Auto Reviews | Comparison | Specification

2019 Toyota Camry Hybrid – Review | The Immediate Present

Many people are hopping onto the electric vehicle bandwagon and conveniently ignoring the fact that for the electric vehicle future to exist, the present needs to be sorted out. Electric vehicles will take a long time and we need some immediate measures to fix our environmental problems. So, what exactly can be the solution? Hybrid vehicles are the solution. Yes, and it is high time that the finance ministry cuts down on the rate of GST on hybrid cars. Reducing the GST on electric vehicles will not encourage people to buy electric vehicles any time soon. There is still a long way to go for electric vehicles. And to justify the importance of hybrid vehicles, we analysed how effective a hybrid vehicle really is. So, we borrowed Toyota’s all-new Camry hybrid and found out why hybrid vehicles are the need of the hour.

How Does The Hybrid Drive?

Having never driven an electric vehicle, hybrid vehicles will help you in that transition from gasoline engines to electric powertrains. And the all-new Camry like its older generation will set you in the right direction for that seamless transition. You switch on the car, and you will have no clue if the car is switched on or not. The Camry will always switch on in the EV mode, its self-charging electric motor is so silent that you would want to cross-check with the Camry’s power steering input before proceeding further. Coming to the Camry’s transmission, it has a CVT gearbox along with paddle shifters, which never came to my use. This was due to the fact that the Camry has omitted the tachometer, so no real data on how long it could hold on to the gear. All you have to do is select from the three driving modes and drive on. Hybrids might seem underpowered but in no way that’s true. In the Camry, there is ample amount of power on offer and the 2.5-litre petrol engine in tandem with the electric motor is sufficient for a car of this size, producing a combined power of 215 PS.

Driving on the roads at lower speeds, you will hear a silent whine from the electric motor and when you put your foot down to overtake, the petrol engine takes over. This is after you cross the 40 km/h speed. Also, the transition is so seamless that you do not feel any jerks. The drive feels more engaging in the Normal and Sport mode, Eco mode is best suitable for peak hour traffic. What surprised me the most was its handling, every time I pushed it around an open bend, it inspired confidence. It comes really close to its German counterparts’ handling abilities. Nevertheless, this car can certainly propel ahead with sheer ease, that’s a proper sign of a highway cruiser. Talking about the hybrid engine’s practicality, the fuel efficiency is phenomenal! Even after constantly driving in Sport mode in the city, the Camry delivered a decent 12 km/l mileage and in Normal mode, the mileage was close to 15 km/l. This was all in Mumbai’s peak-hour city traffic, on the highway, it was even better delivering almost 18 km/l. Its regenerative braking is also one feature that helps in charging up the battery and improving the overall range.

Verdict
When you consider buying this extremely practical luxury sedan it surely reflects your sense of responsibility towards the environment. And as far as the environment is concerned, hybrid cars like the Camry is the solution to our immediate present.

Specifications:

Engine: 2.5-litre 4 Cylinder Gasoline-Hybrid
Power: 215 PS
Torque: 202 Nm
Transmission: CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) Sequential Shift with Paddles

Price: ₹37.5 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi)

Range Rover Evoque | First Drive

Do you have a cool elder sibling in your family that steals all the limelight? And how you wish you could get some of their traits. Well, the story is quite similar in the Land Rover family. The cool elder sibling in this story is the Range Rover Velar and the young sibling is the new Range Rover Evoque. Watch the video to know more about the new Evoque.

Engine: 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, diesel

Power: 180 hp Torque: 430 Nm

Transmission: 9-speed automatic

Starting Price: ₹ 54.94 lakh (ex-showroom, India)

Car in frame: Range Rover Evoque Reviewer: Saurabh Gamare Cinematography: Harmanpreet Singh Video Editing: Sam Phillips Location: Mumbai, India

Benelli Imperiale 400 – Review | A Classic Motorcycle With A Modern Heart

The year 2019 has been pretty exciting for the Italian motorcycle brand Benelli as they have been on a launching spree in India. After the Benelli TRK 502 and 502X, the brand was not too late to introduce the Benelli Leoncino 500 and a Leoncino 250 which use the same engine from the TRK 502 and the TNT 250 respectively.

Benelli sure wants to get a stronghold of the Indian automotive market and this is why they have now launched the Benelli Imperiale 400, a modern-retro motorcycle from the house of the Italian two-wheeler maker.

