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AUTO PUNDITZ

BS6 Fortuner Prices, Maruti Petrol Push, Well-Priced Redi-Go and More

Toyota Fortuner BS6 Prices Are Out

2020 Toyota Fortuner Prices (BS6 vs BS4)

Variant

New Price

Difference

Old Price

Petrol 2WD MT

Rs. 28.66 lakh

Rs. 46,000

Rs. 28.2 lakh

Petrol 2WD AT

Rs. 30.25 lakh

Rs. 46,000

Rs. 29.79 lakh

Diesel 2WD MT

Rs. 30.67 lakh

Rs. 46,000

Rs. 30.21 lakh

Diesel 2WD AT

Rs. 32.64 lakh

Rs. 57,000

Rs. 32.07 lakh

Diesel 4WD MT

Rs. 32.64 lakh

Rs. 46,000

Rs. 32.18 lakh

Diesel 4WD AT

Rs. 34.43 lakh

Rs. 46,000

Rs. 33.97 lakh

Opinion

There’s about Rs. 2.0 – 2.4 lakh difference between petrol and diesel Fortuner. With the price gap between the two fuels closing in some states, the petrol Fortuner sales may pick up. The price gap between petrol and diesel versions is also enough to convince more buyers to choose the petrol engine. The petrol Fortuner sales were just 1% in FY 2019-20. Those who want the 4WD will have to go with the diesel engine only. After all, its extra torque will come in handy when you go off-road.

Maruti Suzuki’s Push For Petrol Engines


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Maruti Suzuki have a new petrol vs diesel price calculator on their website. Click here to see the calculator. They’re touting that it takes 2.6 lakh km to recover the additional cost of a diesel vehicle.

Opinion

Most car owners don’t drive that much to breakeven the extra cost. Such messaging should discourage buyers from buying diesel vehicles.

With BS6, Maruti have gone from being the biggest diesel passenger car seller to no diesel options in their lineup. 22% of Maruti’s cars sold between April and October 2019 were diesel.

In FY 2019-20, the Dzire had a 53-47 split between petrol and diesel engines. The Swift had a 26% share and Baleno had an 11% share. The diesel versions of Ertiga and Ciaz had a share of 50% and 24%, respectively. The S-Cross and Brezza had a 100% share as they had only diesel engine option.

Hyundai have a diesel engine in almost all of their products. So, Hyundai cars are the natural choice for those diesel car buyers. Torque hungry people also have the option of turbo petrol, which is also available in most Hyundai cars. Their diesel engine options also carry a very reasonable price difference over comparable petrol option.

Petrol vs Diesel Car Sales 2019

Petrol vs Diesel Car Sales 2019


Diesel Car Advantages

While some buyers will skip diesel and choose a petrol engine, some just want a diesel car for its obvious advantages:

  1. Superb torque and strong mid-range pull for better drivability

  2. Better load carrying capacity

  3. Significantly better real-world fuel efficiency, and thus, longer fuel tank range and fewer fill-ups. You have to rev a normal petrol engine to experience their higher power. Driving like that will significantly worsen the real-world fuel efficiency of a petrol engine.

  4. Better long-term reliability due to stronger construction of diesel engine. 4-5 lakh km is common for a diesel car with just routine maintenance. The cabbies can vouch for this.

  5. Option to experience more powerful engine from a few segments higher

The small car standards allow up to 1.5-litre displacement for a diesel car and 1.2-litre for a petrol car. So, you can experience a big car performance at a lower price. For example, the Venue uses the same engine as the Creat/Seltos. A smaller and much cheaper Venue can give similar thrills and driving pleasure as a Creta. In fact, it could offer better performance as it’s lighter. The next-gen i20 could also get this same engine and make that 1.5-litre engine much more affordable.

Diesel Car Costs

  1. Higher upfront ex-showroom cost

  2. As a result, higher insurance costs

  3. Higher registration costs

  4. A bigger loan amount, and thus, more interest to pay

  5. Higher maintenance costs

  6. Longer time required to warm up, and thus, more wear and tear if the car is used rarely and for shorter 10-15 minute trips

A turbo petrol can offer some of the advantages of a turbo diesel-like better torque rating and wider torque band. However, the addition of turbocharger, intercooler and DI push the costs in the same ballpark as a diesel car while offering considerably lower fuel efficiency. It is worth noting that a smaller (<1.0-litre) turbo petrol engine has an insurance advantage for lower displacement.

