Malari Tales, a young lawyers tryst with a deserted Himalayan village.

Some travelers are so stubborn that they don't turn back even in the face of steep odds, sometimes reaching the destination is the only goal they have.

 Malari Tales is the log of a  young lawyer  from Delhi, who went on a ride on his trusted bike, Apache RTR, to Malari, a remote Himalayan village, near Indo-Tibet border.

His journey starts without any drama, and he reaches Joshimath after a grueling ride from Delhi.

The real adventure starts next day when he decides to go to the border village of Malari on his bike. After riding on bad slushy roads, zipping at high speeds on a smooth stretch of black tarmac, he reached a point where the road was block by a rock slide. Instead of returning back to Joshimath, the brave lad decides to  ditch his bike, wear his helmet and  trek up to the village in the fading evening light. 

As the the light fades away the lawyer overcomes another, much bigger landslide, slips and stumbles on snow and ice, and some how manages to reach an army post, where after a serious interrogation his request for shelter is turned down. 

So our hero again starts his march in darkness to the village ahead, and when he reached it ...he was surprised to find only a deserted village, with not a soul in sight, and every door padlocked with big iron locks...it was as if fate was closing one door after another, and testing his courage and patience.

His  hopes for finding food and shelter dashed to the ground he walks around the village trying to find an open door ....but his luck doesn't stand...and he has to break a door to find shelter from the howling winds, numbing cold, in that eerily silent village, where the fear of the harsh elements, wild animals and ghosts... all seemed too real to ignore.

A real tale of adventure, and a man's courage, where he stands alone against the loneliness of the harsh and deadly terrain of high Himalayas...read this interesting and inspiring travelogue here .

Renuka Kripalani reviews Mercedes Benz GLC

  

 Last Week Renuka Kripalani reviewd Mercedes Benz reviewed Mercedes Benz GLS, and  in this video she  shows us Mercedes Benz GLC, the smaller but no less potent sibling of the big boy GLS.

 Even though GLC is smaller than GLS I find its stance more SUV like.

Its soft pliant suspension gives it a plush ride and will be ideal for long  rides when you are  not in a hurry to reach the destination but want that journey through the verdant countryside to last forever.

GLC's beautiful and luxurious interiors, sunlight filtering through the huge sun roof, soft music from the state of the art music system will surely make those long drives a pleasure...which you will want to indulge in again and again.

 

New Tata Nano coming soon?

*Image only for reference.

Internet is abuzz again with the spy pics of a  new Tata Nano.

There has been raging debate between car enthusiasts about Tata Motors continuing with the production of Nano even after its dismal sales performance.

 While some Tata fans give credit to team Tata for regularly giving an updated Nano model to the customer even after its lackluster sales, others take a more pragmatic view, they feel that Tata Motors is flogging a dead horse, and should let go off Nano, while  concentrating more on better products like Tiago in its portfolio.

 Frankly I feel Nano is a very unique product and the main reason behind its failure was its cheap car image. Tata Motors stretched things too far by giving Nano unconventional features all in the name of make it more affordable.

Tata Motors has come a long way in improving its product quality since Nano was launched in 2009, and its latest offering to hit the car market - Tiago, has been lauded for its exceptional interiors, fit and finish, the same improvements can bee seen in Nano. 

Tata Motors has been taking customer feed back very seriously, and with every new update Nano comes out to be a better product and more closer to customer aspiration.

 New updated Nano is rumored to go through some major changer. if rumour mills are to be believed these are the various changes one may expect in the new Nano :

New headlights and bonnet design.

Larger wheels.

Fuel filler to be shifted from under the bonnet to more conventional rear location .

New double arm wiper design,

Windshield washer at the center of the bonnet.

New dash.

New seats.

Major change – Instrument console goes behind the wheel from the awkward center of dash position.

Harman infotainment system as seen in Tiago.

And probably also a larger engine.

If you are in the market for new small car, to take on the over crowded city streets, it may be a good idea to wait for new Nano, because personally I dont feel any other car in the market makes a better city runabout than a Tata Nano.

Mercedes GLS 350d, awesome combination of luxury and space,

Mercedes GLS 350d was recently launched in India, and when I watched this video review what strikes me the most was  acres of space in this car.

The spaciousness of this big car was highlighted in the very start, normally video start showing the exterior design of the car, talk about the design language , lights etc., and its only in the second half of the video that the presenter normally moves to the interiors, and space comes distant third.

