Toyota Fortuner 3.0 MT launched at 21.5 lakh Rupees.

The long awaited SUV from the Toyota arsenal has finally been launched in India. August. For starters, the Fortuner has been launched with a 3.0 diesel engine and a 5-speed manual gearbox only. Toyota has surprised the competition with a killer price tag. Compared to soft-roaders like the CR-V, Captiva and the Outlander, the Fortuner is a true-blue SUV with all-wheel drive and a low range gearbox as standard. It is practical too with a usable set of third row seats. Going by Indian publics affinity for big SUV's with equally huge C-R-D-I powerplants the Fortuner looks likely to be headed for a great success story in India as well.

Here's an overveiw of how the Fortuner compares to its rivals(all prices, On-Road, Mumbai).

Toyota Fortuner:

3.0 MT - 21.5 lakhs, 3.0 litre 4-cyl D4-D Diesel, 168 bhp, 343 Nm, 7-seater.

Ford Endeavour (Current):

2.5 XLT 4x2 MT - 17.85 lakhs, 2.5 litre 4-cyl TDCi Diesel, 143 bhp, 330 Nm, 7-seater.

3.0 Thunder+ 4x4 MT- 20.5 lakhs, 3.0 litre 4-cyl TDCi Diesel, 154 bhp, 380 Nm, 7-seater.

Ford Endeavour Facelift (Incumbent):

2.5 XLT 4x2 MT - 18.85 lakhs(estimated), 2.5 litre 4-cyl TDCi Diesel, 143 bhp, 330 Nm, 7-seater.
3.0 Thunder+ 4x4 AT- 21.5 lakhs(estimated), 3.0 litre 4-cyl TDCi Diesel, 154 bhp, 380 Nm, 7-seater.

Honda CRV:

2.0 2WD MT - 25.96 lakhs, 2.0 litre 4-cyl iVTEC Petrol, 142 bhp, 190 Nm, 5-seater.

2.4 AWD MT - 27.63 lakhs, 2.4 litre 4-cyl iVTEC Petrol, 160 bhp, 218 Nm, 5-seater.

2.4 AWD MT - 28.48 lakhs, 2.4 litre 4-cyl iVTEC Petrol, 160 bhp, 218 Nm, 5-seater.

Chevrolet Captiva:

2.0 LT MT - 23.86 lakhs, 2 litre 4-cyl VCDi Diesel, 148 bhp, 320 Nm, 7-seater.

2.0 LTZ AT - 25.66 lakhs, 2 litre 4-cyl VCDiDiesel, 148 bhp, 320 Nm, 7-seater.

Mitsubishi Outlander:

2.4 MIVEC - 23.16lakhs, 2.4 litre 4-cyl MIVEC Petrol, 170 bhp, 225 Nm, 5-seater.

Mitsubishi Pajero:

SFX - 23.65 lakhs, 2.8 litre 4-cyl TDCi Diesel, 118 bhp, 290 Nm, 7-seater.

Volvo S60 here by end 2010

The Bold new Volvo S60 will be launched in India by the end of next year, following its global debut in mid 2010. The current S60 was phased out in may 2009 and is to be replaced by a comprehensively face-lifted car.
However, the car will be a CBU import from Belgium. The XC90 SUV and the S80 sedan haven't done so well in the last year or so since their launch, managing to sell just 100 odd units. Inspite of matching BMW, Mercedes and Audi in terms of Quality and safety and bettering them in terms of price, Volvo doesn't enjoy the German brands' snob value.
Whether the S60 will be able to change these perceptions remains to be seen.

Evo X coming to India

The Evo might be available at a HM showroom near you early next year. However, contrary to whatever other news sources might claim, the Evo X might not retail for anything less that 40 lakh rupees.
But, even at that price, nothing really comes close to matching the Evo's performance. Its rally bred suspension, advanced four wheel drive system with electronic trickery and a dual-clutch gearbox give it true supercar-worrying performance.
Lets just hope that HM sees the sense in what the Evo can do for Mitsubishi's brand image in India and doesn't wait till the Evo XV before making up its mind.

Ford Endeavour Face-lift

What you see here is the face-lifted face of the Endeavour, which will be here by august end. It gets a fresh new nose and some cosmetic accoutrements. In my opinion the new front end doesn't have the rugged charm of the old one and doesn't complement the Endy's otherwise 'vanilla' lines.
The Endeavour has been the best selling premium SUV for quite some time now and I suppose it is mostly thanks to its rugged looks. Messing with its looks seems to be a big risk, especially considering that Ford has got a good thing going.
It will be interesting to see whether Ford manages to hold on to the top spot once the Fortuner hits our shores.

Ford's Small Car caught testing

This is Ford's new small car that will soon make its way into the market. It is essentially the mk5 generation Fiesta that was face-lifted in 2005. So essentially it will already be close to five years old when it goes on sale in India. The Ikon as we know it also was actually an old Fiesta (the mk4 - face-lift circa 1999) with a boot added to it.

Indians will find it familiar inside-out because of its resemblance to the Ford Fusion. However expect the interior to be partially beiged-up to suit Indian tastes. The fiesta already looks dated compared to rivals like the i20 and will have a tough task ahead of it.

We would have really loved to see the new Fiesta make its way to our shores not a previous generation car. But that would have been equally or even more costly than the Honda Jazz, and Ford India doesn't have the confidence to sell a hatch that expensive, however, brilliant it may be, atleast not right now.
The Fiesta that's coming to India is not a bad car mind you. It has been a firm favorite in Europe for years, thanks to its class leading dynamics, sensible engine options and bang on pricing. It is the car that kept the Ford of Europe afloat while its American counterpart struggled against bankruptcy. It is known as one of the best handling cars for its price and has charmed petrol-heads the world over with its effervescent character.

I hope that the little Ford gets an equally warm reception in our country, and someday they might be in a position to bring us the latest Fiesta as well as the Focus and the Mondeo that have been long time coming.