Maruti Suzuki unveils all-New S-Cross

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The country’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki on Thursday unveiled the new version of its S-Cross model.

The new model will replace the S-Cross launched in August 2015 as the first premium offering from the company’s retail channel NEXA. The car will be available across the country in the next couple of days.

“When we say it’s an ‘all-new’ S-Cross, we really mean it... looks, technology, everything is new… Along with our suppliers, we have invested over ₹100 crore towards development of the new S-Cross,” Maruti Suzuki senior executive director, marketing and sales, R.S. Kalsi said.

Mr. Kalsi added that the company has sold 53,000 units of the previous S-Cross in 2 years in India. Besides, Maruti Suzuki has exported 4,600 units of the model.

The new S-Cross comes with a 1.3 litre diesel engine (DDiS 200) with Smart Hybrid technology. This is the third model in the company’s portfolio with this technology, after Ciaz and Ertiga. There will be no petrol engine variant of the new S-Cross

“Right now, in this segment, 80% vehicles sold are diesel vehicles because it gives good torque. We also have Vitarra Brezza which is only diesel and it is very popular,” Mr Kalsi said.

With the Smart Hybrid the company claims to have brought down emissions in the car to as low as 105.5 gm/km, compared to around 111 gm/km in previous S-Cross. The new car comes with features such as idle-stop-start, torque assist, brake energy regeneration system.

Talking about Nexa, Mr. Kalsi said, “Nexa is the brightest star in Maruti’s transformation. If Nexa was a company, it would be the third largest automaker in the country.”

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iPhone 8 Plus Review!!!

Wireless charging

The big advantage of the iPhone 8 Plus having a glass back is that it can be charged wirelessly.

Unfortunately, Apple doesn't supply a wireless charging pad in the box, so if you want to take advantage of this feature, you'll have to buy one separately.

Apple is currently working on its own wireless charging accessory called AirPower, which will be capable of charging up to three devices simultaneously, and is expected to launch in 2018.

Until then it recommends buying a third-party charging pad such as the Belkin Boost Up Wireless Charging Pad or the Mophie Wireless Charging Base.

While there's something satisfying about being able to lay your iPhone on top of a charging pad rather than fiddling around with wires, I'm not convinced it saves all that much time.

Charging the iPhone 8 Plus wirelessly also takes a lot longer than plugging it in - although Apple is planning to release an iOS update in the coming months that will reduce this time significantly.

But as more shops and cafes start offering wireless charging facilities - in the same way they offer WiFi today - this is likely to become a much more useful feature.

Design

With the iPhone 8 Plus, Apple has moved away from the brushed aluminium design that has proved so popular over the last five years and returned to its roots, with a new all-glass enclosure.

This isn't the first time Apple has used glass in its i Phones - the iPhone 4 and 4s had glass front and back panels - but these phones were plagued by durability issues, with many customers claiming their phones cracked too easily when dropped .

Time will tell whether it's as durable as Apple claims, but there's no doubt that it looks and feels great, with the subtly curved edges of the glass blending seamlessly into the aluminium band around the edge.

The iPhone 8 Plus comes in three colours - space grey, silver, and "gold". The new gold shade has a slightly pink tinge - sitting somewhere between the old gold and rose gold colour options, although it looks a lot paler through the glass.

India vs Australia: Men in Blue Look to Continue Dominance at Indore

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Virat Kohli’s Indian cricket team will be aiming to seal a series win against an Australian side still struggling to counter the spin and their formidable record in Indore will boost their chances immensely.

New Delhi: The Indian cricket team are on the verge of equalling their previous record in the third match of the five-match series against Australia at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on Saturday.

A win for Virat Kohli's troops in this clash will be their ninth successive victory in the 50-over format of the game, which will be their joint longest winning streak in ODIs. The last time India won 9 straight ODIs in a row was under the leadership of MS Dhoni — from Nov 2008 to February 2009.


Currently, team India find themselves on an 8-match win-streak — a feat that they have accomplished on four separate occasions previously (1985: Inclusive of the victory in the Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket ; 2003: Encapsulating their run to the final of the 2003 Cricket World Cup ; 2006: Inclusive of a 4-match win streak over Pakistan, alongside victories over England ; 2013: Inclusive of a series victories over Zimbabwe (5-match).

Also, an added incentive for the hosts is that they are on a 3-match win-streak against Australia, their joint-longest against this team. They won their last match of the 2016 bilateral 5-match ODI series at Sydney in addition to the two matches that they won in this series.

India have managed three back-to-back victories on the trot against Australia (1994/95: In the Austral-Asia Cup, Singer World Series & New Zealand Centenary Tournament ; 1996 & 1998: Titan Cup and two matches of the Pepsi Triangular Series in Sharjah ; 2016 & 2017 : One in Australia and two in India). Thus, if they win, it will be India’s longest win-streak against Australia.

Part records suggest that India will be confident of clinching a win in Indore as the hosts have never lost an ODI playing at this venue (Played: 4, Won: 4). While as for the visitors, they will be playing their first match at this venue and are unfamiliar with the conditions.