NHC ZX GXi - 1000 Km report plus bit more - read on! - Team-BHP

kurmist · 31st August 2006, 16:34

Decision Making Process
Since it was to be a company car, within a pre-determined budget, the choices were:

Honda City ZX Gxi
Chevy Optra (base model)
Ford Fiesta 1.6 Zxi / Sxi
Chevy Aveo 1.6
Maruti Baleno (dark horse, based on reviews on TBHP

My decision parameters

Looks
Interior space and comfort
Features
Power (not much driving in city. Occasional highway driving
FE (again not critical considering my driving mileage

Well, decided to take test drives of each of my shortlisted choices, and finally felt that the NHC was the best bet for me. Optra was eliminated b’cos it just didn’t feel right for me (heavy gearshift / poor FE / base model). Fiesta SXI was the leading contender till I thought of my past experiences with my Ikon and Ford dealers’ apathetic service levels plus overall cost of maintenance. Aveo 1.6 despite having approx. 100 bhp just didn’t feel as aggressive as the Fiesta. Baleno was a beautiful performer but didn’t feel like shortchanging my entitlement (wouldn’t be able to cash out the difference u see). Hence by a process of simple elimination, arrived at the NHC ZX GXI (entitlement unfortunately didn’t cover the Vtec else it would have been a no-brainer). Chose the new metallic red colour as I felt that the silver / gold were too common

Sales / Pre-delivery Process
Nothing much to say here…pretty smooth and hassle free with Ichibaan Honda. Got my car as promised with 47 km on odo. Dealer at Andheri (W) near Infinity Mall was very helpful and pro-active. No complaints at all about the attention paid to me or any other factors. To sum up….smooth and hassle free experience

The 1000 Km Mark - First Impressions
Feel that the car is wonderfully suited for city driving. One of the biggest advantages of this car is the ease of driving it. I have done one highway trip to Surat (~600 kms) and IMHO opinion the car did not feel underpowered at all. Could be because it was in the running in period hence wasn’t pushing it beyond 3000 rpm. Felt adequate for my style of driving.

Pros

Good interior space
decent features
Excellent FE (13.7 km/l currently) with ac on 100%
Beautiful gear shift and smooth PS….fatigue free driving
Comfy seats – front and back
Humungous boot – swallows a sh#%t load of luggage….and then some

Cons

Power…power…power. Feel that if I were to revert to my young and wild days of driving, then I would start cursing a bit
Ride feels a bit bumpy at slow speeds
Handling not as sharp as that of the Baleno / Fiesta
Some amount of body roll

All in all I am pretty satisfied with my decision, as the lack of power is never felt in my short commute from home to office (7 kms over some lunar landscape).

After having satisfied the sane "corporate" side of my personality, in order to satisfy the "hooligan" side, am now considering the following 2 options, with an overall budget of 5 lacs

Buy a second-hand Palio Gtx / OHC 1.5 and add on free-flows / K&Ns etc
Buy a SBK and go wild. Used to own some pretty fast machinery in my hey-days (Yam RD 350 YPVS, FZR 400, etc)

I know that my 3 yr old son would be thrilled with option 2, but not so sure about the wife. Hope this was an interesting read and will update accordingly once the hooligan in me has been satisfied.

BTW any other "hooligan" ideas will be entertained wholeheartedly

Rtech · 31st August 2006, 16:40

Very nice, brief review. We need more of these here for different cars.

Quote:

Buy a SBK and go wild. Used to own some pretty fast machinery in my hey-days (Yam RD 350 YPVS, FZR 400, etc)

YES! This is exactly the advice I've been giving a certain member here for a long time.

kurmist · 31st August 2006, 17:05

Hey RT...the heart tells me that it should be a bike....nothing compares to the adrenaline rush of a power machine like a good 600 cc buuut i also have to take my wife & kiddo into consideration. On the few occasions that we would head out of town, i guess a car would be more practical.

Having said that....the debate continues!!!

I think the bike will win out in the end....just got to get the wife on one of these machines once....am certain that she will be a convert....hehehe

suman · 31st August 2006, 17:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by kurmist

Sales / Pre-delivery Process
Got my car as promised with 47 km on odo.

