Mahindra commences with the bookings for the XUV 300 AMT version

Highlights:

• Mahindra to launch the XUV 300 AMT in the month of July, bookings have been commenced for the same.

• The AMT unit is only restricted to the diesel mill, whereas the petrol engine will miss out on it.

• We expect to see a price hike upto Rs 50,000 and the AMT units to be launched on the higher trim levels

According to some media reports, we get to know that some of the Mahindra Dealerships have started to accept bookings for the diesel automatic version of the XUV 300. This is the XUV 300 AMT and Mahindra will be launching this model in the month of July. 

Mahindra will most likely introduce the diesel AMT  units in the higher trim levels of the XUV 300. On the other hand, it also expected that the base models will most likely be offered with manual transmission only.

Besides this, the overall car will be the same as their manual counterpart, the only change will be restricted to the addition of an automatic option. 

During the beginning of 2019, Mahindra had launched this compact SUV with a very attractive product hence competing in the most growing segment in the Indian automotive scene.

Although the price tag on the XUV 300 was on the higher side in comparison with its rivals, it also got in a package of excellent safety kit and a powerful 1.5-litre diesel mill which is borrowed from the Marazzo. 

However, Mahindra couldnt efficiently compete with the competition as they were missing on an automatic counterpart. This part has finally been taken care of and in the coming days we will get the automatic option but it will only be restricted to the diesel engine.

As of now, there is no word whether the petrol mill will get an automatic option, hence it will continue to fall back in the competition in the petrol models. 

We at MyNewCar except that there will be a price hike by Rs 50,000 for this model in comparison with the standard manual models. With this, we can expect that the sales for the XUV 300 to shoot up.

If you want to book the Mahindra XUV 300 AMT, then beat the line and head up to MyNewCar.in to book this compact SUV online with hassle free services. 

Tata Motors now offers some mild feature upgrades to the Nexon

Highlights:

• Tata Motors offers mild upgrades to the Nexon

• The changes are mostly cosmetic changes on the exterior and the interior.

• Mechanically there aren't any changes.

This year the competition in the compact SUV segment has just been intensified with the launch of the two new cars such as the XUV 300 from Mahindra and the Hyundai Venue.

Recently we saw that Ford updated the EcoSport with a slew of changes in the features. Now we see that even Tata Motors has stepped ahead and offered a mild upgrade to the Nexon. 

The lower trim levels such as the XM and the XMA models will get cosmetic updates to the non-touchscreen infotainment unit, the mid pad of the dashboard will get a grey finish.

The central console will get a piano black finish instead of the silver one seen before. Whereas the gear knob colour will also be changed and the  AC control panel will be now glossy black. 

On the other hand, the mid trim levels such as the XT and the XZ models will get additional features. This will include newly designed roof rails, rear air-con vents which can be controlled from the front console.

Whereas the top of the line XZ+ and the XZA+ models will be offered with additional piano black trim and a 12V power outlet for the rear passengers.

Mechanically there won't be any changes and the Nexon will be powered with the same 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol mill and the 1.5-litre turbo-diesel mill. These engines will be matted with both six-speed manual gearbox and the AMT units. 

The changes include some minor aesthetic makeover and a price hike by Rs 11,000 across the range. With the revised prices include Rs 6.58 lakh (Ex-showroom) for the base variant to Rs 11.00 lakh (Ex-Showroom) for the top trim level. 

Upcoming Hyundai Xcent spied testing

Highlights:

• Hyundai is working on a new compact sedan which has been spotted testing for the first time in Europe.

• This is being done to concentrate more on the personal car buyers segment as well.

• It will be powered with a BS-6 compliant 1.2 litre Kappa petrol mill and a 1.2 litre Diesel motor.

It has been quite some time that Hyundai hasn’t launched an updated model in its compact sedan segment. Yes, we are talking about the Xcent it is due for a full-model change and we have some great news for yours.

According to some medi reports, we at MyNewCar have gotten to know that the first spy shots of the second generation Xcent have been leaked. This model has been spotted testing extensively in Europe which is a year before its global debut that is ought to take place in India. 

