Japanese cars get more expensive

Over the last year or so, it's been easy for me to recommend a car to those who are ready to spend Rs 11-12 lakh, says  Bijoy Kumar Y.

I tell them to go for the Honda Civic - a "be wary about speed-breakers" caution was all that was needed before another Civic hit the road. Not anymore.

Honda has just made the Civic even more desirable with a facelift - alas, it has moved away from the Rs 11-12 lakh bracket, and how!

Today, the Civic range starts from a whopping Rs 14 lakh for the base model and creeps to close to Rs 16 lakh for the automatic version. For me, this is a segment shift and a dangerous one at that.

The issue is similar to that of the highly successful Honda City, with prices now starting at Rs 9.8 lakh (the previous model started at Rs 7.3 lakh) and going up to Rs 11.1 lakh for the top-end variant.

It does look like successful Japanese brands are stretching their badge power to the limit of elasticity. The newest case is the Toyota Fortuner, which, as it puts its rubber on Mumbai roads, can set you back by - hold your breath - Rs 29 lakh!

Sure, the price of Japanese cars with import content was affected by a troubled yen, but in the same breath, Honda and Toyota also benefit from an FTA signed with Thailand, from where sub-assemblies and critical powertrain parts arrive.

But the Indian buyer is not going to take this lying down - the Fortuner can still carry its tag since there is hardly any significant competition, but cars like the Honda Jazz (Rs 7.2 lakh on-road) are already suffering, with buyers turning towards cheaper pastures. Volkswagen, I hope you are listening!

IN MY GARAGE

Rs 1.2 crore (Rs 12 million) worth of soft-roaders came for a comparison test - the Audi Q5 featuring a 240 bhp V6 diesel and a Land Rover Freelander 2 with a 158 bhp, four-cylinder diesel.

The Audi imitates its big brother, the Q7, in the way it looks and performs, but with a decidedly road-biased setup. The Landie may lack grunt and power, but it comes to life as and when the tarmac ends.

After living with the Q5 for a week, I went into the test with a soft corner for the German, but the Freelander 2 had its share of surprises. Read the forthcoming December 2009 issue of Business Standard Motoring for the full story.

CAR OF THE WEEK

So you never liked the Phantom, right? Now you can book a baby Roller, the Ghost. At Rs 2.5 crore (Rs 250 million), you get almost the same adulation, attention and respect from the rest of the world. You also get an extremely capable car that is actually fun to drive, thanks to a 6.6-litre V12 that tries its best to finish off the petroleum reserves of our green world by dishing out 563 bhp. Ghosts move silently alright, but swiftly too  - how does 100 kph in 4.7 seconds sound?

BIKE OF THE WEEK

Ducati has a proper, brick-mortar-glass dealership in Mumbai that is brimming with red and white machines. The price range starts at Rs 9 lakh for the baby-Monster and Rs 49 lakh for a race-replica. Amen!

Question of the week

This car has no factory-fitted aircon, no power steering and no power anything, but it sold 8,000-odd units in October 2009. Name the car. It's the good old Maruti Suzuki Omni, still going strong after 25-plus years.