Mitsubishi is planning to bring a small hatch to India, and it might be the new Mirage Ecocar. Mitsubishi has been struggling in India since long, and they are not able to perform well neither in SUV segment and nor in the sedan segment.

However, if Mitsubishi brings the small car Mirage in India and prices it well, it might change the fortune of the company. The Mirage was launched globally at the Bangkok Motor show in March 2012, and is specially designed for developing market.

The Mirage is a compact car, but it carries enough room for five to make them sit comfortably. The car is expected to be launched with 1.2-litre petrol engine, which will deliver fuel efficiency of 20kpl and provide good performance.

It is also speculated that Mitsubishi might bring the new car on its own, not in joint venture with Hindustan motors. The Hatchback segment in India is growing at a tremendous rate; this is the main reason why all global car manufacturers are attracted toward Indian Automobile market.

Volkswagen’s premium sedan Jetta will soon be getting another engine option. A petrol Jetta has been caught testing by AutocardIndia. This news will indeed bring rejoice to all those customers who are anxiously waiting for a petrol Jetta.

The VW Jetta has been launched back in Aug 2011, initially the car was offered with a single-engine option; 4-cylinder In-line CR turbocharged diesel engine delivering power output of 140bhp and a maximum torque of 320nm.

The test car was running on 1.4-litre turbocharged TSI engine, which develops power output of 120bhp; the same engine has grabbed many prizes globally. Earlier, it was expected that VW will plant the 1.8-litre TSI engine which is currently being used in Skoda Laura and Superb, but finally VW has decided on 1.4-litre mill, which will provide fuel efficiency along with performance.

The key factor for the upcoming petrol Jetta will be the pricing, the diesel Jetta has already been steeply priced. VW will surely want to bring down the price of the Petrol Jetta to compete with Honda Civic Corolla Altis and Petrol Laura.

Maruti has introduced new Taxi-spec version of the old Dzire, the new Dzire tour. The Dzire Tour is not a new version; it is basically the first-generation model of the Swift Dzire. With the launch of the new 2012 Swift Dzire, Maruti has phased out the old Dzire, but now it will be sold as Dzire Tour.

The Dzire Tour will be made available in two variants only- LXI Petrol and LDi Diesel. The car carries minimal standard features, including AC, power steering, Steel wheels, black front and rear bumpers and black door handles. It will be sold only to taxi and fleet operators, and will not be made available to the common public.

The Dzire Tour petrol variant is priced at Rs. 5.91 lakh, and the Diesel version is priced at Rs. 4.88 lakh. It will go on sale from April 2012 onwards.

Volkswagen India has launched special IPL Limited edition variant of its Polo and Vento. This new edition has been launched to embark upon VW association with Indian Premier League. This is not the first-time VW introducing the IPL edition, last year also we saw IPL edition vehicle being launched.

VW has added few new features in the new limited IPL edition, both the cars get a touch-screen multimedia player with interactive car-pad and built-in navigation system, social-networking option for rear passengers, iPod control, MicroSD card slot and USB interface. It also adds Bluetooth and Park Assist feature.

To add premium feel to the interior, VW has also added leatherette seats, IPL logo embossed door spill with special design and new floor mats with IPL logo.

Commenting on the launch, Neeraj Garg, member of the Board and Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars said, “Last year we launched our first special-edition model, the Vento IPL Edition, and there on, introduced the Breeze models of both the Polo and the Vento. The immense response we received towards these special editions has prompted us to continue with the IPL Editions, and this time with both our popular car lines – the Polo and the Vento.”

Check price of the new IPL edition Vento and Polo below.

VW Polo IPL Edition II

• 1.2 Petrol Highline Rs. 6.13 lakh
• 1.6 L Petrol Highline Rs. 6.48 lakh
• 1.2 L Diesel Highline Rs. 7.16 lakh

VW Vento IPL Edition II

• 1.6 L Petrol Trendline Rs. 7.08 lakh
• 1.6 L Petrol Highline Rs. 8.23 lakh
• 1.6 L Petrol Highline AT Rs. 9.21 lakh
• 1.6 L Diesel Trendline Rs. 8.28 lakh

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) has launched the much awaited 150cc version of its CBR250R bike, the new Honda CBR150R. The CBR250R is the Hondas’ first 250cc bike and has gained a lot of popularity in India since its launch, and now by launching the 150cc variant of it Honda it trying to get hold of 150cc Sports bike segment also.

