Battlefield 3: End Game for PC, Xbox 360, and PS3

As the curtain slowly closes on a generation filled with stunning experiences, it’s only a natural to reminisce on the games that made this generation so spectacular. For many, Battlefield 3 is one of those experiences. Forget about story -- DICE set out to capture massive multiplayer battles in the form of guns, tanks and helicopters, and they did so magnificently. That being said, it’s only right that Battlefield 3’s curtain closes as we’re lured towards next-gen mumbo jumbo, allowing DICE to step back and see all their work on the table. With four expansions already released, does “End Game,” the fifth and final DLC pack, properly shut the door on this shooter?
The first question I asked myself when reviewing the End Game map pack was, “What makes a memorable Battlefield map?” After some nostalgic thoughts from throughout the franchise, I came up with a few factors. A memorable Battlefield map must be large but accessible, vehicle heavy but not forced, and it brings out the best in whatever mode you’re playing. Once I got my hands on the expabnsion, it hit me that each of the four maps absolutely hit the mark with every point I came up with.
 

Ashok Leyland Stile 2013

If the Stile looks familiar, that’s because it is Ashok Leyland’s version of the recently launched Nissan Evalia MPV. But where the Evalia is targeted at private car buyers, the Stile will be positioned primarily for commercial users and tour operators, and as a result will be sold at a considerably lower price point. The Stile will feature a different nose and, in keeping with its intended purpose, will also come with a toned down cabin. You can also expect the Stile to do without many of the Evalia’s safety features like ABS and airbags. However, the Stile will still be powered by Renault’s 1.5-litre K9K engine, but possibly in a lower state of tune. There could also be a CNG version in the future.
FACTFILE
Engine: 1.5-litre diesel
Power/torque: 65bhp/16.3kgm
Kerb weight : NA
L/W/H: 4400/1695/1880mm
Expected: Mid-2013
Price: Rs 7.5-8.5 lakh*

HONDA AMAZE LAUNCH IN 2013 WITH I DTEC

Honda will expand on its Brio platform with the launch of a new saloon variant in India by mid-2013. While the Brio saloon will be significantly longer than the hatchback, overall length will be under the four-metre mark to allow Honda to avail of the lower excise duty on small cars. The Brio saloon will also feature larger rear doors and should offer slightly more rear-seat space than its hatchback sibling. Luggage space will see a significant improvement too.
There’s more – the Brio saloon will be the first car to feature Honda’s all-new diesel engine that has been developed specifically for the Indian market. This 1.5-litre engine will be available in two states of tune and will eventually power a whole host of Honda cars in the future. The saloon will also be offered with the Brio’s 1.2-litre petrol motor. Expect an aggressive Rs 6 lakh starting price for Honda’s Dzire-beater.
FACTFILE
Engine: 1.2-litre petrol, 1.5 diesel
Power/torque: 86.7bhp/11.1kgm, NA
Kerb weight: NA
L/W/H: NA
Expected: Mid-2013
Price: Rs 6-7.5 lakh*

VOLVO V40 20`13

Among the many international launches at last month’s Paris Motor Show was the Volvo V40 Cross Country, a model that will go on sale in India in March 2013. Volvo’s weapon against the BMW X1 and Audi Q3, the Cross Country crossover is based on the Swedish carmaker’s V40 hatchback. However, ground clearance has been raised to 173mm and the car has also been given a beefier body kit for a tough look. When it comes to India, the Cross Country is likely to feature the 163bhp 2.0-litre diesel D3 engine in a front-wheel-drive format. Internationally, all-wheel drive will only be offered with the petrol T5 engine that may make it here at a later stage. Volvo could price the V40 Cross Country at around Rs 30 lakh but is likely to brim it with equipment to make it more attractive than its German competition.
FACTFILE
Engine: 2.0-litre diesel
Power/torque: 163bhp/40.8kgm
Kerb weight: 1578kg
L/W/H: 4369/1802/1420mm
Expected: March 2013
Price: Rs 30 lakh*