Unfortunately, Maruti Suzuki have neither and Hyundai have both. So, a marketing push to demonize diesel cars is natural from the manufacturer that no longer has the option of a diesel car.

Despite the closing fuel price gap between petrol and diesel, for buyers with high-mileage and high torque requirements, a diesel engine is a natural choice.

The Well-Priced 2020 Datsun Redi Go Facelift

2020 Datsun Redi Go Facelift Official Front

2020 Datsun Redi Go Facelift Official Front


Datsun Redi-Go facelift went on sale last week. Here are the prices:

2020 Datsun Redi-GO Facelift

2020 Renault Kwid Facelift

Variant

Price

Variant

Price

D

Rs. 2.83 lakh

STD

Rs. 3.02 lakh

A

Rs. 3.58 lakh

RXE

Rs. 3.73 lakh

T

Rs. 3.8 lakh

RXL

Rs. 4.03 lakh

T (O)

Rs. 4.16 lakh

RXT

Rs. 4.33 lakh

T (O) 1.0

Rs. 4.44 lakh

RXT 1.0

Rs. 4.53 lakh

T (O) AMT

Rs. 4.77 lakh

RXT AMT

Rs. 4.83 lakh

Climber

Rs. 4.74 lakh

Climber AMT

Rs. 5.04 lakh

You can download the brochure from here: Datsun RediGO Facelift Official Brochure

2020 Datsun Redi Go Facelift Dashboard Interior

2020 Datsun Redi Go Facelift Dashboard Interior


Here are the observations:

  1. The 1.0-litre engine is Rs. 28,000 more expensive in the Redi Go over the 0.8-litre engine

  2. This same engine is only Rs. 20,000 more expensive in the Kwid

  3. The AMT is Rs. 33,000 more expensive in the Redi-Go

  4. The AMT is Rs. 30,000 more expensive in the Kwid

  5. The 0.8-litre engine variants offer much better value for money than the Kwid’s 0.8-litre variants

Advantage Redi-GO

  1. AC with Power steering available in A variant at Rs. 3.83 lakh (Kwid has both of these must-have features in the RXL variant at Rs. 4.03 lakh)

  2. Redi-GO’s AMT has tiptronic mode with manual gear selection, which is not available in Kwid

  3. RediGo has internally-adjustable outside mirrors available as standard – these aren’t available in the Kwid at all

  4. Better ground clearance of 187mm

  5. Better ingress-egress with a taller body

Advantage Kwid

  1. LED DRLs and double barrel headlamps are standard

  2. Rear seat armrest in Climber variant

  3. Wheel arch cladding available as standard

  4. Body-coloured bumpers are standard

  5. 1.0 and AMT carry an attractive price tag

  6. Optional rear power windows

  7. Touchscreen infotainment with Apple Carplay and Android Auto available in 0.8-litre RXT variant

  8. Better boot space of 279 litres against Redigo’s 222 litres

  9. Longer wheelbase of 2422mm against Redi Go’s 2348mm

The A variant of the Redi GO gets all the must-have features. You can get the music system, central locking and front power windows installed as aftermarket. T and T (O) are also nice upgrades.

MG ZS Electric Now In More Cities

MG ZS EV

MG ZS EV


You can now book an MG ZS in Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Jaipur, Pune and Surat. The car was earlier only available in Delhi & NCR, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad. You can click here to visit the MG official website and book the ZS electric SUV.

The ZS competes with the Hyundai Kona. Although its price is comparable with the Kona, it’s not as efficient. The Kona has a smaller 39.2kWh battery and a claimed range of 452km. The ZS has a 44.5kWh battery and a range of 340km. A simple paper napkin calculation will reveal that the ZS has an efficiency of 7.6kmpu while the Kona’s efficiency is 11.5. The Kona is 50% more efficient than the ZS. That’s a substantial gap. The Nexon EV’s efficiency figure is 10.3kmpu with a 30.2kWh battery and a range of 312km.

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