The new CBR150R is powered by 149.4cc, four-stroke, single-cylinder engine which delivers a power output of 18bhp and torque of 12.66nm The engine is mated to six-speed manual gearbox. It carries many features from its big brother, including fuel injection, electric start, front and rear disc brakes.

The CBR150R is available in two variants- Standard and Deluxe. The Standard variant comes in two colors- Sports Red, Black and Pearl Sunbeam White color, while the Deluxe variant will come in Vibrant Orange, Black and Candy Palm color.

Honda has started taking booking of the new CBR150R, and promised that first batch of 750 bikes will be rolled by the end of March 2012. The deluxe variant is priced at Rs. 1,16,385 and the standard variant is priced at Rs. 1,17,385.

Seeing the pricing point, the new CBR150R will be competing with segment’s much popular Yamaha R15 V2.0, recently launched Duke 200 and Bajaj’s upcoming Pulsar 200NS.

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Mitsubishi has launched new Seven-seater variant of Outlander SUV. The new seven-seater variant will be sold side by side along with the earlier five-seater Outlander variant.

There is no change in seat layout in the seven-seater variant, its same as that of five-seater variant, the only change introduced is the addition of two jump seats in the rear to occupy two more extra passengers. However, only minimal legroom is available for third-row passenger, and even you can fold the third-row seat to get extra cargo space.

Under the hood, no change has been introduced. It’s powered by the same twin-cam in-line 4-cylinder 2.4-litre petrol mill, which churns out power of 167bhp and a torque of 23kgm. The engine is mated to 6-speed CVT box with the 6-speed manual and 6-speed paddle shift.

By introducing the seven-seater variant, Mitsubishi has made the new outlander much more competitive in comparison other SUV’s in the same segment including Toyota Fortuner. The five-seater Mitsubishi Outlander is priced at Rs. 20.25 lakh ex-showroom, Delhi.

Ford has introduced 2012 lineup for its most popular sedan Ford Fiesta. In the 2012 lineup, Ford has added two new base variant for both diesel and petrol version. The petrol version gets a new price-cut Ambient base version priced at Rs. 7.23 lakh, and the diesel version gets the Style base version priced Rs. 8.99 lakh.

The new variants make the base petrol version cheaper by Rs. 1 lakh and base diesel version cheaper by Rs. 28,000, the introduction of new variants will surely attract many more buyers who are looking for new sedan under 8.5 lakh.

Ford has made easy for the consumer to choose variants by shortening the list; the Fiesta will now be offered only in Ambient, Style and Titanium+ variant. The petrol version will get Ambiente, Titanium+, Style (AT) and Titanium+ (AT) variant, while the diesel version will have only Style and Titanium+ variant.

Even though the Ambient version is priced a little bit lower, but it does carry many features, including driver Airbag, ABS with EBD, central locking system, power mirrors, turn indicators on OVRM, ride-me home headlamp and tilt steering functionality.

Along with the above features, the Style variants add automatic climate control, fog lamps, leather wrapped steering wheel, cruise control; Audio controls mounted on steering wheel and 6-speakers audio system.

And if you opt for top of the line Titanium+ variant, you will get all above listed features, and will be further entertained with Bluetooth voice control, auto fold power mirrors, reverse parking sensor and front chrome grille. The Powershift Automatic Titanium+ variant also adds leather seats.

Last month, Ford has launched the Fiesta Powershift, and now they had introduced new base variants of it. It clearly shows that they are trying to compete with Honda City and Hyundai Verna.

Volkswagen has introduced a new variant of its popular sedan Vento, the Volkswagen Vento Diesel Comfortline. The newly introduced variant is the mid-spec variant, and will be placed between basic Trendline variant and top end Highline variant.

