BMW To Harley: Luxury Cars, Premium Bikes Costl..

BMW To Harley: Luxury Cars, Premium Bikes Costl..

The move will primarily impact luxury car companies like Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi and Volvo and bike brands like Triumph and Harley Davidson. Imported luxury cars and top-end bikes and those locally assembled with imported components will turn expensive after the Budget 2018 hiked customs duty on completely built units (CBUs) and completely knocked down (CKD) units of automobiles. In a push for locally manufactured auto components and tyres, customs duty on these was also hiked. The customs duty on CBU automobiles has been raised to 25 per cent from 20 per cent earlier, a move that will make these imported vehicles expensive by five per cent. The duty on CKD products have been increased from 10 to 15 per cent. The move will primarily impact luxury car companies like Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi and Volvo and bike brands like Triumph and Harley Davidson. Roland Folger, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India said the increase in the basic customs duty of auto parts, accessories and CKD components at a time when the auto industry is reviving, is unfortunate and comes as a surprise.

鈥淲e believe it is going to impact the auto industry, the consumers and is also against the spirit of 鈥楳ake in India鈥? The auto industry ended 2017 on a positive note, where it grew despite multiple policy disruptions in the previous year; but the customs duty hike is likely to reverse the growth trend. The automobile industry is already subjected to one of the highest rate of taxes under the GST regime,鈥?said Folger. Prices of Mercedes CLA cars could go up to Rs 3.63 million from the current Rs 3.5 million. Price of the S-Class could move up to Rs 12.5 million from current Rs 12 million. Audi said prices of most cars will move up in a range of 3.5 to 5 per cent. The domestic component industry has, however, welcomed the increase in customs duty. Rating agency ICRA said the hike in customs duty on select auto components is a strong positive for domestic auto component manufacturers and will promote Make in India. 鈥淭he proposed hike in customs duty on imported truck and bus radial tyres, coupled with the recently announced anti-dumping duty, will improve the competitiveness of Indian tyre manufacturers, against Chinese imports,鈥?it said.

The Range Rover offers a wider array of engines than the G-Class, with V6, V8, diesel, and plug-in-hybrid powertrains. It also gets better gas mileage and handles well on the road. Both SUVs are upscale inside, though the Mercedes is more stylish, and both have ample room for passengers in both rows. However, the Mercedes comes with far more tech features. These are both good SUVs, but the Mercedes is a slightly better SUV overall. Still, you may decide that the Range Rover's lower price makes it a better value. Which Is Better: Mercedes-Benz G-Class or Lincoln Navigator? The Lincoln Navigator features arguably the nicest interior in the class, which is saying something. It comfortably seats up to eight people, whereas the G-Class only seats five. The Navigator also has more cargo space, and while the G-Class comes with more features, almost everything you can get in the Mercedes is available in the Lincoln. The G-Class is unquestionably the better off-roader, and the Navigator doesn't have anything to match the Benz's AMG model.

But the Navigator is a comfortable cruiser with a stronger, more fuel-efficient twin-turbo V6. 50,000 less than the Mercedes', and the Navigator is the easy choice here. How Many People Does the G-Class Seat? The G-Class seats five people in sublime comfort. The front and rear seats have enough head- and legroom for adult passengers to fit easily. These seats also remain supportive on long drives. There are two full sets of LATCH connectors for installing car seats. The Mercedes G-Class looks and feels the way a luxury SUV should inside. It uses high-end materials across every surface, and it looks stylish to boot. This is one of the best interiors in the class. Mercedes has not yet released cargo dimensions for the 2019 G-Class. The outgoing model provided about 38 cubic feet of space behind the rear seats and roughly 79 cubes with the rear seats folded down. Standard features in the G-Class include a sunroof and the COMAND infotainment system with a 12.3-inch display screen, a touchpad controller, navigation, Bluetooth, two USB ports, a 15-speaker Burmester audio system, satellite radio, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto. A Wi-Fi hot spot and a rear-seat entertainment system are available.

The G-Class doesn't feature a touch screen, and you may need some practice to master the COMAND system's touchpad controller. Once you get the hang of it, however, the system is intuitive and user-friendly. You have two V8 engine choices in the G-Class, and both move this big SUV with aplomb. The base engine puts out 416 horsepower, and the high-performance Mercedes-AMG model features a 577-horsepower setup. In addition to making the G-Class feel strong and fast, both V8s also have excellent engine notes. The G-Class is one of the least fuel-efficient vehicles on the road. It earns just 13 mpg in the city and 17 mpg on the highway. The Lincoln Navigator, which features a twin-turbo V6 engine, gets 16/23 mpg city/highway. Even other V8-powered SUVs tend to get better mileage. A good example is the Land Rover Range Rover, which returns 16/21 mpg with a V8 engine. The redesigned G-Class has better on-road handling than the outgoing model.