[Mi10]

Originally Posted by TaureanBull

I was talking about this INITIAL impression ranking. If you rank cars on initial impression before TD its going to affect your selection procedure. Just personal thoughts. I am sure you have done your homework.

Oh, Apologies, what i had intend to say was i am impressed by the Looks in that order, i think the word 'Rank' probably conveyed a different meaning.

Originally Posted by Gilead

Mi10, don't get fooled by the SX4's initial acceleration from 1st gear. It has very poor in-gear acceleration which is the most important thing in city driving. The Fiesta, ANHC and Cedia will do 20-80 in 3rd gear in 11 odd seconds. The SX4 will take close to 20 seconds. Check this out when you are TD-ing the MT.



But as a family car, it's a better package than the Fiesta. It should be #1 on your list if your parents will be using the car a lot. I didn't consider it because I could not digest its looks.

ya, i think i can check this when i TD the MT version. Both the Cedia and 1.6S had good pull in the third gear.

The Family car part is what is now creating all troubles.
In my family, everyone accept my decision without a fuss, but when something does wrong, i ll get bombarded from all corners!!

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Man, looks like you are going to be in serious decision-making dilemna.
And this with the SX4-MT and ANHC still pending TD.

Frankly, I was not expecting this much of a confusion. Given your performance requirement, I was expecting you to go for a Fiesta which IMO is more of an allround performer than the SX4 and ANHC. The only con I see is the bland looks (nothing bad, but nothing great either).
Not that the ANHC and SX4 are great lookers. But they atleast stand out due to the design.

Anyway, the story gets exciting now. Will stay glued to the thread to see what your final decision is going to be. I briefly toyed with the idea of picking up an ANHC-AT - yeah inspite of them being over-priced and all. I think you should TD both AT and MT versions of City, since you did the SX4-AT. At a later point, would be useful for people who are looking between the 2 ATs.

This was something I was intending to ask Mi10, but Gilead beat me to it. Since most of the time the car will be running in city B2B or traffic-heavy scenarios, please check out how the 3 cars perform in traffic, apart from your performance runs on the IT-highway. BTW, doesn't the ANHC (like other Hondas - OHC, Civic etc) fare badly in low speed city driving, requiring frequent gear-changes ?

I have never driven a City, but that is what I have read in reviews here. Plus few weeks ago, I was a passenger in my colleagues OHC-1.5 and to me, it looked like he was changing gears every other minute on a route on which my Baleno would chug along comfortably in 3rd gear.

EDIT : I re-read your requirements again and see that this car is intended for the highways. So not sure if the city-driving part applies. I guess comfort, space etc would be key here.

Call me old or stupid, somehow i am not in favor of ATs. Why should we pay more for a same variant of car with AT when it returns lesser mileage than the MT. ALso i like gears and shifting, so AT's cant impress me however well they are.

I Hope ANHC TD will give some more clarity. I am also planning to TD a Sxi today.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by Mi10

somehow i am not in favor of ATs. Why should we pay more for a same variant of car with AT when it returns lesser mileage than the MT. ALso i like gears and shifting, so AT's cant impress me however well they are.

Yeah, I agree. But the higher price and lower mileage does come with a benefit - convenience in city traffic. But which again might not apply to you - due to needing a highway sedan.

In my case, the AT was planned for my Dad - who does not really relish driving. Also, since the paddle-shifts and AT-box have been rated highly here, felt it would be fun when I get my hands on it occasionally.

[Gilead]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

The only con I see is the bland looks (nothing bad, but nothing great either).
Not that the ANHC and SX4 are great lookers. But they atleast stand out due to the design.

SB, does this look bland to you? http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...cn2195-50-.jpg The regular Fiesta is a little bland, but in the S trim, it's a serious head turner.

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

BTW, doesn't the ANHC (like other Hondas - OHC, Civic etc) fare badly in low speed city driving, requiring frequent gear-changes ?

Yes, the ANHC does have this issue, but it's a bit better in the AT. I have driven both. The worst is the Civic.

Originally Posted by Mi10

In my family, everyone accept my decision without a fuss, but when something does wrong, i ll get bombarded from all corners!!

It's a tough call. Performance vs. Family considerations. lol Take a call between the Fiesta SXi and the SX4. Drop the S.

[Mi10]

Test Drove the SX4 MT.

