Oct 20, 2004 11:11 PM
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(Updated Oct 20, 2004 11:11 PM)
Autocar India
The fast growing Indian automobile market has lead to a rapid increase in the car/bike magazines. These days many boast to be the best. Autocar India is one of such magazines and faces stiff competition from Overdrive, Auto India, Auto Motor Sport and Business Standard Motoring.
Something that acts strongly in favor of the magazine are its global connections - It is a part of the Autocar group operating in regions like UK, South Asia, USA etc. What this means is that the mag has pretty strong global relations and therefore is well informed about the latest happenings (like the recent unveiling of the Toyota Innova).
Content :-
Well at 220 pages, it is a tad bulky which seemingly is an effort to not miss out on something that the competition offers. Besides the following sections, it has the usual Price-cum-specs listings, F1, WRC and Indian motor-sport news, a Travel story, Q&A and Used car/bike sale ads.
Road Tests
Nothing new here except the 'numbering' of all the tests performed. Though all the road tests are very concise and do not include useless data, they do seem a bit on the shorter side. All in all, testing is comprehensively done and I am satisfied with this column.
Columnists
The mag has three regular columnists - Hormazd Sorabjee(Editor), Colin Goodwin and Alan Cathcart. In case you didn't know about Cathcart, let me tell you that he is known in the biking circles with as much respect as Mr. Jeremy Clarkson is admired when it comes to thrashing supercars. He is my favorite of the three and also writes reviews on international releases. As for Colin Goodwin, he is the most removed of the three and mostly writes about his journeys and traveling with a motoring backdrop.
News
This is an area where the mag scores heavily. It is the most up-to-date of all the mags doing rounds in our country and the only serious competition it faces comes from Overdrive. It was very quick about the Innova launch and has to its credit some other breaking-stories too.
Reviews and Previews
Nothing that has even remote possibility of hitting the Indian roads is left. Yup, at times it apparently tries to get sensational but that's a norm here. Reviews are a step below the Road Tests in terms of info provided but are reasonably well done and there is a good amount of justification for every recommendation/bashing.
'How Your Car Works'
This is the best section of the entire mag. It provides information on various Car parts like the Transmission, Cooling and Electrical systems etc. in very easy-to-understand lingo. You do not need to be an engineer to comprehend it and gain very helpful and interesting info about cars which is not that easily available otherwise.
Long Termers
Here car/bikes are taken for a long haul - the way a usual commuter would - and aspects like maintenance, fuel-efficiency and performance are gauged over time giving an insight into the buying-and-living experience of a vehicle.
Price - Rs 60.
Website - https://autocarindia.com
Printed, published, edited and owned by Hormazd Sorabjee
Subscription Rate - Rs 720/$ 75 per year
The Verdict
It is arguably the best auto magazine you can find in India. Up-to-date, with good layout, high quality paper and overall excellent content, it gains valuable points over the competition. If you want to buy/subscribe an auto mag, I recommend Autocar India...definitely.