THE ALL NEW MERC A CLASS-CHEAPER

Following the recent launch of the B-class, Mercedes will continue its charge down the price ladder with the introduction of the latest A-class hatchback. The new A-class is free from the ‘tall boy’ stance of its predecessors and, in that sense, looks more conventional. However, the new car seems designed for a younger customer base and looks really sporty and aggressive in the flesh. Its cabin is also far sportier and even space is surprisingly good. Like the B-class, the new A is underpinned by Merc’s new front-wheel-drive MFA platform and thanks to some clever engineering, it is really fun to drive. The electric power steering is the only weak link on the dynamics front really. Mercedes will equip the A-class with a 121bhp 1.6-litre turbo petrol and a 1.8-litre diesel, both of which will come mated to seven-speed dual-clutch gearboxes. With prices likely to start from Rs 18 lakh, the A-class will be a stellar entry point to the Mercedes brand.
FACTFILE
Engine: 1.6-litre turbo-petrol, 1.8-litre diesel
Power/torque: 121bhp/20.4kgm, 134bhp/30.55kgm
Kerb weight: 1370kg
L/W/H: 4292/1780/1433mm
Expected: Mid-2013
Price: Rs 18 lakh*
  

VW polo 2013-AUTOMATIC

Polo sales haven’t quite matched up to Volkswagen’s expectations. VW wants to turn things around, and the recent update that saw the top-end Highline variants get added kit and a price cut was only the start. The manufacturer is now readying an automatic version of the petrol car. If that doesn’t have you interested, the fact that this version will get a 1.2-litre TSI turbocharged engine and a seven-speed dual-clutch DSG gearbox (codename DQ200) certainly will. Power will see a spike up to 104bhp, making this the most powerful hatchback in its class, and thanks to the dual-clutch ’box, fuel economy shouldn’t be bad either. Given the tech on offer, expect the Polo auto to cost at least Rs 1 lakh more than the petrol manual Highline. Further down the road, VW will also give the Polo a downsized 1.5-litre version of the Vento’s diesel engine, but it won’t be available anytime before 2014.
FACTFILE
Engine: 1.2-litre turbo-petrol
Power/torque: 104bhp/24.2kgm
Kerb weight: NA
L/W/H:3970/1682/1453mm
Expected: March 2013
Price: Rs 8 lakh*

MARUTI A-STAR 2013

The slow-selling Maruti A-Star is scheduled to receive a fairly comprehensive makeover in 2013.
On display at the recent Chengdu Motor Show in China (where it is sold as the Alto), the updated car looks a lot more grown up than the current model. It gets larger and more angular headlamps that flow into a new grille and also different front and rear bumpers. Changes to the cabin are likely to be restricted to new upholstery only, and the K10 engine will carry on unaltered.

FACTFILE
Engine: 1.0-litre petrol
Power/torque: 66bhp/9kgm
Kerb weight: 895kg
L/W/H: 3500/1600/1490mm
Expected: Mid-2013
Price: Rs 3.7-4.5 lakh*

TOP 5 ANDROID TABS UNDER 15K

There are so many tablets in the market today that it is getting very hard to choose the right tablet.

To help you out, we have listed here the top five tablets available under Rs 15,000.

Acer Iconia B1 (Rs 8,150)

The Acer Iconia B1 houses a low power dual core 1.2 GHz Mediatek MTK 8317T mobile processor and 512 MB RAM. It runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system and is aimed at consumers who wish to read eBooks, browse the mobile web, play casual games and connect over social networks.

The Acer Iconia B1 features a 7 inch LCD display with 1024 x 600 pixel resolution and it supports multi-touch. By default, the tablet offers 8 GB on board storage, part of which would be reserved for system updates. One can add up to 32 GB via micro SD card to expand storage.

Besides, Iconia B1 has Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi and GPS. There is a 0.3 megapixel front facing camera in the tablet to click portrait images and support video chat. Packing a micro USB 2.0 charging port, the Iconia B1 has a 2710 mAh battery that provides atlast 8 hours of operational life, as claimed by Acer.

iBerry Core X2 (Rs 13,000)

The Auxus Core X2 3G is without any doubt slim and lightweight that makes it easier to hold and carry the tablet for longer times as well.

