Jaguar C-X17 SUV review

From the driver's seat you look over the Jaguar C-X17’s lumpy bonnet, rather than down it as usual, yet this car could only be a Jaguar. It may offer a different view of the road from that of any other Jaguar ever built, but there's enough evidence in those shapes over which you're seeing the road to remove the need for any kind of label.

The middle of the bonnet has a reassuring power bulge, not identical to any other Jaguar's but strongly related. At either side, two gentle curves gracefully intersect at the car's frontal extremity, one pair gliding across the top of each headlight, the other describing the muscle that runs above each front wheel. 

This is the latest iteration of C-X17, the concept version of the all-wheel-drive "sports crossover" Jaguar will surely launch in two or three years' time off the enormously expensive all-aluminium architecture in which it is pouring every earned pound - and then some - to build a viable future among the world's premium car manufacturers

When I ask whether the new aluminium structure lurks beneath the elegant skin of this particular prototype, engineer Graham Wilkins, vehicle engineering manager for the cars that will use this new architecture tell me it is not much more than an engineering lash-up. "It has a supercharged XK engine," he says, "and it has four-wheel drive. It's not the real thing, but more of a bespoke experiment. What's important is it proves the car can look that good, yet all the new stuff would fit under there. That's as important as having it in place."

Jaguar high-ups have been in two minds about how to treat the C-X17 ever since it first broke cover two months ago. For some, it's a way of showing that the F-type's design style can extend to one automotive extremity - sports cars - to the other, SUVs, while encompassing saloons and estates on the day. Ergo, Jaguar can build whatever cars its R&D department believes the market will take.

Others feel this concentration on design style obscures the significance of the wholesale change to aluminium, a programme costing many millions that will affect every Jaguar ever made from now on. It is becoming apparent that this is not merely a compact architecture Jaguar is building but the basis of its entire future range - looking ahead for two decades and more.

Gingerly, I climb into the car. First thing you see through the cabin door are the elegantly simple seats in saddle leather, reminiscent of those from the original E-type, whose beauty and simplicity has stayed with us for 50 years.

There is bright work, but the effect is simplicity: a generously proportioned pair of round dials ahead, a high centre console running right through the car which, fascinatingly, can turn itself into a screen, a louvered light shade above that plays patterns on the lower interior, and a simple raked fascia with a metal trim-piece at its trailing edge, with 'Jaguar' embossed above the console. 

The essential "volumes" of the interior are as they might be in production, says Jaguar advanced design chief Julian Thomson, who is proud of what his team achieved, but the colour and trim are, in essence, experiments.

The car may look slick, but the crudity of its under-bits come instantly into focus as we begin to roll. Prototypes are usually like that. Before I go, an engineer lurking in the rear selects Drive with a Tommy-bar mysteriously inserted in a hole in the console.  

Honda New City Diesel

Honda New City Diesel Preview

Honda is believed to have recently reduced production of the City in a bid to free up assembly line space for the Amaze diesel. However, a more plausible and well known reason is that Honda will unveil a completely new version for the global markets, in India, on November 25. It is expected to get a new design and also be offered with a diesel engine giving Honda a firm chance to book itself a place in the C-Segment of the Indian car market.

Exterior

The 2014 Honda City is expected to imbibe many features of the ‘Exciting Design H!!’ language that characterises the recently unveiled Jazz/Fit premium hatchback. It is expected to get a similar fascia but like the Amaze and the Brio, we believe that Honda will modify the grille slightly to differentiate both cars. Honda could also retain the same side profile and rear end as the current car but with sportier touches. New exterior design features are likely to include LED brake lights (like the ones found on the Accord) and new design for the alloy wheels and indicators mounted on the OVRMs.

Honda is believed to have increased the length and consequently the wheelbase in a bid to increase interior space. We hope that it will adapt the same lines as the current car but in a more sportier design in a bid to make the City appealing to a wider audience. However, the reality is that apart from spy shots of heavily camouflaged cars spotted testing in China, we have no idea of what the car looks like. There is also no official word from the Japanese automaker on the unveiling of the car so we can only speculate on what the new model will be like at this moment.

