Hyundai’s most popular SUV Santa Fe will soon be getting makeover under the Hyundai’s Current Fluidic theme. The soon to launch new Fluidic Hyundai Santa Fe has been spied now. The scooped picture clearly shows that design change being introduced in the new Santa Fe.

The new Fluidic Santa Fe looks much more stylish than the current generation, while the headlight resembles to those being used in Fluidic Verna. The front hexagonal grilled gives the vehicle macho look and is quite similar to those being used in Hyundai Sonata.

The leaked pictures clearly indicate new thick bumper and larger fog lamps with LED lining. At the rear you can clearly notice all new redesigned LED tail-lamps, tail-gate and bumper.

There are no details about the engine specification of the new Santa Fe. We hope Hyundai bring the new Fluidic Santa Fe to Indian Soon.

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Mercedes Benz has taken a step ahead and launched the face-lifted version its popular GL-Class SUV, the Mercedes GL-Grand edition.

The new GL Grand Edition SUV comes with all new revamped front end featuring bigger grille with three horizontal chrome-bars. The Mercedes logo in the front is little bit bigger now, while new Head-lamp with dark tint is also introduced. The 20-inch alloys are made standard for the Grand edition, and the car will be offered with new shades also.

In Interior you will find big “Grand Edition” badge at the center of the console, and other minor enhancements includes new leather upholstery and velour floor mats.

The new GL Grand Edition SUV is powered by 3.0-litre V6 diesel engine which delivers whopping power output of 224bhp and a torque of 510nm. The engine is mated to 7-speed automatic transmission and the SUV do offers a top speed of 210kmph.

It do incorporates many innovative features like 4MATIC All-wheel drive, AIRMATIC Air Suspension, PARKTRONIC, off-road ABS, DSR, Hill-Assist and Adaptive damping system. Being a vehicle from Mercedes stable, all this features are expected.

The Mercedes GL Grand Edition SUV will be available in two variants- Executive costing Rs. 60.9 lakh and Luxury costing Rs. 65.5 lakh (Ex-showroom Delhi).

Maruti has launched its much awaited second-generation 2012 Swift Dzire in India. The new Dzire will be made available in both petrol and diesel variant and its price starts from Rs. 4.79 lakh. The Dzire now gets four-speed automatic gearbox too, and being a sub-four-meter sedan it enjoys tax cut also.

The base petrol variant LXi starts from Rs. 4.79 lakh and goes up to Rs. 6.19 lakh for the top end ZXi variant, while the diesel base variant starts from Rs. 5.80 lakh and goes up to Rs. 7.09 lakh. The Automatic gearbox is available with only VXi variant and is priced at Rs. 6.54 lakh.

The new 2012 Dzire is made on all new platform, the wheelbase measures now 3995mm, 165mm shorter than the old Dzire. This shortening in length of wheelbase has resulted in short boot space of 316 litres only.

The Dzire gets the same power plant as that of the 2012 Swift, the petrol variant is powered by new K-series Variable Valve Timing 1.2-litre petrol engine which churns out 86bhp power, while the diesel variant gets the same 1.3-litre DDiS engine churning out power of 74bhp.

The whole new revamped Dzire looks much identical to 2012 Swift; it gets all new front facial with a slatted grille and large enclosure for fog lamps. The interior is almost identical to the new Swift, while minor changes has been introduced which includes more use of beige plastic and light colored seat fabrics.

Maruti claims the new Petrol Swift to do the 0-100kmph mark in just 12.6sec while Diesel Dzire does the same in 14.8sec. With the new revamped Dzire launch, Maruti is planning to take on other players in the same segment including Tata Manza, Nissan Sunny and Toyota Etios.

