Sirish Chandran

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Sirish Chandran

Car & bike reviews, motorsport & automotive ramblings, the occasional rant! Editor - evo India

06/11/2024

Kylaq is basically a short-wheelbase Kushaq. Which is good news for all of us.

It’s a very simplistic way of looking at things but it is a fact. Sure the exterior sheet metal is different to Kushaq (I think the doors are common, and probably windscreen, plus stuff like mirrors) but underneath – and to save costs – Kylaq is same as Kushaq

Which means Skoda’s sub 4 meter SUV is no jacked up hatchback but a properly engineered mid-size SUV that’s shrunken down.

And is cheaper!

That means same, excellent, MQB-AO-IN platform with all the attendant ride and handling excellence. Same axles (which is why it can take 17-inch wheels). Same components (which must now cost less considering vendors have been making it since 2020). Same 1.0 TSI which is still the best small-capacity turbo engine on sale today (and even more heavily localised plus Skoda-VW can now make engines faster and with better quality). The torque converter automatic is no DSG but is no slouch either (and is still imported). You won’t complain. Kylaq is as wide as Kushaq (which is a good thing cause Kushaq isn’t a proper 5 seater).

You will get same 5-star safety. The suspension is a bit softer than the Kushaq which means the big brother will handle better but the younger brother might cushion your back side better.

Sure Kylaq is a little tighter as far as rear knee room goes. But that’s about it.

And is cheaper.

And now comes the big problem. Kylaq cannibalising Kushaq sales. It will happen, no question about it. And Skoda can’t widen price gap to Kushaq, the likes of the Creta are already giving it a hard time.

The Kushaq facelift due next year will not only be desperately needed but needs to come as soon as possible.

For now though, I’m excited about the Kylaq. Bar very few, these sub 4-meter SUVs have never had good ride and handling. The Kylaq on the other hand will enthuse the enthusiast.

And you know what that means?

Four years after the Polo was retired, we have its spiritual successor.

Thoughts?
[skoda, skoda Kylaq, evo India verdict, skodagram, skoda India]

05/11/2024

Flying Flea is a radical re-imagining of what an electric Royal Enfield should look like, and the image it should convey! And I bet nobody expected this!

Details:

👉 Flying Flea is be a new sub-brand, focussed on electric motorcycles

👉 Classic-styled C6 uses a lightweight forged aluminium frame and finned magnesium battery case. Front fins are arranged in odd sequences to represent, “innovation and modern technology” while rear fins are in even sequences to embody “tradition and legacy”

👉 Beautifully-styled forged aluminium girder fork and articulating mudguard is a throwback to the 1930s

👉 Round touchscreen cluster continues the classic theme with high-tech functionality that will pair with your phone via a heavy-hitting app. RE claims to have filed 28 patents in the last 6 months

👉 Central Vehicle Control Unit integrates all the physical and digital touch points, and is powered by a tailor-made chip enabling over 200,000 different ride mode combinations, brake-regen, anti-theft, OTA updates etc

👉 Acceleration is claimed to be “visceral”, top speed around 115-120kmph. There’s lean angle sensing ABS and cruise control

👉 No official battery capacity or range figures, expect it to be approx 160km. Charging via a domestic 3-pin plug

I love how Royal Enfield aren’t just throwing an electric powertrain into a conventional motorcycle but making an out-and-out lifestyle statement. They’re making EVs cool. EVs don’t just have to be about range and running costs. The Flying Flea is a fashion accessory. Throws conventional thinking on its head – and takes their e-bike game truly global.

This will look as cool in Milan as it will in Madras. Bravo!

What do you think of the Flying Flea?