Engine: Excellent Power in low gears. Really Pulls from stand-still. Gearbox is a replica of my Swift's. So its not new to me. The Shift was firm and precise. Though the gearbox brings out almost full potential of this engine, it needs constant downshifting after slowing down. It was almost like driving a Swift 1.3P with a Turbo. The moment you brake, you invariably need to shift to get the Torque. This was not an issue in Fiesta 1.6S although i would rate Cedia even better than Fiesta in this aspect. This will have a direct impact on mileage, as i have already expereinced the same in my Swift (when stock)

Driving Through Rain-Hit streets: As we are experiencing some showers over past couple of days, decided to check it. I think this is the only Sedan under 10L to come out unscathed in bad roads. Driver seat was a Dream, just flew over numerous bumps. However, Ride at the back was not as good as the Front, but surely better than the Fiesta (which is expected)

Few things noticed today:
Few interior plastics are too cheap for a 9L sedan!!
Very tough to judge the front from driver's seat - You have absolutley no idea where the bonnet / front bumper ends
ACC was good, good throw till the rear seat.
The mini-information display is very cute. It displays time as well as in car temperature.
Twin A-pillars is sometimes irritating (Which A-Pillar to fix my Speakers !)
I realized the Steering mounted Audio control is a waste for anyone who will replace the Audio.
I haven't driven the old SX4, so i cant make out what difference the VVT makes. I have seen this logo in earlier corola's and Camry's (VVT-i) - But its good to have(i can bluff about it to some ignorant soul in my office )

Overall a good VFM option after Manza and Dezire.

Now for all Honda Fans:
Sales Rep: Morning sir, can i speak to Mi10(lol)
Me: Yeah, Speaking
SP: You had asked for a TD of ANHC, is it MT or AT sir?
me: Its MT
SP: Yes, sir its available after 2 pm
me: Great, can you pls drop in by my office at 2:30 pm today
SP: Sorry sir, you need to come to showroom for TD
me: You cant bring it here, is it
SP: No, sir. We can't. You can always come on Sat for TD
me: ok, hung up

When all other companies SP's are calling me every 2 hours for fixing TD, i found it strange. Infact the SX4 MT TD whihc was supposed to be done tomorrow, was done today because its SP called me 5 times since morning.

No wonder, Honda is priced at a premium.

[Gilead]

Originally Posted by Mi10

When all other companies SP's are calling me every 2 hours for fixing TD, i found it strange. Infact the SX4 MT TD whihc was supposed to be done tomorrow, was done today because its SP called me 5 times since morning.

Awesome. Now we know why Honda is the ONLY manufacturer to post negative sales in the last 2 months when everyone else is seeing double digit growth. I read in some other thread that they decided to target declining sales in 2010 way back in 1995!

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by Gilead

does this look bland to you?

The S in that color does look better than the normal Fiesta. And among the current sedans, I prefer the Fiesta's looks - voted for it on a sedan-looks poll too (ANHC was not around then, though SX4 was). But somehow, it does not have the 'mean-ness' in design/lines that would make it stand out eg. like say an Ikon does.

[Gilead]

Mi10, what are you TD-ing today? I guess only the ANHC and Fiesta SXi are left.

[Mi10]

Guys, due to unexpected turn of events coupled with anticipated new launches by end 2010, we have decided to hold on to this car for another 5-6 months.
So i have decided not to Test Drive the ANHC for now.

Thanks all for your support and guidance

[Gilead]

Good decision. The VW Vento should be in the market by then and it should be a hot contender. The Etios would have probably launched by then as well, but I bet it will be bit dull.

[Pr_007]

I hope the Fiat Linea 1.8 petrol would also be launched by the end of this year. Heard it is very good and best in the class.

So you will have a lot of TD's to make and will be confused with every car performing better.

[Mi10]

Originally Posted by Gilead

Good decision. The VW Vento should be in the market by then and it should be a hot contender. The Etios would have probably launched by then as well, but I bet it will be bit dull.

Thanks, dude. Vento is what i am looking forward for. Ofcourse any new model (read new Lancer) from Mitsu stable would be lovely to have too

Originally Posted by Pr_007

I hope the Fiat Linea 1.8 petrol would also be launched by the end of this year. Heard it is very good and best in the class.

So you will have a lot of TD's to make and will be confused with every car performing better.

1.8 Petrol seems to be interesting. Any Idea when the Kizashi sedan is to be launched ?

[Gilead]

Originally Posted by Mi10

Thanks, dude. Vento is what i am looking forward for. Ofcourse any new model (read new Lancer) from Mitsu stable would be lovely to have too

New Lancer (if it's launched) will be priced in the 13-14L range.

Originally Posted by Mi10

1.8 Petrol seems to be interesting. Any Idea when the Kizashi sedan is to be launched ?

I don't think a Linea 1.8 is in the pipeline, but the Turbojet is. Would be great if it's 50K-1L more than the current model.

[supremeBaleno]

Mi10, while it's a good decision to hold the purchase and wait for the Vento/Kizashi/Lancer, it would have been good if you TD-ed the ANHC also and completed Phase-1 of the shootout. Would have given us a neat idea on how the 3 fare against each other on your requirements. Ofcourse, don't waste time/effort going to Honda for the TD - do it only if they get the car to you, like the others did.

And after some months, you could do the same for the new entrants and make a decision on which sedan to finally buy.

Note from Mod : Closing thread as thread starter has postponed his purchase.