But here you will see Renuka sitting in the back seat with spacious and luxurious interiors of the car surrounding her. And then she too goes on too talk about the huge amounts of space the car offers.

I felt an instant rapport with the car, it looked very comfortable and the pleasant airy cabin looked ideal for those long long drives with my family.

Check out the review video of Mercedes GLS 350d by Renuka Kripalani.

Which is the best touring motorbike in India - Himalayan vs Mojo vs Thunderbird 500

Ladakh touring season is about to start soon, and motorcycling enthusiasts from around the country have started planning for their Leh Ladakh motorcycling adventure. 

The first thing that is required for this tough journey is a good reliable and comfortable bike, which will be able to take on different road surfaces and also has good off-road capability.

There is a wide choice of bikes available to the Indian biker, but most of these bikes fall either in the commuter category or are fast racy bikes like a Duke. Event though these bikes are not purpose built for touring , numerous motorcyclists  successfully complete the Ladakh circuit or Lahaul Spiti circuit rides successfully on these machines every year.

But touring can be more fun if you have the right bike, which has the right qualities, which make thousands of km  of riding a pleasure, which you look forward to again and again.

Three budget motor bikes in the market, which have good touring capabilities, are RE Thunderbird 500, Mahindra Mojo and the new kid on the block RE Himalayan.

In this comparison video Karthikeya Shingi of AutoCar India pits all three bikes against each other to find out which bike has the best touring capability, and can also be used for your daily city commute.

I was not surprised to see RE Himalayan best the other two competitors, because I have been following Himalayan on internet for quite some time, and whenever I watch a Himalayan review video, the first thing that strikes me is the comfortable sitting position of the rider, combined with easy flick ability of the bike.These two qualities along with the rugged looks, makes me want to get on a Himalayan and ride towards the high snow-capped mountains of Ladakh :D

Tata NEXON, its drop dead gorgeous !

 Tata NEXON was first revealed to the world at Auto Expo 2016 as a concept to showcase Tata Motor's designing skills. NEXON was an instant hit with the crowds and the display stall was probably most popular one.

Looking  at the fantastic response NEXON got at Auto Expo Tata Motors has decided to bring the car to the market.

 NEXON will be Tata Motor's answer to Ford Ecosport and Maruti Vitara Brezza, which are presently ruling the hugely popular compact SUV segment.

Though in the same category NEXON is different from it's rivals, instead of a boxy design, the designers at Tata Motor's has given it a coupe like look, which surely makes it better looking than its rivals and will make it stand out in the crowd of similar looking compact SUV's.

Tata NEXON will be positioned more as a lifestyle vehicle than as a regular family car, which will  appeal to the young crowd and also to car enthusiasts.

Expected to be launched in 2017... I am sure whenever NEXON hits Indian roads there wont be any dearth of buyers for this goregous looking compact SUV at Tata Motor dealerships.

Read more about Tata Nexon in this article by Hormazd Sorabjee, editor of AutoCar India.

New Toyota Innova Crysta, the best gets better.

Renuka Kripalani reviews new Toyota Innova Crysta.

Toyota Innova , India's most favourite MPV  taxi finally gets a new avatar.

The last Innova was Toyota's highly successful car and  had a long run of over ten years since it replaces another brilliant product Toyota  Qualis.

Though Innova was favourite of taxi operators, private owners found the lack luster interiors not up to the mark and value for money.

In  Innova Crysta Toyota has successfully implemented most of the changes customers wanted.

Innova Crysta has good interiors, better handling, ride quality, and looks much better than the outgoing model.

Private owners buying Innova for personal use will find Crysta loaded with creature comforts which will make it a ideal car for large families.

So if you are in the market for a large, roomy, luxurious MPV, in wihich you can go with your family with loads of luggage on long road-trip holidays, you will not find a better MPV than Toyota Innova Crysta.

Datsun redi-GO Review Video.

 New Datsun redi-GO review video by Karthikeya Shingi of Autocar India.

After GO and GO+ Datsun will soon be launching its new hatchback redi-GO.

redi-GO will be a entery level hatch and will rival Maruti Alto, Hyundai Eon and Renault Kwid and Tata Tiago

In this review video redi-GO comes out as a potent car with nice styling, high ground clearance and airy cabin, though it may loose out on ride quality, midiocre cost cutting, lack of optional ABS and glaring cost cutting in the interiors which shows in form of exposed panels. The dash and music system too looked simple but had dated looks.

