[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by GTO

Mistake No. 4 : And this one is the BIGGEST. You sold the car in a 1,000 clicks! Sure sounds like an impulsive decision to me, and a very poor one at that. Remember, the suspension of most globally sold cars is the easiest to sort out. Reason? Super after-market support. For 50,000 rupees (or less), you could have gotten yourself after-market dampers & springs that would have transformed the handling of your Verna. In fact, with a tyre upgrade + performance suspension, the handling & dynamics would have beaten / been on par with any C & C+ segment sedan. Again, I insist that the soft suspension is easy to fix...far easier than what some of the competitors suffer from (reliability, cramped interiors etc.).

Is that all it takes to improve Verna's handling?

What about other issues that most modern Hyundais suffer in the dynamics department - an understeery chassis & not-so-sharp superlight steering?

[kirantp]

Thanks for sharing your experience as this might be helpful for our fellow members as well as others in thinking twice before taking crucial decisions.

Regards,
Kiran

[KPS]

Well said GTO. Completely agree with you, it could not have been better written.

Fact that some one is willing to give a 2 hour TD itself means that the car has lost much appeal and the sales figures do reflect the same. It is definite past its prime.

Originally Posted by smartcat

What about other issues that most modern Hyundais suffer in the dynamics department - an understeery chassis & not-so-sharp superlight steering?

Find a car which suits your driving style. For example I enjoy the super light steering.

Car must be viewed as a package. You may need to re-map your driving style once you have bought the car as you will have to live with it. Very few will sell at 1000+ clicks. Hence all the options must be reviewed before you actually buy the car.

Cheers

KPS

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team: Please use the "edit" button if posting within 30 minutes of the first post, instead of creating another back-to-back post.

[amit_mechengg]

Sorry bro to hear your ordeal. I would not blame you for buying the car without test drive as sometimes circumstances and anxiety takes you over.
classic case is 50000 swift bookings without taking test drives. so much so that dealers here in pune gladly say " sir book the car, no need for test drive, we dont have any test car, book now or else your number will go back by 4-5 months"

My brother in law is planning to buy a sedan and we have been trying out various cars since 6-7 months by now , he is the most confused person i have seen on earth and by now i am also confused.

I am a linea owner- by purpose. fiat linea is the king of handling when it comes to high speeds and paved roads full of potholes and imperfections.
she pierces through all the cars like an arrow when the game of 100-140 kmph speeds begin on highways.

other cars may move fast but linea goes way ahead due to precise handling, zero body roll and the best road feel.

coming back to test drives of other cars, since you are looking for 2000 cc diesel mills i would say chevy cruze, MANUAL transmission is the car that comes close to lineas handling.

optra too is a good car but cruze is way ahead of it.

Black interious look damn sporty. and in future if you get bugged up of black interiors there are experts who turn it to beige.

Last but not least- though its past, i fully agree with what GTO said.

i would say that the fluidic owners should go for better suspensions like bilisten or konis to get the full juice of amazing verna engine.

even though the verna owners are saying that it handles ok ok, i bet a ford fiesta/skoda/ linea owner will never feel comfortable in verna/ honda city.

[romeomidhun]

Spending another 50K for suspension overhauling on a car for correcting the boat-like handling in high speeds? None will do that except some hard-core fans of that car or some rallyists. Common man who wants a trouble free car will not try these extreme steps, but will do a tyre upgrade at the maximum.

[bluevolt]

Originally Posted by phenomonstar

Too late, in any case, as I have booked my Optra.

You can cancel your booking and go for some new models. Optra is too old now.

You may go for the T-jet which is the best car for you IMO.

[Kimified]

It all comes down to personal choices and priorities. For a guy like you with Handling as a top priority, i think its just a plain bad decision to buy a Hyundai. They are never known to make good handling cars but known only to make stunning diesel engines and load the car to the brim with features.

