Range Rover: car review

It's the world's poshest and most complete 4x4 vehicle. And the latest version comes without a smirk

When the going gets toff: the all-new Range Rover. Photograph: Observer

Price: £71,295
MPG: 37.3
Top speed: 130mph
On a grassy rise in Richmond Park you will find White Lodge. Built for George II in the 1720s, it's now home to the Royal Ballet School and a museum that includes Margot Fonteyn's ballet shoes and the death mask of Anna Pavlova. Its imposing pale walls conceal a talent hothouse where brilliant young dancers learn to defy gravity, their graceful steps as light as a summer-fruit Pavlova…
But, back down to earth, last month White Lodge played host to the global reveal of the new Range Rover – a vehicle whose heavy-footed antics and paunchy disregard for the planet have become a byword for country-set disdain. But here's the thing. This latest Range Rover is a very different beast. It's not quite ready for tights, a tiara and a tutu, but it has lost half a tonne in weight thanks to its all-aluminium monocoque structure, and it's gained a much more efficient engine – the 3-litre 258PS TDV6 will give you a scarcely believable 37mpg. Its boxy edges and slab sides have been remodelled to give a sleek, clean aerodynamic shape. Rather than barging all-comers out of its way with an elbow on the horn and snooty set to its puffy red face, this Rangey is designed to be more accommodating. It's still the size of a hog-roast catering caravan, but it now looks more courteous. Not apologetic, mind – it's still your superior, but you won't resent being bossed about by it to the same extent.
This Range Rover is an all-British affair (except for the fact it's owned by Mumbai's Tata Motors). It has been designed, engineered and built in Solihull, and it will fly the flag in 170 countries around the world.
For those of an anti-car mindset, the Range Rover presents a massive headache. You should loathe it – for its scale, its sense of entitlement – but once behind the wheel, you're forever smitten. As my wife – vanquished – said: "I hate it, but it's irresistible…"
Soft on the inside: the hyper luxurious interior. Photograph: Observer Heave open the door and climb in – actually it feels more like ascending – and you find yourself sitting, literally, in the lap of luxury. This is one of the many paradoxes of this car. On the one hand it's a prodigiously gifted off-roader, a vehicle that over the past 40 years has perfected the art of going wherever the hell it likes, regardless of terrain (or in fact social acceptability); on the other it's one of the most luxurious and refined vehicles you'll ever travel in – a vision of marshmallow leathers, flawless veneers and nose-snorting poshness.
To ensure its soft side is as obsequious as possible, Range Rover imagined the laziest, most indolent and pernickity customer that it could – and then did everything to make that person happy. Cold hands? Try our heated steering wheel, sir. Can't be bothered to shut the boot? Press this button, madam. Sore back? Try the air-conditioned massaging seats, master. Worried about dipping the headlights, braking, using the wipers? We'll take care of that, boss… The list of life-easing luxuries goes on and on.
I drove it up to Yorkshire. It coped with 600 miles, snow, ice and mud, sailing serenely past stone barns, Wesleyan chapels and even a temperance pub. And all the while my overwhelming impression was of strength, agility and precision. Maybe that ballet school wasn't such a bad place to launch it after all…

Power station: Shell launches new V-Power Nitro+

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The engineers at Shell like to think of your engine as the heart that drives your car. And just as we need to look after what powers our heart and stay clear of fatty foods which will fur up its arteries, so they think the fuel that flows into your engine should be as clean and pure as possible. But they've gone one better: the new Shell V-Power Nitro+ is designed to instantly get to work inside your engine on deposits that can reduce the performance of your car from the first fill, no matter what car you drive. To prove their point they invited Jake Humphrey, the voice of F1 himself, and Ferrari driver Giancarlo Fisichella to Battersea Power station to launch the new formulation.
To mark the launch of Shell V-Power Nitro+ fuels, Shell challenged Jake to test his driving abilities and improve his performance via a series of exercises and manoeuvres. The course was designed with the support of Ferrari Drivers Giancarlo Fisichella, Davide Rigon and Gianmaria Bruni.

The name's Lewis, Damian Lewis

The star of Homeland is also the star of a short film called Desire launching the new and strikingly stunning F-Type Jaguar. Have a look - he's without doubt the sexiest delivery boy you'll ever see...

