Ravishing Cars |

The price difference between the old school Pajero and the Montero is nearly double. Also, the difference between the fuel and maintenace costs of the two SUVs is a substantial Rs 2 lakh. Enough for an 800 or a trip to the Bahamas. The Pajero might be old hat now but it still manages to do a brilliant job as a true 4×4. And you also save around Rs 2 lakh in three years itself. Now take a look at the EMIs for three years while you will pay Rs 1,01,350 per month for the Montero, the EMI for the Pajero will be Rs 54,000 per month. That’s savings of Rs 5.68 lakh in the first year itself. And well over Rs 17 lakh in three years. Invest this substantial amount and you could end up with close to Rs 25 lakh after three years. That’s enough money to buy a small piece of land somewhere in India.

When Porsche topped this category last year with its 3.6 litre twin turbo, it was the first occasion when BMW did not take top honours in this category ever since these awards were conceived. However, the Bavarian manufacturer was quick to bounce back with a rather special motor that took the trophy back to its spiritual home of Munich. The S65 4.0 litre V8 which powers the E90 M3 replaces the 3.2 litre straight six designed for the E46 M3 is a masterpiece and a huge leap forward in all aspects when compared to its predecessor. On first glance it may appear that it is a version of the award winning V10 on the M5 with two cylinders knocked off which isn’t quite so simple. Double VANOS continuously variable intake and exhaust cam adjustment has been carried over, although the need for high pressure oil arrangement has been omitted due to lower torque stresses. The single chain drive on the V10 has been upgraded to a double chain affair connecting the crank and sprocket, which is connected to the cams via a stepper motor.

Both these cars come with the same engine, so it’s no surprise that there’s very little in terms of savings on the running and maintenance costs. While the savings might not look sizeable on paper, lets take a look at the monthly instalment you’d be paying. You’d end up paying around Rs 15,202 for the Indigo for a three year loan, while the EMI for the CS DiCOR amounts to around Rs 12,702. That alone is a saving of Rs 90,000 over a period of three years. Add other running costs and this amount becomes Rs 97,000, which when invested and returning around 13-14 percent gives you an additional amount of Rs 50,000. This means a total of around Rs 1,40,000 in three years. Enough money to buy that LCD TV you have been eyeing for some time now.