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07 February, 2012 Mahindra & Mahindra plans to launch the face lifted version of Xylo, its popular MUV, on 8th February, 2012. The Xylo, which was launched in January 2009, was Mahindra’s first MPV project. Having served the market for 3 years it is now undergoing a facelift.
The refreshed Xylo gets newly styled headlamps and a narrower and more subtle looking all-new grille. The bonnet now folds down above the grille. It has been redesigned for a cleaner look. The new bumper features a larger front air dam. These changes depict that M&M is trying to impart the MUV a family look by injecting some styling that is inspired from the flagship XUV500.
The interior of the facelifted Xylo is expected to get a lighter shade and will be more equipped.
The present Mahindra Xylo is equipped with 2 turbodiesel engines, a 2.5 Liter mEagle common rail unit and a 2.5 liter mDi direct injection unit, but it is not yet sure whether it remains the same for the New Xylo or not. It is all ready to be launched on Wednesday, 8th Feb.

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By the look of things, February 2011 is shaping out to be quite of month for car lovers.

On one side you have Volvo bringing in the S60 and then you have Maruti Suzuki getting Kizashi in to the Indian market. And now, news just in that Maruti Suzuki is also planning the launch of the much awaited SX4 diesel in February.

The SX4 sales figures have taken quite a beating in last half of the 2010. The car that used to sell 1000+ units each month with a lot of difficulty managed 761 last December. And its rivals (with diesel option) like the Vento and the Fiesta managed easily managed to break the 1000 unit barrier.

Even the unusual looking Hyundai Verna astonishingly shipped 1,213 units. Clearly, Maruti has realized that measures need to taken and they need to be taken fast!

The SX4 diesel is expected to have 1.3-litre DDiS engine with a variable geometry turbocharger (VGT) powered to produce 90 bhp. As you may have known by now that this is the same engine that powers the Fiat Linea and does its job well.

The facelifted SX4 was shown in China last month but we’re not sure if that model will reach India.

Most diesels cost around 1 lakh more than their petrol counterparts. So we presume the new SX4 will be sold at a tag of around 8.5 lakh. Will this help the C segment kingpin gain back its territory? Only time will tell.

In the meantime, here is a humble request from IAB:

At least give the option of having those old alloys. The new ones make the car look very characterless

Tagged as: Maruti Suzuki SX4, maruti sx4, Maruti SX4 diesel, SX4 diesel

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If you think the Germans are not your cup of tea, try the Swedes.

After bringing in the XC60 last year, the company is all set to bring in their luxury sedan competitor – Volvo S60 this February. The car will go head to head with Mercedes C Class, BMW 3 series and Audi A4.

Design wise, the S60 started a new chapter in Volvo’s history. Earlier considered to be the geography teacher’s car, Volvo astonished the world by bringing a futuristic design that could match up to the German rivals. The aggressive front end coupled with the sleek coupe like design made sure that this Volvo stands apart from other cars in parking lot.

The car is expected to have the same D5 2.4-litre turbo diesel motor from the XC60 that is good for about 205bhp. The AWD coupled with 420 Nm of torque @ 4000 rpm will make sure that you can keep up with segment leaders.

On the gizmo front, this car is more loaded than the German rivals with gadgetry that can brake for you if a pedestrian is detected and you don’t react in time. Being a Volvo, the list of gadgetry is about 70+ features long.

But like other Volvo cars, this will also be making it to the market in form a CBU attracting 110% customs duty. Would that make the car uncompetitive in the segment? Only February can answer that

Tagged as: Volvo S60, Volvo S60 India

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Maruti’s Kizashi sedan will be launched on the 2nd of February, Financial Chronicle is reporting. The vehicle will be a CBU, imported from parent Suzuki Motor Corporation’s Japanese facility.

Expected to be be priced between 17-20 lakh rupees, it will use the Grand Vitara’s 2.4-liter petrol engine mated to an automatic or manual transmission. On an ambitious journey to impress rich customers, variants of the Honda Accord, Skoda Superb, VW Jetta and the likes will stand in its way.

Available in black, silver and white and it will take up to 8 weeks for your Kizashi to be delivered from the time of booking.

Maruti Suzuki India Managing Executive Officer (Marketing & Sales) Mayank Pareek -

This (Kizashi) is our attempt to be future ready, as we believe the A4 and A5 segment (luxury) is going to grow. It is small at the moment but the way the economy is growing, this segment is going to be big. In another 5-7 years time, this volume is going to be big and to sustain our leadership position in the market we are looking at this segment seriously. There are nine million Maruti Suzuki customers at present. Many of them want to move up and have been asking after the SX4, what next? What we are doing here is to provide them options in luxury segment.

The company will observe the demand for the Kizashi and then ponder over the idea of assembling it locally. There was no time frame mentioned, but if the response is good, expect it to roll out of Manesar or Gurgaon.

We have no doubts that initially there will be a good number of takers for the Kizashi, but will that dream period prolong to an extent that local assembly is justified? Maruti is struggling to sell the SX4 in India, the need of the hour is a diesel engine to eat into Verna, Fiesta and Vento’s numbers. How many Skoda, VW, Honda and Toyota customers are going to be interested in checking out the Kizashi?

Fast Fact – Indian Autos Blog’s first post on the Kizashi came on September 3, 2008.

Source – Mydigitalfc.com

Tagged as: Maruti Suzuki Kizashi, Suzuki Kizashi India

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