04/11/2024

Here’s Maruti Suzuki’s first electric car 👉 made in India, for the world

👉 eVitara is a Creta-sized mid-size SUV
4.2 meters long
2700mm wheelbase
180mm ground clearance

👉 And coming early next year

👉 Two battery capacities:
49kWh puts out 142bhp and 189Nm
61kWh makes 172bhp and 189Nm

👉 And you can also have it AWD
Total output of 181bhp (172bhp on front axle and 64bhp on rear axle)
Combined 300Nm of torque

👉 Weight? 1.7 tonnes for 49kWh; 1.9 tonnes for 61kwh with AWD

👉 No details on range or performance

My word, the EV space is getting supercharged. Mahindra’s XEV and BE, Hyundai’s electric Creta, Kia will obviously follow with the e-Seltos, Tata Sierra EV, Toyota’s version of the eVitara, everything JSW-MG will bring, all the incumbents, so so many!

I just hope there are enough EV buyers to soak up this flood!
[Maruti suzuki ev, Maruti Suzuki eVitara, Suzuki eVitara, eVitara, EV, electric car, electric SUV]

04/11/2024

Careers at evo India 👉 Video Editor(s)

We are expanding the team at our editorial base in Pune. Positions now open for

1. Social Media Video Editor
2. Video Editor

Both are full-time positions and involves crafting immersive automotive video content – on Instagram and YouTube. You will need to be proficient in Adobe After Effects, Photoshop and Premiere Pro (or equivalent) and past work experience in this field will be beneficial. And of course you need to be on point with trends and everything that’s hot.

Send your resume with work samples to:
[email protected]

Pl note: we will send you an assignment to judge your speed, proficiency, skills and imagination.

All the best. And pass the word around

04/11/2024

Verna gets a “sporty” new spoiler. Also earns “Futuristic. Ferocious” tag

No word on downforce numbers

Thoughts?
[hyundia Verna, evo India, spoiler, wing, downforce]

04/11/2024

Mahindra going for a bold and radical new look with their electric SUVs, with both seeming to embrace the SUV Coupe trend

Details are scarce but what we have just been told is there will be two families. XEV (borrowing from the XUV perhaps) and the clean-sheet BE family

XEV 9e and BE 6e will be the flagships of the two brands and I’m guessing they will be AWD to keep with Mahindra’s 4x4 heritage. Which also means they could be India’s fastest and longest range EVs

But why two separate EV brands? Anybody has any thoughts?
[mahindra xev 9e, mahindra be 6e, evo india, ev, electric car, electric cars, electric suv]

04/11/2024

Dare I say it the 5 Series is rather growing on me, especially the i5

You?
📸 .patil for
[bmw, bmw i5, bmw 5 series, evo India, black car]

27/10/2024

If there ever was an EV to turn ⛽️ heads into ⚡️ heads it’s the i5 M60

This thing is nearly as fast as the previous gen M5 Competition. 0-100kmph in 3.8s. Nearly 600hp. And unbelievable responses

It rides beautifully. I mean really beautifully. This is a high-performance car that rides like a luxury car

And it’s a performance car that handles like a BMW. Precise and responsive front end. Awesome grip. Bit of body roll, yes, but excellent body control. Gas it (what’s the term for EVs?) and it feels properly rear-driven even though this is 4WD. Even good steering. Plus rear wheel steering for keen agility

Goes like a bat outta hell. Staggeringly fast. And relentless, no-let-up acceleration until it maxes out at some 230kmph.

Those Hans Zimmer composed “iconic sounds” are mad but they’re also hugely entertaining. I’ll post a launch control sequence later - even I’m stunned by the wild drama it (artificially) injects into the driving experience. Even strains on its leash with launch control activated (it’s wilder than you can imagine, I’ll post that clip)

By all rights I should hate all the gimmickry of the i5. But I hugely, hugely enjoyed the i5. Crushingly fast. Superb to drive. Super easy to live with. The styling is growing on me.

This is not just the car to tempt car-nuts away from petrol/diesel but this is the car that represents everything we love and adore about the 5 Series while taking it to the next level

The i5 is the 5 Series we deserve!
📸 .patil

25/10/2024

Evolution!

