The Hindustan Ambassador is a model of car manufactured by Hindustan Motors of India. It has been in production since 1957 and is based on the Morris Oxford model first made by the Morris Motor Company at Cowley, Oxford in the United Kingdom.
Despite its British origins, the Ambassador is considered the definitive Indian car. This car made by Hindustan Motors at its Uttarpara plant near Kolkata (Calcutta) was once considered India's national car as it was perceived to be best suited to the harsh Indian terrain. It used to be the preferred means of conveyance of India's political leadership before they moved onto SUVs and luxury cars.
An Ambassador used to be the Prime Minister's vehicle until 2002. The then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee exchanged it for a BMW limoThe New Ambassador Grand:
There are many who feel that the Ambassador is rather bland. To redress their feelings, Hindustan Motors (HM) has come out with what it calls an up-market supplement to the newly revised Ambassador. This version, called the 'Grand', is slotted between the existing 'Classic' and the soon-tobe-launched 'Avigo'. Most of the 'revisions' are cosmetic.
The bumpers have become fibrereinforced plastic (FRP) in order to give them a wraparound look, in departure from a 46-year-old Amby tradition. The lights below the bumper have been done away with and a wire mesh gives the impression of an air dam. There is a chrome strip inset into the bumper, running from end to end. The front grille has now been distinctly divided in two parts by a body-coloured strip, which segregates the upper and lower regions. The headlights now sport the clear look, gaining what people generally refer to as 'crystal lights', and yes - the windscreen washers actually work! The side indicator lamps, which are from the Zen/Esteem parts bin, are now housed in a plastic motif, more Thunderbird than classic Brit... Oh yes, there are new wheel covers too!
At the rear, the licence plate light unit has been enlarged to improve aesthetics. The tail-light cluster has also been slightly modified, in keeping with the clear lens effect but basically utilises the same setup of an indicator lamp above the reverse and the main tail-lamp. The fabulous boot space, however, stays and now it is a little more useful, thanks to a bit of tidying up. The jack stows away neatly in a corner and the jack handle can be attached to the rear bulkhead. There is also a big fold-away warning triangle that now comes as standard - to warn others that your Amby has broken down, though HM assures us that it will not be needed too often.
The interiors have been improved with seats that get more bolstering, but the quality of rubber beadings remains very tacky: they look like they are made out of putty clay. It's the same with the dashboard and the front centre console, which looks and feels crude. What is an extremely significant improvement, however, is that the handbrake has now been relocated between the front buckets, which makes it much more accessible. Smooth uphill starts will no longer be a matter of contorting your body like a gymnast! The other concession to modernity is a digital clock on the fascia, and the gearlever, which at last is placed properly.
Mechanically, both the Grand and Avigo are the same. The diesel version uses the 2.0-litre Isuzu diesel powerplant, which is now completely made in-house by HM, giving 51bhp with 1O.8kgm of torque, while the petrol uses the 1.8-litre powerplant with 74bhp and 13.3kgm of torque. The only change between the petrol and diesel models otherwise is that the petrol uses the Sanden SD507 compressor for air-conditioning, while the diesel uses the larger SD508 compressor. Air-conditioning is something that the Ambassador excels at and it can teach quite a few things in this department to many of the modern cars. The system, however, remains quite basic, with no provision for heating.
Driving the Amby throws up a mixed bag of feelings. While acceleration feels good initially, it soon tapers off, and then the vehicle starts feeling sluggish from 60kph onwards, possibly due to the tall gearing. The brakes are not very reassuring despite sporting front discs. The ride is, as always, pretty decent and rear seat comfort a clear selling point.
HM says that the Grand is targeted at corporates, government institutions and - to some extent - private buyers who love the intrinsic values of the Ambassador, but who want some improvements over the basic car. Priced around Rs 60,000 more than the base petrol and diesel models, it remains to be seen whether HM's enthusiasm is shared by 'Ambyphiles' across the country.