| Essentially a rebadged Siena, the Petra is an immense value-for-money version. Powered by the familiar 100 bhp 1600cc petrol engine, the Petra comes with power steering, power windows, airconditioner/heater, central locking and new upholstery as standard. |
| All this under the Rs 5,00,000 mark. The Petra is priced at Rs 4,75,000 ex-showroom Delhi and Rs 4,77,000 ex-showroom Mumbai. |
| Wait, there's more. A new Siena is already on sale in Brazil and other Latin American markets. It borrows the new Palio's front-end treatment comprising those teardrop headlamps, a revised grille and airdam. The new Siena also gets new door handles and a fresh taillamp treatment. |
| The changeover is carried inside as well, with a more contemporary look for the dash and steering. We expect Fiat India to bring in this version of the Siena, but it will be not called that. |
| Maybe the Petra moniker will be stuck on this version as well, and it will come with the 1900cc diesel engine that's found inside the Palio 1.9D. |
| Make it quick, Fiat. |
| Desert duel |
| The Maruti Suzuki Rally Desert Storm 2004, which culminated on the 25th of last month, was witness to some really hard-core high-speed action. |
| Run in temperatures of up to 48-degrees celsius and featuring competitive stages on sandy and rocky terrain, this year's Desert Storm was run in two categories "� PRO (for professional rallyists) and NAV (for amateurs). |
| Participants were flagged off from New Delhi and they passed through the states of Haryana and Rajasthan, covering more than 1,000 km to complete the Rally. Of the 35 cars (26 in the PRO and 9 in the NAV categories) that started, 15 failed to finish "� testimony to the fact this is an extremely tough event. |
| Sunny Sidhu and Kamal Sidhu took overall honours in the PRO class, while our motoring journo friends Yogendra Pratap and Sirish Chandran of Overdrive magazine won the NAV event, while Shapur Kotwal and Rishad Saam Mehta of Autocar magazine came third in this category. |
| Congratulations, folks! |
Top Section
Explore Business Standard