Reference Auto

Hyundai Motor India has rolled out a special edition of its i10 dubbed iTech, priced between Rs 4.24 lakh and Rs 4.57 lakh (ex-showroom rates), to celebrate the 12 lakh sales milestone, which the hatchback achieved recently, and this special edition could give a further fillip to sales, but the new WagonR, which could also enhance Maruti’s sales, comes with a price advantage.

The special i10 edition or ‘iTech’ will come in 1.1 litre and 1.2 litre engine options. The special Edition i10 will be available in the Era (1.1 litre) and Magna (1.2 litre) models.

Commenting on the special edition i10, Hyundai vice-president (sales and marketing) Rakesh Srivastava said, “It is our continuous endeavour to take note of changing customer preferences and introduce enhanced features in our cars so that car buffs get better value offering.”

The special i10 edition will come with a slew of features like rear-view parking camera, electrochromic function on cabin rear view mirror and steering-mounted Bluetooth device.

On the exterior, the styling is complemented by sporty ‘iTech ’body graphics. Inside the cabin, it has sporty interiors with dual tone red and beige upholstery seats with red dashboard and door armrest inserts.

Maruti Suzuki, which is India’s largest car maker (in terms of sales volume), is also taking steps to stay updated, considering the customer’s discerning choice, and has upgraded its popular selling car, the WagonR, recently in both the exterior as well as the interior with a marginal hike in prices.

The LX variant of the new WagonR comes for Rs 3.58 lakh while the top-end model (VXi) is priced at Rs 4.42 lakh.

The new WagonR is propelled by the usual K10 1 litre 3-cylinder engine, which produces 68 bhp and 90 Nm of torque.

The front wears a refurbished look with the car sporting a fresh grille which is sleeker and has a single horizontal strip compared to the three that existed in the previous model, which has been phased out.

The mid-range and high-end LXi and VXi versions have extra chrome on them. The bumpers of the new WagonR have been restyled and contain larger vents.

A new fog lamp also gives a new look to the WagonR 2013. According to Maruti Suzuki, the external changes have led to reduced wind noise at higher speeds.

So, judicious pricing by the Japanese car major (keeping prices almost the same as old rates), may help new Maruti WagonR’s sales soar, and even the iTech version of the i10 may sell well despite a pretty steep price tag, although the former is clearly the winner in terms of price advantage.