 

Nissan to build compact car at Renault Europe plant from 2016

TOKYO: Renault announced plans to build alliance partner Nissan's Micra mini in France as it bolsters domestic production in return for union concessions.

Renault's Flins plant, near Paris, will begin assembling the Micra subcompact for Europe in 2016, with an annual production target of 82,000 vehicles, the carmaker said on Friday.

"This announcement is good news for Flins, but also for all Renault plants in France," Renault-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn said in a company statement. "Renault is in line to fulfil its commitments."

In return for labour concessions obtained last month, including wage restraint and longer hours, Renault promised to increase domestic production by about a third, or 180,000 vehicles, by 2016.

Ghosn, who heads both Renault and 43.4 percent-owned Nissan, had previously threatened to move some Renault production out of France if no deal was reached with unions.

As part of the agreement, he pledged to repatriate models including the Trafic commercial van from Spain to Sandouville, in northern France. Some versions of the Renault Clio subcompact will also return to Flins from Turkey, the company has said.

Renault's announcement closely followed the disclosure by Nissan that it had asked Renault to assemble the next Micra at an unspecified European site.

Renault won agreement on the new labour deal from unions representing almost two thirds of its workforce, although the left-wing CGT refused to sign.

The labour deal will generate annual savings of about 500 million euros ($650 million), Ghosn has said.

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NRIs can get car loans, but conditions apply

Two weeks ago, Praveen Kumar Balakrishnan, who is a merchant navy officer in Singapore, took a car loan from Federal Bank Ltd while visiting india under the non-resident Indian (NRI) car loan scheme.
“I wanted to buy a decent car for my parents,” said Balakrishnan, 33. “First I was wondering whether I should wait till I have enough money but then I decided to borrow and buy a car as my family needed one right now.”
If you too want to gift a car your father is coveting for the last several years, but don’t have a lump sum to spare immediately, there’s good news for you.
A few Indian banks give NRIs the option to borrow. Federal Bank Ltd, State Bank of India (SBI) and State Bank of Travencore are some of these.
“We have seen great demand for car loans from NRIs recently,” said A Surendran, head (international banking), Federal Bank.
“This is because of two reasons: aspiration to buy bigger cars and increase in the number of visits to India.” Any Indian citizen residing abroad who has a salaried job or is self-employed in his country of residence qualifies as an NRI and can apply for NRI car loans.
The restrictionsMay not be able to buy in own name: If an NRI takes a loan from SBI, you can’t own the vehicle and you will be treated as a guarantor.
Unlike a normal loan guarantor, who doesn’t have to pay the equated monthly instalments (EMIs), the NRI guarantor here will pay the EMIs from his NRI account.
So the person in whose name you would buy the car would have to become a co-applicant in the loan.
The condition here is that both the co-applicant (resident Indian) and the guarantor (NRI) should be in the age group between 21 and 65 years. However, this varies from bank to bank.
Customer relation: “We give this loan only to our existing NRI customers. Only those who have had three-five years banking relationship with us are considered,” said Surendran.
This means that the chances of getting a car loan from your existing bank is higher.
Country of residence: All banks have their own list of approved countries for the same. Countries like the US, the UK, Malaysia, Singapore and West Asian countries are on the approved list of most banks.
Income criteria: You need to be above a certain income level.
For instance, to get a loan from Federal Bank, your monthly income should not be less than Rs.20,000.
Also, the deductions including the proposed loan should be up to 50% of salary. You also have the option to club your spouse’s income for the purpose.
Main featuresDocumentation: You can submit the documents (see graph) either at the branch of your residing country, if it has one, or send it online or send it through your co-applicant.
Amount of loan: The amount of loan varies from bank to bank.
Loan to value (LTV): LTV is the ratio of the amount that you can borrow for buying a car to the actual value of the car or ex-showroom price of the car. Most banks finance 85-100% of the ex-showroom price.
Tenor: Tenor of the loan amount is between 5 and 7 years from the date of purchase of the car.
Interest rate and other charges: The interest rate for NRI car loans is the same as that offered to resident Indians.
Repayment: As per the Reserve Bank of India, repayment can be done only through remittance received from outside India through normal banking channels or through non-resident external/ordinary accounts or out of income earned from a rented property in India.
RBI has also allowed resident Indians to repay loans on behalf of their close NRI relatives.
What should you do?“The first question you need to ask is will the cost of funds you intend to borrow be cheaper overseas or in India,” said Vishal Dhawan, a Mumbai-based financial planner.
“Compare the interest rates of personal loan in the country you reside with car loans in India and go for the cheaper one.” Also, ensure that you have a healthy track record with your bank

