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Wednesday, 27 May 2015

Mahindra to Launch 3 Peugeot Scooters in India? Mahindra to Launch 3 Peugeot Scooters in India?

After acquiring 51 per cent stakes of Peugeot Motorcycles (PMTC), Mahindra Group is now planning to launch a range of scooters in India. According to a report published in Topgear, Mahindra will roll out three Peugeot Scooters in different price brackets and power ranges.
The report says that the three scooters that the company is planning to bring in are - Django, Satelis 125 and Speedfight 3, all of which are already on sale in European markets. The Django 125cc scooter with its retro-styling will take on the Vespa LX 125
Peugeot Django

The Satelis belong to the motor-scooter category, thus will fight against the upcoming Hero ZIR 150 and Honda PCX 150. Whereas, the Speedfight 3 is an entry-level scooter that is available in different capacities in the European markets. Though, the one we expect to come to India is the 125cc.

Peugeot Satlis

Rumour has it that the company might also launch a down-sized version of its highly popular scooter - the Metropolis. The European Metropolis is a three-wheeled 400cc scooter that churns out 37bhp. Though, the company doesn't have a smaller engine for the Metropolis. So if both the companies - Mahindra and Peugeot - are serious about launching it here, they'll have to develop an all new engine for this.

Peugeot Speedfight

Though the company hasn't officially said anything about its product line-up, we expect all the India-bound Peugeot scooters at the 2016 Delhi Auto Expo.

Monday, 25 May 2015

Review: Pulsar AS 200 and AS 150

The Bajaj Pulsar family is growing in size and the company has now created an 'affordable adventure bike' segment with the AS 200 and the AS 150. And I do stress on 'affordable adventure bike' in the true sense, that segment of motorcycles boasts of great on-road and good off-road capabilities like the Triumph Tigers, KTM Adventure and the BMW GS series. And so, the Pulsar AS series can't really be termed adventure bikes but then maybe they're more affordable touring motorcycles.

Bajaj Pulsar AS Review 1

But the attempt is there to look adventurous. The design offers some bits of an 'adventure' feel with the quarter fairing blending well with the sculpted tank and the split seats. Things that will catch your eye at first glance are the projector headlamps, tall windscreen and the 10-spoke 17 inch alloys that give it a touring character. The rest of the bike is familiar and styling is largely borrowed from the 200 NS. Unlike the RS 200, which looked a tad over-styled, the AS seems more precise. We like the backlight switchgear and the semi-digital instrument cluster that's easy enough to read with two trip meters, an odometer and a clock.

Bajaj Pulsar AS 150 Review

So while the bikes share the same design, the AS 150 gets an all-new, freshly tuned engine which is air-cooled and feels refined and delivers linear acceleration. While Bajaj claims it's all new, it really about the existing Pulsar 150cc engine now being smoother with improved refinement. The 150cc engine also doesn't feel strained around winding roads with a fairly smooth 5-speed gearbox. Mid-range torque is plenty and ideal for regular commuting speeds although at higher revs, some vibrations do creep in.
The 200 meanwhile packs quite a punch and sounds a bit too angry as it does! Quick off the block, the bike feels eager to be pushed around but the engine doesn't feel very refined. The clutch feel is quick too, but the gearbox doesn't feel quite as precise as it should, especially in stop go city traffic, where you usually want to downshift to the right gear.

Bajaj Pulsar AS Review

The telescopic front suspension and the rear monoshocks do their job well to absorb rough roads and the tyres offer good grip. The suspension has been tuned for a softer setup on the AS 150 for city road conditions. On the AS 200, though the ride is stiffer and therefore quite sporty. Given these bikes don't have the tall stance of a regular adventure bike, the AS offers a comfortable and easy riding position. The new perimeter frame keeps the body balanced, dipping in and out of corners with fairly good ease. Brakes do work fairly well but you did wish ABS was offered at least as an option on the AS 200. But hang in there, Bajaj has hinted at a more powerful, fully-loaded adventure bike is on its way.

Bajaj Pulsar AS Review 3

That really is good news especially as Bajaj has got off to a good start with these affordable adventure bikes. The Bajaj Pulsar AS 150 and AS 200 are priced at Rs. 79,000 and Rs. 92,500, respectively. These prices are ex-showroom, Delhi and should attract buyers who cannot necessarily afford a true-blue adventure bike but are quite happy with a reliable affordable tourer.

Tuesday, 19 May 2015

Students Build a Rs. 1 Lakh Car That Will Deliver 32Km/l

Every now and then we hear car manufacturers tell us about the research and development that they do when it comes to making cars according to their customer's needs. But an engineering college in Mangaluru, thought long and hard, put together their travel experiences and then decided to make a car for the common man.

A car that will not only be affordable but also be a substitute for those wanting to upgrade from a bike; and that's what they strived at. According to Professor Rounaq Ahmed, "There's sunshine for 6 months here in Mangaluru and it rains the other 6; and most of the people here travel on bikes, which during the rains can be extremely dangerous, which is why we came out with this idea."

The 'we' includes some students pursuing Mechanical Engineering and professors who guided in their pursuit to make a car for the common man. Well, the idea was a simple one; a tried and tested one at that; taking the engine from a bike and making a car of it. We've seen Volkswagen do it and though a concept, it worked well. The idea, therefore is not new but the students and the professors of the Bearys Institute of Technology have made a car by doing just that. They took a 150cc engine from a Bajaj Pulsar and took some additional spare parts to build a car that would be ideal for a place like Mangaluru.