Another big news related to this upcoming model is that it will most likely not bear the name Xcent. This may be in process to shake up the taxi image of this compact sedan in the Indian market. With almost 50 per cent of the sales of the Xcent are in the fleet segment, with most of them getting attached to app based cab operators and taxi aggregators.

Hence the number of sales for a personal car buyer is getting hurt as well. With this, the current gen odel will also get some upgrade and will most likely be sold only for the commercial segment. 

According to the first spy shots, quite some information can be revealed. The overall shape of the new model seems to be in the sub-4-meter market which is quite similar to the current model sold in the market.

But the styling and the design seems to be completely new and modern. Upfront, this compact sedan gets Hyundai’s iconic signature cascading grille and if we compare it with the current model the grille will be now taller and wider and it will also come with honeycomb inserts.

On the other hand, the front bumper is designed in such a way that it complements well with the overall design and it hosts a wide chin and a separate intake. Just like it is seen on the Elantra, this model gets fog lamps inserts which are vertically placed.

The headlamp unit looks quite similar to the current model but it does get boomerang shaped LED DRL’s. At the rear end, this compact sedan gets wrap around tail light units and just like the newly launched Elantra and the Sonata, the license plate will be placed at the bottom of the rear bumper.  

As of now, much of the cabin is unknown, but we can expect that the bit and pieces of the interior from the upcoming Grand i10 and the newly launched Venue can be shared.

What can be confirmed is that Hyundai will be equipping this compact sedan with an eight-inch touchscreen infotainment unit that will be compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It is also expected that Hyundai will also launch its BlueLink connected car technology as well. 

Hyundai will be powering this compact sedan with BS-6 compliant 12 litre Kappa petrol mill and it will get an option of an AMT unit, hence eliminating the 4-speed torque converter that is available in the current models. Also, it will get a BS-6 compliant 1.2-litre diesel motor as well. 

Once launched, Hyundai aims to also touch the personal car buyer segment by offering a unique product. Also, they will be taking care of the commercial car segment by upgrading the current model. Hence this will help Hyundai to compete further against the Maruti Suzuki Dzire, Honda Amaze, Ford Figo Aspire and the Tata Tigor.

Volkswagen is working on the facelift for the Polo and the Vento

Highlights:

• Volkswagen is working on upgrading the Polo and the Vento for the Indian market.

• These upgrades will be both aesthetically and mechanically.

Volkswagen is getting ready to update its line up for the Indian market. This time it will be the ageing Polo and the Vento which will be upgraded for the Indian automotive market. According to some media reports, we get to know that this time, the upgrades will not only be restricted to aesthetically, but it will also include some mechanical changes as well.

From the images above we get to a thorough look of the upcoming Polo. Upfront the overall design and styling are similar to their High-Performance Limited Edition GTI hatchback model.

In addition to this, both the Polo and the Vento get new design alloy wheel which is finished in grey and they also bare some minor cosmetic updates inside out. At the rear, we expect that the Polo will be equipped with similar tail lights as that seen on the GTI hatchback.

In terms of safety, both the Polo and Vento will be equipped with a speed warning system, seat belt reminder system for both the driver and the passenger and rear parking sensors to comply with the new safety norms. These safety features will be included in addition to the front dual airbags and ABS with EBD as standard as well. 

Under the hood of both the Polo and the Vento (TSI trim levels) will be a BS-6 compliant 1.0 litre turbocharged petrol engine which is inspired from EA211 series and will be able to churn out 94 bhp of power and it will also get another version wherein the engine will be tuned to generate 115 bhp of power as well.

With the introduction of the new engine, the 1.2 litre and 1.6-litre petrol engines will be replaced. In addition to this, the new 1.0-litre turbo petrol will be seen under the hood of the Skoda Rapid as well. 

 Volkswagen will be locally assembling the new engines in India as per the brand’s India 2.0 strategy. This also included the introduction on future models in the Indian market like T-Cross SUV and the Virtus Sedan.

Most likely Volkswagen will introduce the cosmetic changes for the Polo and the Vento first as the introduction of the BS-6 compliant engines will shoot up the prices. The new engines could be introduced at a later stage. 

News and Image Source: AutoCarIndia