NEW CAR LOAN - public vs private banks

Usually a new car buyer is attracted towards such loan providers who are easy to understand and take less time to process the amount irrespective of charges and future botherations

 

New Car market has grown very fast in last few years. With variety of car options and increased number of car buyer, varieties of Auto/Car loan products have been flooded by the public and private banks. Usually a new car buyer is attracted towards such loan providers who are easy to understand and take less time to process the amount irrespective of charges and future botherations. Let’s analyze the car loan offer by some of the prominent banks from the public and private domain and find out the institution that is providing a better deal for the customers. Following are the charges and offers by various banks in prevailing market situation:

The below-mentioned data help in drawing the criteria to select the most suitable bank. The rate of interest is an important point that differentiates banks while opting for a new car loan. Here we can see that the interest rate charged by the public bank is substantially low while compared to private banks. SBI’s interest rate is around 10.75% for its new car loan whereas the lowest rate charged by private banks is 11%. Most of the public banks have relaxed the customers for the prepayment penalty whereas private banks are charging a good amount if the loan is wrapped up earlier than schedule. The processing charges by the public banks are also lower than private banks.

To conclude we can say that the recent ups and downs in an interest rate have created a wide gap between the Public and Private bank. Monetary benefit seems to be more while selecting a public bank for a new car loan, but one should also keep in mind the average level of service quality provided by these banks. Private Banks always get an edge over public banks while it’s a matter of service quality. If the customer is ready to pay more and doesn’t want to negotiate with the services, then private banks are ahead of public banks. On the other hand, the monetary benefit is substantial with a public bank. If the customer is desirous to take a loan for long duration and there is no hurry, then go for a public bank whereas if there is immediate requirement and that too for a short period, then private banks can fulfill the needs.

Table Showing New Car Loan Charges by the Banks
BANK	INTEREST RATE	PREPAYMENT CLAUSE	PROCESSING CHARGE	OTHER CHARGE
HDFC BANK	11 to 17%	6% of Principal Outstanding(POS)if < 1 year from 1st EMI,	Up to 2.5 Lacs : Rs.2000/-	Late payment penalty :2% per month
		5% of POS for pre-closures within 13-24 months from 1st EMI,
		3% of POS for pre-closures post 24 months from 1st EMI	2.51 to 4 lacs : Rs.3000/-
		No foreclosure allowed within 6 months from date of availing the car loan	> 4 Lacs : Rs 3,500/-
AXIS BANK	12.5 % to 15%	a>Foreclosure within 6 months- 10% of the outstanding loan amount	Rs 3500 to Rs 5500	Late payment penalty :2% per month
		b>Foreclosure after 6 months- 5% of the outstanding loan
SBI	10.75%	Pre Payment Penalty is waived	.51% of loan amount with a condition of minimum Rs 1020 and maximum Rs 10200/-	No Penalty for loans up to Rs.25,000/-.
				Above Rs.25000/- : If irregular, EMI/Installment for one month, then penalty@2% p.a.
				(over and above the applicable interest rate)
				on the overdue amount for the period of default.
ICICI BANK	Up to 23 months-15.75% to 17.00%,	5% of principal outstanding or	For Loan amount: <2.5 Lac -Rs 2500	2% per month on the outstanding installment
	For 24 months to 35 months-13.75% to 16.00 %,	Interest outstanding for unexpired period of the loan, whichever is low.	2.5 to 9.9 Lac- Rs 3500 to 4200
	For 36 to 60 months-11.5% to 14.75%	Note :Part prepayment not allowed.	> 10 Lac- Rs 5000
	Documentation charges Rs 350/- extra for all loan amounts
Oriental Bank Of Commerce	Loan tenure within 3 year:11.4%, after 3 year: 11.65%	Prepayment Penalty / documentation charges/ upfront fee- NIL	0.50% of loan amount with a minimum of Rs.500. +Service tax, if any.	NA

Data Source: Data taken from Respective Bank’s Website as on 23^rd August 2012

Bajaj hits back saying it's not a cheap car

The RE60 developed by Bajaj is not promoted as passenger car by the company

A day after Tata Motors managing director Karl Slym raised questions for the need of quadricycles, Pune-based Bajaj Auto, which is pioneering the quadricycle project, has stated that its RE60 is not a low-cost car.