Checkout the price details of 2012 Swift Dzire
2012 Dzire Price                    Old Dzire Price
LXi – Rs 4.79 lakh                    LXi – Rs 4.94 lakh
VXi – Rs 5.32 lakh                    VXi – Rs 5.47 lakh
VXi AT – Rs 6.54 lakh
ZXi – Rs 6.19 lakh                     ZXi – Rs 6.39 lakh
LDi – Rs 5.80 lakh                    LDi – Rs 5.95 lakh
VDi – Rs 6.31 lakh                    VDi – Rs 6.46 lakh
ZDi – Rs 7.09 lakh                    ZDi – Rs 7.30 lakh

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Honda Motorcycle India has launched the upgraded version of its popular scooter Dio. The new 2012 Dio is now powered by upgraded 110cc engine and gets new design inspired from Honda’s global moto-styling. The new revamped Dio gets new tail lamp, new front design and a new 3D emblem.

The Honda Dio is now powered by 110cc engine which churns out power of 8bhp @7500rpm and a torque of .88kgm @5500rpm. This same engine performs its duty in Honda Activa and Honda Aviator scooter. The company now claims to provide a better mileage of 55kpl, a bump of 20% from the earlier version.

Honda has also incorporated new Combi-brake system in the Dio which ensures efficient braking and riding stability. Further you also get tubeless tyres are both end, first Indian scooter to get this feature.

NK Rattan, VP – Sales & Marketing, HMSI said speaking at the launch, “The increased convenience and comfortable riding position of the new Dio will appeal to both style-conscious young males and females. It is very affordable and will be available by February-end.”

The new 2012 Dio will be made available in five colors- sports red, matt axis grey, pearl sunbeam white, candy palm green and leblon violet. It is priced at Rs. 42,362 (Ex-showroom Delhi).

Bajaj has launched its next generation 2012 Pulsar 200NS. The new Pulsar 200NS is powered by 200cc engine and is the first Naked Sports (NS) bike from Bajaj portfolio.

The new 200NS is powered by new 199.5cc liquid-cooled, four-value, carbureted engine with new triple-spark-plug system. The engine is mated to six-speed gearbox and produces maximum power of 23.18bhp @ 9500rpm and torque of 1.86kgm @ 8000rpm. This is the same engine which performs its duty in KTM Duke 200, although Duke 200 is Fuel Injected and is DOHC engine.

Bajaj claims the new pulsar to do 0-60kmph sprit in just 3.61sec and 0-100kmph in just 9.83sec. The new bike gets gas-filled mono-shock suspension and also features under mounted exhaust, thereby keeping the center of gravity low. 280mm disc brake is provided in the front, while the rear gets 230mm disc brake. 17-inch wheels and tubeless tyres are being provided at both ends.

K Srinivas, President-Motorcycles, Bajaj Auto said “Pulsar has now celebrated a ‘Decade of Dominance’ with 10 years of leadership in the Indian performance motorcycle market. The Pulsar 200NS showcases the next leap in technology and design and will set the standard for others to follow. We believe that 2012-13 will be an exciting period where Bajaj Auto will excite customers both here and abroad.”

The new 2012 Pulsar NS is slated to go on sale from April 2012. Bajaj motorcycle has promised to keep the price of the bike under Rs. 1 lakh.

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Chevrolet is planning to bring its all new Indian-bound SUV, the Chevrolet Trailblazer. The company is planning to regain its position in premium SUV segment which was earlier ruled by Chevrolet Captiva, and is now captured by Toyota Fortuner and Ford Endeavour.

The SUV will be made available with two engine options- 2.8-litre 180bhp CRDI engine and 2.5-litre 150bhp diesel engine. The 2.8-litre CRDI engine is much more powerful than the heart of Fortuner and Endeavour.

According to Chevrolet, the Trailblazer will be featuring lot of car like features and will be a seven seater SUV. Further it will be more spacious in comparison to other SUV of the same segment including Toyota Fortuner.

Chevrolet is planning to bring the SUV via CKD route and assemble the vehicle at their Halol facility. We are expecting the SUV to be priced in 17 lakh range. We can just hope that GM rolls out their new SUV for Indian roads soon.

Bajaj Motorcycle and KTM have launched the much awaited Duke 200 bike in India. The KTM is the Europe’s second largest motorcycle brand and dominates off-road segment motorcycle worldwide. KTM has entered the Indian shore with its premium street bike brand Duke. The Duke 200 will be the first motorcycle from KTM portfolio, while in future company has plans to bring bigger sibling of it to India.