I have driven the Swift extensively. Close to 25k over the past 3 years and i own an i20 Crdi now. For me, The engine takes TOP priority, so i had an obvious winner when i brought my car. Could not even consider polo although i liked most things in that car.
Now, *Please don't belt me for this* I think the poor handling of the Verna or for that matter even the i20 is just blow out of proportion. Trust me, they are not as bad as people make it out to be. I went for an extensive TD of the Verna last weekend since i saw the Hyundai showroom empty on a sunday afternoon, drove it on empty stretches of road to check if all the rant about its handling at high speeds were true, found it no where close to being what people have made it out to be.
I have said it many times and i tell it even now, given an option, i would still pick up the i20 for a express highway drive over the swift. End of the day, It all comes down to what your priorities are. You did one big mistake buying a Hyundai and without a TD at that!

No one can blame Hyundai for it. They make a car with a target audience and priorities in mind. Sadly, they don't match with yours. Hope you find what you want in the Optra. I have never driven it so won't comment on it. Wishing you many happy miles

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by romeomidhun

None will do that except some hard-core fans of that car or some rallyists. Common man who wants a trouble free car will not try these extreme steps, but will do a tyre upgrade at the maximum.

That upgrade is not for common people, but for real drivers' who love to move along the curves at good speeds. As you said, for common people, stock Verna is much more than enough.

Originally Posted by bluevolt

You may go for the T-jet which is the best car for you IMO.

I guess he wants a Diesel, so T-Jet may not be his choice.

[nik_kapur]

I consider myself an automobile enthusiast and someone who knows a good car from a bad car !! I drove the Verna and did not think it was anywhere as bad as it has been described by some people. Sometimes these reviews make u wonder if you really know what handling is all about or not

Im no Hyundai fan or a prospective buyer, but i do appreciate the efforts made by the company and the wow factor the Verna has brought to the segment.

[phamilyman]

Actually GTO, You've said what is literally the bleeding obvious statement. Instead of taking such a hit on a new car - aftermarket shocks could've made his ride much more stiff and lowered as well. A sleeper of a verna I say.

At some level, I am hitting my head - its so darned obvious now that you've said it. Wonder why it never struck our OP!

[NoRules]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Optra is good enough but not as good as a swift or a *gasp* lancer/ linea / baleno. (In my limited driving experience). Ofc, as an overall package, I quite like the Optra as an all around vehicle (by far the plushest rear sofa in its class) and acceptable driving dynamics.

I've been long enough to call a spade a spade! And so can you call me on it - its a free world!

err. As an owner of Baleno and Optra I would like to disagree here.

phamilyman,

I own a Baleno and also Optra. I have owned Baleno since 2006 and loved driving it. I have taken it on long drives - 700-800+ kms with my family and drove overall 55000 kms and when I bought Optra magnum I did not dispose off the Baleno because I believe it is an amazing car and for the kind of resale value it has I would rather keep it in the family as second car than sell it. Infact I recently spent 25+k on getting some repairs done in my Baleno.

After buying the Optra I still drive Baleno regularly and I strongly disagree with your statement that Baleno drives better than Optra.

There is just no comparison. Optra is miles ahead of Baleno in every department except the AC and driver's seat comfort where Baleno scores but Baleno fails terribly in handling speed and GC.

When I drove the Optra Magnum first time on the highway I was comparing it with Baleno every KM (very objectively) and trust me Baleno is just not in the same class. While I was supremely confident in Optra even at speeds in excess of 130-140, with Baleno I never dared to go beyond 120. Even in the city driving Optra is much much better than my favorite ride of 5 years.

I actually wanted to do this comparison in my ownership thread but thought it would be unfair to compare Baleno with Optra.

Originally Posted by GTO

And you've gone out and bought a depreciation disaster like the Optra that will lose about 4 - 5 lakhs in resale in the first year.

GTO,

Sorry for the back-to-back posts. I saw your post after posting the above reply and could not resist replying. I would not have bothered if this came from regular members but coming from you - whom I respect a lot - I thought I should share my experience.

Most people very casually make statements about Optra Magnum and its resale value. If Optra - which now sells in the range of 10.50 to 10.75 lakhs OTR - looses 4 - 5 lakhs in resale in the first year itself, I will quit my business and get into pre-owned car market.

