Hello friends,
I never thought I had the patience or the ability to sit down and write a review. In fact I am not good with words let alone paragraphs so please pardon those silly mistakes you are certain to find in my writeup. The car in question was purchased on 30th November 2011 so its been a good long 7 months ! I could not come up with a review earlier because I belong to that dumb lot who had to try numerous times to get the Team-BHP membership.
Why a new car ?:
I started thinking about buying a new car very seriously when my good old Indigo LS (2004 model) started breaking down. To its merit despite being one of the first variant of Indigos it never left me high & dry ever. In fact it never had a break down or a major service scare until 2010 when age caught up with it. I have a Chevrolet Spark too but it's officially my wife's car and so unavailable at most times
Shortlisted Cars :
My budget was Rs.10 L but before the customary briefing on the cars I checked out, let me be very honest – my heart wanted a Honda because I have always been a fan boy of their cars : their road presence, the engine refinement, the style statement and last but not the least the peace of mind it always came with. While sitting inside the Hondas' my friends owned I always used to wonder how these engines could be so silent and refined, I have seen numerous occasions when these guys would accidentally crank the engine while it was running, such refinement !..phew I used to admire my friends for owning those cars !!! So finally when my day arrived the first choice was obviously going to be a Honda !!.
That said, I totally agree that Honda India is being stingy (the only reason why I even looked elsewhere before buying) and they “were” charging a lot more than what they should be but then there are always admirers (or idiots based on how you look at it) like me who would follow the heart and fall flat for the refinement, the buttery smooth feel and last but not the least the pride of owning a Honda.
All the cars I shortlisted were recommended by people who knew how stingy Honda India was and wanted to promote the cars they owned as a wise alternative.
The elimination round Maruti Suzuki SX4 : My father in law has one and I always used to insist on driving when we were together so I knew this car inside out. I like the looks of this car and also the peppy engine but on the downside always felt let down by the ride quality and moreover the overall refinement which is a notch below the competition in this segment (just my opinion) so (s)he was ruled out almost as soon as (s)he entered the fray.
VW Vento : Well, thanks to the totally unprofessional approach of EVM VW (Cochin) I did not even get to test drive the car. There was an utter lack of enthusiasm and I was on my own both the times when I visited their showroom, guess the stupendous sale of Vento has gotten into their heads already. I have read amazing reviews about the car in this forum so its certain that if VW ever go Fiat's way in India, you know whom to blame !!.
That said, I feel Vento is just a new kid in the block and it would take time for people to buy it out of admiration !! Right now its the VW badge and the reviews that is helping the car sell like hot cakes. Moreover I was not exactly stumped by the looks of the car, its no way a bad looking car but its definitely not a stunner either. My idea of the best looking car today in this segment would be Hyundai Verna Fluidic so you know my taste and also the reason why I felt Vento was not inspiring enough.
Fiat Linea : I love the looks of this car and the way it handles and the ride quality too..and its indeed built like a tank !! Felt it's problem lies at the heart of the matter, the performance !. I found the car very very sluggish (I did not test drive the T-Jet) compared to competition which eventually turned my test drive into a very dull experience . My friends too scared the living daylights out of me reminding me of the “Fiat” tag. Its indeed very sad, I believe most of their cars are amazing, it could be fear of the Fiat brand name (or their infamous after sales service) that’s bogging it down from redemption.
Honda City : As mentioned earlier, Honda was always going to be my first choice but the question remained – which one ? I was ready to stretch my budget to accommodate the Civic but the plan was shot down by my wife who was not at all keen on me spending too much over the budget so I decided to finalize on ANHC.
The test drive car from Peninsular Honda arrived the very next day. The main reason for even requesting for a test drive was to impress my wife who is a much better driver than me so I decided to let her drive. She was not exactly impressed by the interiors of the car when she got in, felt the “Silver” on the dash and console kind of looked out of place. I knew her opinion would change after she drives and so it happened, she was mighty impressed by the power and refinement, the space inside and not to mention the ease of driving the car. The first thing she said after getting out was “lets go for it !!” phew, Honda had won her over instantly and at that very moment it struck me - I realized how stupid I was for not making her test drive the Civic first !!
Buying experience :
Polished Metal Metallic was the color of my choice and Peninsular Honda delivered the car on the promised date (30th November 2011). The day the car arrived at their yard I made it a point to visit them along with the TeamBhp PDI checklist. The sales guy (Rakesh) was as helpful as ever and answered all my questions in detail. The very next day the car was delivered with the accessories I had asked for –
- The Side protector
- Reverse parking sensors.
- Headlight upgrade with their relay kit
- Anti-rust coating
Freebees - Floor mats and corporate discount of 15K
Current Upgrades :- Michelin Primacy LC 195/60 R15 Tyres : I did the tyre upgrade at Global Tyres Cochin, soon after I purchased the car. Exchanged it with my stock Michelins and paid 12k more and yes it's on nitrogen. The first thing you would notice after the change is that the Tyre noise has gone down considerably. The car feels more rooted to the ground and is easier to handle which instills a lot of confidence at higher speeds. Of course mileage takes a hit, it currently returns an average of 11.6 kms in the city (Cochin) and 15.7 kms on highways. I always assess the mileage manually. I top it up to full and once the fuel indicator dips to the last quarter I top it up again. The figures above is an average of the numerous toppings I did.
With regard to ride quality, infact I myself was not sure about how the tyre upgrade would work out so took her to Peninsular Honda and asked one of the sales guys (who happens to be my friend) to take it for a test drive. He was quite pleased with the way the car handled at high speeds and behaved on pot filled roads which reaffirmed my findings. - Lenso Alloys : I never liked the OEM alloys, thought they looked somewhat like the wheel cover that comes with the EMT and SMT models (just my opinion). Wanted something that would be different yet simple and elegant. After numerous visits to various car shoppes across Cochin I again found what I was looking for at Global tyres – the brand was Lenso (L1-racing alloys) and it cost me 24k.
- V-Kool sun film (all six glasses) : was quite expensive but its definitely very effective in the scorching heat of Kerala Summer.
- 3D Kagu Mats - phew, It makes the interiors looks brighter, bigger and very neat. I bought it only recently so will comment on the durability later.
- Front & Back protectors : don't think it is capable of protecting anything but guess it enhances the look of the car further.
Upgrades in queue :What I like about the car : - Powerful proven Engine – very refined too !!
- Killer timeless look
- Sleek gear shift
- Inside Space !
- Back seat comfort
- Overall refinement – no rattles whatsoever
What should improve :
- Cheap looking Dashboard
- Honda India's image of being stingy
- more features - starting with Automatic Climate control and bluetooth integration
- This car needs better headlight bulbs – the stock wattage is not bright enough hence my upgrade
- Tires are too skinny for the weight and power of this car , yet again the reason why I upgraded.
- A diesel variant !!!!!!
Driving this car so far has been an experience filled with pure joy and fun!. If not for Honda Indias greedy pricing strategy and the huge rise in cost of petrol I believe it still would have topped the sales chart !. Despite all odds, for me it still remains the most practical petrol car in this segment.
Driving out of the showroom - made my wife do it ! The champion, fully loaded ! Picture profile of my champion The Michelin Primacy LC 195/60 R15 tyre on Lenso L1-Racing alloys 3D Kagu mats - definitely worth the money paid These 3D Mats fit the floor perfectly !