Slym termed the proposed formation of a new segment called quadricycle, on which the government has even set up a committee, a step backwards with regards to traffic safety and environment.

The RE60 developed by Bajaj is not promoted as passenger car by the company but an improvement over the three-wheeler.

Bajaj hinted that the slowing demand for the Nano is a clear indication that low cost cars are not what consumers want.

"The cheaper car - ie Nano - offers nothing but a lower price and sales data appears to tell us quite clearly how deep that strategy runs with customers", stated a spokesperson from Bajaj Auto.

Bajaj claims that ten years ago when the quadricycle project was proposed to the government by TVS Motors the aim was to produce an ultra low-cost car. This time, however, the idea is to progressively replace the three-wheeler (commonly known as autorickshaw).

Chennai-based TVS Motors Chairman and managing director Venu Srinivasan claimed that it was Bajaj Auto who had resisted the idea of quadricycle when TVS Motors had proposed for it to the government about ten years ago.

"In the past the quadricycle proposal was for a cheaper car. This time Bajaj's RE60 proposal is for a superior 3 wheleer. Two diametrically different idea but both requiring creation of a new category", added the spokesperson.

Rajiv Bajaj, managing director, Bajaj Auto has consistently stated that the quadricycle is a three wheeler with an additional fourth wheel, promoting the idea of a safer urban travel compared to traditional three-wheelers.

Responding to this argument Slym stated in his tweet today, "The number of wheels do not automatically make us better, it is adherence to tried and tested safety and emission norms".

The Indian safety norms for off-set frontal crash are almost 15 years behind when compared to Europe norms for cars, challenges Bajaj Auto.

Bajaj is ready with its product, which it says qualifies through all parameters to be called as quadricycle as it is developed on the lines of the European regulations for such products.

The government, which had set up a committee for checking launch feasibility of quadricycle in India later gave an in-principle approval for creation of this new class of four-wheelers.

Not just Bajaj but other companies such as Piaggio, Mahindra & Mahindra, Eicher to name a few have also evinced interest in this project.

The quadricycle does not fall under any of the existing vehicle segments and requires the government to form new set of rules and regulations for the same.

Daimler's Mercedes to boost 2013 car sales more than 4%: CFO

BERLIN: Germany's Daimler said it aims to increase deliveries of its Mercedes-Benz luxury vehicles by more than 4 per cent this year, beating global passenger car growth which the automaker sees at 2-4 per cent.

Second-quarter results at Daimler should be better than numbers achieved during the first three months, finance chief Bodo Uebber said on Wednesday during a conference call.

First-quarter earnings before interest and taxes ( EBIT) from ongoing businesses more than halved to 917 million euros ($1.2 billion).

Cost-cutting programmes had "relatively little" effect on first-quarter results, the CFO added.


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Electric car aims to crack 700km/h speed record

Sydney: Come August, and the new poster car for the electric vehicle Venturi VBB-3 will take to the famous Bonneville salt flats, with the aim of shattering its own record.

Built as a joint venture between Ohio State University and Venturi, a boutique French manufacturer of alternative powered vehicles, the car is expected to push the new record to 700km/h from its current 495km/h mark, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The car will be powered by a 2230kW engine and driven by Ohio-based test driver Roger Schroer.

He was the same driver who hit a top speed of 515km/h in VBB-2 on his way to the current electric-powered land speed record of 495km/h in 2010.

Land speed records are based on two runs in opposite directions on the same day.

Venturi is responsible for environmentally conscious sports cars such as the all-electric 200km/h Fetish spyder and has experimented with solar-powered vehciles as well.

The French firm is pushing the limits of electric powered vehicles.

In 2010 it built an battery-powered Citroen Berlingo van that French adventurers Geraldine Gabin and Xavier Chevrin drove from Shanghai to Paris in less than three months.

The same vehicle was then used to drive 5800km across Africa - through Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Botswanna and South Africa - without any outside assistance.

ANI