New Car Review 2012 Toyota Prius V




The 2012 Toyota Prius V.

Toyotas expansion of the Prius into a full family of cars begins here with the Toyota Prius V.

We can hear the puzzled readers now: "Prius V? What are Prius A through U like?" No, this is V as in roman numeral for the number 5. So its "Toyota Prius 5". Why? Because it has five doors (okay, it also stands for "Versatility", according to Toyota).




Rear view of the 2012 Toyota Prius V.

The fifth door is that big back one. Its called a door instead of a tailgate or liftgate because Toyota, like most manufacturers, cant quite bring itself to call this a "station wagon". But cmon...look at that profile. In fact, look at that fifth door when its open:




The "fifth door" of the 2012 Toyota Prius V in its open state.

That, folks, is a station wagon. And that, folks, is a good thing. Because station wagons, like their 90s replacement, the SUV, have rear seats that fold flat, resulting in some extremely useful cargo capability.

The Prius V comes extremely well equipped (17-inch alloy wheels, electronic braking and traction systems, airbags, smart keys, tire pressure monitors, LED headlamps, foglamps, power heated and folding outside miorrors, a display audio/navigation system with Toyotas terrific Entune entertainment system plus AM/FM/CD/mp3/SiriusXM/HD radio, Bluetooth, automatic climate control and more for $29,990.

Our tester had the Advanced Technology Package (Hard drive, JBL audio, backup camera, Advanced Voice Recognition, Text-to-speech, dynamic radar cruise control, panoramic moonroof and a batch more) for $5,580, floor mats and trunk mats for $225 and alloy wheel locks for $67. Delivery and processing was $760, for a bottom line of:

$36,622.

Yes, that is the most expensive Prius weve ever tested. But its also the most loaded, the most practical and the one young eco-friendly families might be most likely to take on a long summer roadtrip, when all those bells and whistles will make things considerably more pleasant.

Now they just need DVD screens in the back of the front headrests...

2012 Toyota Prius V

Base price: $29,990.

As tested: $36,622.

Likes: The extra utility of the wagon style.

Dislikes: Were not that far from a $40,000 Prius.

EPA estimates: 44 mpg city/40 mpg highway.

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Team Hits New Era

The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team is expected to spread out the thrill and the excitement in the race track this weekend. This will be the teams very first time to invade the track in its new era. Fernando Alonso, Double and his equally famous teammate Lewis Hamilton, have completed their pre-season test programme with the MP4-22s. The test programme covered over 13,300km before arriving in Australia. Fernando and Lewis completed 10,200km while Pedro dela Rosa, another famous racer, covered 3,100km.

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team infrastructure arrived in Australia by sea freight during the week commencing 26th February, having left the McLaren Technology Centre on 10th January. This was followed by the air freight. On the 11th of this month, the team arrived with Fernando arriving in Melbourne on the 12th and Lewis on the 14th.

Upon arrival in Melbourne, the first task given to the team is to find the freight and start the process of setting up the necessary facilities like the garage and office areas. The few days spent were full of fun and stimulation. On Thursday, Fernando and Lewis will join Pedro for a team event at a beach front restaurant in Melbourne, before arriving at the Albert Park track to walk the track with their engineers and partake in the first technical meeting of the Grand Prix.

The team has spent time during the winter season with Fernando and Lewis familiarizing everyone and building one solid unit. The phase was more like a process of learning and having two new drivers to add element of motivation.

"Having spent the winter getting to know my new team and new car, I feel really at home and am very motivated to start racing. I always enjoy Australia, there is a great atmosphere and I am excited to get out there and see where we are compared to the other teams," said Alonso. "There are a lot of new things in the sport this season such as new rules, all teams running on Bridgestone Potenzas, drivers changing teams. Everyone is starting from zero and it is going to make things very interesting. Am I going to go out at Albert Park and win my first race with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes? We are certainly going to push hard to try."

