by shahank jha
Year 2009 saw some great launches and some useful upgrades in various segments. The main focus as usual was the small car market and this segment had some major players from across the world trying to establish their own brand. Let us look at some launches that made news:-
2) Fiat Linea – Fiat India – another horse from makers of Ferrari this Fiat is a beautiful car to look and a wonder to drive. Linea is a three box elder brother to Punto. Linea in Spanish means line and the lines and curves is what this car flaunts well. Rated as one of the most beautiful cars it has got the trick of easier pricing and better service delivery (Courtesy Tata) which relaxed Fiat of its image of bad after sales support. Keeping everything else aside it is a genuine Fiat when its comes to drivability. No other car can match the way it drives and handles, its just superb in the highway and even better in the city.
3) Honda Jazz – HSCL – Honda made news with two successful launches this year one is the new Honda City but the one that caused quite a sit is Jazz premium small segment car with a large roomy interiors and a 5star rated safety measures. What causes a stun is its price priced above Rs 7lakh this small car is pricier than many A3 (sedans) segment cars. It has got a 1.2ltr, 77 BHP engine which is though not a perfect match but pretty compatible with the subtle image Jazz carries. The styling is a bit off the track but I am sure we will start liking what the world has liked over the years.
4) Ritz – Maruti Suzuki – Maruti Suzuki launched just a couple of cars in 2009 one was Ritz which though looks like a sophisticated Wagon-R actually is much more than that. Ritz comes packed more punch with its K-series engine in petrol and quadrajet diesel (Fiat Derived). Both the cars are capable, fun to drive and cheap to run just like most Maruti Suzuki makes.
5) A Star – Maruti Suzuki – Maruti second card to play all tricks in the small premium car segment. Maruti now becomes well established in this segment. For those who didn’t like Ritz and have a look at the leaner variant of same capability A-start. Apart from its space this car isn’t really that bad though not very good though. It’s a good ride for the elderly who want comfort and don’t care about the speed. And when its Maruit it just sells man!
6) Honda City – HSCL – There is world relied Jazz and then there is Indian hero Honda City. Honda with this one car has such a strong hold on Indian market that eliminating city is a major challenge for most car makers in India.
7) Mahindra Xylo – M&M – An answer to Tata Motor’s Sumo Grande, xylo packs contemporary styling with features we would love to die for. It has got Mahindra’s powepacked mHawk engine which carries its DNA from the big brother scorpio. With Flat Bed seats and some other small but useful features it eyes to rule Grande out of the market.
8) i20 - Hyundai – Though the only model from Hyundai’s aged stable this caused quite a stir. I20 is a lovely car that does everything in style. Its low, its well mannered, its good to drive and most of all its safe rather safest. The engine is a bit under powered @75PS but the ride quality, the built quality and safety scores over all. Trust me with six airbags, EBD and ABS you are not very far from achieving foreign safety standards in Indian cars. This just redefines the requisites of a car with its 5star safety rating.
If we talk about the market condition in 2009 it was again in the favor of Maruti, which registered an increase in the volumes though final figures are awaited for the year 2009 it looks tough that other car makes can tackle Maruti’s upforce. Tata’s too make some useful launches by the year end and some intelligent upgrades throughout to keep the spirit alive and so did Hyundai. Rest of the people though saw ups and down but overall Indian car market brought good news for everyone and year closed.
1) Grande Punto – Fiat India – One of the most important launch for this category, Fiat India launched its world class small car in the India with a hope to revive its sales in the country where it failed miserably with its Palio & Siena. Fiat came up with its world acclaimed 1.3ltr quadrajet engine which caused quite a stir in the Indian market. It is not only Fiat which is using it now same engine gives life to quite a few cars in the country like, Ritz, Vista & Swift. Punto is a state of art machine with no nonsense features.