The tablet comes with a 7 inch IPS display with 1280 x 800 pixel resolution at 210 ppi pixel density. The Auxus Core X2 3G has a dual core 1.6 GHz processor form Rockchip. The processor is based on ARM cortex A9 architecture and along with that the device has a Mali 400 GPU which is present on high end smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 N7100 as well.

As its name suggests, it is a 3G Android tablet that supports SIM calling capability. But sadly the tablet misses out on the earpiece. The problem can be solved using a Bluetooth hands free kit.

The device features a 0.3 megapixel front facing camera that is good enough for video conferencing and that's about it. At the rear there is a 2 megapixel camera which is better than the front facing one and can also record VGA resolution videos as well.

Lava eTab Xtron (Rs 6,500)

The Lava eTab Xtron offers a great and sturdy body as well as a striking design. The tablet is based on Android v4.1.1 Jelly Bean operating system running on a 1.5 GHz dual core processor, quad core graphics processor and 1 GB RAM. The tablet also has a 2 megapixel front camera.

The tablet comes with a 7 inch IPS display with healthy 1024x600 pixels resolution that offers the tablet a 178 degree viewing angle. Etab Xtron has 8 GB of internal memory of which 5 GB is user available and has expandable storage capacity of 32 GB via a micro SD card.

The Lava eTAb Xtron is a WiFi only tablet and has a 3500 mAh battery. The tablet however misses out on HDMI port and a full sized USB port which we believe has been done to ensure that tablet remains slim. There is support for 3G via dongle.

Also there is a 2 megapixel front camera that offers video conferencing and recording solution, but no rear camera is added.

Samsung Galaxy Tab-2 311 (Rs 12,500)

The Samsung Galaxy Tab-2 311 is a WiFi only tablet and has a 7-inch touchscreen display (1024x600). The device comes with 16 GB onboard memory but has 32 GB micro SD card space. Housing a dual-core 1 GHz ARM Cortex based mobile processor, this tablet runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS. Samsung has added custom TouchWiz user interface to enhance the user's experience.

Powerful internal hardware bearing Galaxy Tab weighs about 385 grams. At its rear lies a humble 3 megapixel camera which is capable of recording 720p HD videos and in the front there's a 0.3 megapixel camera for video chatting.

For connectivity, this tablet features USB 2.0 port, WiFi, Bluetooth, and DLNA. The Galaxy Tab by default supports number of popular video formats such as DivX as well as Xvid.

Asus Memo Pad (Rs 9,990)

The Asus Memo Pad carries design similar to the Nexus 7 tablet and is targeted at consumers seeking an affordable table to read eBooks, browse mobile web, casual gaming, and social networking.

The Asus Memo Pad features a 7-inch touchscreen display with 1024 x 600 pixel resolution. This screen offers 10-point multi-touch, 350-nit brightness and 140 degree viewing angles. Inside the chassis, Asus has packed a 1 GHz VIA WM8950 mobile processor paired with Mali-400 graphics chip and 1 GB RAM. This hardware is good enough to power the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update running on it.

Asus is also offering 5 GB of web storage on its clouds servers to the users of this tablet and by default the tablet offers 8 GB on-board storage options. Also there is a micro SD card slot to expand the storage. Weighing 370 grams, the tablet is mere 11.2 mm thick and packs a 4270 mAh battery.

The upcoming New York Auto Expo 2013

2013 ACURA RLX

2013 porsche cayman

                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      

2013 marks the 113th anniversary of the New York Int'l Auto Show, North America's first and largest attended auto show. Featuring 1,000 vehicles plus the latest in tech, safety and innovation in nearly 900,000 sq ft. It is one of the hottest tickets in town. It will  begin on the 29th of march and will last till April 7... It's a good place to visit with your family and children if you are in NY. The general admission fee is $15 for adults and $5 for children other than that there is also group tour or private tour...(http://www.autoshowny.com/tickets/)

2013 Show Information:
Location	Jacob Javits Convention Center 11th ave between 34 & 40 Streets
Public Show Dates	Friday March 29th through Sunday April 7thMonday - Saturday: 10am - 10pm (Sundays: 10am - 7pm)
Special Public Sneak Preview	Friday March 29th 10am - 10pm
Official Opening Day	Saturday March 30th Festivities begin at 8:30am SHOW FLOOR OPENS AT 10am
Press Preview Credentials required	Wednesday March 27th & Thursday March 28th
Dealer Preview Credentials required	Thursday March 28th from 5-10pm Reception from 5-7 pm By invitation only

The all new Suzuki Swish125

Honda has completely ruled the scooter market in India with its ever popular Activa and Dio, and the segment has become synonymous with the brand. Suzuki has also had a short glimpse of success with its Access. With the launch of the Swish, Suzuki intends to get a bigger piece of the pie.