The Benelli Imperiale 400 comes as a modern interpretation of the MotoBi models which Benelli used to produce in the 1950s. A first look at the motorcycle and you are sure to find many similarities with a few motorcycles in this segment. There are several chrome elements on the motorcycle which definitely lend it a character to it. The Imperiale 400 sports a round headlamp as well as round indicators and an oval-shaped taillamp. Like on most of the motorcycles we see these days, you do not get any LED lighting on offer. The twin-pod analogue-digital instrument cluster displays all information, tell-tale lights and also gets small digital panels for the trip, time, odometer, gear and fuel-level display.

The motorcycle looks quite impressive given the 12-litre teardrop-shaped tank. It gets a lot of black treatment as well on the engine as well as the side panels, silencer as well as the front and rear mudguards with black split seats with colour contrast stitching. Overall, it is a handsome looking motorcycle which reflects the retro out loud.

Powering the Imperiale 400 is an air-cooled, 374cc, fuel-injected SOHC engine which makes about 21 PS of peak power and 29 Nm of torque. The engine is mated to a 5-speed gearbox. Now coming to the ride quality, the Imperiale 400 offers a good rideability both on and off the pavement, thanks to the relaxed seating position and the 19-inch 100 section front and 18-inch 130 section rear tyres shod on spoke wheels. The suspension duties are taken care of by 41mm telescopic forks at the front and twin shock absorbers at the rear with preload-adjustability. Braking department gets a 300mm disc at the front and a 240mm disc at the rear along with dual-channel ABS as a standard offering.

Coming to the ride quality, the rear suspension feels a bit stiff, especially at slow speeds but surprisingly handles Indian road conditions quite well. It is happy to cruise all-day at speeds up to 100km/hr without even breaking a sweat. Heating on the motorcycle is not really evident. At 205 kgs, it is slightly heavy, but you would feel the weight only when parking or in traffic doing dead speeds. Take it off the pavement and you will be surprised how well it holds on to the off-road patches despite having less ground clearance. The TVS tyres seemed to offer a firm grip even when being pushed.

The Benelli Imperiale 400 rivals the likes of the Royal Enfield Classic 350, the Jawa variants. Priced at Rs. 1.69 lakhs (ex-showroom), the Imperiale 400 is a strong contender in this segment for the price it is being offered for. What you get are solid build quality and a 3-year unlimited-kilometre warranty. The company is also offering free services for the first two years which makes it an even more interesting proposition for someone who is looking to buy a retro-themed motorcycle which can do touring as well as occasional rough terrains.

SPECS

Engine – 374cc,Four-stroke, Fuel-injected, SOHC, Air-cooled

Power – 21 PS @ 5500 rpm

Torque – 29 Nm @4500 rpm

Transmission – 5-Speed

Revolt RV 400 | First Ride Review | Electric Storm on the Horizon?

Ever since it was revealed last month, the Revolt RV400 has been one of the most eagerly anticipated motorcycles in the country. That’s because it isn’t any ordinary motorcycle, its India’s first AI-enabled all-electric motorcycle. Recently, we got a chance to have a go on the RV400 at a go-kart track and here’s our first ride review of it.

Performance:

The track was fairly short but had a series of engaging corners and straights. For starters, it’s important to remember that the all-electric motorcycle has three riding modes. These three modes (Eco, City and Sports) determine the degree of acceleration, similar to a gearbox.

Eco mode is more suited for a calm and traffic oriented form of riding, while City and Sports aren’t very different from each other, in the mid-range at least. The Sports mode, however, did have that ever-so-slight amount of extra kick.

Interestingly, the RV400 comes fitted with an external speaker near where the engine would’ve been located had this been a conventional internal combustion motorcycle. The function of this speaker is to simulate a sound we’re used to hearing on a petrol-powered two-wheeler.

Overall, the power delivery is good but there is a slight jerk at the beginning of the rev band since the power suddenly comes in all at once. This can be felt more in the most in Sports mode but is much more relaxed in the Eco mode.

At first, it is a little confusing because the RV400 looks like a normal motorcycle but it doesn’t have an exhaust pipe, brake pedal, clutch or gear shifter. It feels like a motorcycle, but the controls are similar to a scooter. This took a bit of getting used to but after a few laps, I found myself trying to outdo myself, pushing its electric heart a little harder every time.

Since the battery sits where the fuel tank and engine would’ve been, the RV400 feels well balanced, given that it has a ground clearance of 220m. The seat height is at a comfortable 814mm, making it accessible to riders of varying heights. The RV400 tips the scale at 108 kg (approximately) which makes it nippy around the corners.

