VR Tech Times

In a world of SUV this and electric that, cars like this Hyundai Grand i10 Nios seem to fly under the radar. In fact, Hyundai itself didn’t make half as much noise about this facelifted Nios as it did about the arrival of the updated Venue a couple of months ago. But let’s give the very sensible and very likeable Grand i10 Nios due space and talk of what’s changed. Hyundai Grand i10 Nios facelift: exterior An enlarged grille, reprofiled bumpers and new LED DRLs are part of the facelift. Of course, a facelift today means a larger grille, and that’s what you get on the Nios too. The grille makes up most of the redone front bumper and there are new tri-arrow daytime running lights lower down as well. There are no changes to the headlights or bonnet but a close look will reveal a flatter, satin finished Hyundai logo in place of the 3D chrome one from before. 15-inch alloy rims get a new design. At the sides, it’s just the new design for the 15-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels that tells...

Hyundai has hiked the prices of the i20 by up to Rs 21,500. The Korean manufacturer has also rejigged the variants line-up of the premium hatchback. iMT gearbox is only available with N Line i20 Turbo only comes with 7-speed DCT Hyundai i20 costlier by Rs 11,500-21,500 Prices for all i20 Turbo and N Line variants have been hiked uniformly by Rs 21,500 and Rs 16,500, respectively. The Magna and Sportz trims with the 1.2-litre naturally aspirated engine see a price hike of Rs 11,500, while the Asta and Asta (O) trims have been hiked by Rs 16,600. After the price hike, the i20 now ranges between Rs 7.19 lakh-11.68 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). Here’s a detailed break-up of the new prices of the i20:  Hyundai i20 new prices (ex-showroom, Delhi) Variants New prices Old prices Difference Magna 1.2 MT Rs 7.18 lakh Rs 7.07 lakh Rs 11,500 Sportz 1.2 MT Rs 8.09 lakh Rs 7.97 lakh Rs 11,500 Asta 1.2 MT Rs 9.01 lakh Rs 8.84 lakh Rs 16,600 Sportz 1.2 IVT ...

Platform: PlayStation 4, Switch Publisher: Square Enix Developer: Square Enix Release: February 16, 2023 Rating: Teen Theatrhythm Final Fantasy quickly became one of my favorite Nintendo 3DS games when it hit the system in 2012, as did the Curtain Call sequel two years later. These weren’t perfect rhythm games, but they were unique and utilized one of the best compilations of video game scores in music history. The Final Fantasy series is special to me for many reasons, and perhaps chief among those is its music. That I ended up adoring the Theatrhythm series on 3DS was no surprise. I was surprised, though, to see publisher Square Enix and developer indieszero announce Theatrhythm Final Bar Line last September , with a release date just a few months later, no less.  I didn’t expect this series to make a return, but I had always hoped it would, given its predecessor only covered the franchise through 2014. There are hundreds of new, beloved tracks in the series between F...

Following the price hike of the Scorpio N and the XUV700 , Mahindra has also increased the prices of the Scorpio Classic. This is the first price hike for the SUV since its launch back in August last year. The Scorpio Classic is available only in two trims – S and S11 – with prices now starting from Rs 12.64 lakh, going up to Rs 16.14 lakh. Scorpio Classic gets a uniform price hike Average waiting period of 5-6 months for both trims Here’s a detailed look at how the prices have increased between the trims. Mahindra Scorpio Classic prices January 2023 Variant New price Old price Difference S Rs 12.64 lakh Rs 11.99 lakh Rs 65,000 S11 Rs 16.14 lakh Rs 15.49 lakh Rs 65,000 Mahindra Scorpio Classic: January 2023 price hike Compared to the launch prices, the prices of the Scorpio Classic’s S and S11 trims have gone up by Rs 65,200. The hike is uniform across the variants as the Scorpio Classic is available with three seating layouts – two 7-seaters ...

