INDIA INDIA www.autocarindia.com Rs 180 MAY 2020 MAY INDIA VOL.21 NO.9 l May 2020 ALL-ELECTRIC SHOWDOWN FIRST LOOK 249 VOLUME 21 VOLUME WAR OF THE | Next-gen Audi sedan to N o 9 New A3 rival A-class and 2 Series VOLTS sales The MG ZS EV takes on ANALYSIS THE INDUSTRY REELS FROM A the Hyundai Kona Electric TOUGH YEAR Cover Story Story Cover MG ZS EV EV MG ZS vs Hyundai Kona Electric Hyundai Kona ISSN 2250-222X | Drive Drive BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe Coupe Gran BMW 2 Series DRIVEN 2 SERIes GRAN COUPE BMW’s smallest four-door is India bound | Ride BMW S 1000 XR Absurdly fast and NEW 911 TURBO S still practical to drive PLUS NIssan MAGNITE COMPACT SUV » BMW S 1000 XR » BUYING CARS ONLINE » TRIBUTE SIR STIRLING MOss Lumileds_NS_ACI_April'19.indd 1 18-03-2019 PM 06:31:41 COMMENT Issue No 249 | Volume No 21 | No 9 EDITORIAL Editor Hormazd Sorabjee Deputy editor Shapur Kotwal Managing editor Sergius Barretto Assistant editor - Bikes Rishaad Mody Production editor Aswathi Nair Sub-editors Sanket Chaukiyal, Prakrit Dhondiyal Senior correspondent Saumil Shah Motorsport correspondent Unnatee Gidithuri Manager - Special projects Rahul Kakar Road tester Jay Patil Art editor Ellared D’Souza HOW TO CONTACT US Assistant art editor Pralhad Kusuma Senior designers Mohan Ghag, Rajesh Rathod, EDItoRIAL Jagdish Bari, Sukhdeep Singh Image editor Yogesh Padte Raheja Xion, 4th/5th floor Photo editor Gaurav S Thombre Opp Nirmal Park Head - Photography Paul Dewars Dr B Ambedkar Marg Chief photographer Ardeshir Ashley Baxter Byculla East Photographers Kuldeep Chaudhari, Omkar Dhas WHEN WILL IT END? Mumbai 400 027 Image archive coordinator Prashant Kumbhar Tel: 022-23787500 DIGITAL WHEN WILL THIS end? No one really knows, and Email Editor – Digital Nikhil Bhatia there’s no credible answer to the only thing that all [email protected] Assistant editor – Web Akbar Merchant Senior digital manager Amaan Ahmed of mankind, gripped with uncertainty and anxiety, ADVERTISING Correspondents Rivan RS, Firoze Irani, Soham Thakur, Shirish Gandhi, Jaiveer Mehra, Nishmanya Bahadur wants to know. For the moment, we can only hope Mumbai Raheja Xion, 4th/5th floor VIDeo anD TELEVISION (and pray) there will be some cure for the COVID-19 Opp Nirmal Park Executive editor – Video Renuka Kirpalani Editor – Video Gavin D’Souza virus that has devastated the world, and that a better Dr B Ambedkar Marg Assistant editor Cyrus Dhabhar life will return. Byculla East Mumbai 400 027 ADMINIstRatIon For the auto industry, the crisis couldn’t have come Production manager Prasad Gangurde Tel: 022-23787500 Senior editorial executive John Fernandes (Mumbai) at a worse time. Sales were already in free fall before Manager - Administration GK Singh (Delhi) Haryana Finance head Hital Vyas the pandemic, and now, with a prolonged lockdown Veritas Business Suites, Manager - Finance Amol Mahadik that has shuttered factories and showrooms, Unit 104-105, SALes, MARKetING AND DIstRIbutIon automakers have to face the terrifying reality of a period with no sales at all. Golf Course Road, Cluster head Amit Jha, Anitha Ajay Sector-53, Regional heads - Ad Sales Jaidev Wadhwa (North), Another shock was the Supreme Court’s unreasonable order in response to Gurugram, Raghavendra (South) FADA’s plea to extend the last date for the sale of BS4 vehicles. Instead of giving Haryana 122002 Senior managers - Ad Sales Chaitanya Pai (West), Tel: 0124-6445100 Amlan Mukherjee (Mumbai) a simple and logical extension of a week - to compensate for the loss of sales from Senior Manager Vipin Arora (Delhi) Managers - Ad Sales Unnati Joseph, March 24 (the day the lockdown was enforced) to March 31 (the last date for BS4 Chennai Coordinator - Ad Sales Sonal Jain M H V Pinnacle General manager - Circulation Gilbert D’Souza sales) - the top court allowed only 10 percent of the leftover BS4 stock to be sold 1st Floor 8/27 Head - Circulation P Vijaykumar (South) beyond the deadline. Why the court tossed a figure of 10 percent and not 20 or Govindu Street, T Nagar Regional manager – Circulation Vimal Sharma (North) Chennai 600 017 Manager – Circulation Ashok More (Mumbai), 5 is explicable, but for dealers who have to figure out what constitutes this 10 Tel: 044-4212 3230 Saravana D (Bengaluru) Assistant manager – Circulation Anil Raghav, percent, this conditional relaxation has brought more pain than relief. Yogesh Sanap, Tapan Halder (East) And relief is not something the auto industry should expect from the courts or Bengaluru No. 811, ‘A’ Wing, Manager – Subscription Mahesh Malusare the government. Pleas for a reduction in taxes and a more pragmatic approach to subscRIptIons 8th Floor, Mittal Towers, Subscription rates regulation changes (to keep costs in check) have always fallen on deaf ears. The M.G. Road, 1 year