Landrover 2.11 Crore
We’ll start with Land Rover. Well over a year since its initial launch, Land Rover has added the Range Rover Sport SV and the petrol three-liter plug-in hybrid variants on its website.
The SV variant starts from 2.8 crores and the petrol hybrid variant starts from 2.11 crore rupees Ex-showroom. The Range Rover Sport SV comes with a 4.4-liter BMW-sourced V8 engine that can produce 635 horsepower at 800 Newton of torque.
This makes it the most powerful Range Rover yet to be produced. Paired to an eight-speed automatic gear box, this four-wheel drive SUV is claimed to hit 100 km/h from zero in just 3.8 seconds and maxes out at a top speed of 290 km/h.
As far as styling changes are concerned, for the exterior, the Range Rover Sport SV gets wider tracks at the front and rear, increased camber, a new front bumper and grill treatment, side skirts, and a rear bumper with dual twin exhausts.
Inside, the SV gets new seats with integrated head restraints for all four seats and a new design for the steering wheel. It also incorporates an SV button to activate the personalized drive mode.
The newly introduced petrol plug and hybrid, on the other hand, is powered by a three-liter six-cylinder engine that’s coupled with a 38.2-kilowatt battery pack.
Combined, the Range Rover Sport PHEV makes 460 horsepower and 660 Newton of torque, enabling it to do the 0-100-kilometer-per-hour sprint in 5.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 225 km per hour.
Battery
The battery pack takes five hours to fully charge using a seven-kilowatt AC charger and returns an electric-only range of 123 km.
Being offered only with the top-spec autopyography trim, the Range Rover Sport PHEV gets all the bells and resources, such as illuminated cap plates, 22-way powered front seats with ventilation and massage, head-up display, 360-degree camera, and more.
According to dealers, deliveries for the Range Rover Sport SV and the PHEV are expected to commence in 6-8 months.
Tata Motors subjected its newly introduced Harrier and Safari SUVs to the Bharat New Car Assessment Program, or BNCAP, making it the first car to be tested by the organization.
Both SUVs scored five stars, securing 30.08 out of 32 points for adult occupant protection and 44.54 out of a maximum of 49 for child occupant protection.
While the SUV scored perfectly in the side-movable deformable barrier test, the protection for the chest region in the frontal offset deformable barrier test proved to be less than ideal.
Kia Seltos & Kia Sonette
However, what’s noteworthy is that these scores are very similar to the scores awarded by the global NCAT. Kia is set to comment on bookings for the newly updated Sonette SUV from the 20th of December.
According to our sources, the South Korean manufacturer will reveal prices for the Sonette facelift early next month, and deliveries are expected to begin by mid-January.
Deliveries for the diesel manual variance, however, will begin a little later from February 2024. Like with the Seltos facelift, KIA is also offering the provision for early deliveries for customers with a K-Code.
The K-Code can be generated by existing KIA owners from KIA website by entering their vehicle details or through the My KIA app between 14th of December and the 20th of December.
K Code
The K-Code can then be used at the time of booking the vehicle to jump the queue for priority delivery.
Sticking with the South Korean brand, KIA Motors India has revealed that they’re actively looking to bring their hybrid tech to its India lineup.
However, the brand has not revealed any further information regarding technology or the models that will be powered by the hybrid tech.
We’ve also learned that KIA is working on electrifying its existing 1.2 and 1.5-liter naturally-estimated petrol units for the Indian market.
Kia Technology
Kia already uses their hybrid technology in their international models, but in India, to keep the cost in check, the brand has to find a way to localize the production of motor components and battery tech.
Given the size of the engines being considered for hybridization, the new powertrains could potentially find their way into the likes of the Seltos midsize SUV, the Karenz MPV, and a future sub-format model.
Sister brand Hyundai is also likely to share the same powertrain for its future SUVs.
Triumph
Over on the world of two-wheelers, Triumph has announced that the Speed 400 will be available for purchase at the introductory price of 2.23 lax till the 31st of December.
The ex-showroom price of the Speed 400 will go up by 2.33 lakh from first of January. Owing to the success of the newly introduced models like the Speed 400 and the Scribbler 400, Triumph aims to reach 80 cities by April 2024.
Triumph Daytona
Triumph makes it once again to the news after releasing images of the new Daytona 660.
The middleweight super sport is set to be unveiled on 9th January, and it’ll take on the likes of the Kawasaki Ninja 650, Honda CBR 650R, and the upcoming Yamaha R7.
The Daytona 660 seems to share a lot of its components like the engine, mainframe, and swing arm to the Trident 660, and output figures from its inline three-cylinder engine should also be similar at 81 horsepower and 64 Newton Meters of torque.
Judging from the teaser images, the Daytona 660 appears to have a more aggressive, fully flared design, a split LED headlight arrangement, a split seat setup, and the ergonomics don’t seem as committed as on the older Daytona 675.
The upcoming Daytona is also expected to receive a new display, as well as packing new features like electronic rider aids, consisting of two riding modes, a bi-directional quick shifter, and a simple traction control system.
It remains to be seen if Triumph a more aggressive riding mode, considering the sporty positioning of this bike.