VR Tech Times

Usually, higher performance will make a rather big ask of your wallet, but if you are looking for a respectable level of performance on a bit of a tight budget, here’s a list of five properly quick bikes under the Rs 3 lakh mark.  All prices ex-showroom Delhi.  5. Bajaj Pulsar NS400Z   40hp, Rs 1.81 lakh The  Pulsar NS400Z  is the epitome of bang-for-buck performance today in India. It is powered by the older 373cc mill, and with its recent update, its peak output stands at 43hp and 35Nm. Bajaj has also bestowed the biggest Pulsar with grippier rubber, stronger brakes and a bidirectional quickshifter, making the NS400Z better VFM than ever before. 4. RE Guerrilla 450 and Himalayan  40hp, Rs 2.39 lakh - Rs 2.54 lakh (Guerrilla) Rs 2.85 lakh - Rs 2.98 lakh (Himalayan) The  Guerrilla 450  is a 450cc roadster imagined by Royal Enfield, and it is powered by the same Sherpa 450 mill as the Himalayan, making 40hp and 40Nm (the hig...

The Skoda Kushaq and the Kylaq have a lot in common, sharing some of the body panels, a lot of the equipment list and even the interior dashboard. More importantly, both SUVs also the 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine, including the manual and automatic gearbox options. The Kylaq, being smaller and lighter than the Kushaq, is obviously the quicker of the two, but by exactly how much? We test the petrol-AT variants of both SUVs to find out exactly that.   Both Kylaq and Kushaq get a 115hp, 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine The Kylaq has a 29kg weight advantage Skoda Kylaq and Kushaq engine and specs   Both SUVs are matched in terms of power and torque output Skoda Kylaq vs Kushaq specs Kylaq Kushaq Engine type 3-cyls, turbo-petrol 3-cyls, turbo-petrol Displacement 999cc 999cc Power 115hp 115hp Torque 178Nm 178Nm Gearbox 6-speed torque converter 6-speed torque converter Kerb weight 1255kg 1284kg Power-to-weight ratio 91.63hp/tonne ...

July was headlined by several long-awaited launches from brands such as Tesla, MG, Kia and Renault. August will keep the momentum going with fresh models lined up, and even a few concept reveals. Here's what Volvo, Mercedes, VinFast and Mahindra have in store for the eighth month of 2025. Upcoming car launches in August Volvo XC60 facelift: August 1 August will be flagged off with the price announcement of the  2025 Volvo XC60 facelift.  The best-selling Volvo (global) is expected to land here with subtle exterior changes, including diagonally slatted grille design, redesigned multi-spoke alloy wheels, smoked-out tail-lights, and even new colors. The highlight upgrade to the otherwise feature-loaded Volvo SUV is its bigger 11.2-inch touchscreen. In addition to improved image quality, Qualcomm's Snapdragon chipset makes it twice as fast as the previous infotainment system. Being a facelift, the current XC60's 250hp, 2-litre turbo-petrol engine is likely. This unit...

The Yamaha FZ‑S Fi Hybrid builds on the long-running FZ’s reputation for smooth, reliable commuting and muscular styling. While it doesn’t aim to boost performance, it brings improved efficiency and a notable tech upgrade.  Reasons to buy the Yamaha FZ‑S Fi Hybrid 1. Rich in tech The 2025 FZ‑S Fi Hybrid is India’s first hybrid motorcycle in the 150cc class, equipped with a Smart Motor Generator (SMG) enabling silent starts and auto start‑stop at idle. Paired with a crisp 4.2‑inch full‑colour TFT display that offers Bluetooth via Yamaha’s Y‑Connect app, turn‑by‑turn navigation, call/SMS alerts, etc., it significantly upgrades the feature list over other FZ variants. 2. Excellent fuel efficiency Our fuel‑economy tests results were 51.64 kpl in the city and 48.20 kpl on the highway, thanks in large part to the start‑stop system and mild‑hybrid tech. With a 13‑litre tank, the bike can comfortably manage over 500km in real‑world conditions. 3. Comfortable and refined Th...

Safety is a much bigger concern among Indian car buyers these days, and to help guide them towards the safest cars currently on sale, the government launched Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) back in 2023. Essentially a domestic adaptation of the long-running Global NCAP with full parity in testing standards, Bharat NCAP has evaluated 20 cars to date. Listed below are the five safest cars tested by Bharat NCAP, ranked in ascending order by their adult occupant protection (AOP) scores. Child occupant protection (COP) scores haven’t been considered in the rankings, as all these cars achieved a 45/49 for the same. 5. Mahindra Thar Roxx AOP score: 31.09/32 The popular Thar Roxx SUV brought home 5 stars in the Bharat NCAP tests in November 2024, which applies to the entire variant line-up. As standard, the Thar Roxx features six airbags, a cut-off switch for the passenger seat airbag, ISOFIX child seat anchors, three-point seatbelts with reminders for all seats, ESC, tyre p...

The Toyota Innova Hycross has been the biggest contributor to the Japanese brand’s sales in India in the April-June 2025 period. In that duration, Toyota India despatched 80,432 hatchbacks, MPVS and SUVs – up 18 percent YoY – of which SUVs and MPVs contributed 84 percent, or 68,023 units. In fact, Toyota wholesaled 25,383 units of the Innova, including the Hycross and Crysta , which means the MPV outsold the Hyryder midsize SUV (19,677 units), Glanza hatchback (11,823 units), Fortuner SUV (8,218 units) and the Urban Cruiser Taisor compact SUV (7,864 units). Toyota Innova Hycross vs Crysta sales in Q1 2026 Toyota Innova Hycross vs Crysta wholesales Fiscal Hycross (units) Crysta (units) Total (units) Hycross/Crysta ratio FY2023 11,351 44,223 55,574 20.42/79.57 FY2024 52,997 45,183 98,180 53.97/46.02 FY2025 62,794 44,410 1,07,204 58.57/41.42 FY2026 (3 months) 15,483 9,900 25,383 60.99/39.00 TOTAL 1,42,625 1,43,716 2,86,341 - T...

The Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara went on sale nearly three years ago, and continues to be one of the bestselling mid-size SUVs in India. Its price starts at Rs 11.42 lakh and tops off at Rs 20.52 lakh, bringing the Grand Vitara perfectly in line with the Hyundai Creta , Kia Seltos , Honda Elevate , Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder , and more. For prospective mid-size SUV buyers, we’ve laid out three reasons why the Grand Vitara is a worthwhile buy, and two reasons why you should reconsider. Strong hybrid variants have excellent fuel efficiency ARAI-claimed mileage of 27.97kpl The Grand Vitara’s biggest USP is its strong hybrid powertrain, which includes a 1.5-litre, 3-cylinder petrol engine working in tandem with a 0.76kWh lithium-ion battery and front-mounted electric motor. This allows for a net power output of 116hp, and more impressively, a claimed fuel efficiency of 27.97kpl. In our real-world fuel efficiency tests of the Grand Vitara hybrid , the SUV returned a mileage of 23.77kp...

EVs continue to gain momentum as the TVS iQube and Bajaj Chetak find a spot among India’s top 10 best-selling scooters for the April-June 2025 quarter. While the Honda Activa still leads the charts, its market share has dropped notably. Meanwhile, TVS is seeing solid growth across ICE and EV segments, while Bajaj continues to gain ground in the EV space. iQube and Chetak enter Top 10; Ather Rizta narrowly misses Honda Activa still No. 1, but sales dip 20 percent year-on-year TVS Jupiter, Suzuki Access show strong growth in 125cc segment Scooters outperform bikes in Q1 FY2026 Scooter sales touched 1.66 million units in the April–June 2025 quarter In Q1 FY2026, the scooter segment recorded sales of 1.66 million units, with only a minor 0.2 percent year-on-year drop. This performance was significantly better than motorcycles and mopeds , which witnessed a decline of 9.2 percent and 11 percent respectively. The steady demand can be attributed to the consistent popularity of key mo...

The  Mahindra Thar Roxx  is now contributing more than the original three-door SUV to the overall Thar brand. In the second half of FY2025, the 5-door model had a 45 percent share of the Thar brand’s domestic market sales, meaning less than one-in-two  Thar  SUVs sold was the 5-door. In the April-June 2025 period, Mahindra despatched 20,726 Thar Roxx SUVs, compared to 9,908 Thars, which means the 5-door now has a 68 percent share of the brand. Mahindra Thar 3-door sales nearly halved in Q1 FY2026 Thar Roxx wholesales since launch are 59,316 units Mahindra Thar Roxx sales performance Mahindra Thar brand sales Fiscal Units YoY change (%) FY2021 (6 months) 14,186 - FY2022 37,844 167 FY2023 47,108 24.47 FY2024 65,246 38.50 FY2025 84,834 30.00 FY2026 (3 months) 30,634 79 TOTAL 2,79,852 - Mahindra Thar 3-door sales down 43 percent YoY in April-June 2025 The second generation  Thar had launched in Octob...

Even as the buzz around electric vehicles and the shortage of rare earth materials that can impact production gets louder, demand for strong hybrids has more than doubled in the first quarter of FY2026. As per retail sales numbers on the Vahan portal, a total of 26,460 units were sold between April-June 2025, up 118 percent YoY (Q1 FY2025: 12,111 units). Strong-hybrid sales split between Toyota, Maruti and Honda Toyota leads the way with 80 percent share In India’s PV market, all the three carmakers with strong hybrid models – Toyota , Maruti Suzuki and Honda – are witnessing growing demand. Toyota has four models (Innova Hycross and Vellfire MPVs, the  Urban Cruiser Hyryder SUV , and the Camry sedan ), Maruti Suzuki has two (Invicto MPV and Grand Vitara midsize SUV), and Honda one (City e:HEV sedan). With the strongest portfolio, Toyota has the largest market share of 81 percent. Meanwhile, Maruti Suzuki has an 18 percent share and Honda has 1 percent share of total hybrid ...

Launched in November 2024, the Skoda Kylaq is the newest entrant in the fiercely competitive compact SUV segment. It’s also the most affordable Skoda model in India at the moment, and as such, there’s a lot of interest in the Kylaq. Should you be considering buying a Skoda Kylaq, we’ve answered every important question pertaining to the compact SUV below to help you make an informed decision. 1. What is the Skoda Kylaq price? From Rs 8.25 lakh to Rs 13.99 lakh The Kylaq price starts at Rs 8.25 lakh for the base Classic MT variant, and tops off at Rs 13.99 lakh for the top-spec Prestige AT variant. Going off the ex-showroom pricing, you can expect the Kylaq on-road price to be in the Rs 9.35-17 lakh range, depending on the city of registration and the variant you go for. The cheapest Kylaq automatic variant is the Signature AT, priced at Rs 10.95 lakh. For buyers who want the manual gearbox and all the features, the fully-loaded Kylaq Prestige MT costs Rs 12.89 lakh. 2. Wh...