15 years ago, the R8 rocked one of the highest revving engines in the world. It didn’t scream or howl – instead the V8 growled a deep bassy bellow that broadcasts its muscle, decibel & anger as the gorgeous tacho swings with surprising haste across the dial. A flying needle stirring the loins like no digital tach ever can. Dry-sumped as all motorsport engines are, kitted with the then new-fangled direct-injection, and untroubled by turbos of any sort, the 4.2-V8 employed 4.2 seconds to get to 100kmph, 414bhp and 430Nm going on to push a max speed of 299kmph.

Today you get 912bhp from the ⚡️ RS e-tron GT Performance

That needs some perspective, so allow me to again rewind back, this time to the Veyron. It was then the fastest road car in history; the crowning glory of the awe-inspiring, engineering-driven VW Group at the peak of its prowess; the product of the visionary and terrifying leadership of the late, great, Dr Piech; a hypercar described as, ‘the greatest technological challenge ever known in the automotive industry.’ The Veyron put out an unheard of 987bhp, the production of which required four turbochargers bellowing down the throat of a gargantuan 8-litre W16 engine, which also necessitated the affixing to the windscreen of the most extraordinary price tag ever seen in automotive world. It was the ultimate in excess.

And now we have an electric car that can keep pace with a Veyron. Note, I said car. Not hyper car. Not super car. A car with four doors, four seats, my luggage flying around in the boot, and knocking on the doors of four-figure power figures.

The Audi RS e-tron GT Performance does a violent 0-100kmph run of 2.5 seconds.

How fast did the Veyron get to 100kmph in? You guessed right. 2.5 seconds. And now you don’t even have to worry about killing the clutch doing repeated launch control runs. The only limiting factor is your stomach, the marbled steak wanting to escape into low earth orbit, and the engineer mortified at the thought of me now wanting to film 0-200kmph runs. Which takes 8 seconds flat.

That’s the pace of progress. Vorsprung durch Technik

Excerpted from latest evo India magazine, on stands now

22/10/2024

New G63 launched at ₹3.6 crore

Looks (more or less) the same but this is the new W465 generation with refined styling, more tech, more power and MUCH BETTER suspension

First lot of 120 G63 already reserved. Mercedes are now taking bookings for Q3 2025

We’re driving the new G today. Anything you want to know (opinions under embargo till 8 Nov though)

22/10/2024

Let me take you back 15 years…

15 years ago, we didn’t get to test sports cars in 🇮🇳 . At the max we’d get like half an hour with a fast car, that too heavily supervised.

And then came Audi, with their hero car.

The R8 was making waves all over the world, with its unique combination of performance and daily usability, from what was, don’t forget, a proper mid-engined sports/supercar. This was proper exotica. Iron Man drove one. And by the trend of the times, that meant we would get to look at it, and be happy.

Except, when we asked Audi if we could drive it, they said – yes! – with only two caveats. A mileage cap of 100km along with a firm diktat to go nowhere close to a pothole or speed breakers (why, I’ll post it in the comments)

R8 and ’Busa on India’s fastest road is one of those stories during my stint as editor of Overdrive magazine that I am most proud of. It was story that had never been done. A supercar, flat out on what was then India’s fastest road, from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer with a ’Busa chasing it down. It became an instant sensation. Put the TV show we’d launched a year ago on the map.

And the purple R8 you see here is that very same car. It now has a Telangana number, and rocks this purple wrap, but this is that very first R8 to come to India. The car that starred on the cover of the 11th anniversary issue of Overdrive. And – mother of all coincidences – I am reunited with it for the 11th anniversary issue of evo India

As somebody wise once said. Never forget the past. It reminds us of who we are, where we’ve come from, the hurdles we’ve crossed, the challenges we’ve faced, and the triumphs we’ve achieved 💪🏻

What a journey I’ve had with Audi! Do you have any stories?
📸 /
📸 /

21/10/2024

2025 Jeep Meridian launched & big news is the range now starts at Rs 25 lakh, a massive Rs 6 lakh price drop

Longitude: 25 lakh
Longitude Plus: 27.5 lakh
Limited(O): 30.5 lakh
Overland: 36.5 lakh

These are starting prices. No word on how much the 4x4 is. And of course no petrol

You also get the option of ADAS. And for the first time the Meridian will also come with a 5-seater, not just the 7-seater

Do you think this can revive Jeep India’s sales?