Also Read: Engineering College Students Build Autonomous Car

"We wanted to build a car for the common man and we managed to do it with the help of the students. The 150cc, 4-stroke bike engine has been used in this car which can carry two people easily. Since it is a single cylinder air cooled engine this vehicle does not require radiator or cooling systems," said Prof. Ahmed.

The total kerb weight of the car is 280Kgs and this is because of the extensive use of aluminium. The weight has a drastic change on the way it performs. The car can hit a top speed of 80Km/h and return a fuel economy of 32Km/l. We asked about the fuel tank capacity and were told that the tank can be designed to whatever capacity is needed. The car has been tested off-road as well as on road on the outskirts of Mangaluru city, and the results have been promising.

BIT Car

Well, the fact remains that the design of the car is a pretty rudimentary. However, let us not forget that this is merely a prototype and improvements will be made. They've even made a cover for it for when it rains. But making it a proper car will mean more investment. The car was made with a budget of just Rs. 50,000, but with all-new components the single car price may go up to Rs. 1 lakh. However, mass production may also reduce the cost further.

We aren't denying that there are a few things that need to be ironed out but the idea isn't a bad one. Considering that India is the second largest two wheeler manufacturer in the world, it makes perfect sense to develop cars which have an engine of a two-wheeler. Now, who's game?

Nubia Z9 mini With 5-Inch Display, Snapdragon 615 SoC Launched at Rs. 16,999

As expected, ZTE has launched its Nubia brand of handsets in India, with the firm making available one of its Nubia Z9 series smartphones to start with - the Nubia Z9 mini. Going on sale from Tuesday exclusively on Amazon India, the Nubia Z9 mini has been priced at Rs. 16,999.

Launched alongside the Nubia Z9 Max in March, the dual-SIM (Nano-SIM) ZTE Nubia Z9 mini smartphone shares most of its specifications with the Nubia Z9 Max, but sports a smaller 5-inch full-HD (1080x1920 pixels) IPS display. It bears Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection and offers a pixel density of 441ppi. The smartphone runs Android 5.0.2 Lollipop with the Nubia UI 2.8 skin on top.

The ZTE Nubia Z9 mini handset is powered by a 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 (quad-core Cortex-A53 1.5GHz + quad-core Cortex-A53 1GHz) processor coupled with 2GB of LPDDR3 RAM. It sports a 16-megapixel rear camera with Sony IMX234 Exmor RS sensor, LED flash, and f/2.0 aperture, apart from an 8-megapixel front camera with Sony IMX179 Exmor R sensor with f/2.4 aperture. It bears a 2900mAh removable battery, and features 16GB of inbuilt storage expandable via microSD card (up to 128GB).

The smartphone supports 4G LTE connectivity, compatible with networks with in India. Other connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS/ A-GPS, and Micro-USB with OTG. The Nubia Z9 mini weighs 147 grams, and measures 141.3x69.8x8.2mm. It will be available in Black and White colours.

For now, the Chinese company has not revealed when it intends to launch other smartphones in the Nubia lineup in India yet, which include the recently unveiled ZTE Nubia Z9 Classic, ZTE Nubia Z9 Elite, and ZTE Nubia Z9 Exclusive, apart from the Nubia Z9 Max already mentioned. At the time of writing, the Nubia Z9 mini was not yet listed on Amazon India, though customers can register for notifications on the dedicated Nubia page.

ZTE Nubia Z9 mini

Display

5.00-inch

Processor

1GHz

Front Camera

8-megapixel

Resolution

1080x1920 pixels

RAM

2GB

OS

Android 5.0.2

Storage

16GB

Rear Camera

16-megapixel

Battery capacity

2900mAh

See full ZTE Nubia Z9 mini specifications

Tuesday, 12 May 2015

Micromax's Yu Yuphoria With Cyanogen OS 12, Snapdragon 410 Launched at Rs. 6,999

Micromax subsidiary Yu Televentures on Tuesday launched its second smartphone, the Yu Yuphoria, in India. The smartphone has been priced at Rs. 6,999 and will be exclusively available via Amazon India. The first flash sale is scheduled for May 28 for which registrations begin starting 5pm IST on Tuesday.

Domestic brand Micromax claims to have used a "crowdsourced design" when making the handset. Micromax Co-Founder Rahul Sharma at the launch revealed that the Yu Yuphoria went through a number of processes including pre-bending, stamping, welding, laser etching, sandblasting, and polishing. Sharma claimed that the Yu team achieved sleek matte finish after extreme cycles of sandblasting which they learnt from the automobile industry. The Yuphoria smartphone features a metal frame around the body. He added that antenna on the handset has been placed on a gold plated spring.

(Also see: Yu Yuphoria vs. Yu Yureka)

Sharma stressed that while manufacturing Yuphoria, the team filed four patents including one for antenna layout for LTE devices. The smartphone will be available in Buffed Steel and Champagne Gold colours.

For specifications, the Yu Yuphoria features a 5-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) TFT IPS display and sports third-generation Corning Gorilla Glass for protection. Sharma at the launch claimed that the screen to ratio on the Yuphoria is 67 percent. The Yuphoria runs Android 5.0 Lollipop-based Cyanogen OS 12.

The handset is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 (MSM8916) processor coupled with 2GB of RAM and Adreno 306 GPU. It features 16GB of built-in storage.

The dual-SIM based Yuphoria supports 4G and features accelerometer, ambient, proximity, gyroscope, and e-compass. It sports an 8-megapixel rear camera with an f/2.2 lens and LED flash. while also featuring a 5-megapixel front camera with f/2.0 aperture. It is backed by a 2230mAh battery, and weighs 143 grams.