Style and looks : The Japanese two-wheeler manufacturer touches new levels as far as the styling of the Swish is concerned. From the Access which looks more like a scooter for the mature audience, to the Swish, which hosts a much sportier and younger image, Suzuki has made sure that their new scooter’s design is fresh and youthful. The smooth flowing lines on the V-shaped front give it a gentle yet young stance which is definitely a good change from the rather bland looking Access.

The clear lens indicators, the arrow head shaped dual tone graphics at the front as well as on the side panels add to the beauty of Suzuki’s new offering. The tail section of the bike looks somewhat feminine but that doesn’t take any points away from the overall charm of the bike. As far as the build quality is concerned, the plastics feel upmarket and the Swish doesn’t give any reasons to complain. The only thing that it lacked to keep up with its stylish look and young feel is a digital speedometer.

Riding posture is easy and relaxed. The height of the seat from the floorboard and the cushy seats make for a comfortable ride. One doesn’t have to reach out to the handle bars and it does not strain the arms even while riding through potholes. The seat is wide, soft and comfortable, not just for the rider but also for the pillion. The aluminium grab rail is large and easy for the pillion rider to hold on to. Under-seat storage space is optimum and at par with most competitors, but it is not big enough to hold a full sized helmet but a modular and half faced helmet can fit with ease. The seat opening mechanism is included in the ignition area is particularly convenient.

MicRoMax CANvas 2-superfone A110

                                                                

Micromax's products always break the norm in terms of specifications at a given price point. However, many of its products do not perform as they promise on paper.And this means that there is always a question mark in consumer's mind about whether they should buy the product or not. So in that sense this review is important.Micromax Canvas II A110 is one product which is priced at the same as its predecessor - the Micromax Canvas - and yet offers much more in term of specifications.

Design

Micromax Canvas II A110 is a good looking piece of hardware, and is heavily inspired by Samsung Galaxy SIII. The front of the phone has a glass overlay that covers both the display and the non-display part. The rear panel has gradual slopes towards the edges that creates a feeling of slimness while its textured nature gives a good grip.However one of the biggest drawbacks of the design is the bulging camera unit from the back, which makes the camera prone to scratches. The battery case is made of not very thick plastic but doesn't feel really cheap.The overall built quality of the phone is decent, considering its price.The SIM slots and the MicroSD card slot are placed inside the back panel. The power on/off button is on right hand side that makes it a bit easy to reach. The same goes with the volume rockers which are placed on the left hand top side. The 3.5 mm jack and a micro USB port are placed on the top.

Display

The Micromax Canvas II A110 has a 5 inch touchscreen with FWVGA (480x854) resolution, which is tad better than the common 480x800 pixel resolution found in budget phones. Since it is an IPS panel, it offers good viewing angle and readability, which is further complimented by its decent brightness.The touch sensitivity of screen is good and we did not face any issue whatsoever with that respect.

Performance

Canvas II comes with MediaTek chipset based 1 GHz dual core processor and 512 MB RAM. One may rue the low amount of RAM but the fact is that most budget phones come with this amount of RAM.The performance of the phone is not comparable to a dual core processor with Qualcomm chipset, but it manages to play mildly graphics intensive games like Temple run, Angry birds etc.What slows down the phone majorly is the RAM which runs out in case you use the apps which require a lot of space to run.