19/10/2024

J A Motorsport have unveiled the Hyundai i20 N-Line rally car built to the upcoming INRC 3+ category. Also called INRC 3T, the FMSCI aims to have it operational next year, and open to 1-litre turbocharged cars in production-stock specification.

i20 N-Line rally car runs the same 1-litre, 3-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine but with a motorsport-spec ECU and performance intake and exhaust boosting power to over 125 horsepower. The gearbox is the standard 6-speed manual and mated to a limited slip differential. Suspension will be top-shelf Reiger 3-way adjustable dampers, and it runs on MRF’s rally-spec 15-inch tyres.

There is a strong MRF Tyres connection to this rally program with the team’s European Rally Championship driver Martins Sesks drafted in to test and develop the car. Martins will do all the testing in India but J A Motorsport aren’t confining themselves to Indian rallying with this project. Plans are afoot to build the Hyundai i20 to Rally 4 and Rally 5 specification and export it to markets around the world. This will cash in on Hyundai finally clinching the World Rally Championship crown this year 🤞. With two rallies remaining, Hyundai leads the 2024 WRC manufacturers standing by 17 points over Toyota Gazoo Racing while Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville leads the driver’s standings by 29 points over team mate Ott Tanak with Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier a further 12 points adrift.

As of now, Hyundai Motor India aren’t involved in the Indian Rally Championship project. J A Motorsport have bought the i20 N Line from a local dealer and have done all the development work on their own.

“If the car does well, we can eventually speak to their motorsport division,” says J A Motorsport MD, J Anand adding, “It is something to look forward to, working with a car company which has a such a strong global motorsport background.”

This i20 N-Line is not a single-make rally car. J A Motorsport will build the 10 Hyundai i20 N-Line rally cars for customers, more if demand increases. No word as of now on prices, but to be competitive it should be in the region of Rs 25 lakh.

More info on evoindia (dot) com

Excited?

17/10/2024

If you’re curious about the price, it’s 3.6 million euros, ex-factory in Italy. That’s like ₹32 crores. Add 160% tax. That’s 83 crores. Plus insurance, registration (capped at ₹20 lakh in Maharashtra 😁). You’re looking at a ₹90 - 100 crore car!

Not that there aren’t individuals with the kinda wealth in India. But the Ferrari F80 will only be made in left hand drive which means it cannot be sold in India 😰

According to the Motor Vehicles Act, no person can purchase, register or drive a left hand drive vehicle in the country.

Car spotters 🇮🇳 not gonna sleep well tonight?
[ferrari f80, ferrari, red ferrari, evo india, supercar, ferrari supercar, supercars]

17/10/2024

F80 shock 👉 it’s a V6

Yeah, not a V12. Not V8. Ferrari says the V6 is the pinnacle of technology today. After all turbo-V6 is used in F1. The Le Mans winning Ferrari 499P uses the V6 and that’s the same 120-degree 3-litre V6, used in the F80.

On its own it makes 900 hp. Internals are all new with the biggest update the MGU-K. Larger turbos are spooled up by a 48-volt electric motor embedded in the turbo to cut out lag and improve response.

It revs to 9000rpm
Specific output is 300 horsepower per litre

And the two electric motors on the front axle (e-4WD) and rear motor (MGU-K) of the hybrid system add another 300hp.

New 800-volt electrical architecture. At its core is a 2.3 kWh race-derived battery, with a carbon fibre housing to save weight, and completely new cells provided by the same supplier as for the Formula 1 batteries. Peak output is 242 kW, 49 more than the SF90 XX Stradale battery, while weighing 38 kg less.

