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The Honda WRV is here to WOW; at least that is what Honda adamantly claims. They even have a poem on their website that describes how they are prepared to “WOW the world”. However, it is a tall order since it is enter­ing the crosshatch segment where the likes of the Hyundai i20 Active, Toyota Etios Cross, and Volkswagen Cross Polo have already tried their hand at “Wowing”. Much like its rivals, the WRV is a hatchback that gets a crash course in masculinity and bodybuilding. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that the platform that the WRV shares is the same as the popular Jazz hatchback and City sedan. Also, the WRV is the first sub 4-meter offering from Honda and this means that it falls under the excise duty benefit bracket. This in turn implies that Honda will enter a segment where the pri­mary objective is competitive pricing. Not exactly Honda’s strong suit. But this does make the prospect of exploring the WRV more exciting.

Exterior

Taking the middle road, the Honda WRV doesn’t resort to extremes in terms of its design. It has a clean design with a few stylistic elements thrown into the mix. Honda gives the WRV the generic urban SUV treatment by equipping it with elements like the roof rails, faux skid plates and black plas­tic cladding along the bumpers, sides and wheel arches.

There is more effort and style in the design compared to the Jazz, especially in the front and rear. This goes a long way in their effort to pluck it away from the MPV-ish territory and plants it somewhere in the SUV design periphery. The ground clearance of 188mm is decent for the segment, but not the best. Overall, it is a vehicle that is pleasing to look at.

Interior

The all black interior theme and design of the dashboard comes from the Jazz and there is very little to com­plain. This is made even better by the amount of glass area in the cabin, including a sunroof, which allows plenty of light and brightens the black interiors.

The large touchscreen info­tainment unit is easy to use and angled slightly towards the driver for easier visibility and access. It doubles as a dis­play for the reverse parking which helps make up for the absence of parking sensors and a small rear window. Keyless entry is only available in diesel variant, not in the petrol that we were driving.

Legroom is more than enough for the driver and pas­sengers, but seating three large people in the rear can be a bit of a tight fit. Headroom won’t be a problem for anyone under 6 feet. The seats are extremely comfortable and will provide plenty of support even for long trips. If you do decide to go on long trips, the boot space is plenty for your family’s weekend luggage.

Performance

For the 1.2-liter petrol vari­ant we were driving, the per­formance isn’t something you’d write home about. Fully packed, with pretty heavy peo­ple on board, the 89bhp and 110nm of torque struggled to make a strong impression. We had to really work the 4 cylin­der i-VTEC engine to get the WRV moving. You’ll be con­stantly shifting gears to com­mute in the city.

Thankfully, the gearshifts are smooth and the clutch is light. Although not very powerful, the WRV is a very comfort­able car to drive. The suspen­sion does a good job of soak­ing up road undulations and the brakes (discs in the front, drums in the rear) do a decent job of bringing the car to a stop.

The verdict

Overall, the WRV is a pretty good crosshatch. Honda has put in more effort than most of its rivals in terms of exterior design. It is also a very pleas­ant experience when you’re inside the cabin, complete with a sunroof and a decked out infotainment system. How­ever, with the 1.2L petrol vari­ant, you’re always left want­ing more from the WRV. For a vehicle that really finds a sweet spot in terms of aesthetics, it’s a shame they didn’t go for the 1.5L i-VTEC from the City.

That said, they have to contend with rivals in terms of price. And at Rs 46,00,000 it hasn’t really done a great job on that front. The saving grace is that it does have a premium feel in terms of the amenities included and the appearance. The Honda WRV deserves a small, halfhearted wow for the effort.

We have seen considerable advancement in laptops in the past few years, from those with powerful desktop-grade graphics to the super-thin and portable ones. But among all high-per­forming, expensive computers out there, there are also those that give you the performance you need at a price that doesn’t burn a hole in your wallet. Here are some of the best bang-for-buck laptops that you should consider.

Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air

Price

Rs 84,999 (12.5 inch) Rs 117,999 (13.3 inch)

The Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air comes at a defining moment for the Chinese company. With Xiaomi trying to make a name for itself outside of the smart­phone market, it has started manufacturing all kinds of tech products like rice cookers and air purifiers, to mention a few. As a result, the company has also started building laptops and with the Mi Notebook Air, it has managed to get quite a few things right.

At first glance, the laptop looks exactly like a MacBook Air, just without the shiny Apple logo, or even a Mi logo. The laptop is beautifully clean and minimalist and it doesn’t hurt that it copies Apple’s brilliant hardware design language. But as much as it’s a great-looking device, it’s also got the power to back up its performance.

The laptop comes equipped with Intel Sixth Gen­eration i5 processor clocked at 2.5 GHz. Paired with plentiful 8GB of RAM and a dedicated GeForce MX 150, the device is fast and can even hold its own in many modern games. With its small size and power­ful internals, the Mi Notebook Air is a great choice for anyone looking for a good laptop at this price point.

Dell Inspiron 15 7559

Price

Rs 82,000

Usually, Dell’s Inspiron series is considered low­er-end, business centric laptop. With the Inspiron 15 7559 however, Dell has upped the line to cater to gamers on a budget. The laptop offers stellar gaming performance for a reasonable price, nor does it look as obnoxious as many other gaming laptops. Gam­ing accents have been dumbed down for a sleeker, no-frills design that only has a red accented Dell logo on the top. Overall, the laptop looks like a device that you could easily take into a meeting or a classroom without feeling like a kid brining his toy over for show-and-tell, while hiding some real gaming perfor­mance underneath.

