Toyota Fortuner Leagender India Launch Confirmed

by admin | December 24, 2020

Toyota Fortuner Facelift India

Toyota India is preparing to launch the facelifted Toyota Fortuner on the 6th of January, 2021. Apart from launching the facelifted version of the existing Fortuner, Toyota is also bringing the Legender version of the SUV as well. The Legender is essentially a highly upgraded flagship Variant of the Fortuner SUV, previously launched in Thailand and Australia. Bookings have commenced unofficially for the new facelifted SUV at select dealerships for an advance of ?50,000.

Exterior:

The majority of the upgrades will occur at the front end of the Fortuner. While the facelift of the existing model will feature a new grille, LED headlights with LED DRLs, redesigned fog lights and a new silver skid plate, the highest-spec Legender variant will feature a sharper front design with Bi-projector LED Headlamps with LED DRLs. Other changes will include redesigned 18” alloy wheels and re-profiled LED taillights. The Legender will feature unique design 20” alloy wheels.

Interior:

The new Fortuner launched in Thailand features an all-black interior with a new instrument cluster and a larger, 9” touchscreen infotainment system. The Fortuner Legender edition also offers a powered tailgate with the swipe-to-open function, wireless charging and a 360-degree parking camera. Similar to the facelifted Innova Crysta, the new Fortuner will also include Android auto and Apple carplay finally.

Powertrains:

The first powertrain for the facelifted Fortuner will be the 2.7L petrol engine which produces 166 PS and 245 Nm through either a 6 speed manual or automatic gearbox. The highest spec Fortuner Legender will get a new 2.8L turbo diesel engine which produces 204 PS and 500 Nm. While all the models will be 2WD as standard, only the diesel will get a 4WD option.

Price:

The current BS6 Toyota Fortuner is available from ?28.66 lakh to ?36.88 lakh (ex-showroom).

The price of the upgraded models will be available on the launch date, 6th January 2021.

Stay tuned for further updates on the new Fortuner.

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Nissan Magnite SUV Teased Coming Soon - Looks Cool !

The Nissan Magnite, was revealed as a concept a few weeks ago. This new compact SUV is going to be the Make-it or Break-it product for Nissan India. Nissan has released a new teaser video of the testing prototype of the compact SUV. Here are some observations based on the teaser video.

Exterior

The production-spec Nissan Magnite seems to retain most of the concept’s design elements including the large grille, the Sharp creases and the funky alloy wheels. It has even the same sculpted bonnet and angular headlights. Since the Magnite was originally meant to be launched as a Datsun, the grille bears

resemblance to the other Datsun models.

The side profile looks muscular with prominent body cladding and large wheel arches which seem to dwarf the 16” wheels. The higher spec variants also seem to receive a dual-tone roof, blacked-out pillars and silver roof rails. At the back, the Magnite sports sharp looking LED tail lamps which resemble those on the Triber's, a clean tail gate and a dual tone bumper. The Magnite is also set to be the first model in India to sport the new Nissan logo.

Interior

The interior too is expected to be close to the concept with a large, centrally mounted 8” touchscreen and layered dashboard with an octagonal theme. Other expected features include:

4 airbags
ABS with EBD
Rear AC vents
Push button start
Digital instrument cluster
Auto climate control
Auto headlamps
Auto wipers
360 degree camera
Connected car tech
Front and Rear seat armrests
Auto folding ORVMs
Projector headlamps
LED DRLs

Powertrain

The Nissan Magnite is expected to be available with two engine options. The first will be the 1.0L Energy series, 3 cyl Naturally aspirated engine from the Renault Triber, producing 72PS Power through a 5 speed manual gearbox. The second powertrain will be a new 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol unit producing 95PS Power through either a 5 speed manual or CVT automatic gearbox.

Pricing and launch

The new Nissan Magnite will be launched by early 2021. However an unveil is expected to happen by October 21st. The Magnite is also likely to be priced very aggressively with expected starting price of Rs.5.5L ex showroom for the entry level non turbo variant. The fully loaded top spec variant is expected to be priced equivalent to the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, one of its chief rivals. When launched, the Magnite will go against the Tata Nexon, Hyundai Venue, Kia Sonet, Ford Ecosport, Mahindra XUV300 and the Honda WRV as well. Stay tuned for further updates on the Nissan Magnite.

Nisaan Magnite XE Base Variant - Better Alternative for Hatchbacks?

The Nissan Magnite compact SUV was launched earlier this month starting from Rs.4.99L (ex-showroom) for the entry level XE Variant, making it the most affordable sub-4m SUV in the country. We may have read the brochure or virtually checked out the base Variant through Nissan’s website, however no one has seen the entry level variant in real life until now. We have managed to get exclusive access to the base level Nissan Magnite XE variant and here is a detailed walkaround video of the same.

The Magnite XE doesn’t look too bare-bones in reality. Even this

base Variant gets the same large Octagonal grille with chrome surrounds, lending the Magnite a strong presence. However, the bumper skid plates are finished entirely in black unlike the silver skid plates on the higher Variants. The XE variant is available only with two paint schemes; white and silver. The variant features sharp-looking halogen headlamps up front, L-shaped chrome strips that take place of the LED DRLs seen on the top-end trims. Despite having the lesser powered engine, the Nissan Magnite XE comes with 16-inch Steel wheels as standard. While the ORVMs are finished in ebony black, surprisingly the door handles are body-coloured. As expected, the turn indicators are located on the front fenders on this variant. Adding to the surprises, even this base level Variant offers Silver-finished functional roof rails on the Magnite, which can withstand upto 50kg of luggage. Furthermore, this XE Variant gets rear windshield wiper, washer and demister too along with 4 reverse sensors.