The system is fed by the MGU-K that powers the new front axle that delivers a maximum output of 284hp. It is more compact and 36 kg lighter than the one mounted on the SF90 XX Stradale.
 F80 has e-4WD which allows torque vectoring in corners, integrates with the vehicles controls to manage and even encourage playful slides at the limit. That’s what Ferrari says.

Another inverter is used for the rear electric motor. It can generate up to 70 kW in regeneration mode and assist the internal combustion engine with up to 60 kW of power

The electric motors were designed and produced in Maranello and derived from the Formula 1 ones, with a carbon fibre rotor core, to allow higher revs with less weight and compact dimensions.

And if your head is hurting trying to understand all this, I haven’t even begun on the aerodynamics.

What do you think of the powertrain?
[ferrari f80, ferrari, red ferrari, evo india, supercar, ferrari supercar, supercars]

15/10/2024

The best driving compact SUV? That’s what the Skoda Kylaq promises to be — a shrunken Kushaq & that’s a very good thing IMHO

Wraps off on Nov 6 and I’m sure it will look cool. But will it get a pano sunroof 😬🤦🏻‍♂️

Our car buying tastes / reasons can be so frustrating for manufacturers… you invest so much time and effort into engineering a great to drive and safe car and all people then talk about is the sunroof 😤

Sunroof ❌ TSI Power ✅

12/10/2024

Happy Dussera, from our family to yours 🤗

Did you notice the latest addition to the evo India fleet?

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Videos

An insane 24 hours, all documented in our video live now on evo India YT 👉 https://youtu.be/RR17G-wIv7M?si=ABsYGLVsOxJqe1FJ

8 passes in 24 hours, with the OG Mountain G.O.A.T We’ve set some epic 24 hour records but this was the toughest of them all. Extreme temperatures all the way down to minus 17 degrees. Extreme altitude sickness. One videographer was down before we even started filming. Snow. Ice. Short day and long, dark, icy, biting cold night. Support cars struggling with black ice. We were at the mercy of the mountain gods, but we had #LordAlto by our side 1️⃣ Umling La, 19024ft, -17 deg 2️⃣ Photi La, 18,124ft, -14 deg 3️⃣ Kaksang La, 17,851ft, -14 deg 4️⃣ Tanglang La, 17,482ft, -15 deg 5️⃣ Wari La, 17,428ft, -15 deg 6️⃣ Chang La, 17,688ft, -12 deg 7️⃣ Marsimik La, 18,314ft, -14 deg 8️⃣ Khardung La, 17,982ft, -14 deg That’s all 8 of Ladakh’s highest passes, all covered in precisely 23 hours and 50 minutes. (We paused the drive and clock in the night, can’t film and generate content in the pitch dark). And we ended the run in snow at Khardung La! How did we do it? The video is live now on #evoindia YT 👉 https://youtu.be/Fl1bUKobaPs And you can read the story in evo India magazine 👉 evoIndia.com/magazine Record officially certified by the India Book of Records and presented to Shashank Srivastava, Executive Director at Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, and me, at the MSIL headquarters in New Delhi What challenge should be next throw at Lord Alto? Evo India Magazine Maruti Suzuki Maruti Suzuki Arena

🚨 evo भारत, our new हिन्दी YT channel, is live Enthu reviews, drag races, tutorials, adventures, road trips, massive features & authoritative verdicts … everything that you know and love about evo India, now in Hindi. Even Gone But Not Forgotten (the first is on the Indica) but we kick off with a mega compact SUV comparo (face lifted Nexon vs all rivals) How do you like our tag line 👇 The Thrill of Driving 👉 जूनून रफ़्तार का (Junoon Raftaar Ka) The channel is live on YT 👉 https://youtu.be/V4Gpay9iDWQ?si=jyetaFZGQrlhS9DZ Do check it out and give us a shout. And tell us what you’d like to see on #evoBharat How’s my Hindi 😂🫣 . . . #evoindia #bts #bloopers #outtakes #behindthescenes #memes😂