8 cars that got record bookings on launch

Last one year has been the toughest for auto manufacturers. Slowing economy and high interest rates have impacted sales severely. But as the cliche goes - every dark cloud has a silver lining - this period was probably the best for buyers.

To fight the decline in sales, auto firms launched cars that were either developed especially for Indian buyers or were tailored to suit the country’s roads. And, the efforts paid off.

Some of these cars got enviable bookings in the first few days of launch and broke records. Let’s look at eight cars launched in the last one year that broke bookings record. The cars are mentioned based on launch date.

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Hyundai Xcent

Record: 11,000 bookings within a month of launch

Launched: March 2014

Price range (diesel): Rs 585,612 - Rs 775,855

Price range (petrol): Rs 490,173 - Rs 755,278

The Hyundai Xcent is a value for money compact sedan which is also generously loaded with features.

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Hyundai Xcent

The Xcent comes with a lot of equipment and is very spacious too. It rides well and is comfortable. Both engines are frugal, offering decent performance.

The petrol Xcent is powered by a 1.2-litre Kappa engine that delivers a mileage of 19.1 kmpl.

The diesel comes with a 1.1-litre CRDi engine that gives has fuel economy of 24.4 kmpl.

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Datsun GO

Record: Sold over 2,500 and has another 4,500 bookings in less than a month

Launched: March 2014

Price range (petrol): Rs 325,900 - Rs 386,149

The main focus of the Datsun brand is to provide cost-effective cars which are apt for first time buyers. True to this philosophy, Datsun GO is spacious and it doesn't look cheap in anyway.

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Datsun GO

The car has the longest wheelbase in its class and is underpinned by the Micra's V-Platform. Thus the cabin is quite spacious and five people can comfortably sit inside the car. There is good legroom and headroom.

Powering the Datsun GO is a 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder petrol engine, which is the same unit that does the duty on the Micra.

The ARAI claimed mileage is 20.63 kmpl but expect 15 kmpl in real world driving conditions.

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Maruti Celerio

Record: 22,000 bookings within 30 days of launch

Launched: February, 2014

Price range (petrol): Rs 396,607 - Rs 503,816

Maruti Suzuki has also improved interior room and headroom is in abundance in Celerio making it a very comfortable car. The boot space is 235-litres, which even bigger than the Swift.

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Maruti Celerio

Powering the Maruti Celerio is the well-known 1.0-litre K-Series engine, which has been given a few hardware tweaks for improved performance.

The 3-cylinder engine offers good low-end performance and is good in city conditions with enough juice to close gaps in traffic.

The company claims a mileage of 23.1 kmpl for automatic variant and 22kmpl for manual.

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Honda City

Record: 9,000 pre-bookings

Launched: January 2014

Price range (diesel): Rs 878,405 - Rs 11,53,202

Price range (petrol): Rs 755,116 - Rs 11,43,686

The Honda City is one of the most popular cars in India and has remained the king of its segment for a long time.

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Honda City

While the diesel city is the most fuel-efficient car, many reviewers termed the petrol version as the best car in its segment.

The petrol engine has been carried over from before and is the same 1.5-litre i-VTEC mill which sees an increase in output of 1 PS. The company claims a mileage of 17.4 kmpl.

City gets the diesel engine from the Amaze, in the same set of tune, producing 100 PS of power at 3,600 RPM and 200 Nm of torque at 1,750 RPM. And, it delivers 26 kmpl mileage.

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Nissan Terrano

Record: Received 6,000 pre-bookings

Launched: October 2013

Price range (diesel): Rs 10,21,721 - Rs 13,26,482

Price range (petrol): Rs 10,42,263

Based on the Renault Duster platform, the Terrano was designed at Nissan’s Yokohoma design studio in Japan and was developed at the Renault-Nissan technology centre in Chennai, India. The car looks better designed than Duster.

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Nissan Terrano

The Terrano is available with the 1.6-litre petrol engine outputting 104PS or the 1.5-litre K9K diesel engine producing 85PS or 110PS.

The petrol variant is more power hungry and takes the car from 0kmph to 100kmph in about 13 seconds and has a top speed of around 165 kmph.

The top-end diesel Terrano take about the same time and has the top speed of 175kmph.

The company claims a mileage of 20.5 kmpl for diesel variant and 13.2 kmpl for the petrol.

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Hyundai Grand i10

Record: 10,000 bookings within 20 days of launch

Launched: September 2013

Price range (diesel): Rs 540,010 - Rs 659,126

Price range (petrol): Rs 445,201 - Rs 606,861

The Hyundai Grand i10 re-writes the rules of the hatchback segment by offering terrific value for the money.

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Hyundai Grand i10

The Hyundai Grand i10 is the second-generation i10, re-named for the Indian market.

The appearance of the Grand i10 is sharp all around, it looks sporty and appealing. Space inside the cabin is excellent.

The Hyundai Grand i10 is offered with petrol and diesel engines. The diesel engine is the 1.1-litre, 3-cylinder U2 unit which belts out 71 PS of power and 158 Nm of torque. The 5-speed gearbox offers smooth shifts and the Grand i10's ARAI mileage is 24 kmpl.

The petrol engine in the Hyundai Grand i10 is the same 1.2-litre Kappa motor which does duty in the i20. This engine has been tweaked to offer better throttle response. The Grand i10 petrol boasts of an ARAI mileage of 18.9 kmpl.

Ford EcoSport

Record: 30,000 bookings in a record 17 days

Launched: June 2013

Price range (diesel): Rs 750,527 - Rs 990,015

Price range (petrol): Rs 641,574 - Rs 936,448

The car combines best-in-class design, technology, quality and safety and aims at attracting new generation of customers. It does the job really well.

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Ford EcoSport

Ford's urban SUV is a well rounded package, although interior quality is just about average, the styling and driving dynamics are very good.

The EcoSport is offered with three engines (mileage figures in brackets are all ARAI certified).

The 1.5-litre petrol engine produces 112 PS of power and 140 Nm of torque, paired to a 5-speed manual gearbox (15.8 kmpl) and 6-speed PowerShift gearbox (15.6 kmpl).

The 1.5-litre diesel engine generates 91 PS of power and 200 Nm of torque, mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox (22.7 kmpl).

The 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine produces 125 PS of power and 170 Nm of torque, mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox (18.9 kmpl).

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Honda Amaze

Record: Over 22,000 bookings in less than three months

Launched: April 2013

Price range (diesel): Rs 645,900 - Rs 821,361

Price range (petrol): Rs 534,018 - Rs 803,649

Staying true to the pre-launch hype, Honda Amaze has lived up to expectations of the buyers. And it continue to sustain its edge to become one of the foremost ventures of Honda in the diesel category.

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Honda Amaze

Amaze is bestowed with class-leading space and comfort. Take any of its features and compare it to the peers; Honda Amaze stands high on each of them.

Despite the compact design, it offers best-in-class cabin space and has 400 litres of luggage carrying capacity.

Based on the Brio platform, it provides good ride and handling characteristics.

The diesel variant is powered by 1.5-litre 98.6bhp i-DTEC engine that gives 25.8 kmpl mileage. The petrol comes with a 1.2-litre 86.8bhp i-VTEC engine that gives 18 kmpl mileage.

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