Hero has launched its first new product of the year, in the form of the Xoom – a feature-rich new 110cc scooter. This becomes the third offering in Hero’s 110cc scooter line-up, and here’s everything you need to know about it. Hero Xoom: segment-first features There are a number of fancy features on the new Xoom, including an LED headlight, tail-lamp and DRL, as well as fully digital instrumentation featuring Bluetooth connectivity. But the one that’s likely to raise most eyebrows is the cornering lights – something usually never seen in this segment or even many segments above. The scooter uses a gyroscope to detect lean angle, and then illuminates a bank of lights on either side of the scooter, depending on which way you’re turning. Hero Xoom: same engine as Maestro Edge 110, Pleasure+ Powering this fresh-looking scooter is a familiar powerplant: the 110.9cc motor that already does duty in the Maestro Edge 110 and Pleasure+ scooters. Output levels are also identical, at 8.15hp ...

Suzuki has announced that it will be introducing its first electric scooter in India by FY2025.  Suzuki EV will be a commuter-centric product Suzuki expects that 25 percent of its India line-up will be EV by FY2030 Up to 8 electric two-wheeler models to launch by FY2030 Suzuki EV two-wheeler India launch: commuter-oriented offering A global press release from Suzuki states that its maiden electric two-wheeler product for India will be the equivalent of a “small to midsize motorcycle that will be used for daily transportation such as commuting to work, school or shopping”. While the release uses the word motorcycle, we expect this could be down to language translation and that the first product will in fact be an electric scooter. In fact, we broke the story that Suzuki was working on a specially designed electric scooter for India , which was due to launch in 2020. However, that was before the pandemic and the company’s plans clearly changed.   Suzuki has been...

Following the recent  price hike of the Scorpio N , Mahindra has increased the prices of the XUV700 SUV. This is the fourth price hike of the SUV, with Mahindra having previously increased the prices in September 2022 . While the base MX variants see no price rise, other variants have seen an increase in their prices. The XUV700’s base petrol AX3 variant now starts at Rs 15.89 lakh, with the SUV’s top-end diesel AX7 L now costing Rs 25.48 lakh.  Here’s a detailed look at how variant prices of the XUV700 have changed.  Mahindra XUV700 petrol prices January 2023 Variants New price Old price Difference MX MT 5-seater Rs 13.45 lakh Rs 13.45 lakh Rs 0 AX3 MT 5-seater Rs 15.89 lakh Rs 15.50 lakh Rs 39,000 AX3 AT 5-seater Rs 17.61 lakh Rs 17.20 lakh Rs 41,000 AX5 MT 5-seater Rs 17.20 lakh Rs 16.79 lakh Rs 41,000 AX5 MT 7-seater Rs 17.85 lakh Rs 17.44 lakh Rs 41,000 AX5 AT 5-seater Rs 18.97 lakh Rs 18.54 lakh Rs 43,000 AX7...

The delayed 2022 season of the MRF MMSC Indian National Car Racing Championship wrapped up with a final round at the Madras International Circuit. Sai Sanjay and Arjun Balu emerged as the big winners, taking home the MRF Formula 2000 (F2000) and Indian Touring Cars titles, respectively. Elsewhere, Viswas Vijayraj clinched the Formula LGB 1300 title, while Pratik Sonawane took home the crown in the revived Polo Cup series. Balu secures Indian Touring Cars crown Sanjay wins MRF F2000 title ahead of Mohamed and Nandan MRF F2000 It was a tense title decider in the MRF F2000 class, with five drivers fighting for victory heading into the finale. Sohil Shah stood out, winning all three races over the weekend. However, the 21-year-old from Bengaluru had to skip two of the four rounds this season, and had to settle for fourth overall. Sai Sanjay’s two podium appearances was enough for him to secure the overall title, ahead of Ryan Mohamed and Divy Nandan. Indian Touring Cars Quit...