The new KTM Duke 200 is powered by 200cc single cylinder, DOHC, four valve engine which churns out power of 25BHP and torque of 19nm. The bike also provides best in class power to weight ratio of 184 Ps/ton, this is made possible due to the high strength low weight components used in bike. The Duke 200 will be the first bike in India to feature Trellis Frame, Upside Down forks by European specialists WP, an aluminium swing arm and a multifunction cockpit.

The Duke 200 will be sold through 34 dedicated KTM stores nationwide, while KTM has also announced they will be providing performance accessories and Merchandise for the bike which includes KTM PowerWear and KTM PowerParts. The KTM Duke has been launched with an introductory price of Rs.1,17,500. With this launch it’s sure that Honda CBR250r, R15 V2.0 and Karizma ZMR will face a lot of heat from it in future.

Mr. Stefan Pierer, CEO of KTM-Sportmotorcycles AG speaking at the launch, “We are delighted to have the Duke 200 in India and are very positive about the prospects of KTM in the Indian market. With our unique design and engineering philosophy, we have managed to develop our unique brand identity which we are confident that our customers in India will appreciate “

KTM Duke 200 Specifications:

• Design Single-cylinder, 4-stroke, spark-ignition engine, liquid-cooled
• 200cc Displacement
• 6-speed claw shifted transmission
• Liquid cooling system with water pump
• Peak power 25BHP
• Peak Torque 19nm
• Weight without fuel approx. 125 kg

Fiat and Suzuki Motor has entered into agreement for the supply of the world famous 1.3-litre Multijet engine to Maruti Suzuki. According to the deal, Fiat will supply 100,000 75BHP Multijet engines every year to Maruti Suzuki for a period of 3-year starting from this month.

The engine production for Maruti will take place in Fiat’s Ranjangaon plant near Pune. The BS IV four-cylinder, 16V 1.3-litre Multijet engine is very popular in India and is present under the hood of many vehicles including all-new Swift, SX4, Ritz and Dzire. The new deal will enable Maruti to push its production of diesel vehicles in order to complete the orders. The new Maurti Swift 2012 has already received a whopping response from public and has crossed the 1 lakh booking mark in just few months.

Nissan has increased the price of its Micra and Sunny models in India. The price has been hiked ranging from 0.56 to 2.09 percent depending on variant variants. The new revised price will come in effect from January 20, 2012.

The Nissan Micra Petrol will now cost Rs. 3,000 more. The base version of Micra is priced at Rs. 4.10 lakh presently, while the Nissan Diesel variant get a price hike of Rs. 12,000 which currently starts from Rs. 5.72 lakh.

Similarly Nissan Sunny will now cost Rs. 5,000 more. Currently it is priced at Rs. 5.78 lakh for the base variant. However Nissan has decided to keep the price of Nissan Sunny Diesel untouched.

New Nissan Sunny and Micra Price :

Micra XE (P) Rs 413,500

Micra XL (P) Rs 475,500

Micra XV (P) Rs 541,300

Micra XV (D) Rs 584,970

Micra XV (D) Rs 629,300

Sunny XE (P) Rs 583,000

Sunny XL (P) Rs 693,000

Sunny XV (P) Rs 773,000

Hyundai has added another variant to its popular entry level hatch back Eon, the Hyundai Eon is now available with factory-fitted LPG kit. The new variant will cost Rs. 27,000 more than the existing variant. The LPG variant gets separate 32-litre petrol and 34-litre LPG tank.

In addition to LPG EON, Hyundai has also introduced other variants which include D-Lite+, Era+ and Magna+. This new variants will offer extra features but will be dearer by Rs. 7,000. The D-Lite comes with only Air-conditioning while D-Lite+ gets additional power steering function.

The Era+ gets power window and central locking and is priced at Rs. 3.12 lakh, The Magna+ gets Double-Din audio system with USB interface and is priced at Rs. 3.42 lakh. All these new variants will be available in showroom from next week onwards.
The Hyundai Eon is powered by 814cc three-cylinder petrol engine which produces power output of 55.2BHP.