Both drivers have been working closely with their race engineers during testing at the McLaren Technology Centre. Alonso is working with Mark Slade and Hamilton with Phil Prew. During the Grands Prix, Fernando will have Steve Hallam as his contact on the pit wall and then Lewis will be speaking with Richard Hopkirk. Car racing parts are also checked to ensure maximum performance. These cars may not be mated to Bosch product lines but the power is remarkably better.

"Taking to the grid Australia is the end of one journey for me and the start of an even bigger one. I have been working incredibly hard towards this moment over the past few months, testing, physical training, working with the engineers at the McLaren Technology Centre and studying the regulations," Hamilton said. "I feel I have the experience I need and I definitely feel ready to get out there. This year will be a learning curve for me, Albert Park is one of the seven new tracks Ill be racing on, but it is not a huge problem more an exciting challenge. I have always enjoyed street circuits, so it is great to start my career in Formula 1 with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes here."

Maruti New Swift

Overview of 2011 New Maruti Swift

After the successful launch of A-Star and Ritz, Maruti Suzuki India is going to launch a new 2011 model of its popular hatchback Swift in Indian Market. Marutis all-new lighter, longer and more spacious 2011 New Swift went on sale in the UK in September promising better dynamics, increased performance and improved CO2 emissions and economy.

Whats New in 2011 New Maruti Swift

- All new bigger and better looking head lamps
- All new peeled back tail lamps
- New round shaped fog lights
- New steering wheel with music/telephone controls
- New centre console with dash integrated music system
- New design for wheel covers/16" alloy wheels for top variants
- New front and rear bumpers and New front grille
- Automatic climate control system
- Engine start/stop button (not confirmed for Indian market)
- New instrument cluster finished in silver and black

Design & Styling of 2011 New Maruti Swift

Compact and sporty, The All New Suzuki Swift has been completely refined to create a sleeker, more sophisticated look. The new design accentuates the unique wrap-around effect glass area which, coupled with a wider body and restyled headlamps, creates even more road presence. And with sporty touches like 16" alloys available on top models, youll always find the right styling to fit your life.

Interior Space of 2011 New Maruti Swift

New Maruti Swift’s all-new platform increases the wheelbase by 50mm and the overall length by 90mm. Extensive use of higher strength steel has made the new bodyshell lighter and stiffer than before as well as offering refinement in underbody design. The front and rear tracks are 10mm and 5mm widaer respectively. Suzuki claims the Swift, its best-selling model, is much improved dynamically as a result.

Interior Design of 2011 New Maruti Swift

The interior design continues to feature black as its keynote colour with accents of silver throughout the car. The sleek black interior packs in a range of new gadgets including MP3/WMA compatible CD tuner with USB port. The top spec model incorporates automatic air-con, Bluetooth capability and engine start button to create a whole new level of sophistication to the driver environment. Headroom has been increased without compromising on the Swifts sporty exterior styling, and youll also find plenty of storage areas so you can take lifes essentials with you wherever you go.

Engine of 2011 New Maruti Swift

In the UK, the Swift has been launched with a new Dual VVT 1.2-litre petrol engine that will be replacing the outgoing 1.3-litre unit. The Dual VVT unit produces 92 Bhp and 120 Nm of torque, both figures slightly improved over the 1.3 unit. A manual gearbox will be standard and an automatic optional. However, for the Indian market, the engine that will power this car is likely to be carried over – it’s an evolution of the K-series (K12) motor that powers the current Swift and Ritz. Variable Valve Timing technology that is being used in the European car could come to India as well. Just as it did with M16A on the SX4. Suzuki will also continue with the very successful 1.3-Multijet from Fiat, or the DDiS.

Safety Features of 2011 New Maruti Swift

The All New Suzuki Swift has been rated as one of Europes safest cars, achieving a maximum 5 star rating in the 2010 test by Euro NCAP. Euro NCAPs (New Car Assessment Programme) rating scheme focuses on the vehicles overall safety performance which gives consumers an easy to understand single score. The system considers occupant protection in frontal, side, pole and rear impacts as well as child protection, pedestrian protection and the availability of driver aids.