We’re happy to report that after quite a number of laps around the track, the battery had drained only very slightly, even though we’d been mostly riding in Sports mode.

Ride & Handling:

First impressions are good, the RV400 feels easy to handle around the corners and has ample grip going into a corner, fast. The only worrying thing at first was the braking set up. Since both the brakes are controlled from the levers are front, I found myself looking for the foot brake under intense braking, which can be just a little nerve-racking.

The RV400 gets upside-down forks at the front and an adjustable mono-shock at the back. At slower speeds, the RV400 feels fairly composed and there isn’t really any cause for concern.

Braking is handled by two 240mm disc brakes at the front and back with a Combined Braking System (CBS) which works well. The RV400 is driven by a belt and not a chain, as is the case with most mass-market motorcycles in the world.

Looks:

Even with just a glance, the RV400 looks rebellious. It gets all-LED treatment for the front and tail lamps; even the turn indicators are LED! We then move onto the digital instrument cluster. It displays the range, speed, time and much more.

Revolt RV 400. (Image: Revolt Motors)

However, it wasn’t really working since the speed it was displaying was hard to read. We felt that the Revolt RV400 looks funky, cool and modern. But it still maintains the look of a conventional motorcycle, which is definitely a positive aspect. All in all, it’s bound to catch your attention.

Range, Charging & Features:

We now have to address the elephant in the room, which in this case is the lithium-ion battery. That’s not quite a metaphor since the battery pack in the RV400 is quite heavy (15kgs, approximately).

Folks at Revolt Intellicorp plan to setup swap stations in major cities. This will allow riders to swap out their depleting or depleted battery for a fresh one. Alternatively, customers will also be able to charge the batteries at home or office with the help of a charger which requires a 15-ampere socket. A full charge is expected to take 4.5 hours.

Another interesting feature on the RV400 is that of a Start/Stop button. That’s right, the RV400 doesn’t need for you to insert the key in order to start. However, there will be key for other purposes. Revolt Intellicorp has stated an ARAI certified range of 156 kilometres.

Verdict:

The Revolt RV400 looks to be a step in the right direction. Given the state of our environment and the price of petrol; a simple to use and purposeful all-electric motorcycle could be the need of the hour. In our opinion, the RV400 is a good looking, light, nimble and fairly powerful motorcycle.

Mercedes Benz India launches AMG C43 Coupe

Mercedes Benz India today introduced the much anticipated AMG C43 Coupe for enthusiasts in the country. With an additional 23bhp under the hood, Mercedes Benz AMG C43 Coupe is a facelift version to the outgoing generation and is priced at ₹ 75 lakh India. Imported as a complete CBU, the two-door coupe is based on Mercedes C-Class platform however in this avatar, it adorns an aggressive exterior look, interiors are sporty and the performance is certainly something one should take note off.

Up against the likes of Audi S5 Coupe and BMW M2 Competition, 2019 Mercedes Benz AMG C43 Coupe gets a new AMG radiator grille in comparison to the outgoing version. Its coupe-like silhouette is the striking point out here and so is the sharp overall exterior design. While the rear stands to provide a pair of circular tailpipes having a gloss chrome finish with a boot lip spoiler coming in the same body colour as the vehicle itself. To give it more substance, the AMG C43 Coupe comes equipped with 19-inch AMG inspired alloy wheels. Plus the customer has the choice of opting for the AMG styling package that provides an aggressive front splitter, side skirt inserts and flics in the rear bumper.

As for the interiors, the updated 2019 Mercedes AMG C43 comes with an all-black cabin. Finely crafted, the seats, door panels and dashboard bear Dinamica microfibre finished in black leather with red stitching on top. Then, of course, there are AMG inspired seats alongside the steering wheel that comes wrapped in Nappa leather with touch control buttons and a heads up display. Plus it is provided with a 12.3-inch full digital display that offers threedifferent moods of style Classic, Sport and Supersport.

Now to the most important part, Mercedes AMG C43 Coupe can do a standstill 0-100kmph in just 4.7 seconds. With a restricted top-speed of 250kmph, AMG C43 Coupe comes fitted with a 3.0-litre V6 engine under the skin that produces a maximum power output of 385bhp. This, when compared to the 2018 Mercedes Benz AMG C43 Coupe, produces 23bhp more and now has an improved torque figure of 520Nm. Propelling the wheels of this performance coupe is a 9G automatic transmission that comes matted to AMG Performance 4MATIC All-Wheel Drive System.