Rs 1260; 3 years Rs 3240 plus Rs 50 for cheques auto industry is on its own, dependant wholly on the consumer who will have to Bengaluru 560 001 not drawn on a Mumbai bank. Cheques to be drawn in Tel: 080-40954311 favour of ‘Haymarket SAC Publishing (i) Pvt Ltd’. be wooed like never before. Nothing short of a sharp and quick market recovery Email: [email protected] will be needed for some companies to survive in the long run, and the hope is Hyderabad International subscription rate: US$110 for one year C/O A M News Agency The publisher makes every effort to ensure that the that there will be some pent up demand when the lockdown lifts. Also, social H. NO. 11-4-138, Central Bank , magazine’s contents are correct. However, he can accept no responsibility for any effects from errors or distancing norms will drive the need for personal mobility over public transport, Back Side, Bazaarghat, omissions. Unsolicited material – including photographs Lakdikapool, and transparencies – is used in Autocar India, but it is and we expect the two-wheeler market to be the first to bounce back. Hyderabad 500 004 submitted entirely at the owner’s risk and the publisher There are lots of new cars and bikes waiting to be launched once the lockdown accepts no responsibility for its loss or damage. All material published in Autocar India is copyright and lifts, and we can’t wait to throw off the shackles and get our hands on them. News-stand price unauthorised reproduction is forbidden. Rs 180 Printed and published by Hormazd Sorabjee on behalf of Haymarket SAC Publishing (India) Private Limited, The nationwide lockdown has meant that the Autocar India team has been Raheja Xion, 4th/5th floor, Opp Nirmal Park, working from home and this entire issue has been produced remotely. Even in Dr B Ambedkar Marg, Byculla East, Mumbai 400 027. Printed at Kala Jyothi Process Pvt Ltd, Kondapur Unit, these challenging times, we are committed to entertaining and informing you Survey No 185, Kondapur Village, Serilingampally FIND US AT Municipality RR District - 500 133, Telangana with our regular mix of news, features and reviews. Due to the restrictions, we Published at Haymarket SAC Publishing (India), Private are unable to print the May 2020 issue but are happy to offer it for free in digital Limited, Raheja Xion, 4th/5th floor, Opp Nirmal Park, Dr B Ambedkar Marg, Byculla East, Mumbai 400 027 form. For our loyal subscribers who still like the hard copy, we are happy to Editor: Hormazd Sorabjee twitter.com/ extend your existing subscription by two months. Thank you for sticking with CIN: U22120MH1998PTC116780 autocarindiamag ‘Autocar India’ is a trademark under application by us through this crisis. Haymarket SAC Publishing (India) Private Limited This magazine contains 108 pages, including both covers. HORMAZD SORABJEE Editor facebook.com/ [email protected] hormazdsorabjee autocarindiamag MAY 2020 AUTOCARINDIA.COM 3 LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL Electric cars are the future and, eventually, we will get there. Progress, though, is glacial, especially with batteries being so expensive, leading to high car prices. However, if you are inclined to go electric – and are willing to forsake a bit of size, some space and a few features – there is light at the end of the tunnel … say hello to the MG ZS EV and the Hyundai Kona EV. While they may look outwardly similar, clothed in white, they are as different as chalk and cheese. One is spacious, comfortable and relaxing to drive, while the other is zesty, fast and fun. But which is which, and which should you choose? Turn to page 50 to find out. HY OMKAR DHAS P PHOTOGRA 4 AUTOCARINDIA.COM MAY 2020 EYE OPENER MAY 2020 AUTOCARINDIA.COM 5 THIS MONTH COVER COVER STORY STORY Current affairs COMPARISON TEST 50 The MG ZS EV takes on the Hyundai Kona Electric NEWS Magnite: Nissan India’s make-or-break model 8 India’s automakers join fight against COVID-19 10 Citroen C5 Aircross India launch pushed to 2021 12 Toyota’s Brezza could be called Urban Cruiser 14 Next-gen Merc S-class India-bound in 2021 16 COVID-19 prompts push for digital sales INSIGHT 20 FY2020 sales: Who sold how much? ANALYSIS 22 FIRST LOOK NEW AUDI A3 28 Nothing entry level about Audi’s junior sedan TESTED SILENT KNIGHTS: MG AND HYUNDAI EVs PUT TO THE TEST 50 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 30 BMW’s smallest sedan is big on appeal Porsche 911 Turbo S 36 As brilliant as you’d expect a 650hp 911 to be FEATURES Getting started post lockdown 61 What to do before you take your vehicle out Where cars go to die 62 The last moments of a car at a scrapyard How a Land Rover Defender’s put together 64 British legend takes shape in Slovakia OUR CARS Hyundai Aura FIRST REPORT 68 It delivers on the promise of the Turbo badge Hyundai Venue FIRST