Camera

In the back, Canvas II has an 8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash. We did not expect it to perform like some of the similar rated camera's from the MNC brands but you can compare it with a 5 megapixel unit.The pictures taken through Canvas II are decent especially in the daylight. The presence of dual LED means you can take closer shots even in low light. However the pictures lack sharpness and thus Canvas II definitely won't appeal to people who are keen on photography.But then again it is a budget product and one should look at it with that perspective and then the camera too looks very much acceptable. The front VGA camera does its work of video chat just fine.

Battery

The phone has a 2000 mAH battery and that is sufficient to power this phone for a full day with medium usage. If its WiFi and GPS (switching it off when not in use) used judiciously, the phone can run even for one and half a day.

User interface and connectivity

The phone has stock Android 4.0, so nothing much to talk about it. In terms of connectivity, the Canvas II comes with 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0 and USB. No issue with connectivity as signal reception is good and reliable.The smartphone has 2 GB user usable storage and 32 GB of expandable storage slot.

Verdict

The Micromax Canvas II is a low cost smartphone and therefore there are compromises in quality. However nowhere is it so blatant that you will not want to buy the phone.It offers performance at par with similarly priced products from MNCs like Sony, HTC and Samsung, even though they have much lower rating for processor (mostly in the range of 800 MHzto 1 GHz single core), Even in terms of camera you will get similar performance (from cameras that are rated much lower), but offer much bigger screen real estate.So in essence, Canvas II is a phone with likewise performance offered by products in the same price range from much bigger brands than Micromax and with a much larger screen which is also easy on the eyes.We give thumbs up for this product given its value proposition. However be cautious it does not perform as well as it looks on paper. The phone has been there in the market for a couple of months now, so we expect Micromax and others to be working on a replacement or challenger already.

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Mobile review: Micromax A110 Canvas 2 Specifications
Network	GPRS, EDGE, 3G
Operating System	Android 4.0
Dimensions	147 x 76.5 x 9.7 mm,
Display	5.0 Inch 480x854 pixel IPS display
Input Method	Touch screen
Processor	1Ghz Dual Core
Memory	512 MB, In built 2GB, expandable 32 GB
Connectivity	Bluetooth, GPRS, WiFi
Multimedia	Supports all major audio file types
Camera	8 megapixel, 0.3 megapixel in front
GPS	Yes
Additional features
Battery	2000mAH
Warranty	1 year
Price	Rs 9999

Qatar to join OneWorld

Qatar Airways (Doha) announced today (October 8) it will join the Oneworld alliance. The airline issued the following statement:Qatar Airways is to join oneworld^®, adding one of the world’s fastest growing and most highly rated airlines to the world’s leading quality airline alliance.Its election as a oneworld member designate was announced today at a press conference in New York – home of oneworld’s central alliance management office – with senior executives of Qatar Airways and the alliance’s established member airlines in attendance.Qatar Airways, named Airline of the Year for the past two years by the Skytrax independent airline quality rating agency, is the first of the three major airlines based in the Gulf to sign for any of the global airline alliances.  It is also the second largest full service airline in the world not, until today, aligned to one of big global airline alliances. The Doha-based airline’s implementation into oneworld is expected to take between 12 and 18 months. The carrier is set to move into a brand new home in 2013 with the opening of the New Doha International Airport, designed to strengthen its position as a premium global hub with an eventual capacity for 50 million passengers a year. As a member of oneworld, Qatar Airways will fly alongside some of the biggest and best brands in the airline business.  British Airways will serve as its sponsor in joining oneworld, supported by the central oneworld alliance team, mentoring the recruit through its alliance implementation programme.Qatar Airways will be oneworld’s second member airline based in the Middle East, alongside Royal Jordanian, which became the first airline from the region to join any of the global alliances when it boarded oneworld in 2007.In just 15 years of operations, Qatar Airways has built up a solid international route network flying to key business and leisure destinations worldwide – and winning countless awards for high service levels, including the Five Star accolade given by Skytrax.

Qatar Airways’ network serves 120 destinations in 70 countries in the Middle East, Europe, Africa, North and South America, Asia and Australasia, including oneworld hubs Amman, Berlin Tegel, Buenos Aires Ezeiza, Hong Kong, London Heathrow, Madrid, Melbourne, Moscow Domodedovo, New York JFK, Osaka Kansai, Sydney, Tokyo Narita, and the Kuala Lumpur home of oneworld member elect Malaysia Airlines.

