wheel32
01-02-2008, 06:00 AM
I'M GOING to concede a small victory to Hyundai. Its main rivals, the Accord and the Camry, can't match the Embera diesel's highway manners. The Hyundai's cocktail of turbo punch, absorbent ride and good body control is quite an eye¬opener. A recent trip to Alibaug for a Mahindra Getaway shoot proved this - five people and luggage on a 120-kilometre trip in a big diesel car.
You have to go through 40km of NH17 before turning off at Wadhkal Naka to get to Alibaug. NH17 is a narrow, two-lane highway that is truck-infested once it turns dark. Keep the Sonata's engine above 2000rpm and long lines of trucks are spat out of the car's twin tailpipes, the projector lamps cutting a bright path through the dark¬ness. After Wadhkal Naka, the road deteriorates considerably. The diesel Embera's ability to soak up bumps quietly and with¬out losing composure is simply amazing. The diesel car's stiffer springs help here, but still, the odd unmarked speedbreaker did result in the front suspension bottoming out. Thank god the Embera comes fitted with a sump guard.
44
Ground clearance is pretty good too. The last few hundred metres to Karpe's Wadi (our destination) is a dirt road. Even with a full load on board, it didn't drag its belly. It is pretty refined too. The engine is quite smooth, and the Chili Peppers playing over the 6-CD changer (which can't read MP3 CDs) easily drowned the bit of noise the diesel engine makes.
For the Embera diesel, it's all about being in the right environ¬ment. It is a fantastic highway car. But take it to the confines of Mumbai, and this star loses some of its shine. Below 2000rpm, there is a lot of turbo¬lag, so you really have to row through the six-speed manual gearbox to keep up with the rest of the traffic. The turbo-lag also forces you to slip the clutch a bit in stop-start traffic.
The day the cricket team took the bus from the airport to Wankhede, I spent two hours in the Embera. Thanks to the hero worshippers on the road to work, I couldn't even squeeze past other traffic. That's when I noticed that the driver's seat is very comfortable and the clutch is light. It's also when I noticed that the Embera's interiors are not a patch on the Accord's. The colours used and the dashboard design feel like they belong in a car like the Verna and not in a premium luxury car. But, we really shouldn't be comparing the Accord and the Sonata here.
45
At Rs 171akh, the Embera die¬sel is fantastic value for money. And it has delivered on the fuel economy front too. The highway trip to Alibaug, with the full load, saw it returning 11.3kpl. A subsequent trip to Pune with only snapper Ashley on board saw it returning 14.5kpl. In town we've been getting 8-9kpl.
So far the Embera has bowled all the right deliveries and we are quite impressed. Wonder how it will handle the long innings at Autocar THE AVERAGE JOE will own a single car. That's why the car has to do everything well. It must be good to drive and take the family out for a week¬end. It must look good but have easy-to-replace body panels, It must have robust mechanicals, but cheap spares.
Goodyear has the same logic for tyres. It surveyed 40,000 consumers and created a single tyre that met their top three expectations - security, control and comfort. The Goodyear Excellence is made with a compound called the 'Eco-Sil Silica Tread Compound' which helps it get best-in-the-wet performance by good tread design that channels water away from the tyre's contact patch.
46
We're sure there's no one who'll appreciate this more than Indians In the monsoon. Emergency braking and cornering in the wet can be a harrowing experience, and the Excellence's 'Safety Zone' helps the driver in situations like these with its confidence inspiring grip. The asymmetric tread design ensures that the rigid outside shoulder tread blocks - the tyre's sidewalls flex less, giving better steering feel and quicker response, Stiffer sidewalls usually mean a harsher ride - and on roads like ours, that can be a right pain in the posterior. City drivers and the chauffeur-driven will certainly want a plush ride, and Goodyear has engineered that in as well. The 'Comfort Zone' is located in the inner tread rubber cushion, It is a layer functioning as an extra buffer.
