Zinio Copy ISSUE 121 ē SEPTEMBER 2015 A couple of months ago, I instagrammed a picture of the Hyundai Santa Fe. The car was parked in the middle of a harvested field, and it had some trees for company. And, there were no roads that led to where the Santa Fe was parked. The caption that accompanied the picture? “When you want to get close to trees, it’s best to take an SUV.” There was a time when SUVs were panned for being environmentally-irresponsible. But, is it just me, or has the hatred dimmed? I would like to think so because SUVs are all that manufacturers seem to be making these days. Why? Because an SUV is what you are buying. Small or big, everyday or exotic, it looks like these tall, bulky machines are the things to have. But it isn’t a passing fad, because SUVs are practical and make the automobile a more rounded machine that can conquer a greater variety of roads than an everyday sedan. Isn’t that what we all want from our cars? Despite an onslaught of new models, it hasn’t got too crowded yet. Ford is getting back into the segment, which it has historically dominated, thanks to those massive SUVs and mini-trucks it sells in the USA. Almost a decade ago, India had a short glimpse of its prowess with the Endeavour, “THE KOREANS MAY BE LOSING THE which has since faded into oblivion. But the new Endeavour is just a few months away, and from what we sampled in CONSUMER ELECTRONICS BATTLE Thailand, it is a car to watch for. Interestingly, the Toyota Fortuner currently dominates the space that it will operate in, and it won’t be easy beating the Toyota, especially with the TO CHINA, BUT WITH THE CRETA, new model on its way (we have a story on that, too). The new Creta also floored us. When Hyundai said it THEIR PREMIER CARMAKER IS wanted to tag its newest car #theperfectsuv, we thought it was just another marketing gimmick. But no, the Creta lives up to that tagline. Almost. It’s the right size for an urban TAKING ON THE EUROPEANS” setting and is amazingly at home on the highway. While the Koreans may be losing the consumer electronics battle to China, its flagship automaker is ready to take the fight to the Europeans. Sure, a Hyundai sportscar that will rival a 911 is some time away, but the company’s right up there when it comes to everyday cars. The Creta is a superb example. It may not look as well-proportioned and elegant as the bigger Santa Fe, but it is a proper mini-SUV that should make Renault and Mahindra worry. It’s raining SUVs this issue. Surely, a lot of you will be instagramming it. We are waiting for your pictures. GIRISH KARKERA, CHIEF COMMUNITY OFFICER & EDITOR Twitter.com/karkeragirish Zinio Copy TOPGEAR.COM → SEPTEMBER 2015 003 52 FEATURES 052 Ford Endeavour 084 Q7 vs Disco vs XC90 058 A mountain of a car with a mountain Down the shutters. Shut the doors. range of abilities The behemoths are settling scores 058 BMW X6 092 Mahindra Thar The love-it-or-hate-it SUV. An old dog gets more bite and Version 2.0 learns new tricks 064 Porsche Macan Turbo 100 Gixxer to Marsimik La 076 This is what happens when Youngest female rider takes hotness gets hotter on 18,000 feet 071 Merc G63 Crazy Colour 106 Rainforest Challenge Crazy car. Crazy paintjob. All-round More proof that we don’t just do chai and mental derangement bhajjiya in the monsoons 076 Hyundai Creta 110 Club Challenge Compact SUVs and Hyundais aren’t Just another excuse to stay out of office going to be the same again and plug some mud 106 112 Off-road essentials Going out in the rough? Here’s what you need to know 004 SEPTEMBER 2015 → TOPGEAR.COM NEWS PLANET TOPGEAR DRIVES 16 New Pajero Sport 28 Mumbai’s traffic Driven/ridden this month… The old warhorse is setting up to give new control room Mercedes-AMG S63 Coupe 38 lessons in off-roading There is a method behind the madness. Trust us, there is 18 Toyota Fortuner Yamaha YZF-R3 40 The hot-seller isn’t done. A new one’s just 31 Sriram Narayanan Honda Livo 42 around the corner Supercar Sriram reveals a soft corner Hero Xtreme Sports 43 117–148 for cheap cars All you need to 19 Volvo buys Polestar Audi R8 V10 Plus 44 know about the Volvo now owns the mental tuners 32 Shreenand Sadhale best cars on sale Yamaha Fascino 46 from Sweden Full-time pilot, part-time biker on today. Your car biking in Ladakh not there in the list? Sell it, and buy a 21 Suzuki YRA 40 new one, then... The Baleno is back. Well, almost. 33 Abhishek Mishra Very nearly Comes up with a car-buying trick that’s better than buying used cars 24 Royal Enfield Himalayan All the dope on the upcoming 34 Options List adventure tourer Motorola’s hero phone,one, a watch inspired by Carrollarroll 25 Yamaha FZ-250 Shelby and more Yes, you read that right. It’s almost official. Now, sit down 34 44 REGULARS16 005 AUGUST 2015 → TOPGEAR.COM Zinio Copy TOPGEAR.COM → SEPTEMBER 2015 005 CEO Deepak Lamba SUBSCRIPTIONS National Manager Consumer & Retail Chief Community Officer and Editor Girish Karkera Priyadarshi Banerjee Managing Editor Murali K. 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All material published in TopGear is protected by copyright and unauthorised reproduction in part or full is forbidden. Bijoy Choudhury Corporate Identification Number (CIN): U22120MH2003PTC142239 [email protected] 006 SEPTEMBER 2015 → TOPGEAR.COM INTERWEB, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, LETTER, CARRIER PIGEON. YOU SEND IT, WE PRINT IT TWITTER.COM/TOPGEARMAGINDIA FACEBOOK.COM/TOPGEARINDIA BBC TOPGEAR MAGAZINE INDIA, 4TH FLOOR, TIMES OF INDIA BUILDING, D.N. ROAD, MUMBAI 400001 LETTERS TO TG READERS SPEAK Here’s what our readers had to say about… …the unveiling of the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport Nakul Dalakoti: Yes, Finally Mitsubishi’s got it right! Rishu Goutam: Spectacular design. seriously contemplating buying one if the price is right. Love it. What’s wrong with Yamaha? It’s understandable to some Abhishek Anand Ayush Kaushik: Looks over the top, extent that motorcycle manufacturers known for via email and to think it’s such a capable SUV. producing earth-shattering performance vehicles would Definitely not a fan of the way the rear have to adapt to the Indian scenario and cater to I love TG’s features, but I am also spending more time looks. Hopefully, the looks will grow individuals looking to buy motorcycles that deliver reading the Garage section. One thing that caught my on me. excellent fuel consumption. But, just what is Yamaha eye is the fact that the vehicles in this section are usually doing with something like the Fascino? It seems destined all-new. Now, if any problems were to crop up during the to lurk in the shadows due to its delicate styling.