Fifteen of its destinations and three countries – Iran, Rwanda and the Seychelles – will be new to theone world map. More significantly, Qatar Airways will substantially strengthen oneworld’s customer offering by providing superior routing alternatives across many hundreds of city pairs.  For example, passengers flying between Asia and Southern Europe or between Asia and Africa will now have convenient one-stop connections not previously available within the oneworld network.

Qatar Airways operates one of the world’s youngest and most modern fleets, currently standing at 111 Boeing and Airbus aircraft with an average age of just four years old.

Its addition will increase oneworld’s global coverage to 856 destinations in 159 countries, served by a combined fleet of 2,600 aircraft operating more than 9,300 flights and carrying almost a million passengers every day (342 million a year), generating annual revenues of nearly US$ 120 billion.

Qatar Airways already code-shares with oneworld member designate Malaysia Airlines.  It will develop bilateral links with more airlines in the alliance as it moves towards becoming a member of the group.

Two established oneworld member airlines currently serve its Doha home – British Airways from its London hub, and Royal Jordanian from its Amman base – along with member elect SriLankan, from its Colombo hub.   Opportunities for increasing the alliance’s services to Doha will be explored as Qatar Airways prepares to join.

When Qatar Airways becomes part of oneworld, its customers will gain access to the alliance’s truly global network.  The 2.2 million members of its Privilege Club frequent flyer programme will be able to earn and redeem rewards on any of oneworld’s other carriers, with top tier members able to use any of the group’s 550 plus airport lounges, and its network will be covered by oneworld’s market leading range of alliance fares.

At the same time, the 125 million frequent flyer cardholders of oneworld’s established airlines will be able to earn and redeem rewards when flying on Qatar Airways and access Qatar Airways’ lounges.

What the CEOs say:

Among those alongside Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker at today’s New York press conference to welcome the airline to oneworld were American Airlines’ Chairman and Chief Executive Tom Horton, Chairman of the oneworld Governing Board; Chief Executive of IAG, parent of British Airways and Iberia, Willie Walsh; oneworld CEO Bruce Ashby; and senior representatives from other oneworld member airlines.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said: “Alliances are playing an increasingly important role in the airline industry today – and that will continue long into the future.  Qatar Airways has carefully reviewed its strategic options and it is very clear that joining oneworld is by far the best way forward for us as we look to strengthen our competitive offering and give passengers what they fully deserve – more choice.  Like Qatar Airways, oneworld is focused on quality and providing the best connections between the places most important to today’s frequent international travellers.

“In Qatar Airways’ relatively short history, we have quickly established a reputation for innovation, quality and excellence in everything we do, raising standards which our industry peers have watched with envy.  We are pleased to build on that by becoming the only major airline from the Gulf to date to be invited to join any of the global airline alliances – and we are proud to have been invited to join the best of them, in oneworld.  We look forward to completing all the joining requirements as soon as possible, and to fly alongside some of the best airlines in the world long into the future, bringing heightened benefits offered by oneworld to our customers.”

New Mahindra XUV5OO variants

Riding on the success and popularity of the XUV5OO, Mahindra has decided to introduce two new variants of its flagship SUV taking the total number of variants to five. 

 At the moment, the three XUV5OO variants consist of the base W6 4x2 variant, the mid W8 4x2 variant with added equipment and better trim and the top-of-the-line W8 4x4 variant.

 n addition, Mahindra plans to introduce a new base variant that will be slotted below the W6 model. The new base model is likely to be further stripped down featuring lesser equipment and budget-oriented trim materials.

  

The second new variant planned by Mahindra is a new top-of-the-line model that will be slotted above the W8 4x4. As understood, this model will be four-wheel drive and feature higher rent trim, restyled interiors and more equipment, some of which could be borrowed from the SsangYong Rexton W.  Mechanically, both new variants will remain the same as the current 4x2 and 4x4 XUV5OOs. They will be powered by the same 2.2 litre common rail diesel engine that develops 142PS of power and 320Nm of torque in the XUV5OO. 