Slightly OT but, speaking about kms on the odo......I was APPALLED last Sunday when this guy brought an Endeavour for a TD...its a BRAND new vehicle, I get in and the speedo is not working! Asked him why and he sheepishly said that all the other vehicles had gone for a road show so he'd just got this one after disconnecting the odo. Can you imagine...this one would also probably be shown to the prospective owner as having only 23 km on the odo. I'm not suggesting of course that your Honda dealer did it but just sharing an experience

kurmist · 31st August 2006, 17:12

You're absolutely right Suman, but in that situation, there's nothing you can do about it. As long as the pre-delivery inspection and road test (thanks TBHP) are ok...go ahead. What you don't know does not harm you. Anyways, I have no complaints with the car and I do know that this particular showroom of Ichibaan has dedicated test drive vehicles (ZX and Vtec) as the few times that I did go to the showroom, these were the only vehicles customers were being taken out in.

31st August 2006, 16:34	#1 (permalink)
kurmist BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 77	NHC ZX GXi - 1000 Km report plus bit more - read on! Decision Making Process Since it was to be a company car, within a pre-determined budget, the choices were: Honda City ZX Gxi Chevy Optra (base model) Ford Fiesta 1.6 Zxi / Sxi Chevy Aveo 1.6 Maruti Baleno (dark horse, based on reviews on TBHP My decision parameters Looks Interior space and comfort Features Power (not much driving in city. Occasional highway driving FE (again not critical considering my driving mileage Well, decided to take test drives of each of my shortlisted choices, and finally felt that the NHC was the best bet for me. Optra was eliminated b’cos it just didn’t feel right for me (heavy gearshift / poor FE / base model). Fiesta SXI was the leading contender till I thought of my past experiences with my Ikon and Ford dealers’ apathetic service levels plus overall cost of maintenance. Aveo 1.6 despite having approx. 100 bhp just didn’t feel as aggressive as the Fiesta. Baleno was a beautiful performer but didn’t feel like shortchanging my entitlement (wouldn’t be able to cash out the difference u see). Hence by a process of simple elimination, arrived at the NHC ZX GXI (entitlement unfortunately didn’t cover the Vtec else it would have been a no-brainer). Chose the new metallic red colour as I felt that the silver / gold were too common Sales / Pre-delivery Process Nothing much to say here…pretty smooth and hassle free with Ichibaan Honda. Got my car as promised with 47 km on odo. Dealer at Andheri (W) near Infinity Mall was very helpful and pro-active. No complaints at all about the attention paid to me or any other factors. To sum up….smooth and hassle free experience The 1000 Km Mark - First Impressions Feel that the car is wonderfully suited for city driving. One of the biggest advantages of this car is the ease of driving it. I have done one highway trip to Surat (~600 kms) and IMHO opinion the car did not feel underpowered at all. Could be because it was in the running in period hence wasn’t pushing it beyond 3000 rpm. Felt adequate for my style of driving. Pros Good interior space decent features Excellent FE (13.7 km/l currently) with ac on 100% Beautiful gear shift and smooth PS….fatigue free driving Comfy seats – front and back Humungous boot – swallows a sh#%t load of luggage….and then some Cons Power…power…power. Feel that if I were to revert to my young and wild days of driving, then I would start cursing a bit Ride feels a bit bumpy at slow speeds Handling not as sharp as that of the Baleno / Fiesta Some amount of body roll All in all I am pretty satisfied with my decision, as the lack of power is never felt in my short commute from home to office (7 kms over some lunar landscape). After having satisfied the sane "corporate" side of my personality, in order to satisfy the "hooligan" side, am now considering the following 2 options, with an overall budget of 5 lacs Buy a second-hand Palio Gtx / OHC 1.5 and add on free-flows / K&Ns etc Buy a SBK and go wild. Used to own some pretty fast machinery in my hey-days (Yam RD 350 YPVS, FZR 400, etc) I know that my 3 yr old son would be thrilled with option 2, but not so sure about the wife. Hope this was an interesting read and will update accordingly once the hooligan in me has been satisfied. BTW any other "hooligan" ideas will be entertained wholeheartedly

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31st August 2006, 17:05	#3 (permalink)
kurmist BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 77	Hey RT...the heart tells me that it should be a bike....nothing compares to the adrenaline rush of a power machine like a good 600 cc buuut i also have to take my wife & kiddo into consideration. On the few occasions that we would head out of town, i guess a car would be more practical. Having said that....the debate continues!!! I think the bike will win out in the end....just got to get the wife on one of these machines once....am certain that she will be a convert....hehehe

31st August 2006, 17:12	#5 (permalink)
kurmist BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 77	You're absolutely right Suman, but in that situation, there's nothing you can do about it. As long as the pre-delivery inspection and road test (thanks TBHP) are ok...go ahead. What you don't know does not harm you. Anyways, I have no complaints with the car and I do know that this particular showroom of Ichibaan has dedicated test drive vehicles (ZX and Vtec) as the few times that I did go to the showroom, these were the only vehicles customers were being taken out in.