The laptop come with an Intel Sixth Generation i5 processor clocked at a fast 3.2 GHz. It is equipped with 8 GB of RAM and a GeForce 960M 4GB dedicated graphics card. While the 960M can’t hold a candle up to more recent Pascal-based graphics cards, it is capable enough of running complex triple A titles without a hitch. While the laptop has many niggles like an average display panel and sound quality, the computer is the perfect choice for patrons who want to game on a budget while keeping it relevant for more professional settings.

When it comes to popu­larity, compact SUVs are today what the sedans and SUVs were a decade ago. It is by far the most popu­lar segment, and manufactur­ers have taken notice. The new Nexon is Tata’s torchbearer for the division. And as the late comer, it has a big mountain to climb. The competition is tough, but so is the Tata Nexon.

Exterior

The Nexon shares the same platform as the Zest and the Bolt, but it is not a crossover version of the hatchbacks. It has the compact SUV stance and the tell-tale elements of the urban SUV such as roof rails and black plastic cladding.

Yet, it looks burlier than its competition. It has a wid­er stance, which helps with the persona, along with the wide tires, large wheels, and muscular bumpers. It refrains from conforming to the boxy SUV style, and adds a little pizzazz with the sloping roof line, flared heel arches and an overall muscular design. It also gets a well-designed headlight cluster with LED daytime run­ning lights (DRLs) and halogen low-beam projectors. But there are some design elements that will polarize views, especially the rear and side profile.

Interior

Tata have hit the nail on the head with the interiors. Right from the touchscreen infotainment system sticking out from the dashboard to the circular dial next to the gear lever that allows you to choose drive modes, there are several aspects that give the Tata Nex­on a premium feel. However, ingress to the cabin can be dif­ficult because of the high floor and low roof. This is especially true for taller drivers as you have to climb in and crouch down at the same time.

Once inside, there is plenty of room for drivers and pas­sengers to stretch out. Because the seats are so comfortable, long drives will be a relaxing affair. In the back seat, squeez­ing more than two passengers will make for a tight fit. But there is enough boot space to accommodate the luggage for a short family vacation.

The steering wheel gets controls for audio and tele­phone, but we can’t help but complain about how small and thin the steering felt. A chunk­ier unit would have enhanced the driving experience. Adjust­ments on the steering column are only for height; telescopic adjustments would have been greatly appreciated.

Performance

Where the Tata Nexon excels is in terms of ride quality and suspension, which are the best in the segment. It dominates road undulations to provide a very relaxing and supple ride in our broken city roads. Owing to its generous ground clear­ance of 209mm, you won’t have to worry much when the roads start to get rough.

You get two engine options, 1.2L petrol and a 1.5L diesel. Both churn out a 110 BHPs but we were behind the wheels of the torquier diesel variant. There is significant turbo lag up until you hit 2,000 RPM, which means you will be really working the gears for in-city driving. You have to work the engine revs to get the best out of the Nexon. Once you get the hang of it, it is one of the most relaxing and comfortable driving machines in the com­pact SUV segment, especially if you stick to sports mode. You can use the eco mode and city modes on lazy Monday drives to the office.

The verdict

Squeezing into the sub-four meter segment (at 3,994m), the Nexon rubs shoulders with the Eco Sport and the Vitara Brez­za, both successful products. Tata has, therefore, stepped things up with the Nexon to stand out.

With their newer models (such as the Tigor, Zest, and Bolt) Tata has been successfully broken the ‘mundane’ percep­tion given by earlier models like the Indica. The Nexon takes it to the next level as one of Tata’s better offerings. Add to it their improving reputation in terms of safety and Tata moves up on everyone’s selection list.

Oppo F5

Price Rs. 30,990-33,990(32 GB variant)

 If you are on a budget, the Oppo F5 is a stellar choice. Oppo touts itself as the selfie experts and advertises and engineers its phones for the selfie-ob­sessed. But regardless of the impressive 20 MP selfie camera on the device, it comes equipped with some really good internals. It runs on a Mediatek Helio P23 processor which, paired with 4 or 6 GB of RAM, gives smooth performance and makes the phone fast.

Staying true to the growing trend of slim bezels, Oppo has managed to shave off the bezels around the F5 considerably. Although they are not as invisible as the bezels on iPhone X or Galaxy S8, they are still thin enough to comfortably house a 6-inch display within a frame that feels like it houses a much smaller display. It also runs at an 18:9 aspect ratio, making the screen taller compared to standard displays. It comes with a Full HD+ resolution of 2160 x 1080 to compensate for the height of the screen.

However, considering the price, the phone has its shortcomings. The plastic construction feels great to the touch but it may not be as durable as metal constructions. And while the phone feels smooth for everyday use, the P23 processor leaves much to be desired for gaming performance. At a compelling price point of 35, the F5 is a remarkable device for the money.

 Moto E4

Price Rs. 18,990-20,990

If even the Oppo F5 seems a bit steep on the price range, the low-end is bustling with life as well. The Moto E4 is a phone that comes cheap but preforms considerably well. It comes equipped with a Mediatek MT6737 processor and 2GB RAM. Moto E4 has a 720p 5-inch display that doesn’t look half bad.

While the screen does look pixelated up-close, the colors and the brightness of the display panel are pretty good. The phone also is consumer friend­ly, with all major consumer demands met, like a microSD slot and a removable battery. It also comes with a fingerprint sensor at the front.

There have been plenty of technological advance­ments in high-end smartphone design. Most of these trends seem to have trickled down to the low-end. From the outside, the E4 looks remarkably good. It’s got a nice 2.5D curved glass in front that blends almost seamlessly into the plastic body. While the curve helps the phone feel flush in your palm, the screen doesn’t curve and the phone also has some identifiable bezels.

Given all the powerful smartphones in the market today, it’s obvious that the E4 is no powerhouse of performance. How Motorola has managed to produce a phone at this price point without any glaring com­promises is something laudable.

(Figures mentioned are the average market prices)