Porsche Boxster S

Inside Porsche is a conflict that’s tearing it apart. On the one hand there’s the good old rear-engined 911, the sportscar icon; a car designed with enough space to fit a set of golf clubs in; a compromise. On the other are the more purist options, the Boxster and the Cayman; both middle-of-the-road, mid-engined sportscars with their engines in the right place. Logically, it’s the 911 that should be softer and more rounded, and the mid-engined cars that should be harder and faster. But no. Legacy and some mind-bending Porsche engineering have...

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Rolls-Royce Phantom Series II

Rolls-Royce, with the Phantom, had set a new benchmark in terms of luxury tourers. There was great performance, and all from the rich comfort of one of the most luxurious car cabins in the world. Rolls had outdone itself. Or so we thought, till the carmaker came up with the Phantom Series II. If you thought the old Phantom was good, then this new one will absolutely take you by storm. There are improvements all round. The new car is even smoother than the old one, thanks to a new eight-speed gearbox mated to the twelve-cylinder motor. It is more...

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Audi Q5 facelift

Since its launch in 2009, the Q5 has always lived in the shadow of the Q7. Despite being substantially cheaper it never managed to outsell its big brother. So the mild facelift and fine tweaks will give it a tiny but much needed shot in the arm To start off with the visual changes you need a spy’s attention to spot the minor differences in the new Q5 over the old one. The changes lie with a grille that now takes Audi’s new hexagonal shape and...

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Mercedes ML 250 CDI

In the ML 250 CDI, Mercedes-Benz has quite a tempting car on offer. At Rs 46.50 lakh, the M-class undercuts an Audi Q5 in terms of price, and the Mercedes is a size bigger than the Audi. The four-cylinder ML 250 CDI also costs a whopping Rs 10 lakh less than the top-end ML 350 CDI. But this is not a case of Mercedes cutting corners as, apart from losing two cylinders (the full-spec ML 350 CDI has six cylinders), there isn’t much else you’re losing...

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Ferrari F12

Ferrari’s new supercar, the F12, looks to blend the comfort of a GT with the mind-numbing speed of a supercar. And, I’m here in Maranello to try and tame the 730 horses under the hood of Ferrari’s F12. The F12’s hunkered down shape gets your attention immediately, it looks very purposeful in profile and there are some genuinely unique bits like the ‘Aero Bridge’ that tunnels through the fender for greater aerodynamic stability. What’s missing, however, is that supermodel-like, long-limbed elegance that earlier Ferraris like the Daytona, Dino,...

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Renault Duster

Showrooms flooded with potential buyers and, on the last count, 10,000 customers who have put their money down for the Duster is testament to the fact that Renault seems to have gotten it just right with its small SUV. The French carmaker has played its cards right with the Duster’s prices, which range from Rs 7.19 lakh to Rs 11.29 lakh. At this price, it appeals not only to large SUV buyers, but also to C-segment saloon buyers. And with three engine options – a 102.5bhp petrol, an 84bhp diesel and a 108.5bhp diesel, there’s a Duster for everyone....

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Land Rover Freelander

This is the Land Rover Freelander 2, the one they will introduce in India in March 2013. Because this is a mid-life update, Land Rover has, predictably, chosen to give it subtle updates that make the car look and feel fresher, rather than go in for expensive sheet metal changes. To that extent, there's new equipment, a restrained rework of the interiors and the mildest of facelifts. To get into the details, the exterior changes are limited to headlamps that get LED daytime running lamps, tail lamps that get Land Rover's twin-circular...

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