In order to gain this high total safety performance score across all four criteria, the newest generation Swift has been developed with a new, stronger and lighter impact absorbing bodyshell designed to improve occupant protection as well as minimising injuries to pedestrians.

Also, to ensure optimum occupant protection, The All New Swift includes seven airbags as standard across the range which includes drivers knee airbag as well as whiplash mitigating front seats. Active safety equipment includes ABS with EBD and ESP(Electronic Stability Programme), fitted as standard equipment across the Swift range. And lastly, The All New Swift also features ISOFIX child seat anchorages for easy installation and optimum safety for children on the rear seats.


Press Release - New 2011 Maruti Swift (UK)

Suzuki is pleased to announce the first images and preliminary information of the new, third generation Suzuki Swift which goes on sale in the UK in the Autumn of 2010. Suzuki held the world premiere line off ceremony for mass production of the new car at its Magyar Suzuki Corporation production facility at Esztergom, in Hungary. The all-new Suzuki Swift is positioned as Suzuki’s latest world strategic model and makes strong developments in styling, impact safety, driving performance, handling, improved fuel consumption and significantly lower emissions.

Extensive use of higher strength steel makes the new bodyshell lighter and stiffer than before as well as offering refinement in underbody design. This latest body design has also helped improve impact safety for pedestrians as well as occupants. Increased track and larger diameter wheels with lower profile tyres allow for even better handling than the already highly acclaimed outgoing Suzuki Swift that first went on sale in 2005. The interior design now has a more dynamic feel, featuring black as its keynote colour with accents of silver throughout the car.

New Swift has grown slightly in length (+90mm) with a 50mm increase in wheelbase. For the powertrain; a new 1.2-litre petrol engine incorporating Dual VVT (Variable intake and exhaust valve timing) is utilised which produces 94PS at 6,000rpm, slightly more than the outgoing 1.3-litre unit. Torque is also improved to 118Nm at 4,800rpm. Fuel consumption on the combined cycle is now 56.5mpg for the manual transmission model, an improvement of 7.8mpg over the previous 1.3-litre unit. Emissions are much lower as well; the new 1.2-litre engine with manual transmission produces just 116g/km on the combined cycle; representing a 24g/km or 17 per cent improvement over the 1.3. An optional automatic transmission will be available for the petrol engine from launch.

A 1.3-litre diesel engine will also become available and planned for UK introduction in early 2011; this engine emits 109g/km (down from 119g/km) and has an impressive combined fuel consumption of 67.3mpg, an improvement on an already highly credible 62.8mpg from the outgoing Suzuki Swift DDiS. This Euro 5 engine has more precise engine management than before with reduced levels of mechanical friction for smoother running and flexibility

The new 2014 Mercedes AMG CLA 45

The first official pictures with the 2014 Mercedes Benz AMG CLA 45 have surfaced online ahead of public debut next week in New York.

Following a few details revealed last month exclusively when PlayStation 4 Drive club launched its new game, we now have official photos of Mercedes Benz AMG version 2014 CLA 45 four-door coupe. It is expected to get a 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder turbo engine with 355 hp (265 kW) and 450 Nm (332 lb-ft) of torque.

The new 2014 Mercedes AMG CLA 45 have an automatic gearbox AMG SPEEDSHIFT DCT 7-speed connected via a 4MATIC all-wheel drive and dual clutch.

Earlier this month at the Geneva Motor Show the German automaker confirmed that the Mercedes 2014 Mercedes Benz AMG CLA 45 will run the 0-100 km / h sprint in 4.6 seconds and will have a starting price of $ 50,000.

Some changes have been generated with respect to the regular version of the Mercedes CLA. The 2014 Mercedes AMG CLA 45  receives bumpers and sills AMG regular package and the striking rear diffuser, multiradio black wheels, play in front of the splitter.

The 2014 Mercedes Benz AMG CLA 45 has placed new resources aerodynamic side intakes in the front and the heel. Plus a new ending to the exhaust system in four outings with a 2 +2 arrangement.