VR Tech Times

Vikram Kirloskar, Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s vice chairperson and an Indian automotive industry maverick, passed away at the age of 64 on November 29. He was rushed to Manipal Hospital in Bengaluru on Tuesday morning after he collapsed due to a heart attack.  He is survived by his wife Geetanjali Kirloskar and daughter Manasi. According to a company statement, Vikram Kirloskar's funeral will be organised on November 30 at 1pm at Bengaluru’s Hebbal Crematorium.  “We are extremely saddened to inform you of the untimely demise of Mr Vikram S Kirloskar, Vice Chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor on November 29, 2022. At this time, we request everyone to pray that his soul rests in peace. We extend our deepest sympathies to his family and friends. Last respects can be paid at Hebbal Crematorium, Bengaluru, on November 30, 2022, at 1 pm," the statement said.  Vikram Kirloskar was last seen at the India debut of the Toyota Innova Hycross on November 25 in Mumbai. A graduate from ...

The EQB is Mercedes’ third electric car in India. Built on the existing GLB 7-seater’s architecture, and to be launched at the same time in our market as the petrol and diesel powered version, it will be Mercedes' second electric SUV in India. The EQB however is a veritable world away from Mercedes’ EQC, its first and nascent attempt at an electric car, by its own admission. No, it isn’t built on a dedicated EV platform and that means there are likely to be some compromises. But according to Merc, what the EQB delivers is a more convincing electric luxury car experience, one that has both a compact profile and seven seats.  Question is just how well does it take to our difficult driving environment. Is it an electric you should have on your shortlist and does it make a convincing case for itself despite it being an expensive import? These and other questions answered in our first drive of the EQB on Indian roads.      Mercedes Benz EQB: exterior design ...

The monsoons are over and Mahabaleshwar is calling. I hadn’t been to my regular weekend spot in three months because, during the monsoons, this hill station gets enough rain to be amongst the top five wettest place on Earth, and living inside a cumulonimbus cloud can get pretty miserable. However, the best time to visit Mahabaleshwar is just after the monsoons. Four months of incessant rains paint the landscape in a soothing shade of green, the weather is refreshingly cool and the sun finally begins to peek out from behind thick moisture laden clouds that are bidding a final goodbye to the hill station. That’s my cue to say hello to the place I love the most.  Bengaluru highway is a natural habitat for the Q5. Our long-term Q5 was just the right car for this post-monsoon trip for several reasons. Firstly, it’s an SUV, which is what you need to tackle roads battered by what was a pretty intense monsoon. Then there’s the Q5’s rather large and well-shaped boot, which was perfect ...

Royal Enfield will set up its own distribution network in the UK from May 1, 2023, after severing ties with its current distribution partner, MotoGB. This will also see the Chennai-based marque handle aftersales on its own. The network will be set up under the moniker Royal Enfield UK Ltd, which will also undertake marketing, warranty service, aftersales and customer care responsibilities.  RE will parts ways with current UK distributor next year Three Royal Enfield bikes in UK top 10 bestsellers list This move marks the end of Royal Enfield’s nine-year-long partnership with MotoGB, as well as their first independent return to the market since it pulled out of there in the 1970s. This move comes a few short months after the Royal Enfield Meteor 350 became the bestselling bike above 125cc in the UK , dethroning the BMW R 1250 GS. On top of this, the Classic 350 , Interceptor 650 and the aforementioned Meteor 350 are all inside the UK’s top 10 bestselling motorcycles of 2022...

Hyundai will launch the  Ioniq 5  in India at Auto Expo in January 2023. The carmaker has announced that bookings for its new flagship model in the country will officially open on December 20, 2022.  The Hyundai Ioniq 5 is a sister model to the Kia EV6 that is already on sale in India. However, while the Kia EV6 comes as a full import, Hyundai will locally assemble the Ioniq 5 .  Ioniq 5 is built on born-electric E-GMP platform Sees heavy use of sustainable material on the inside Sister model to Kia EV6 that's already on sale here Hyundai Ioniq 5 to be priced lower than the Kia EV6 The Ioniq 5 will be priced competitively as compared to the Kia EV6 (Rs 59.96 lakh) that comes here as a CBU (Complete Built-Up). The price variation will be due to the difference in customs duty between CBU and CKD (Completely Knocked Down) cars in India. Although Hyundai has not confirmed which battery pack or powertrain configuration it will offer in India, t...