Now all depends on the pricing, if Datsun manages to undercut its main rival's in this ultra price sensitive segment, the first time buyers, towards whom the redi-GO is targeted, may look at the car with more positive eyes and give it a warm response.

 Lookout for expected launch of redi-GO in June.

Ford Ecosport Goes Black !

Ford India has launched Black edition of its hot selling compact SUV Ecosport.

Black is a special edition of Ecosport which gets some cosmetic changes to the exterior of the SUV, and as the name Black Edition  suggests black is the highlighting colour here.

I guess the colour black is being used to enhance the rugged and sporty look of the SUV and to make it standout in the crowd of other Ecosport.

The Black edition Ecosport gets a black front grille, 16 inch black alloy wheels, black mirror covers, black fog lamp bezels, black roof rails and roof cross bars.

The Black edition Ecosport will only be available in Trend+, Titanium and Titanium+ variants and will be priced higher than the normal variants.

So if you don't like the chrome and dazzle of the normal Ecosport then this Black edition, more macho looking car will be for you.

I guess Ford has done a good job by providing one more option to Ecosport buyers, as many young customers go for all black theme for their cars and has to go for after market accessories to get the black look, so this original  factory quality Black edition Ecosport  should find quite a few takers in the young crowd.

The growing popularity of  recently launched Maruti brezza must have got Ford worried and they had earlier reduced the prices of Ecosport to bring it at par with its direct competition Brezza. 

                                                                                                                                                         ...Alok

New Toyota Fortuner Review Video

New Toyota Fortuner review video by Shapur Kotwal, deputy editor of Autocar India.

India has been waiting for the new Toyota Fortuner for a long time, and finally the first drive video of  India spec Fortuner is here.

Taking into account the customer feedback over the years Toyota has tried to improve the new Fortuner in every department. The New Fortuner has sharper looks than the outgoing model, its longer and wider, has much better interiors, better ride quality, and new suspension setup which can take the corners much better at high speed.

Along with nice interiors new Fortuner is also more spacious, with three rows of comfortable seating.

New Toyota Fortuner will be able in both manual and automatic gearbox, the auto box will also come equipped with paddle shifters.

Tired of waiting for the New Fortuner many SUV  have bought New Ford Endeavour, which was launched launched few months back and has overtaken  Fortuner sales. 

It will be interesting to see how New Fortuner performs against New Endeavour  , once it hits the Indian roads.

 

Ford Endevaour dethrones Fortuner.

New Ford Endeavour  sold more copies than the segment leader Toyota fortuner which has been ruling the segment without any competition for a long long time.

Old Endeavour had quite a fan following in India even with its dated looks befor Ford stopped the sales and left the market open for Toyota Fortuner.

Ford's timed the launch the of New Endeavour perfectly. SUV lovers have been waiting for a new Fortuner long time as the old Fortuner has been growing long in the tooth for a long time and lapped up the New Endeavour with loosing anytime.

Many SUV lovers just hated the lack of comfort and plain jane interiors of the old Fortuner which it shared with its taxi sibling Innova, but Fortuner's extra reliable  Toyota engine always made sure that the hard core SUV enthusiast found it a good buy.

Without any competition to the Fortuner in the market Toyota has not hurried to launch the new Fortuner...called Everest abroad....in India,

The declining Fortuner sales gave Ford a  good opportunity to launch Endevaour, the reports of its premium looks and interiors had been floating on the internet for a long time. 

Since its January launch in India the big butch New Ford Endeavour has been well recieved by the SUV buyers, the quality, fit and finish, long feature list and competitive pricing made sure that Ford Endeavour buyers were really happy customers, and within a few months since its launch New Ford Endeavour has over taken Fortuner sales.

Will Ford Endeavour be able to rule the segment like Toyota Fortuner only time can tell, because the real fight between the two SUV's will only begin when New Fortuner will be launched in India, but i guess till then Endeavour will continue to overshadow Fortuner sales.

                                                                                                                          ...Alok

Video Review - Renuka Kripalani reviews the New Ford Endeavour.

For more information you can also read complete, in depth review of New Ford Endeavour on Team-Bhp

For details you may also see   Official website of New Ford Endeavour.
 

New kid Renault Kwid challenges the king - Maruti Alto !

Renault Kwid, the hot selling entry level hatchback has been grabbing more and more share of the market, its  rising sales has seen Renault ramp up the production of this compact SUV hatch. In the month of April Renault moved over 9K Kwid to its dealers and we expect this number to increase more. 

