MARUTI SUZUKI S-CROSS:

Compact SUV  segment has become a very popular choice, but the featured company Maruti Suzuki didn't have any call here. However, with the s-cross they thought to enter the competitive market. Must say after the grand products like Grand Vitara, it is a flagship vehicle for this year. So, a "premium crossover" is the name provided to it. But really with the name provided, is it going to attract the costumers? Well, not in my perception, but lets have a clear look on the specs and the performance it provides.

EXTERIOR: The whole car looks like a "Granny's hatchback" too overgrown and is neither any muscular. Though with LED lamps, chrome garnished, black cladding at the lower edges provide nice touch to the car, but it certainly is not a design to make you turn around. The design however is similar to the SX4, you can see a small glimpse of it between the headlamps and the chrome grills. Also the dropping nose(bonnet) at front also makes it looks softer. Looking at the rear view of the car you find it more appealing than from the front view.


INTERIOR:  However, all the thoughts vanishes
when you enter the car, you get surprised once you get inside the car. The sporty and the contemporary dashboards and interiors makes car look more "premium" from inside. The driver's seat is always at a good position and once you enter the car you will find a good dashboard with a carbon-fibered plastic with soft touch. Steering mounted controls nowadays are very popular and so contains at S-cross as well, but the touchscreen at the dashboard feels more awesome and premium to use, with a slide up and down for the volumes also for the rear parking it provides a good support for the vehicle and also the satellite navigation control. Below it lies a cruise control which has a soft knob and is very easier to use as well which gives a quality feel. Even the seats are very finely stiched and are more comfortable to be in, well not so comfy as that of Honda but fine for the vehicle. Also the vehicle provides the automatic headlamps and wipers with full disk brakes all around the car. Though Maruti has tried to make the car more safe, by providing an airbag but the airbag is only provided at the drivers seat for the base version. coming to the rear
seat the car provides a lot of leg room for even a person with a height of 6" he/she can move the feet a lot and the head room is also good for the person of that height, also the window of the rear seat is placed at a proper place so that one can have a clear view of the outside world. but at this competitive world of auto market the car doesn't provide the rear AC vents, an that is the place where it looses the competition a little. Well, talking about the boot space in the car is of a reasonable size but with the seat folded you definitely get an added versatility.

PERFORMANCE: The S-cross comes with two diesel version, one with 1.3 litre 89bhp version that same is given by Ciaz and 1.6 litre 118bhp with 32.5 kgm of torque. Once starting the engine you feel is very pleasant to ride. You get into a comfortable position very easily and the visiblity is also ver

clear and wide as well,  but though with the 5 gear manual setting i think it is a good highway cruiser.

VERDICT: Despite of its drawback, the appearance, I think the car is very fun to drive.

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FORD ECOSPORT: A dawn in the SUV market!!

Really, great things comes in small sizes, A perfect size for Nepali road, which has got elegant styles and sophistication. Also with its mesmerised look, muscular and dynamic at the same time it is able to make a grand entry in the later 2014, however with its low price affordability it is  the best buied SUV,  Contrary to the competitors like the Hyundai active i20, fiat avventura, Renault duster, and so on. It stands on the curved path, but will it change the game???
Let's see!!

EXTERIOR:

Starting with the exterior styling of the ford ecosport, the front looks really aggressive. The SUV tends of ford ecosport is very well pronounced with the grill. The front air dam is large and chunky with a beautiful multi chrome-garnished*(only on the titanium version you get the chrome garnished), Fairly sleek designed headlamps and also chrome garnished fog lamps in this variant which enhances the overall look of a car. Also for the more appealing look of the car ford has used different colour at the bumper of the cars and continuous at the side as well.

Talking about the lateral view of the car the first thing that grabs your attention is the wheel arches and under that you find the big 16''*( for titanium) other variants get 15'' alloy wheels which gives more sporty look at the car. Also the brakes in the car are the disk and the drums, the first two are disc and the rear two are drums, but on the top variants they are not same. Going further you will see outside turned mirrors with an indicator in it which are electrically adjustable from the drivers seat. The roofline of the car also gives you the sporty character, to add further sporty looks, you find aluminium roof trails  and the windshield at the back which continues with the small quarter glass. An spare wheel is mounted at the back side of the car so that driver can get a large number of boot space, and ford provides 346litres of boot space, which is fairly good for an urban SUV. At the back there is a defogger, washer and the wiper. Also the rear spoiler adds extra sporty look at the car.

INTERIOR:

Moving inside the car, the first thing that will come to astonish you is the key-less entry. A small button is placed at the door handle press it to open the door and press again to lock the car with the keys at your pocket, amazing isn't it?  Now, once we are inside the car the big, comfortable, and height-adjustable seats makes the driver more enthusiast, as we can have a good clear view of the road. Further EcoSport burrows heavily from the Fiesta's cabin which is highly a great thing,which features a highlight ergonomic cockpit layout with large controls and nobs. This is then finished with soft-touch fabrics. Also the icy blue colour in the dashboard add beautiful texture. It has the same premium steering wheel that lets you control the audio,phone. Also the database in the speedometer allows a wide range of data including dual trip meters, service intervals and drive                                   summary 

( including distance covered, average speed, fuel injection ) The driver also gets the added bonus of an adjustable support and front arm rest. It is even more surprising  with its level of comfort features built in. First, with power start, drivers no longer need their keys to either start the engine, All it takes is to push the button. Second the ford comes with Ford Sync, a connectivity system which is built in that combines hand free phone calls and music selection through many menus and voice commands. along with USB .Third, it features a hugely storage bottle holders with a glove box.

Since safety is also one of the Fords Brand pillar, EcoSport comes standard across the range with dual airbags and an ABS with EBD in all models. Higher models such as the titanium and Trend also receives EBS with a Hill Launch Assist. Only Titanium is the sole model to receive rear back-uo sensors.

Moving to the rear seats you really find a highly comfortable seating position, yeah not as that of dihatsu Terios, Volkswagen Tiguan and so on, but it actually is damn comfortable also the leg room is also with pretty more space. You also have an arm rest along with the cup holders. 

PERFORMANCE:

Though, the car looks very muscular, but performance wise not so many people are pleased with it! Though it is a joy to ride, many people are not yet satisfied with the engine transmission of the diesel variant. However with the petrol version it provides the power of 120 bhp at 6000 rpm with god fuel economy of 22 km pl but with other variants (diesel) it provides 98 bhp at 5000 rpm with a fuel at 15kmpl. Though with a 200mm of ground clearance it does not support good at the muddy roads and the up hill places.

VERDICT:

Flexibility is a key word for EcoSport. It provides you with more space and more usability than a hatch back while being easier to drive. It is actually a joy to ride.The sharp steering makes it corner flatter and harder than expected. While being so high off the ground it has no any problems at the small bumps. It is more secure and quiet even at speed. Also it has a new technology that when at higher speed it lows the sounds at the surrounding and vice-versa.Hence high seating and big glass makes an EcoSport easy to drive.

available models and prices in Nepali market!   
 *( they are only the petrol models)

Ambient M/T:  31,90,000

Trend M/T: 35,90,000

Titanium M/T: 40,90,000

Titanium A/T: 43,90,000

 *( they are only the diesel models)

Ambient M/T: 36,99,000

Trend M/T: 39,90,000

Titanium M/T: 45,40,000

Titanium A/T: 47,90,000

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