The Excellence also offers lower rolling resistance thanks to the Eco-Sil Silica Tread Com¬pound technology, which means better fuel efficiency. The Goodyear Excellence provides everything that you need from a tyre in a single package, and is available for most luxury car models in the country in major radiai markets like Deihi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. The tyres will be available in 10 sizes to fit rims ranging from 15 inches to 17 inches.
You have to go through 40km of NH17 before turning off at Wadhkal Naka to get to Alibaug. NH17 is a narrow, two-lane highway that is truck-infested once it turns dark. Keep the Sonata's engine above 2000rpm and long lines of trucks are spat out of the car's twin tailpipes, the projector lamps cutting a bright path through the dark¬ness. After Wadhkal Naka, the road deteriorates considerably. The diesel Embera's ability to soak up bumps quietly and with¬out losing composure is simply amazing. The diesel car's stiffer springs help here, but still, the odd unmarked speedbreaker did result in the front suspension bottoming out. Thank god the Embera comes fitted with a sump guard.
44
Ground clearance is pretty good too. The last few hundred metres to Karpe's Wadi (our destination) is a dirt road. Even with a full load on board, it didn't drag its belly. It is pretty refined too. The engine is quite smooth, and the Chili Peppers playing over the 6-CD changer (which can't read MP3 CDs) easily drowned the bit of noise the diesel engine makes.
For the Embera diesel, it's all about being in the right environ¬ment. It is a fantastic highway car. But take it to the confines of Mumbai, and this star loses some of its shine. Below 2000rpm, there is a lot of turbo¬lag, so you really have to row through the six-speed manual gearbox to keep up with the rest of the traffic. The turbo-lag also forces you to slip the clutch a bit in stop-start traffic.
The day the cricket team took the bus from the airport to Wankhede, I spent two hours in the Embera. Thanks to the hero worshippers on the road to work, I couldn't even squeeze past other traffic. That's when I noticed that the driver's seat is very comfortable and the clutch is light. It's also when I noticed that the Embera's interiors are not a patch on the Accord's. The colours used and the dashboard design feel like they belong in a car like the Verna and not in a premium luxury car. But, we really shouldn't be comparing the Accord and the Sonata here.
45
At Rs 171akh, the Embera die¬sel is fantastic value for money. And it has delivered on the fuel economy front too. The highway trip to Alibaug, with the full load, saw it returning 11.3kpl. A subsequent trip to Pune with only snapper Ashley on board saw it returning 14.5kpl. In town we've been getting 8-9kpl.
So far the Embera has bowled all the right deliveries and we are quite impressed. Wonder how it will handle the long innings at Autocar THE AVERAGE JOE will own a single car. That's why the car has to do everything well. It must be good to drive and take the family out for a week¬end. It must look good but have easy-to-replace body panels, It must have robust mechanicals, but cheap spares.
Goodyear has the same logic for tyres. It surveyed 40,000 consumers and created a single tyre that met their top three expectations - security, control and comfort. The Goodyear Excellence is made with a compound called the 'Eco-Sil Silica Tread Compound' which helps it get best-in-the-wet performance by good tread design that channels water away from the tyre's contact patch.
46
We're sure there's no one who'll appreciate this more than Indians In the monsoon. Emergency braking and cornering in the wet can be a harrowing experience, and the Excellence's 'Safety Zone' helps the driver in situations like these with its confidence inspiring grip. The asymmetric tread design ensures that the rigid outside shoulder tread blocks - the tyre's sidewalls flex less, giving better steering feel and quicker response, Stiffer sidewalls usually mean a harsher ride - and on roads like ours, that can be a right pain in the posterior. City drivers and the chauffeur-driven will certainly want a plush ride, and Goodyear has engineered that in as well. The 'Comfort Zone' is located in the inner tread rubber cushion, It is a layer functioning as an extra buffer.
The Excellence also offers lower rolling resistance thanks to the Eco-Sil Silica Tread Com¬pound technology, which means better fuel efficiency. The Goodyear Excellence provides everything that you need from a tyre in a single package, and is available for most luxury car models in the country in major radiai markets like Deihi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. The tyres will be available in 10 sizes to fit rims ranging from 15 inches to 17 inches.