When Honda first launched the Elevate in India, it got so many fundamentals right: the ride quality was sublime, ground clearance was a massive 220 mm, the tall, upright Japanese stance gave commanding road visibility, and under the hood was the bulletproof 1.5-litre naturally aspirated i-VTEC petrol engine that purists love. But let's be completely honest—in an Indian car market obsessed with high-tech gadgets and showroom creature comforts, the original Elevate felt like it

If you’ve driven a modern Tata car anywhere in India over the past few years—whether it's squeezing a Tiago through bumper-to-bumper city traffic, cruising in an Altroz, or overtaking state transport buses in a loaded Nexon on the highway—you have lived with the Revotron engine. For most Indian car owners, it’s not an engine you stare at under a showroom spotlight; it’s the everyday mechanical workhorse that gets you to work on Monday morning and hauls your family to the hill

In the history of the Indian automotive industry, very few engine families have commanded the sheer owner loyalty, mechanical respect, and commercial dominance of Mahindra’s mHawk diesel engine. For nearly twenty years, while global automakers cycled through delicate European diesels or abandoned oil-burners entirely, the mHawk stood firm as the unshakeable mechanical spine of India’s rugged SUV culture. From the dust-choked dirt trails of rural farmland to the high-speed nor

The sub-4-meter compact crossover segment in India is the most fiercely contested battleground in the entire domestic automotive market. In recent months, soaring petrol prices and congested urban traffic have pushed middle-class buyers aggressively toward factory-fitted CNG alternatives. While Maruti Suzuki has long dominated this space with the Brezza S-CNG, Tata Motors raised the technological benchmark by introducing India’s first turbocharged petrol-CNG powertrain in the

A DriveVlog viewer recently reached out with an increasingly common dilemma among long-distance highway commuters in India: "I currently drive a 2018 Volkswagen Passat and travel extensively on intercity highways. Over the last couple of years, I have been dealing with persistent, nagging lower back pain after long stints behind the wheel. I am looking to upgrade to a premium SUV or crossover—such as the upcoming Volkswagen Tayron, Skoda Kodiaq, Mahindra XUV700, Jeep Compass,

Every Indian car owner eventually encounters that familiar itch: the odometer crosses 70,000 kilometres, the warranty expires, or colleagues and neighbors arrive in brand-new compact SUVs with panoramic sunroofs and ambient lighting. The temptation to browse online car configurators, visit new car showrooms, and trade in your existing car becomes almost irresistible. Before you impulsively sign a booking agreement or take on a heavy five-year loan EMI, stop and take a breath.

In this episode of DriveVlog, Mohamed Thameem breaks down an essential topic for Indian car enthusiasts and prospective buyers: How Mahindra Built an SUV Empire: From Tractor Company to Engineering Giant. The Technical Breakdown & Key Highlights his video explains how a simple tractor / utility vehicle company engineered powerful engines for Indian conditions, from low‑end torque for farming to reliable highway performance. You will see how they designed the engine block, tur

Few dashboard warning indicators cause immediate driver anxiety quite like an illuminated amber gear symbol or the flashing "AT" (Automatic Transmission) warning light. Whether you are navigating heavy bumper-to-bumper city congestion or cruising on an open expressway, the sudden sight of a transmission warning immediately sparks fears of catastrophic gearbox failure and eye-watering repair bills running upwards of ₹80,000 to ₹2 Lakhs. Before you panic or call an expensive fl

In today’s Indian car market, almost every budget automatic vehicle priced under ₹10 Lakhs—from the Maruti Alto K10, WagonR, and Swift to the Hyundai Grand i10 Nios and Tata Tiago—comes equipped with an Automated Manual Transmission (AMT). While automotive manufacturers heavily market AMTs for their cost savings and manual-matching fuel economy, daily commuters and automotive enthusiasts frequently express frustration over the notorious "head-nod" jerkiness, sluggish gear cha

A decade ago, Tata Motors was staring into an existential crisis in the passenger car market. The brand was saddled with an aging taxi-fleet image from the Indica, the Nano had faltered under marketing miscalculations, the Aria had fallen flat against the Toyota Innova, and newer products like the Bolt and Zest failed to challenge Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai. Tata’s domestic market share plunged below 5%, with rumors swirling that the conglomerate might exit the passenger car b

