November 2014 issue of OVERDRIVE out on stands now

We're all steeped in the festive cheer and so is this month's issue of OVERDRIVE – what with all the new launches slotted for the season. Ahead of the launch of the Tata Bolt, we got a taste of the new hatch from Tata and it definitely left us wanting for more. Flip to page 58 of our November 2014 issue to read more on that. And if you haven't yet made a decision on what ride to make yours this auspicious time of the year, we have some comprehensive comparisons in this instalment of OVERDRIVE – our hatchback comparison, for instance - three premium hatches battling it out, the Hyundai, the VW Polo and the Swift from Maruti. There's also Maruti, which we pitted against its current market contenders, the City and the Verna. And right after the Ciaz, Maruti's new star could well be the new Alto K10 with AMT – we took it out for a spin to find out (Page 64). We also tested the mettle of the. Turn to page 126 to see how the Tata Storme and the Nissan fare against the refreshed version of Mahindra's longstanding hot-seller.

Apart from the SUV facelift, Mahindra have also been keeping busy rolling out the Gusto, which proved to be quite a well rounded scooter in our road test (Page 140). We then take a close look at their deal with Peugeot Motorcycles, what it means for all the parties involved and if it could possibly result in a supercharged Gusto (Page 144). We got our regular dose of adrenaline with a quick ride of a tuned Karizma R, a drive in the new, improved BMW, the totally fun Audi petrol and the pint-sized Jeep Renegade. And it doesn't stop there – we tested the fast yet practical GLA 45 AMG and had some more fun driving the truly German VW Passat through some truly Italian roads.

The dawn of the festivities also spells out one more thing – that winter is coming. And we here in Mumbai couldn't wait long enough for it to arrive so we went to the winter ourselves. Yes, the Rise Above Ride with Mahindra Centuros did come through. We took on the colossal Himalayan mountains on wee 110cc motorcycles and came back unscathed (bikes too) but not without incident - Ladakh is a difficult muse this time of the year when miles of road disappear into ice. And boy, have we got chilling tales to tell – read all about this episode of Live Life in OVERDRIVE and more in our November 2014 issue, out on stands now.