The stupendous success of Kwid has set Car enthusiasts thinking about the the impossible - Will Kwid finally dethrone Alto800 from the position of highest selling car in India? 

Looking at the latest  numbers on TeamBHP i found Kwid numbers are over 9K and Alto is much ahead at more than 14 K, but while  Kwid numbers have increased,  Alto's yoy numbers have decreased by 23%, this should be a cause of concern for Maruti.

But as we all know Maruti is very very competitive and guards it turf fiercely, and to take care of the increasing competition from new entrants like Mahindra KUV1OO,Tata Tiago, Datsun redi-Go and others, Maruti is soon launching a refreshed version of Alto which may see the numbers go up again.

Renault has done an excellent job in making a good product  and pricing it below the customer expectations, which makes Kwid a real vfm car. Now if the the long term ownership of Kwid is as troublfree and low cost as Maruti Alto...we may have a new segment leader on our hands.   

                                                                                                                                                       - Alok

Get ready for Datsun redi-GO , new entry level hatchback.

Datsun India dealers recently started accepting bookings for it's soon too be launched entry level hatchback called redi-GO. 

The earlier two Datsun offerings called GO and GO+ were not well received by the Indian car buyers and Datsun has high expectations from its new kid and to differentiate it from other entry level hatches already in the market its calling redi-GO an "unique fusion of compact crossover & urban hatchback".

 Some  features of redi-Go which are sure to attract prospective buyers to its dealerships are -

Stylish Design.

Highest in class ground clearance of 185mm

Projector Head Lamps

Day Time Running Lights

Spacious Interiors

Impressive mileage of 25.17 km/L

Performance Augmented Brakes

Reinforced Crash Protection Shell

Energy Absorbing Steering and Airbags.

 On the face of it the stylish new redi-GO looks like a good package and its Yukan Design may appeal to urban buyers towards whom its targeted, but when pitted against market leader Maruti Alto 800...which is soon launching its refreshed version, and other popular hatchbacks like Renault Kwid and Hyundai Eon, redi-GO may find it a tough going. 

 Datsun redi-Go can also be booked  online on Snapdeal dot com.

I guess the success of redi-GO now depends on a good price, if Datsun comes up with a killer price we may see redi-GO burning the sales charts.

Datsun redi-GO official website

New Alto 800 Face Lift Coming Soon !

Internet is abuzz with the rumours of Maruti Suzuki Alto , the best selling car in in India is getting a face lift. New updated versions of this hatch have already been spied at Maruti dealerships, which may indicate a launch in May 2016 itself.

The new model gets changes to its exteriors , and may also get a diesel engine to widen its appeal .

The front end of  800 cc Alto gets new head lamps,grill , new front and rear bumpers, with the Suzuki logo now placed on the front bumper.\

Even though Alto has been best selling car for over a decade, and a favorite with first time car buyers, recently its been getting tough competition from the hot selling Renault Kwid which has vowed many car enthusiasts with its SUVish looks. Nissan too is ready with its new entry level hatch Redi-Go, which may may things tougher for Alto 800

Maruti is not taking any chance with the market leadership of its  highest selling car, and want to up the game with the new refreshed version of Alto800.

Super Car Club's Leh Ladakh Expedition Video

Part Two

Watch some of India's richest people, members of Super Car Club, take their expensive rides to Leh Ladakh, the heaven on earth. The team headed by the Gautam Singhania, Raymond Group head honcho, who also heads Super Car Club, seems to have had a blast and enjoyed this adventurous trip to core. Enjoyable videos which also give you a peek into the life of  the Super Rich.

For the uninitiated - Ladakh is one of the most unspoiled places in the world, with amazing landscapes and some of the highest motor-able roads in the world. It gives ideal opportunity to car drivers and bikers to test their skills and stamina, pit them selves and their machines against the treacherous terrain where even small mistake may result in fatal accident or even death. 

Also check out my adventurous journey to Ladakh Manali to Leh by bus...only in 18 hours !

Maruti Celerio vs Tata Tiago.

Maruti Celerio vs Tata Tiago comparison video by Bunny Punia, associate editor for Cardekho dot com. 

Celerio is the ruling car in the premium hatch market and Tata Tiago is the new kid on the block, which has won rave reviews for its fresh design and quality interiors. 

Celerio pulls customers with its AMT option and Maruti's no nonsense owning experience.

Tiago on the other hand is banking on its beautiful design which make Celerio look like a car from past generation, its long feature list, premium interiors, its larger dimensions and its VFM pricing which undercuts Celerio.

