Showing posts with label next. Show all posts
Showing posts with label next. Show all posts
Saturday, October 26, 2013
BMW 1 series coming next year
BMW will launch the 1-series in India by late 2013. It will be locally produced at the BMW plant in Chennai.
BMW has revealed that it will be bringing its 1-series hatchback (codename: F20) to India late next year. The current-generation model has been on sale in international markets since September last year.
The 1-series is the smallest and most affordable car in the BMW range, which is why the company sees great potential for the five-door hatchback in the Indian market.
Encouraged by the booming sales of the X1, and also possibly in response to Mercedes’ plans to launch the A-class hatchback – a direct rival for the 1-series – in India, BMW hopes the 1 will carve out a new niche for itself here as a powerful, premium, rear-wheel-drive hatchback. The car will be locally produced at the BMW plant in Chennai, so expect prices to be in the range of around Rs 18-20 lakh.
The design is striking, if not classically attractive – the shark-nose treatment with the forward-leaning kidney grille, the clamshell bonnet and the large, recessed headlights, give it a premium look, and you can’t mistake it for anything but a BMW. The surface treatment along the sides isn’t as conflicting as the previous 1-series and, as a result, is easier on the eye. The tail-lamps have also been pushed to the extremities of the rear to allow for a larger tailgate aperture.
Based on the same platform architecture as the 3-series, it shares some major components with the saloon, including its front MacPherson struts and multi-link rear suspension.
It’s not as small as it looks in the photographs, though. At 4.2 metres long and with a wheelbase that has been stretched by 30mm over the last 1-series, this car’s dimensions are more mid-size saloon than small hatch. This points to a roomy, comfortable cabin. Expect cabin quality to be closer to the X3 and 3-series as well. Helping distance the 1-series from ‘junta’ hatchbacks is BMW’s rear-wheel-drive layout.
Internationally, BMW sells the 1-series with 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre petrol and diesel engines, and even a turbocharged 3.0-litre, six-cylinder petrol in the 135i, but Indian cars might share engines with the X1 in the interest of costs. This means a 2.0-litre, 181bhp diesel and a 150bhp, 2.0-litre petrol, with the distant possibility of a hot, 168bhp, direct-injection petrol option.
The 1-series could be an inviting proposition for someone who already owns a BMW and wants a small, yet premium hatchback to punt around town. If BMW prices it right, the 1-series has the potential to dispel the misconception that premium cars have to be premium-sized and could propel the German carmaker’s sales to another level.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Next Toyota Highlander to form basis for new Subaru Tribeca
From the sound of things, Subaru and Toyota are getting cozier than ever. According to Motor Trend, the two companies are currently exploring ways to integrate platforms, and the fruit of that exploration may very well be the next Tribeca. MT is reporting that engineers are currently looking for ways to base the next-generation Subaru crossover on the bones of the Toyota Highlander. Both models are slated for replacement in 2014, and there’s some indication that the two vehicles will share more than a few bolts when they debut.
According to MT, the project isn’t without hiccups, however. As with the FT-86, both companies need to find a way to work around the Subaru 3.6-liter flat-six found in the nose of the current Tribeca. MTpoints out that the FT-86 avoided this issue by simply using the Subaru engine in the Toyota variant of the sports coupe, though at this point it’s unclear how the Tribeca/Highlander will overcome that particular hurdle. In addition, the crossover platform will also need room for the Highlander hybrid model’s battery packs, which may mean that Subaru will jump into the gas-electric game as well.
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