[suren181]

March 24th 2008: Get a call from my brother stating that it's high time I thought about changing the car that I use as a daily drive.

The reason was more inclined towards availing depreciation. First thing that crossed my mind was what would happen to my dear old Santro which has been so loyal to me for the past 6 years?

Well I sort of solved that puzzle and moved on into selecting a car. The 3 cars that crept into my mind were as follows (by order of preference) The Chevy Magnum, The Hyundai Verna and The Cedia Sports.

The Chevy Magnum: Yes that was my first preference but my head ruled over my heart for 120 bhp was overruled by resale value. Something in the back of my mind told me that I might not get a good price if I get to sell it after a few years and somehow was wary of this.

The Cedia Sports: Liked the factor of driveability and my elder son has always been a fan of Mitsubishi. Sad they made the wrong liaison (IMHO this) and wasn't too happy with it.

The Hyundai Verna: Now this is a manufacturer I have had an overall pleasant experience with for many years and have found their service immaculate, spares inexpensive and this in turn has always meant that the resale values was not killing the seller.

March 25th 2008: Decide on the Verna CRDi SX ABS and call a friend at Kun Hyundai and ask him about the availability of the Passion Red in the selected model he says its not in stock and whether I had an alternative choice. I remain steadfast on my color choice and am told that he would get back to me on this.

March 26th 2008: I get a call from Kun stating that the color choice I have made has been booked for and would arrive in a day or two. I give them a cheque for Rs. 3,00,000/- and they are to process the loan for the rest.

March 28th 2008: At around 10:30 am I get a call from a lady stating that my ordered car has arrived and I could take delivery at 4:30 pm. I drive my Santro back home at 5:00 pm. The kids (my 2 sons) are at home. They have no inkling about the car.

A kind neighbour offers to drive me to the dealership in his Verna. His was the only other Verna I had driven earlier. It's (my neighbours Verna) done 45k kms in 18 months. No problems faced till date. Just routine service and yes the mandatory change of tyres.

At the dealership I find the Verna all prepped for the Delivery. At around 6.30pm I drive out of the showroom and am faced with dense traffic, but driving it was a breeze. Drive home and surprise my family and thank goodness none were shocked with my choice.

The family take to it like fish do to the water. They are very much at home with the car and do like it a lot.

Attached below are a few pics of the car, had it shod with 15" Plati alloys and Michelin MXV8 205/55/R15 tyres. Hope you guys like it. It is a bit radical in design but I wanted something different (unique is difficult and much more expensive)

My first impressions about the car:

The Cons:

Have to date done about a 1000kms on it and have found that, as mentioned earlier in another review, the idling speed is pretty high than desired. Will get this corrected at the first service.

There is a noticeable drag to the left, again as mentioned by another Verna user on this forum. Have to get it corrected at the first service.

Gear shifts at lower RPMs definitely tacky, hope a longer running in will help in this area.

Lower end torque: Usage of fourth gear is very limited in the city and overdrive am sure could be reached only on the highways, where it's meant to be. This comes out of a comparo with my Santro.

The Pros:

Turning radius. This is one factor that always bring a smile to my face when I do those 'U' turns. Really short turning radius for a medium sized car.

Great Pickup: I really am liking the surge at higher rpms.

Good suspension / ride quality: Well this is compared to a Santro i.e. Highways haven't been done for am waiting for my registration to be done. Will report on Highway handling characteristics later.
However I have to mention that I am used to driving on highways on an OMNI and a SANTRO an am sure if I could handle those this medium sized Sedan would be a breeze.

Very low NVH: The diesel engine does have a clatter on starting. By the time you move the car it is really silent inside especially if you have your windows rolled up. It's hard to tell it's an oil burner.

Spacious boot: Haven't had the opportunity yet to pack it up but am sure it can take loads of stuff.

Height adjustable seat: a boon for short drivers like me.

Climate control: It's summer here at Hyderabad and it's an upgrade am really enjoying thoroughly.

Braking: Haven't had the need to really check it's capability yet (crossing fingers that I don't have to in the future too) but after driving in the Verna, The Santro's braking seems scary.

There are many more of the features but that would have to wait till I do some serious kilometers in my Red Hot Chili Pepper.