In my 10 years of driving on 11 cars on 2 different continents, I've experienced total complete and utter peace only for a year, and only with one car.
Each one of us will describe peace differently. But my aim here is to get all your thoughts on the one car that you would turn to when you wanted to relax and feel at peace mentally. I'm asking for stories about the car which didn't make you groan when you had to sacrifice an afternoon nap to hit hard traffic on the busiest road in the city. The car which you took on long drives at night just to think about something significant that was happening in your life at that moment. The car which you miss everytime you deal with a niggle in your current ride, or get into an argument with your current A.S.S provider. The car which you talked to at length on lonely drives. The car which you wish you still had right now! The car you wanted to drive on every special day in your life.
To judge this, you could include any and all of the points mentioned below, and perhaps some which I don't know enough about to comment:
- The Car: filled with good memories, trouble-free, fast enough, driveable enough, comfortable for long and short drives, easy on the wallet at the gas station, smooth ingress and egress, quality accessories, puncture-free tires, rattle-free, great visibility while driving, great airconditioning, trustworthy brakes, easy to park and make u-turns easily, no (or minimum) niggles, good looking (very subjective; I refer to the feeling you get when you park her and walk away, only to steal glances back at her every few steps you take, admiring her beauty)
- The Service: the sales guy makes you feel like your business is wanted, the car is delivered on time with all accessories accounted for, the service intervals are reasonable, all questions answered fully and clearly, no 'fleece the customer' mentality, car serviced in one working day
The car which has given me the most peace? My Qualis - now running its 10th year with nearly 1.5 lakh kms on the clock. Reasons:
- Great visibility
- Unmatched turning radius
- Powerful AC, headlights
- Great NVH, with the cabin excellently soundproofed. It was my own little private room in the middle of maddening traffic
- Though big, its lines were very straight and parking or squeezing through traffic was child's play
- The stock bridgestones and next 3 sets of tyres were pretty much trouble-free
- NO electrical problems, niggles
- Adequate power to point and go in traffic, and could cruise at 110-120 quite easily on the highways
- Took a trainful of luggage. Everything except the kitchen sink fit in when the 2nd row of back seats were folded.
- High clearance meant no issues with speed breakers
- Tough suspension saw off bad roads with ease
- Great service from Lanson Toyota in Chennai, who still call us when the car is getting due for a scheduled service. Love those guys!
- And last but not lease - awesome, awesome memories
I miss my Qualis terribly - my younger brother drives her now. I don't hate my new ride - the Forza (my Palio MJD); its just that I loved the Qualis so much because of all that she offered selflessly, day after day.
So go on. Get misty eyed and pay a tribute to your nirvana ride on this thread.