Getting inside, the Magnite XE gets a dual-tone beige and black theme, along with black inside door handles, chrome surrounds for the AC vents. In terms of features, this base level variant gets only manually adjustable ORVMs with knobs on the inside; however front and rear power windows are a standard feature. The even more surprising feature, is the availability of 60 min operation for the Power windows even after removing the key. As expected, the XE Variant misses out on an audio system and Central locking. The Pizza-inspired instrument cluster with an LED 3.5-inch MID is similar to the one seen on the Renault Triber and the Kwid. Even on this base variant, the gear lever gets Chrome and piano Black accents with an art leather Boot featuring contrast white stitching. The seats, though similar to the top spec variant in comfort and design, have a more hard-wearing fabric upholstery on this base variant. More surprising features include soft fabric padding on all doors and Rear seat adjustable headrests.

Standard safety features include dual airbags, ABS with EBD, engine immobilizer, pretensioner seatbelts, rear seat adjustable headrests and reverse sensors.

The boot capacity remains the same at 336L however, this base Variant doesn't get a parcel tray or boot lamp. The rear seats can be 100% flat folded to increase cargo space though. The 15” space-saver spare wheel is neatly placed under the boot floor along with the tools.

The Nissan Magnite XE is available only with the 1.0L naturally aspirated 3 cylinder petrol engine from the Renault Triber. This engine produces 72PS power and 96Nm of torque which will be adequate in terms of performance due to the car’s relatively low 939kg kerb weight. This engine is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox as standard.

For now, this XE variant is available for Rs.4.99L ex showroom; which translates to roughly around or above Rs.6L on road. This price is around the same range as the entry-level variants of B-segment hatchbacks such as the Maruti Suzuki Swift, Tata Tiago and Hyundai Grand i10 Nios. When compared, the Nissan Magnite XE seems like an incredible value for money deal overall. However, this XE variant’s price will be increased to Rs.5.45 lakh ex-showroom on the 1st of January 2021, as confirmed by Nissan India.

The Nissan Magnite seems to revolutionize “Value for money” in the Indian Automotive industry by offering surprising number of features, more than expected space and comfort, all for compact-car money. We wish Nissan India and the Magnite all the very best.

Stay tuned for further detailed coverage and reviews.

Tata Nexon EV- first impressions

Tata’s Nexon EV is a pretty muscular SUV that comes packed with an IP67 waterproof 30.2kWh Lithium Ion battery delivering 127.0 BHP to the front wheels and along lot of torque. 245nm to be specific. Underpowered will definitely not be a description when someone drives it. What comes with power though? A reduction in mileage. But since this is powered by an electric motor, you can charge it even while decelerating/ braking. Thanks to its regenerative braking feature which can be toggled between varying levels depending upon the amount of regen one prefers.

As a result, this is an excellent package

for the city because all we do is start stop repeatedly until we arrive at our destination. In case you’re wondering about fast charging. The batteries on the Tata Nexon EV will charge from 0% to 80% in an hour. That’s excellent because these days, you never realise how time flies. A couple of phone calls, check your social media notifications, a loo break, a short tea/coffee break and you would’ve spent way over 60 minutes already! Also, the Nexon EV comes with an ARAI certified full charge range of 312 kilometres which should take care of… a week’s commute?

The Nexon EV carries over many things from the Fossil Fuel powered older version of the Tata Nexon like drive modes and an overall feel of the cabin. But some instances like the front profile, rear bumper changes and colour are totally new. Frankly speaking, we like this new look of the Nexon as it looks more modern, more muscular and more SUV- ish. Small highlights to its design give a feel that the manufacturer took the looks of this car quite seriously.

Coming to some dimensional numbers- the length of the car is just under 4 metres, it seats 5 people quite comfortably, has a generous boot space of 350 litres and with a ground clearance of 205mm, you could go over almost any obstacle without frowning.

Speaking of the cars multimedia features and what it has to offer in terms of comfort- well, we’ve seen Tata check most boxes earlier in the older Nexon as well. Naturally, the Nexon EV too would get loads of features. The top end variant XZ Plus LUX which costs around 16 Lakhs Ex-showroom packs a sunroof, a 7 inch touch screen infotainment system, Projector headlamps, LED tail lamps, cornering fog lights and all the other Nexon goodies.

In the safety department too, there are no compromises. Tata has been repeatedly proving that safety does matter to them. In the Nexon EV, you get ABS, EBD, 2 Airbags, vehicle stability control system, ISOFIX Child seat mounts and much more, which sort of does add to a lot of confidence when one drives the car. However, the addition of side and passenger airbags would’ve made this package a perfect one.

In terms of the drive and feel, this feels like a comfortable, hassle free automatic car (since it has no gears) while not completely alienating you from the Internal combustion feeling. Thanks to its regenerative braking. You do get a new world feeling when you look at the new instrument cluster and the fact that the Nexon EV won’t have to go through periodic oil changes and other service compulsions that the Internal Combustion Nexon would have to go through.

To conclude, the Nexon EV has made quite a mark in the electric car scenario in India. With a competitive pricing and a package that has almost all things covered including safety, what else can one ask for?