Interiors

Inside, we expect that much of the design elements will be taken from the new Jazz/Fit due it being based on the principles of the design language as well as in a bid to keep the costs down. However, for the Indian markets, we expect that Honda will retain many of the features and design elements from the current car. This means a black dashboard, beige upholstery for the lower spec models and leather for the top-end diesel and petrol variants. The rear seats are now likely to get a blower and bottle holders making it only the third car in the segment to do so.

Feature list

The City despite being a well-known face in the C-Segment had to always contend with having a rather small feature list as compared to its rivals. Eventually to counter this, Honda introduced the AVN package with the top spec V variants. This is now likely to become a standard feature in the top spec diesel and petrol variants of the new car.

Variants

The new Honda City will get all the standard variants that are there in the current car. We believe that there will also be a new top spec VX variant which will be available with both engines and gearbox options.

Engines

The bit we are most interested in is that Honda is likely to offer the new City with the same 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel engine that powers the Amaze sedan. It is expected to have the same output as the Amaze and this means 98bhp and 200Nm of torque. The engine is mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. However, there is also a possibility that Honda may introduce the 1.6-litre i-DTEC engine which is in the recently launched UK spec CR-V diesel. It produces 116bhp and 300Nm of torque, a respectable figure for a C-Segment sedan. The petrol on the other hand will continue to be powered by the 1.5-litre i-VTEC mill that produces 116bhp and 146Nm of torque. It is mated to a five-speed manual or a five-speed automatic.

When do we get to see it on the roads?

Reports suggest that Honda dealers have already started taking bookings for the new City but deliveries are only expected to begin just ahead of the 2014 Indian Auto Expo. The City is expected to have a high amount of localisation and may be exported to many other countries from the Indian plant. It is likely to be priced in the range of Rs 7.5 lakh to Rs 11.50 lakh for the top spec diesel variant.

When launched, the new Honda City will compete in the C+segment with the Renault Scala, Nissan Sunny, Chevrolet Sail, Fiat Linea, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Verna, Skoda Rapid and the Volkswagen Vento. Honda is expected to offer the diesel engines only in the S, V and most likely a VX variants all of which will be priced Rs 1 lakh more than their petrol equivalents

 
One of the more rare BMW models in India is the 5-series GT which is not as often spotted as the other BMW models. BMW though is keen to expand the model range and so the 3-series now gets the GT treatment. So what is the new 3-series GT all about? For starters it certianly looks different from the 3-series sedan but unlike the 5-series GT it actually looks handsome.  So below we tell you everything that you need to know about this new BMW.
 

Looks
The rear styling as well as the front is changed and looks unique than the traditional sedan shape. The 3 GT now comes with design details like frameless windows, a coupe-style, gently downward-sloping roofline and a large, automatically opening and closing tailgate. The new 3 GT has a 110 millimetre long wheelbase and is also taller than the 3 series Estate. Yet it still looks sleek like any BMW should

Interiors
This is where the new 3 series GT makes great sense as its more roomy than the sedan. The front and rear passengers have got an increase in space wihere there is a 70 millimetres of additional legroom over the Sedan version which makes it great to be sitting at the back.
The 3 GT has 520 litres of boot capacity. It has practical bits like a 40:20:40 split/folding rear seat bench with folding head restraints and tilt-adjustable backrests plus there is a large load area.
The 3 GT has trim levels called Sport Line, Luxury Line or Modern Line equipment packag plus there is the optional M Sport package. Design wise its pure BMW and everything looks classy.

Engines
It has three petrol and two diesel engines. The one that makes sense is the 2.0-litre diesel engines.In India BMW will offer an eight-speed automatic as an option for all engine variants. Both gearboxes link up with the fuel-saving Auto Start-Stop function. You also get a plethora of tech too!