 As far as pricing is considered, the XUV5OO W6 variant is on the market for Rs 11.80 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) and the W8 4x4 variant is priced at Rs 14.52 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). This means that the new base model XUV5OO will be priced below Rs 11.50 lakh. And if it is priced around Rs 11 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) it could be a threat to the manual VLX variants of the company’s blockbuster Scorpio. 

 On the bright side, the new base model will compete against the top-end variants of the successfulRenault Duster. 

 The new top-of-the-line XUV5OO variant on the other hand is likely to touch the Rs 15 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) mark, thereby venturing into Skoda Yeti territory.

Lamborghini Aventador "roadster"

Most things on Earth can be put into better perspective when you look at the numbers. But there are some things that simple analytics just can’t explain – the fact that the brand new Lamborghini Aventador Roadster is already sold out for 2013 in a market that has seen a global downturn is one of them. And this has happened even before the car’s dynamic launch to the worldwide press in Miami last week! In fact the Italian manufacturer of some of the sexiest cars on the planet sold 922 Aventador coupes in 2012 – twice the number of its predecessor, the Murcielago in 2007.

 The Murcielago itself was a brilliant car for its time and was everything that you’d expect a Lamborghini to be – fast, powerful and superiorly intimidating. The Murcielago roadster though, wasn’t anywhere close to having the kind of aura that its coupe had and that’s a fact that the guys at Lamborghini fully understand and accept, which is a good thing because when it came down to relieving the Aventador of its roof they were extra attentive.

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 The thing about roadsters is that they aren’t easy to integrate into a coupe body. It’s way more than just an exercise of chopping the roof off – there’s the bit about structural rigidity that has to be taken care of. Designers also have to figure out a way of fitting in a ‘temporary’ top in case you might want to cover up on a rainy day, which means there has to be place to stow the canopy when it isn’t required. With something like the Aventador, that means tracing back your steps right from the design stage to make sure it doesn’t go the Murcielago way of being an after-thought. The solution is what seems to be mid-way between a targa and a foldaway hardtop.

Mahindra Reva - The e2o - 5.96 Lakhs*

Electric cars are still a thing of the future. Despite all the advancements in technology over the years, they seem like they belong to a different world – or at least they have seemed so till now. More than anything else, it has just been the rather distrusting perception of the masses that vehicles powered by electricity have no place in conventional transportation. Thankfully, cars like the Tesla Model S, Fisker Karma and the Nissan Leaf are doing their bit across the globe to change that perception. Chetan Maini, Founder and Chief of Technology and Strategy at Mahindra Reva has been doing it for years too – with what everyone in India knows as the cute little Reva. The Reva and the Reva i though, were crude compared to what Mahindra Reva has on offer now – the e2o.

 The car’s name itself is in fact derived from three very different and apt analogies. The ‘e’ represents the energy from the sun, the ‘2’ (to) represents the car’s connected technologies and the ‘o’ represents oxygen – the life force that sustains all life on earth – according to how Mahindra likes to describe it. As far as we’re concerned, e2o quite simply represents a product that is as clean as H2O or water not only in its manufacture, but also in its operation and by replacing the chemical symbol for hydrogen with ‘e’, it just emphasises on its electric propulsion.

 But the e2o is not an evolution of the Reva i, it is a revolution, based on all the learnings from that car – from 200 million kilometers of real world data. The e2o pushes the boundaries of what we think cars can be, and how much they can be a part of our daily lives and not just commutes to work. The ingenuity begins from the design stage itself and then continues on to the manufacturing, operation and even the after sales phases of the car’s life cycle (Mahindra e2o : Special Coverage).

 When the concept for the e2o was first talked about, Mahindra turned to one of India’s leading automotive designers for the car’s exterior styling – Dilip Chhabria. DC Design churned out a car that isn’t as radical as most other electric cars are. The e2o is more like a conventional hatchback but has enough quirks in it to bring to notice that is indeed out of the ordinary. It isn’t exactly boxy either with enough kinks and curves on it to give it a decent balance. But more than anything else, it is economical to make as well. The flared wheel arches add a whole lot of character to the entire stance and the wraparound headlights give a slightly futuristic visual as well.

*-base price