The new variant is available only with diesel mill, under the hood it carries the same 1.6-litre diesel engine churning out power of 105bhp and a maximum torque of 250nm. The engine is mated to five-speed manual gearbox.

The Comfortline variant adds many features from the top variant and carries all features from Trendline variant, some noticeable new features include body colored exterior door handles, Mp3 player with radio, rear center arm rest, front and rear fog lamps, height-adjustable driver seat and electrically adjustable outside mirror.

However, the major drawback of the comfortline variant it that it does not carry essential security features, including ABS and Airbags. The new variant will be placed against the Skoda Rapid mid-variant, which now has an upper hand due to ABS and Airbag feature.

The new Volkswagen Vento diesel comfortable variant gets a price tag of Rs. 8.56 lakh Ex-showroom Maharashtra. With this new variant launch, VW is trying to take on Honda City and Skoda Rapid.

Commenting on the introduction of the Vento Diesel Comfortline, Mr. Neeraj Garg, Member of Board & Director Volkswagen Passenger Cars said, “Since the introduction of the Vento, we have received requests for the mid-level trimline and it is our pleasure to be able to provide the customers with their desired car.”

Mitsubishi has introduced the new version of its much popular SUV Pajero in India, the new Mitsubishi Pajero Sports. Mitsubishi has been struggling in India’s automobile market since few years, but with recent price cut to Cedia and launching new Pajero sports they made it clear they are not going to lose it easily.

Talking about the new Pajero sports, it is powered by 2.5-litre 16-value intercooled turbocharged diesel engine, which produces hefty power output of 175bhp and a torque of 40.4kgm The engine has been mated to five-speed manual gearbox.

Further Mitsubishi has incorporated its shift-on-the-fly Super Select 4WD, which has gained a lot of popularity in rally race, thereby giving the new Pajero extreme off-road capabilities. The 215mm ground clearance allows you to take the vehicle to any terrain without any hassle of scrapping the bottom.

Since the Pajero sports belong to the premium SUV segment, it does add many security and premium features, including ABS with EBD, leather-wrapped gear knob, USB music player and multi-information display unit. An extra third-row seat has also been added making the new-vehicle seven-seater.

The new Pajero Sports is launched carrying a price tag of Rs. 23.53 lakh, ex-showroom, Delhi. Currently, the vehicle is imported as CBU unit, this is the main reason for the hefty price tag; Mitsubishi has promised a bring CKD version of the new Pajero sports by the end of the year which will be comparatively cheaper than this.

Mitsubishi has also stated that the current generation Pajero will be phased out soon, and new Pajero sports will take its place.  The new sports version will be directly placed against the most popular premium SUV in India, Toyota Fortuner, which sells for Rs. 20.99 lakh.

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Mahindra XUV 500, the global SUV from Mahindra portfolio has earned a lot of appreciation from reviewers as well as buyers. During its launch, the vehicle has got a whooping response from buyers grabbing 8000 bookings in few days, this in turn forced Mahindra to close the bookings.  And when the booking was reopened on 26th Jan, Mahindra managed to get 25,000 bookings.

Now Mahindra has got another reason to rejoice, as the XUV 500 has bagged third place at Desert Storm 2012 rally being organized by Maruti. Maruti organizes “Desert Storm Rally” every year where manufacturers get chance to show off their vehicle’s sturdiness and capability. The SUV has created history and became the first diesel car to win in Extreme Category at the rally.

The XUV was driven by Gaurav Gill along with Lohitt Urs; they started from 35th position on the first day of rally and ended the rally grabbing the 3rd position after completing 395kms off-road condition on 5th day of rally. During the rally they managed to get average cruising speed of 95 km/hr.

Commenting on the incredible success of the XUV500 on its rallying debut, Mr. Vivek Nayer, Sr. Vice-President, Marketing, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, “This unprecedented podium finish by the Mahindra XUV500is a testimony to the 20 Auto awards it has won since its launch!

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