The handling around the corners was absolutely phenomenal, and so was the road noise from the tyres.

BHPian Old_Salt recently shared this ith other enthusiasts.

The voyage was to begin from Sydney and head down to Melbourne. I flew down from Delhi and went straight onboard, like an arrow.

Moonrise, somewhere in Tasman sea.

Ofcourse size matters, nobody wants a small cup of coffee, especially when you make ship happen.

Threading the needle, Sunset in Bass strait

Yarra river inbound

Called up my friend, who was my schoolmate back in Delhi and has been settled in Melbourne for almost 2 decades, that I have a day to kill in Melbourne, before I fly out to the next one.

He said, give me some time to clear my calendar.

Quite quickly he texted..lets go on a drive , how about Great Ocean Drive?

I had my jaw drop!

Next morning he was at the hotel bang at 10am. The ride was his Nissan Z 400 in Ikazuchi Yellow.

The plan was to head towards Geelong, then towards Colac, past Lake Colac and then to Princetown / 12 Apostles.

Stopped at Geelong for coffee and a quick bite.

This was my first encounter with a sports car. As soon as I settled into the seat, the first thing that caught my eye was the triple pod cluster. It provides information on battery voltage, turbine speed and turbo boost.

The steering wheel is GT-R inspired, and the cockpit ambience including the gauges and display are angled towards the driver. During actual use, the angled touchscreen was a bit annoying as typing the correct alphabet was a struggle.

The handling around the corners was absolutely phenomenal, and so was the road noise from the tyres. My friend mentioned the factory fitted ones do have this complaint and he is considering an upgrade.

The design of the taillights gives them quite a modern look, and those dual exhausts.

Reached the 12 apostles around afternoon. Place had some tourists and venomous snakes too, though we didnt encounter any.

 After the 12 Apostles, next stop was at Lock Ard Gorge. Lock Ard was a sail boat which ran aground in 1878, with just two survivors. That’s a 150 year history. The stairs giving access to the beach below were closed saying the cliffs on which they were built, were unstable.

From Lock Ard, we went to Port Campbell, London Bridge ( which has partly fallen but still attracts tourists), Bay of Martyrs and Bay of Islands, before deciding to turn back and take the Great Ocean Road back home.

Finally made it back home late night after driving almost 600kms

Couldn’t thank my friend enough for doing this once in a lifetime road trip but little did I know there was a bigger surprise in store.

Last month he received his Ineos Grenadier, one of the first lucky customers in Australia.

Next morning, I managed to take some quick pics of this monster before my friend dropped me back at my hotel. Soon I was on a flight to Brisbane.

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The Scorpio N neither gets an Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) system, nor a lane support system.

The Mahindra Scorpio N has been awarded a 0-star rating by the Australian NCAP. The SUV scored 44% for adult occupant protection and 80% for child occupant safety. However, the 0% Safety Assist score resulted in the Scorpio N failing the test.

As per the test report, the passenger compartment remained stable in the front offset test. Protection of the driver’s chest and lower legs was adequate. Protection was good for all other critical body regions for both the driver and front passenger.

In the full-width frontal test, the protection of the driver was rated as weak for the chest and good for all other critical body areas. Protection of the rear passenger’s head, neck and chest was poor.

In the side impact test, the protection offered to all critical body regions of the driver was good. However, the driver's seatbelt was observed to unlatch during the impact, increasing risk of the potential injury.

In the oblique pole test, protection was marginal for the chest of the driver and good for all other critical body regions.

In the frontal offset test, protection of the neck and chest of the 10-year-old child dummy was rated as marginal. Otherwise, the protection of both child dummies was good. In the side impact test, the protection of both child dummies was good.

Dual frontal, side chest-protecting and side head-protecting airbags are standard on the Scorpio N. However, it neither gets an Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) system, nor a lane support system.

In Australia, the Jimny XL will be sold alongside the 3-door version.

Suzuki has launched the Jimny 5-door in Australia. The off-roader has been christened Jimny XL down-under.

The Jimny XL is manufactured in India and exported to Australia. It measures 3,985 mm in length, which is 340 mm longer than the three-door version that is already on sale in the country. It looks identical to the India-spec Jimny.

Inside, the Jimny XL features a 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, automatic climate control, a twin-dial instrument cluster and a 3-spoke steering wheel.