Mercedes-Benz will unveil the updated GLE SUV globally tomorrow, with an India launch expected by end-2023. Updated GLE to get revised styling Will get more tech and features India launch still some time away Mercedes Benz GLE facelift: what to expect? Ahead of its global debut tomorrow, Mercedes-Benz has released teasers of the updated GLE SUV. The most visible changes include modified front and rear bumpers, Mercedes S-Class-style tail-lights and an updated front grille. According to the teaser image, the GLE also gets a new alloy wheel design and we expect a more comprehensive range of exterior colour options. The fourth-generation GLE has been on sale globally since 2019 and was launched in India in January 2020 . This facelifted SUV will feature the latest iteration of Mercedes’ intelligent MBUX infotainment system, a host of assistance systems and technology, and updates to other areas of the interior. The GLE is likely to carry over the same engine line-up, including ...

A  lot can change in three years and a lot has since we last rode the Ultraviolette F77 in 2019. The start-up from Bengaluru took the pandemic as an opportunity to heavily overhaul the motorcycle, and it now has a battery pack that is more than double in size, a whole new chassis, a more powerful motor and a considerably bigger price tag. With the company finally ready to begin customer deliveries, we got to ride this bike and make sense of where it fits in the market. The original F77 had a 4.3kWh battery split into three removable packs. That number was decent in 2019, but it’s now the mainstay of the scooter market and the company realised that if this bike was to work, it had to have a much bigger battery pack. Switch to 2023, and the top F77 Recon we are riding here has a fixed 10.3kWh battery (7.1Kwh on the base F77). That means that the company can claim a 307km IDC range with a real world range of well over 200km. That’s way better than any other two-wheeled EV in India a...

ZF, whom you may know as the supplier of auto ’boxes for most luxury brands, has unveiled a new generation of modular electric drive units aimed at mainstream manufacturers. The line-up will be available from 2025 and includes new designs of electric motor-generators, a new type of EV transmission, inverters (the power electronics that sit between AC motors and DC batteries) and the software to integrate the whole lot. First, let’s look at the motors. These are claimed to be smaller, more efficient, more sustainable, more power-dense and more affordable to make than the status quo. There are some facts to bear out those claims. For instance, the cooling technology and design of the copper windings are new. There’s a cooling water jacket around the stator of permanent magnet motors (the bit that doesn’t move, containing the copper windings that generate electromagnetic fields). And deeper inside, there are slots that carry ZF Ecofluid E, a coolant oil that doesn’t conduct electricity...

TVS has been one of the more willing major OEMs when it comes to electric two-wheelers, launching its iQube electric scooter back in January 2020 . The e-scooter then received a comprehensive update last year, with the range growing to three variants, two of which are currently on sale, and the third set to arrive soon. As a well-sorted product with the backing of a strong brand, the iQube has been steadily gaining popularity, and consequently, TVS has been increasing its availability across the nation. Now, the iQube has reached a point where it is averaging close to 10,000 units per month, with the company reporting around 29,000 units sold in Q3 FY23. This marks yet another quarter of strong growth for the e-scooter, with it having sold around 16,000 units in Q2, and roughly 8,000 units in Q1. TVS hopes to continue the trend of more or less doubling the iQube’s sales each quarter, and hopes to surpass the 1 lakh figure for this financial year. To do this, it will have to sell upw...

Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein won both Diriyah E-Prix races to take the overall 2023 Formula E championship lead. Porsche-powered cars dominated proceedings, with customer team Andretti’s Jake Dennis finishing second in both races as well. Wehrlein takes championship lead Dennis P2 in both races Rast hands McLaren their first Formula E podium Porsche dominance Porsche enjoyed a stellar start to Formula E’s Gen3 era in Mexico, with Andretti’s Jake Dennis winning ahead of factory driver Wehrlein. However, Mexico has always been a strong venue for the manufacturer. The two Diriyah races have clearly cemented Porsche’s position as a frontrunner, though. After starting from ninth on the grid, Wehrlein picked his way through the field and was already up to second place by Lap 24/39. He made the move for the lead on Lap 30, passing Jaguar TCS Racing’s Sam Bird. Bird did, however, make it to the podium in third place – his first podium appearance since his 2021 New York E-Prix victory....

