTM 250 Duke: Roll-on acceleration   H...
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Midsize SUV AC torture test: Kia Seltos to Tata Sierra

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We’re in the midst of a brutal summer, with temperatures soaring well past the 40deg mark across much of the country. It is the wrong time of year to be out in the sun, but also the perfect time for our AC torture test. We’ve assembled five midsize SUVs and the objective is simple: to find out which ones can keep their cool when the going gets hot. In preparation for the test, each car is parked under direct sunlight for two hours with its engine switched off and windows rolled up. Sunroof shades are kept closed, but rear window shades are rolled away. The cars are rigged with sophisticated test equipment, which captures reams of data, provided by Zen Microsystems. Five thermocouple sensors read ambient temperature, cabin temperature, vent temperature (it captures how cold the air is), front-seat temperature (measured near the driver’s ear) and rear-seat temperature (measured at the rear centre armrest). Each car was rigged with 5 thermocouple sensors Getting into the cars for the act...
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Hyundai Alcazar long-term review, 13,500km report

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The Alcazar , I’ve come to realise, is stuck in an unenviable position in the Hyundai India line-up. On one side, above it, you have cars like the recently updated Ioniq 5 and recently axed Tucson (RIP), whose main job is brand building. And on the other side is the Creta , which needs little explanation. The SUV that today defines Hyundai now comes in NA petrol, turbo-petrol, diesel, electric and sporty N Line guises. And the Alcazar? It’s mostly relegated to being the ‘three-row version’ of its little brother, forced to walk the thin line between sensible and aspirational. It doesn’t help that its distant relative, the Kia Carens Clavis , came along with even more space. Or that other 3-row SUVs in this segment are larger, with more powerful engines. But as we discovered with our previous long-term Alcazar in 2023 , it’s much more than just the sum of its parts. Big enough to be spacious, yet not enough to be cumbersome in tight spaces. As I’ve discovered in my time driving ar...
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Big bikes with the lowest seat height under Rs 10 lakh

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Confidence is a key intangible element for shorter riders when they step up to their first big bike and having a manageable machine which allows them to put their feet on the ground is an important consideration. Keeping this in mind, we have curated a list of all the big bikes available in India with a seat height lower than 810mm, which should make the bikes pretty easy to flatfoot. Do bear in mind that we have only included models under the Rs 10 lakh mark (ex-showroom, Delhi), above 600cc and making over 60hp from reputed and established brands with a fairly decent reach across the country. Suzuki GSX-8R (Rs 9.89 lakh) / Triumph Daytona 660 (Rs 9.88 lakh) 810mm Both the GSX-8R and Daytona 660 are from a breed of new-age sportbikes that prioritize real-world usability rather than outright speed and performance. As a result, they have comfortable ergonomics and engines that prioritize solid mid-range grunt over a searing top-end rush. The Suzuki uses a 776cc, twin-cylinder, liquid-...
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Which Citroen eC3X variant should you buy?

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The eC3X is the only pure-electric model in Citroen ’s line-up in India. The French carmaker recently tacked on the ‘X’ suffix to this compact EV, first introduced in India in 2023 as the ‘eC3’. The 2026 eC3X facelift primarily receives new projector LED headlamps and revised alloy wheels on the outside, along with blue accents and some additional features on the inside. Citroen eC3X facelift prices Price: Rs 11.99 lakh-13.26 lakh (ex-showroom) The Citroen eC3X facelift is priced at Rs 11.99 lakh for the base-spec Live variant, Rs 12.35 lakh for the mid-spec Live (O) and Rs 13.26 lakh for the top-spec Shine version. Citroen India is offering all three variants with a battery-as-a-service (BaaS) scheme, with upfront cost ranging from Rs 6.89 lakh to Rs 8.30 lakh and a battery rental fee of Rs 2.26 per km. Citroen eC3X facelift powertrain Powertrain specifications Citroen eC3X facelift Battery 29.2kWh Drive configuration FWD Power 57hp Torque 143Nm Claimed range 325km AC charging 10-10...
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Mini Countryman vs BMW X1: Differences explained

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The Mini Countryman and BMW X1 are both based on the UKL2 platform and are locally assembled in India, with the exception of the top-spec Countryman JCW All4. For those not in the know, Mini is owned by BMW , and the Countryman is assembled at the German carmaker’s Chennai plant. Since both SUVs compete in the entry-level luxury SUV space, it will be interesting to see how their powertrain specs, size and pricing compare. Mini Countryman vs BMW X1: Powertrains   Countryman X1 Variant C | JCW All4 sDrive 18i M Sport | sDrive 18d M Sport Engine 1.5L turbo-petrol | 2L turbo-petrol 1.5L turbo-petrol | 2L diesel Cylinder count 3 | 4 3 | 4 Power (hp) 156 | 300 136 | 150 Torque (Nm) 240 | 400 230 | 360 Transmission 7DCT 7DCT Claimed fuel efficiency (kpl) 15.92 | 15.4 16.35 | 20.37 Drive layout FWD | AWD FWD Claimed 0-100kph time (sec) 9 | 5.4 9.2 | 8.9 Top speed (kph) 212 | 250 210 In addition to the platform, the 1,499cc 3-cylinder turbo-petrol engine is common to the two models. How...
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Renault Duster vs Tata Sierra AC performance compared

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We begin this exercise with the blazing summer heat blanketing the Renault Duster and Tata Sierra . The ambient temperature at our test site on the outskirts of Mumbai peaked at 42.2deg C. It wasn’t just the high temperature that would put these climate control systems through their paces but the high humidity as well. Having said that, here’s how these two midsize SUVs fared in our AC performance test. Explore full specs, features and a price breakdown in our Duster vs Sierra comparison. Autocar India’s testing methodology In preparation for the test, each car is parked under direct sunlight for two hours with its engine switched off and windows rolled up. Sunroof shades are kept closed, but rear window shades are rolled away. Once a car is ‘soaked’, a two-member team enters the vehicle quickly to minimise heat loss – our job is to simulate a worst-case scenario. Each car is equipped with sophisticated test gear provided by Zen Microsystems. Five thermocouple sensors read ambient t...
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