Skoda Fabia

Well Fabia is what I would like to call as a Fabulous little Skoda. Skoda has been in indian market for quite some time now, and is synonymous to its most popular Octavia. Skoda Fabia was globally launched in 2002 but India launched was constantly postponed. Major factor being the Indian market was not matured enough to accept a premium hatchback. But with the success of Swift, Chevy U-AV and Getz Skoda is all set for the launch of the most awaited Fabia.


Fabia In India is expected to be annouced at the Auto Expo in Jan 2008. In India it will have either 1.2 litre or 1.4 litre engine. There are rumours that Skoda may reduce the overall length of the Fabia to try and meet the requirements for the lower excise duty benefit. Skoda Fabia is based on the Volkswagen platform. It will be Skoda's first small car in India. The car will compete with Chevrolet Aveo UV-A, Hyundai Getz, and ofcourse the Swift for the market share.


Skoda Fabia has got seven engine options, however, India will get maximum three i.e. 1.2L Petrol, 1.4L Petrol and 1.4L Diesel. Among these three too, 1.4L Petrol is very unlikely. 1.2L (1198cc), 3-cylinder, 12V Petrol engine produces 70ps of power and 123Nm of torque. 1.4L (1422cc), 3-cylinder, 12V TDI Diesel engine produces 80ps of power and 195Nm of torque. Though neither of the engine is class-leading in power/performance, they are powerful enough to give you wonderful drive. Diesel engine is 3-cylinder version of Laura’s engine and is a little noisy like its bigger sibling. Last but not least, both Petrol and Diesel engines are quite fuel efficient.



Skoda Fabia is far bigger than any hatchback in India hence is hugely spacious in cabin as well as in boot. Standard boot is of 300 liters, if rear seat is folded, it can be extended to 1100+ liters. Fabia has ample legroom at front, knee-room at rear and head-room at front/rear. Goodies available as standard will be more than adequate too. Overall, a highly desirable hatch.


Well, if Fabia really comes to India, consider it as revolution in Indian B+ car segment. No car in India is able to match what Skoda Fabia is about to offer. It can be considered as India’s first truly premium hatchback. With Fabia, India is bound to have world-class styling, luxury, technology and safety features. If rightly priced, this highly sturdy, hot hatch will sell like hot cakes.

Estimated Price: Rs 5.5-7 Lakh estimated

Swift Sedan, Maruti Dezire

Maruti Suzuki will launch a swift with definite boot , yes the new esteem i.e swift sedan will hit the showrooms in in January - Febraury 2008. The new Swift sedan is expected to be offered in both petrol and diesel engine variants. For the diesel option, Maruti may pick the 1.3L DDIS engine which currently powers the swift hatch back to power the new swift sedan. Swift sedan will be positioned as a practical family car(no sporty ) a new wider rear section will facilitate that. The upcoming swift sedan may replace (or) complement the esteem(if it is launched only on diesel version). Swift in its three box avtaar(sedan) will take on the upcoming next generation Indigo and is expected to be priced around Rs5.5 lakh. Maruti’s earlier bid to capture the diesel market with the esteem diesel ended in a failure node. But the esteem’s petrol model still holds some grip - even after 13years of its debut 6,000 units of esteem is sold in April-July period.

Got a pic from net, might be photoshopped, who cares..
here it is:


another one:



courtesy: http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/14/spy-shots-suzuki-swift-sedan-nabbed-in-india/



Maruti Swift Sedan, Now coenamed Maruti Dezire replacement of esteem, Esteem production has been stopped already, and Dezire is expected to be onroad in first quarter of 2008.

check out the pricelist and review here:
http://indywheels.blogspot.com/2008/03/maruti-suzuki-swift-dzire-launched.html

Make Maruti Swift DZire Launched, See the pricelist

Mahindra AXE

Mahindra AXE or should i say Indian Hummer



Well this is the military version of the Axe, but Mahindra is planning a civilian version of the Axe. The civilian version of Axe will be ready by 2009 with an automatic transmission.



Axe’s civillian version will be homologated with styling and other changes. But it will use a Mahindra driveline. The basic characteristic of performance will be the same but the looks will be different like the Humvee and Hummer.



For the civilian version of axe the engine displacement will be lowered and there will be cosmetic changes on the dashboard. But Mahindra wants to keep the suspension and platform unchanged.


Pics courtesy: http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=118981

Axe civilian version will be only diesel and with automatic transmission. Mahindra will showcase the Axe at the 2008 Delhi Auto Expo. Mahindra’s commercial Axe is expected to be priced roughly between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 22 lakh.

Fiat Grande Punto

The first product of the Fiat - Tata alliance will be the Grand Punto, a premium hatchback which is expected to be launched in the beginning of 2008.



Punto 75bhp engine is already offered in swift by Maruti. GM, Suzuki and Fiat co-developed the engine.



Designed by the famous Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign, the Grande Punto is an attractive and spacious car. The punto is preceded with “Grande” to indicate its larger size.


The car is expected to be priced between 4.5 – 6 lakhs to take on getz, swift and Fabia.

Maruti Cervo

Rumor has it... Suzuki is planning to replace the long lasting Maruti 800 with the Japanese Suzuki Cervo which is the latest small car recently launched in Japan, the Cervo is a compact five door mini, that looks to put the other kids on the block into the shade.



The interiors of this car somewhat looks like that of the much popular Swift. The rectangular air vents in the center and the circle open closed ones on the sides dont look even and looks a bit uneven. the colors of the controls do look lights up the dash.


This sleek cute car offers 54bhp 660cc engine that boasts to offer peppy performance with great fuel economy.

Renault Sandero

Sandero is a modern hatchback and was designed with the expectations of South American customers in mind. But that does not hamper Renault from marketing the sandero in other parts of the world.




Sandero’s appealing design suggests both dynamic performance and robustness. Its distinctive front end features very expressive headlamps, with a grille and bumper that merge seamlessly into the bodywork. The design of the flanks strengthens the suggestion of robustness thanks, in particular, to the wide protection strips along the sides of the sandero. The rear styling of the sandero emphasises the impression of a roomy, generously proportioned car.

Maruti Splash

Splash is another upcoming model from Maruti. Will be showcased in Auto-Expo 2008 and is expected to hit the Indian Roads by 2008 last quarter. Its closer in character to WagonR and feel is derived from Swift. Whether this will be a replacement to Wagon R or will be sold along with it is still doubtful.


The Splash is the fourth new model for the Maruti Suzuki after the launch of Swift, Grand Vitara and SX4. Splash which the Splash is based on a shortened version of the Swift’s platform will be the natural choice for the Maruti suzuki’s next small car in India.

The interiors and overall comfort and feel is similar to Swift.



Maruti may price the car around its Wagon R, which comes with a tag of about Rs 3.50 lakh. Splash is expected to go on sale in Europe in March 2008, India will get the splash soon after that.