This mag was first published in 1993. There weren’t many auto mags at that time. Now you do get many like bs motoring, autocar, overdrive. But I do feel that all these are rather expensive. They are in the range of 50-60 rupees. Auto India is one of the only magazines of its kind. At just 25 rupees, you get all the latest info about cars and bikes. I love cars, and so I have written a review on the magazine that provides my monthly dose of it.
The mag provides up to date info about cars and bikes. You get many reviews about automobiles which haven’t even been launched in the market. The reviews are comprehensive and informative. But there aren’t enough exclusive reviews about the cars that are coming up, like on audi, porsche, beamer, etc. But there is sufficient coverage of cars to come. Mostly, if auto india is not able to get a full road test, then they get a good ’driving impression’ article which is the first impression on that car. Even though it is called auto india, there are some reviews on foreign cars and bikes also.
There are good photos, but some appear very blurred and dingy. They should not print such photos. In the photography area, other mags are ahead. I think auto india can improve in this. There are some very interesting segments like tech talk, which provides info about latest technologies on board. Recently they have started providing info on the rally championship. There is good coverage of formula one also.
This mag costs just 25 rupees and so you just get 100 pages or so. Other mags give more than 200 pages. But it is quality pages that matter, not quantity. In other mags, there are so many of those annoying ads in other mags, but in auto india there are just a handful or two of them. In other mags, there are almost 50 pages full of ads. So for its cost, it provides good value for money.
They could give a poster with every issue. That would be very nice. Also, the issues are very irregular. It comes for two months, then a break. Then again for a few months and a break. I don’t know the cause behind this, I hope auto india will improve. In mags like overdrive and autocar, they give a surprise now and then, by giving 500 page issue, some booklet or a cd. All these are extras I agree, but even if they increase the price to 30 rupees and give all this, I wouldn’t mind.
Auto india is a reliable auto magazine. It is not very expensive like others, and still has good content. If you want a low cost auto mag, then auto india is the best. But there are other mags which are better. If you don’t mind paying 60 bucks for every issue, then you can buy those.
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