In virtually every major automotive market across the globe, the sales crown constantly shifts between Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, and Ford. But in India, one company has maintained an iron-clad stranglehold on car sales for over four decades: Maruti Suzuki. With over 40% of all passenger cars sold in the country bearing the Suzuki badge, India buys more Suzukis than Japan, Europe, or the rest of the world combined. Enthusiasts and online critics often criticize Maruti cars

In this episode of DriveVlog, we take an in-depth look into an essential automotive topic for Indian car enthusiasts and buyers: Used Car Scams & Secrets: 10 Sneaky Tricks Dealerships Use. Watch the complete video breakdown and on-road test here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC5ldQHES40https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC5ldQHES40 The Core Technical Breakdown Used Car . use , especially first‑time buyers. In this video, we expose the most common used car dealer scams and how

In this episode of DriveVlog, we take an in-depth look into an essential automotive topic for Indian car enthusiasts and buyers: Who Killed Small Diesel Cars in India? The Demise of Budget Diesel Engines. Watch the complete video breakdown and on-road test here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI9l6-MCMvAhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI9l6-MCMvA The Core Technical Breakdown Everyone says “diesel is dying”, but who actually killed the diesel engine in India – government poli

In this episode of DriveVlog, we take an in-depth look into an essential automotive topic for Indian car enthusiasts and buyers: Maruti 800: The Icon That Killed the Ambassador Era & Put India on Wheels. Watch the complete video breakdown and on-road test here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biiN13n9ZYc The Core Technical Breakdown Maruti 800 – The legendary car that CHANGED the Indian automobile industry forever! Launched in 1983, this tiny 800cc people's car made cars affo

In this episode of DriveVlog, we take an in-depth look into an essential automotive topic for Indian car enthusiasts and buyers: How Hyundai Creta Became the Undisputed King of SUVs in India. Watch the complete video breakdown and on-road test here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff0zfGfMUqw The Core Technical Breakdown Hyundai Creta didn’t become king of the segment by luck – it owns the midsize SUV market with more than 12 lakh units sold in 10 years and over 1.8 lakh unit

In this episode of DriveVlog, we take an in-depth look into an essential automotive topic for Indian car enthusiasts and buyers: How Fiat’s 'National Engine' Secretly Ruled Indian Roads for 20 Years. Watch the complete video breakdown and on-road test here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkUUf1KvaZU The Core Technical Breakdown veryone talks about Maruti, Tata and Chevrolet, but very few know that a single Fiat diesel engine quietly powered half of India’s popular cars and l

In this episode of DriveVlog, we take an in-depth look into an essential automotive topic for Indian car enthusiasts and buyers: Not Just an SUV: Why Fortuner = POWER !. Watch the complete video breakdown and on-road test here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXPL82mLCcU The Core Technical Breakdown Toyota Fortuner is not just an SUV in India – it has become a symbol of power, status and dominance on the road, especially among politicians and businessmen.​​ In this video, you

Walk into any automobile showroom in India today, or simply stand at a busy city junction, and one automotive trend is impossible to miss: towering bonnets, muscular wheel arches, faux skid plates, and an endless stream of SUVs. From compact sub-4-meter crossovers to mid-size family haulers, the Indian car buyer has overwhelmingly fallen in love with the high-riding SUV aesthetic. However, beneath the butch styling, roof rails, and raised ground clearance lies a shocking auto

Take a look around you at a traffic junction today. What do you see? High bonnets, flared wheel arches, and an endless sea of compact and mid-size SUVs. Just a decade ago, things were very different. If a collector, a senior corporate leader, or a successful business person bought a premium car, it was almost always a Honda City or a Toyota Corolla Altis. That low-slung, three-box shape was the ultimate mark of elegance and stature. Fast forward to today, and buyers with the

Look at fuel prices today: petrol is comfortably sitting above ₹100 a litre. Drive a standard petrol SUV inside bumper-to-bumper city traffic, and getting even 9 or 10 km/l feels like an achievement. On the other hand, fully electric vehicles still make people nervous. Finding a public fast charger on the highway, waiting an hour in line if someone else is plugged in, dealing with broken chargers, and worrying about long-term EV resale value are very real headaches. That is w