Moreover, the Australia-spec Jimny 5-door gets ADAS, with safety features like Autonomous Emergency Braking, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, high-beam assist and weaving alert. The SUV also gets 6 airbags, ESC and traction control as standard.

Powering the Jimny XL is a 1.5-litre petrol engine that makes 100 BHP and 130 Nm, which is slightly less than the Indian version. The engine is mated with either a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic and a four-wheel drive system.

In Australia, the XUV700 is available with a 2.0L turbo-petrol engine paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission.

Mahindra has launched the XUV700 in the Australian market. The SUV is available in two top-spec variants: AX7 and AX7 L.

In Australia, the XUV700 is only offered with a turbo-petrol engine. The 2.0-litre mStallion engine develops 200 BHP and 380 Nm and is paired with a 6-speed automatic gearbox. Unlike the India-spec XUV700, it does not get a diesel engine or a manual transmission option.

Coming to the features on offer, the XUV700 is similarly equipped to its Indian counterpart. The SUV comes with LED headlamps with integrated LED daytime running lights, 18-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels and retractable door handles.

Inside, the car gets dual 10.25-inch screens for the infotainment system and the digital instrument cluster, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity, dual-zone automatic climate control, a panoramic sunroof, a wireless charger and ambient lighting.

The Australia-spec XUV700 is also equipped with ADAS as standard. It comes with a 360-degree camera, adaptive cruise control and TPMS; among others.

The technical specifications of the Australia-spec Jimny and Fronx are yet to be announced.

Maruti Suzuki debuted the 5-door version of the Jimny and Fronx crossover at the Auto Expo 2023. Now, both models are headed down under.

Maruti Suzuki will be launching the Jimny and Fronx in the Australian market in the coming months. Both cars will be manufactured in India.

The Jimny 5-door has a wheelbase of 2,590 mm, which is slightly longer than the 3-door version. In India, the off-roader is powered by a 1.5-litre petrol engine. It is paired with either a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic transmission and a four-wheel drive system.

The Fronx is based on the Heartect platform and comes with either a 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine producing 99 BHP and 147 Nm or a 1.2-litre petrol engine that makes 89 BHP and 113 Nm. Transmission options include a 5-speed manual, a 6-speed automatic and an AMT.

The technical specifications of the Australia-spec Jimny and Fronx are yet to be announced.

FCA claims that the Thar infringes the Jeep Wrangler's design.

The ongoing tussle between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and Mahindra over the Thar's design has now reached down under. Both companies have moved the Federal Court of Australia after FCA demanded that Mahindra should not launch the Thar in Australia and should give a 90-day notice if it intends to do so. The company claims that it infringes the Jeep Wrangler's design. 

Mahindra has filed a reply in the court stating that the company doesn't have any plans to launch the current model of the Thar in Australia. It has also agreed to provide adequate notice to FCA if they do wish to introduce the model.

Earlier, FCA had objected to the design of the Mahindra Roxor as it was almost identical to the Jeep. Mahindra was forced to redesign the vehicle and the new design was later approved by a U.S. regulator.

While the Roxor looked similar to the Jeep CJ, the Thar is a rip-off of the Wrangler's design. The off-roader is currently on sale in India. So, does that mean FCA will sue Mahindra in India next?

Source: TOI

The facelifted Mahindra XUV500 Automatic was launched in India last year (click here to read official review). Now the vehicle has been launched in Australia.

The XUV500 Automatic will be available at Mahindra dealerships in two variants - W8 2WD and W8 AWD. The transmission is a second-generation 6-speed automatic gearbox, which has been sourced from AISIN, Japan.

The vehicle comes with a 2.2-litre, 4-cylinder, diesel engine that produces 140 BHP @ 3,750 rpm and 330 Nm @ 1600-2800 rpm. The car also features daytime running lights (DRLs), a reversing camera with dynamic assist, 7-inch satellite navigation system, Bluetooth music, phone connectivity, 3 ISOFIX child seat anchors in the second row, 12V charging sockets, tyre pressure monitoring system, ESC with rollover mitigation, ABS with EBD, hill hold and hill descent control.

The XUV500 Automatic will be available in 6 colour options - Pearl White, Sunset Orange, Tuscan Red, Dolphin Grey, Moondust Silver and Volcano Black.

Prices:

W8 2WD Manual - $29,900
W8 AWD Manual - $32,900
W8 2WD Automatic - $31,900
W8 AWD Automatic - $34,900