You've probably heard that the Renault Scala is a rebadged Nissan Sunny. Yes, it is. The French carmaker hasn't had budget-busting development costs to roll out their fifth car in fifteen months as it's a Sunny in disguise. But hey, look again — although it looks familiar, Renault has thrown in some smart design cues to make it a unique product. Let's go into detail.

Design

Up front, the Renault Scala looks much better than the Sunny. The large hexagonal grille with chrome-plated bars and Fluence-inspired headlamps stay true to the 'lozenge' logo. The Sunny roots are more obvious in profile, however, the Scala gets trendy alloy wheels and chrome beading around the glasshouse. There's a decent amount of Renault-isation at the rear, too. The tail lights are of the same shape but have a different design. The white strips on the tail lights join a large chrome garnish across the boot lid. As we saw on the Duster, the name 'SCALA' is embossed on the chrome strip. Overall, Renault has done

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Of late, we have seen a sudden proliferation of 'segment-breakers' in the Utility Vehicle category. As car buyers have become more demanding and discerning about where they spend their money, the level of choice and abilities of vehicles have improved. Consequently, Maruti's LUV Ertiga and Renault's Compact SUV Duster are currently taking the market by storm. It's Nissan's turn now; they're all set to launch what the Japanese call the 'Urban Class Utility Vehicle'. Has Nissan got everything right with the Evalia to have a winner on their hands? Let's find out.

Design

On the face of it, the Nissan Evalia is a conventional people mover. Though upright and boxy in design, the Evalia has an exquisite and aerodynamic frontal design. The unique grille with chrome garnish flows seamlessly into the slimline wraparound headlights and the Evalia looks great in the front three quarter view. However, the side and rear profiles are van-like and less aesthetically pleasing. I don't want to ramble

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Earlier this year, we had tested Continental AG's Simplify Your Drive (SyD) technology and found it very intriguing. The company had then promised to come up with an Indianised version of Syd by mid this year. Staying true to their word, Continental has unveiled its concept SyD, customised specially for the Indian market.

Should you need a refresher on the Continental Simplify Your Drive technology, here's the link to our previous test drive report.

To my surprise, the same Volkswagen Passat has undergone a complete character change at Continental's Pune facility in couple of months. While the basics of SyD remain the same, the three drive profiles — Sport, Eco and Comfort — have been redesigned as Work Mode, Home Mode and Play Mode. Well, now let's find out what these three modes mean for Indian drivers.

Work Mode

Work Mode is designed with the business class in mind. The focal point is the rear of the car, assuming the car is chauffeur driven, with the owner seated in the back. On

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Monsoon in India is a symphony — trees blossom, birds in their breeding plumage sing mating songs, life-giving rain cascade down the mountains as streams and waterfalls, filling many rivers and lakes. As the monsoon season begins, Mahindra is in a mood to tame it. After many Mahindra Monsoon Challenge rallies across India, stage is set for the biggest Monsoon Challenge that starts from Bangalore and heads to the party capital Goa.

We embark on the three-day TSD rally; watch this space for all the action along 1000 kilometres spread across highways, B-roads, scenic country side and the magnificent Western Ghats.

Following is a quick breakdown of Time-Speed-Distance rallies from Bijoy Kumar, veteran automobile journalist and Chief of Adventure Initiatives, Mahindra.

Day 1, 19th July 2012 - Flag-off

The rally is officially flagged off in the evening in a gala event at Orion Mall, Bangalore. Not much action today, the flag-off is followed by the rules briefing and safety

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