Top five stories: October 2019!

(The stories below are in no particular order)

Gaurav Gill speaks up!

In this exclusive and very first interview since the accident, Gaurav Gill opens up about how the accident happened, “As soon as I hit the apex, coming out of the blind spot, I saw these people on a motorcycle in the middle,” and how negligence and inexperience of the marshals on the scene led to Indian rallying’s worst accident in recent memory

Maruti Suzuki S-Presso: First drive review

Maruti Suzuki is king of the small car market, there’s no doubt about that. But with the recent slow down in the automobile industry, even the country’s largest and most successful car maker has been felt the pinch. The all-new S-Presso is its attempt to revive its fortunes and enter a segment where the Renault Kwid has enjoyed much success since its launch.

Hyundai i10 Nios v Maruti Suzuki Swift: Diesel comparison test

The Swift has been the default hatchback in its class, people buying it have always got it because of its reliability, well proportioned looks and a sorted dynamics. While, the i10 has always competed in a segment below the Swift, it was more compact, had lesser power and lacked some of the gizmos too. In 2019, Hyundai decided to launch the Nios in India and instead of replacing the Grand i10, it has priced it slightly higher and given it a long feature list with an equally long name.

Chasing ghosts in the Mercedes-AMG GLE 43

The brief was simple, find new driving routes. The car was also a no-brainer, something that blended motorsport heritage but with the go-anywhere chops to deal with unknown roads— which in India usually means no roads. And so it was that I found myself with the keys to the black Mercedes-AMG GLE 43 Coupe and a bunch of dog-eared road books from the old MASA rally days. The task? To find some of those old rally routes which, by their very definition, will be ideally suited to belting a fast car over.

Ferrari F8 Tributo Test Drive Review

A tribute, that’s what the Ferrari F8 Tributo is. A tribute to the engine that has won the international engine of the year award for the past four years running. The F154 twin-turbo V8 that was originally launched in the 488GTB four years was also voted the best engine of the past 20 years. And Ferrari, rightfully, are very proud of the accolade — so much so that they’ve built a car around it.