When I was finalising my car and zeroed in on Optra Magnum, I had some time on hand before booking a new car because it was Ashaad month and I used that time to look for a pre-owned Optra, purely because I read so much about the Optra's 40-50% depreciation in the very first year. (I wrote about this in Poitive's 'Spacious Diesel' thread)

I registered with every available car related website to get alerts on any post-2008 Optra diesel LT, I registered with atleast 20 pre-owned car dealers (This was a memorable event because I gave the search parameters to my son who is 14 years old and asked him to speak to each and every name that appeared on Just Dial search results and he along with his younger brother - 11 years old- had great fun speaking to the second hand car dealers asking for Optra Magnum), I checked classifieds in the newspapers every morning and after 3-4 weeks of search all I could come up with was:

Three to Four 2007 models with atleast 52000 kms on the ODO and upto 87000 kms quoted between 4.75 lakhs to 5.75 lakhs; Two to Three 2008 models with 32000 kms to 55000 kms on ODO quoted between 5.25 lakhs to 6.5 lakhs. This is no where close to depreciating 40-50% in the first year itself. Infact it is very difficult to find a pre-owned Optra Magnum.

Sorry for the rant but we all take you seriously.

[cuttingcrew]

Can somebody do a comparison of NHC (iDSI) with Verna's handling? This will help me understand how good/bad Verna is. NHC is a excellent city vehicle, but its really scary at high speeds or at curves.

[CRtorquefan]

@Phenomonstar;
More than a Investment or to a choice, your story reflects your true enthusiasm towards the Driving, which is refined by the Auto Maestros(Germans & Americans) like Fords, Fiats, etc.
But before you take the delivery of your Magnum, I'd advice you to have a Spin of New Fiesta.
Though its having lesser Horses as compared to its competition but what its having is really unmatched by others, like;
-Its Superb Corner-carving Handling.
-Super-effective Power Steering.
-Taut & Robust bodyshell.
Its worth the penny spend & the Beige Interiors is a very small issue infront of its pros, what she offers.

[oxyzen]

Originally Posted by romeomidhun

Spending another 50K for suspension overhauling on a car for correcting the boat-like handling in high speeds? None will do that except some hard-core fans of that car or some rallyists. Common man who wants a trouble free car will not try these extreme steps, but will do a tyre upgrade at the maximum.

I agree 100%. because
- Changing suspension is a bold step. No one does it. Peteing a car is a lot lot easier.
- You loose out warranty.
- You have no Idea how the ride will deteriorate with stiffer suspensions. Suspensions are not just plug and play. OEMs do hours and RnD and testing to find a balance between spring constant and dampning coefficient. It needs hours of fine tuning & I just won't trust any aftermarket pieces here.
- How many of us are aware .....who does it? and Where? Except for 2-3 cities in India, it is .

Bottom line - If Handling is a priority, Avoid Verna. Go for Vento. Simple.

Originally Posted by cuttingcrew

Can somebody do a comparison of NHC (iDSI) with Verna's handling? This will help me understand how good/bad Verna is. NHC is a excellent city vehicle, but its really scary at high speeds or at curves.

I haven't driven any of these extensively but on a scale of 0-10 where 0 means Verna and 10 means Linea I think NHC will be 5.

Poor - Verna
Average - Optra, City, SX4, Corolla
Good - Vento, Civic
Excellent - Linea, Fiesta, Laura

Originally Posted by CRtorquefan

But before you take the delivery of your Magnum, I'd advice you to have a Spin of New Fiesta.
Though its having lesser Horses as compared to its competition but what its having is really unmatched by others, like;

Ya make sure the Optra does not become a second disappointment.
IMO td Fiesta, Vento & even Linea 1.3MJD before taking delivery. All these cars handle much better than Optra.

[Durango Dude]

I feel, Optra is as softly sprung like any other family sedan. I test drove the Optra 1.6 petrol in 2005 and liked it very much, it handled as expected, put me at ease. NHC(iDSL) the GX variant I also test drove around the same time and I found it the most user friendly car then, very easy to drive and felt like I have owned the car for some 5 years at TD it self. But I bought the Elantra GLS as the above were bald as far as safety features were concerned. Hyundai's are meant for sedate driving and neutral handlers and not for sudden direction changes and handling corners at high speed in higher gears, if you drop down a gear or two then things are under control. I think the Verna didn't suit Phenomonstar's driving style. I don't agree with the above description of making the car look like a "lemon". I think the above description would suit a Sipani D-1, which also I have owned in the past.