I am interested in the Toyota Hyryder, but my monthly run is only around 300km. Will the battery have issues from limited running? And if it does, will Toyota cover the issues free of cost during the warranty period? Also, in case the lithium-ion battery runs down, is there a way to charge it by means of the main 12V battery, and which battery is used to start up the vehicle? Sekhar Nag, Kolkata Autocar India says: The hybrid powertrain-equipped variants of the Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder make for a very competent package, and is one of the best choices available in this segment today. Yes, Toyota will honour all claims for the lithium-ion battery pack related issues in the car during the battery’s warranty period of 8 years or up to 1,60,000km. Under ideal conditions, the hybrid Hyryder will power on in pure-EV mode by consuming charge from the Li-ion battery, which gets an in-built self-protection mechanism to prevent it from depleting below a certain level. While limited use ...

Having two units of the same car in the Autocar long term fleet is rather rare. However, given that Renault updated the Kiger just 17 months after its debut, it made us wonder: what has changed? And more importantly, is it at all noticeable? Well, the first drive review sure answered some of those questions, but an exhaustive review always spills the remaining beans. And so, we welcome another Kiger Turbo to the fleet. But unlike the manual that Akbar has been driving, this one is a CVT, which should help take on Mumbai’s hustle and bustle. First things first. These days, an automatic tends to have everyone on the team scrabbling for the keys. Save the manuals? No thanks! Mumbai’s traffic and the ever-under-development infrastructure mean the first two gears end up working a lot more than you do at your workplace, and, in that aspect, the lack of a clutch pedal is hugely appealing. CVT transmission isn’t the best, but is much more comfier than a manual. That said, the CVT isn’t fla...

As exciting as the idea of sharing a racetrack with national championship competitors sounds, in truth, it’s a fairly unspectacular event, with a foregone conclusion. No motoring journalist can hope to mix it with professional racers – both in terms of skill and willingness to risk it all in the chase for glory. This meant that my wildcard appearance at the Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup last year, though a thoroughly enjoyable affair, felt more like a solo track day experience than a race. Happily, though, this year, Royal Enfield was daring enough to let a grid full of motoring journalists fight it out against each other for one race, aboard the very same Continental GT-R 650 race bikes that the professionals compete on. Once again, the idea fills me with glee. But a little further thought reminds me that despite the significant weight reduction that has been made to get this bike race ready, it’s still a 190kg machine, and one that demands to be treated with respect. What we...

BMW has launched the all-new, third-generation X1 in India at the ongoing BMW Joytown festival in Bengaluru, with introductory prices starting from Rs 45.90 lakh for the petrol version, going up to Rs 47.90 lakh for the diesel. Like the previous-gen model, the new X1 continues to be offered with both petrol and diesel engines, but there’s no all-wheel drive. We previously reported that bookings for the new X1 are open at the dealer level for a token amount of Rs 50,000. The new X1 is available in two variants - xLine and MSport Rivals the Mercedes GLA, Audi Q3 and Volvo XC40 The brand has also stated that deliveries for the diesel-powered X1 will begin from March 2023, whereas the petrol version will begin in June 2023. Here's the detailed price list of the new X1. New BMW X1: exterior and interior The new BMW X1 is larger than its predecessor in all dimensions – its 53mm longer, 24mm wider, 44mm taller and the wheelbase has also gone up by 22mm. The design of the new X1...

The Toyota-Suzuki joint venture will see the addition of yet another new product for South Africa. The current-gen Maruti Suzuki Celerio that is made in India will be sold in South Africa as the Toyota Vitz. The new Toyota Vitz will go on sale in the coming months and will replace the Toyota Agya in the South African domestic market. Celerio to be sold as Toyota Vitz in South Africa Will go on sale in the coming months Will not get any major mechanical changes Toyota Vitz: What’s different? A first image of the rebadged Celerio (new Toyota Vitz) has surfaced online; the car is visible from the front three quarters and looks almost similar to the current Celerio. The only visible difference is the usage of Toyota logo and Vitz badging instead of the usual Suzuki ones. While it is not confirmed, we don’t expect any major changes on the interior or mechanical side and the Celerio-based Toyota Vitz will most likely continue with the same 1.0-litre K10C DualJet petrol engine mated ...