15 years after its release on PSP, Crisis Core is being remastered for the current generation of consoles. Join Kyle Hilliard and Charles Harte as they took a look at the new, retooled version of the game and reflect on this new era of Final Fantasy VII. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion releases December 13 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC. For more previews of some of the biggest games of 2022 and beyond, be sure to head over to our  YouTube page  for NGTs about  Save Room ,  Pokemon Scarlet ,  Resident Evil Village: Shadows of Rose ,  Persona 5 Royal on Switch ,  Scorn ,  LEGO Bricktales ,  God of War Ragnarok ,  Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope ,  Saturnalia ,  Betrayal at Club Low , and more. from Game Informer https://ift.tt/FOlDQc6

Tata has hiked the prices of the Nexon compact SUV , with both petrol and diesel models getting costlier by up to Rs 18,000. This is the third price hike for the Nexon in 2022, with the previous two coming in January and July . While most variants of the Tata Nexon have a uniform hike of Rs 10,000, some variants have received a price hike of either Rs 6,000, Rs 9,000 or Rs 18,000. Here is the variant-wise price break-up of the petrol Nexon:  Tata Nexon Price Hike (petrol) Variants New Price Old Price Difference XE Rs 7.70 lakh Rs 7.60 lakh Rs 10,000 XM Rs 8.70 lakh Rs 8.60 lakh Rs 10,000 XM (S) Rs 9.30 lakh Rs 9.20 lakh Rs 10,000 XM+ (S) Rs 9.85 lakh Rs 9.75 lakh Rs 10,000 XZ+ Rs 10.40 lakh Rs 10.30 lakh Rs 10,000 XZ+ Dual Tone Rs 10.55 lakh Rs 10.45 lakh Rs 10,000 XZ+ Dark Rs 10.70 lakh Rs 10.60 lakh Rs 10,000 XZ+ (HS) Rs 11.15 lakh Rs 11.05 lakh Rs 10,000 XZ+ (HS) Dual Tone Rs 11.30 lakh Rs 11.20 lakh Rs 10,...

The C3 is Citroën’s ‘hatchback with a twist’ and the Punch is Tata’s ‘sub-compact SUV’. Classify them as you will but, in essence, these are two tough little cars of great interest. Their SUV-like styling cues make them distinct from like-priced hatchbacks, and both models back the style up with some degree of SUV-ness too. Nope, they won’t take you far into the wild, but in the pothole-laden urban jungle, these relatively high-riding models have their appeal.  What makes the pairing even more interesting is the different approaches they take to win you over, something we’ll uncover over the next few pages.  Citroen C3 vs Tata Punch: exterior design The Citroën C3 and Tata Punch are both attractive in their own right. The C3 is more a hatchback on the crossover scale but it’s not lacking in road presence. It looks like a fairly substantial car, the appearance helped by its relatively long wheelbase and high roof. Styling is chic, especially up front where the split headla...

Royal Enfield has some big plans afoot, with a flurry of diverse products being launched in the next few years. One of the most anticipated products is a new liquid-cooled Royal Enfield Himalayan 450, but this platform will also underpin four more bikes.  Himalayan 450 to get more hardcore off-road variant 450cc street naked roadster also in the works  Royal Enfield Himalayan 450: details Royal Enfield is working on an all-new liquid-cooled engine, widely rumoured to displace 450cc, which will underpin the upcoming Himalayan 450 . The big news now is that this engine will power as many as five new models, as per an official Royal Enfield document. Spy photos of the Himalayan 450 have been doing the rounds for quite some time now and the test mules have started to resemble production-spec bikes rather than rough, early prototypes.  It was widely rumoured that there will be an even more off-road biased variant of the Himalayan 450 that will follow, and this latest ...

The end of this year is drawing near and a couple of automakers are preparing to introduce their latest products. A majority of these include SUVs from the likes of BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Maruti Suzuki. Let’s take a close look at the new cars which will be coming our way over the next month. 1. Toyota Hyryder CNG - early Dec Back in early November, Toyota announced that it will soon be introducing the CNG version of its Hyryder SUV. The Hyryder CNG will be offered in two trims – S and G – and is likely to be powered by the Maruti-sourced 1.5-litre K15C, four-cylinder engine that already does duty in Ertiga and XL6 CNG-spec MPVs. Despite the power figures not being officially confirmed, it is likely that the engine will produce 103hp and 136Nm in petrol mode and 88hp and 121.5Nm in CNG mode. Toyota, however, has confirmed that it will solely be offered with the 5-speed manual gearbox – as is the case with most CNG models – and has also quoted its fuel efficiency to be 26...