If you are in the market for a premium hatch this video will give you a good idea about these two contenders in the premium hatch space.

Maruti Vitara Brezza vs Mahindra TUV3OO

Maruti Vitara Brezza vs Mahindra TUV300 , this is a nice comparison video by Bunny Punia of Cardekho dot com. Both Compact SUV's offer totally different experience and offer good value for money.

While Vitara Brezza , which has already taken the market by storn and received more than 40 thousand bookings, impress with its good ride quality, car like handling, and impressive feature list.

TUV3OO on the other hand draws you with its butch styling, wider and taller body giving you impressive road presence, loads of interior space and not to forget the AMT option making TUV3OO the cheapest diesel automatic SUV in India.

Looking at the preference for safe cars by Indian car buyers both car's offer good safety equipment  as options in lower models and standard equipment in higher models.

Honda BR-V Review Video By Renuka Kripalani

Renuka Kripalani reviews much awaited Honda BR-V, the first compact SUV by Honda, soon to be introduced in India.

On first look BR-V looks like a  Mobilio, Honda's first MPV in India which unfortunately was no taken up by the Indian car buyers. 

Built on the Brio platform BR-V is narrow + long, and looks more like a MUV than a compact SUV. Though the narrow width may not give three people enough room to sit abreast in the rear seat comfortably, the extra length gives good legroom in second row and enough space for two adult passenger in the third row.

Even though the side profile looks very similar to Mobilio, the front end of BR-V is nice and muscular with the squared out bonnet, large head lamps and a wide chrome strip runnging across the engine grill  giving it a big car SUV'ish look.

BR-V will be available in diesel and petrol engines, and will give a choice of both CVT Auto and six speed Manual transmissions. 

Launch Date - 5th May 2016
Price -  8 to 11 Lakh for Petrol
           9 to 12.5 Lakh for Diesel
CVT Auto box will only be available with Petrol Engine option.  
Mileage - Diesel Engine -  21.9 Kmpl
              Petro Engine - 15.4  Kmpl
              Petrol Auto   - 16     Kmpl

 

Four reasons which make Vitara Brezza an attractive buy !

Maruti Vitara Brezza took the Indian auto market by storm, and we have seen bookings numbers climbing the sales charts at frantic speed. After Maruti Baleno  Indian car buyers have given a grand reception to Brezza which has resulted in a long waiting list for this much sought after Compact SUV. 

If you are in the market for a Compact SUV and like Vitara Brezza it makes good sense to buy the car even if you have to wait  for few months for delivery .

 4 main reasons why I find Vitara Brezza a good buy:

1. Attractive Styling - Vitara Brezza has a very pleasant styling which does not shout from the rooftops and attract undue attention, but its mature and bold design  is sure to age very well,.  Vitara Brezza with its SUV like style cues and its overall dimension is sure to have good presence on the road. The bold front end makes this Compact SUV a real looker.

I personally find Brezza to look its best in the two tone colors which highlights its design elements, particularly the floating roof  so well and gives it a more youthful and sporty look.

2. Loaded with useful features - Vitara Brezza is packed with many useful features like Auto Headlights, Tilt Steering,Cruise Control,Rain Sensing Auto Wipers,Push Start with Smart Key Entry, Smart Play Infotainment System, Touch Screen with GPS, Bull Horn LED Lights, Projector Head Lamps, Cooled Glove Box, Under Seat Storage etc.

 Safety Features -To satisfy the increasing demand for safety features from car buyers Brezza comes with Twin airbags, ABS with EBD, Suzuki Total Effective Control Technology, Front Seat belt with pretensioners and force limiters.

3. Lots of Space -  Vitara can comfortably seat five with enough head and shoulder room, and load good amount luggage. The rear seat can be folded fully or split 60:40 to liberate more luggage space. The well designed interiors also have lot of cubby holes to safely store various items of need  to make long journeys comfortable.

4. Brand Maruti and VFM pricing - Maruti Suzuki, the number one car manufacturer in India,  is known to give customers reliable products at attractive prices, and Vitara Brezza is no different. Brezza comes out  with its long feature list, reliable and proven engine, contemporary exterior and interior styling, topped by the most hassle free and inexpensive owning experience, along with widest service network in India, which makes owning a Vitara Brezza a real VFM proposition. 

We are looking for a replacement for our ten year old trusted Wagon-R, and I find Vitara Brezza to be the best replacement, which will surely give good service and enhanced drving pleasure for the coming ten years.