Mitsubishi Cedia SPIRIT - Staying Ahead of the Herd...

[RajaTaurus]

Me and My Cedia.. Staying Ahead of the Herd...



My Cedia... The Power Machine... 2 Liter engine. 15" All Alloy Wheels... All four disc brakes... Leather upholstry... Full Options...In our lingo, Fully-Loaded...

Thats my Final choice after my car-hunt which lasted for more than 5 months.
It all started in May 2007, when I decided to come back to India for good. Web Browsing all the car models available in India, I approached a bit systematically.

First of all, the small cars sector was ticked off. (Clustrophobic and I didn't want to drive an auto-rickshaw at this age for sure...) So, Zens, Santros, Indicas - off.

The next bracket, (C+ or B or B+ which sounded more like blood groups,) was the Honda-City, Ford Fiesta, Mahindra Logan, Suzuki SX4. I zoomed in these four models, which are a bit luxurious (by Indian Standards) and yet affordable. My budget was just around 8 to 9 Lakhs, if I were to be really impressed, I was prepared to squeeze my wallet a bit more too. That threw the Civic, Corolla and Skoda out of my bracket. Many don't know that This 'bracket' cars are being 'over-sold' in India, while these cars should cost under 10 lakhs if you compare the same cars abroad with the same specifications and options. Of course, the price tag depends on who buys and not what is being bought. Market driven pricing..!!!

So, First I visited Honda City show room. Impressive show room and sales girls. Good experience. THe combination of Honda and TVS brands. But, the car, to be frank, I didn't like the shape of the car in the first place. For that shape it should have been a bit bigger, which is the Civic. To fit to Indian Roads they have cut flesh here and there and it looks out of proportion compared to other cars. The ground clearance in particular in the front seemed to be too low. Interiors were not impressive (the twin glove boxes..!!! Peculiar). the interior color combination is dull and the dash board dial layout has no taste. Round moulded dials and vents gives me crampy feeling, as if sitting inside some sub-marine console. The same applies to most fo the other models like Fiesta, Elantra, SX4 being the worst layout inside. I was particular with the Red color (Ruby Red) and to my disappointment, they said, No More Red... Red has been phased out and they were sorry they could not make me happy. I said thanks and left the show room. All other colors were dull, light shaded and unimpressive to me.

My Next stop was SX4. Looked somewhat good from outside, trendy side and front, dump looking rear layout. But, interiors, space inside, shoulder room, head room, color combo - Zero marks from me. The tin work and inside plastic work was so average looking.

Then on my way home, Stepped in Logan show room. Unbelievably disappointing. That car was some second rated model of Renault, with the worst finish inside and outside, I dint even ask for more details. Didnt even spend 15 minutes in the show room.

Well, you are wondering why I am talking all along about other cars and no mention about Mitsubishi. Yes, I didn't have the Mitsubishi in my selection process, because, the old Lancer was kind of out of date looks and the the new Cedia was price tagged at 10+ Lakhs (information I got from the Websites). So, I didnt even consider the Mitsibishi, even though it was one of my favorite cars, while I was in Gulf.

Now comes the twist. As I was not entirely satisfied with any cars, my driver-friend who accompanied me for all my visits, had been to the Mitsubishi show room to visit a friend and casually he obtained the brochure and price list of the Lancer and Cedia... SURPRISE SURPRISE... The Cedia basic version SELECT costed only 8.3 Lakhs ex-show room. Damn me. Jumped into his car and drove straight to the Mitsubishi show room the same eve and God Bless Me... never looked back.

Absolutely impressed with the All New Cedia. It had everything I was looking for and more for the price tag. ABS, EBD, All disc brakes, 15" Alloy Wheels, leather seats, Blaupunkt stereo, Color I wanted, High ground clearance, neat and simple Merc/BMW/Lexus style dash board layout.

Man, Thats the car I wanted to own and now I do...

To be honest, this Car doenst compare with any other car in the market. It has its own class. Better than All other rivals, City, Fiesta, Elantra, SX4 and has got all that Civic, Corolla, OCtavia has to offer for much less price.

Thats why my Cedia is Staying Ahead of the Herd...

Here are some more pics of my Power Machine...


The Killer Shark...



Elegance Expressed


Power Machine...



Pleasing Interiors...




Me in Command...



Making way through Chennai Traffic


- RajaTaurus

[GTO]

Man, you are excited. Congratulations on the purchase. How is this the basic version if it has ABS, EBD, All disc brakes, 15" Alloy Wheels, leather seats etc. etc.

Or what else do the higher end versions have?

[akshay1234]

Originally Posted by GTO

Man, you are excited. Congratulations on the purchase. How is this the basic version if it has ABS, EBD, All disc brakes, 15" Alloy Wheels, leather seats etc. etc.

Or what else do the higher end versions have?

this isnt the base version. the base is select. he has the spirit.

[GSHA]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

this isnt the base version. the base is select. he has the spirit.

And the only difference between the Select and Spirit is the Leather upholstery.

Congratulations RajaTaurus on your new car. Yes. Cedia is a good car.

[greatDrive]

Cool choice, definetly a VFM car in this segment. Somehow I always liked Lancers & cedias for its looks.
enjoy buddy

[spadival]

I am slightly confused.. is this a review of your Cedia purchase or is it a critique of all Indian cars except the Cedia?

[maven]

Congratulations! Good choice.

Entirely agree with your comments on the Civic, Corolla and Skoda. And why wouldnt I


-----------
Palio GTX; Cedia Sports

[n_aditya]

Congrats on the new car purchase. Looking forward to meeting you and your cedia during the chennai meets.

Take good care of her and drive safe. buckle up.

[Flying Bong]

@RajaTaurus:
Congratulations on your new Cedia

Own a black Cedia Sport myself and agree with you on the VFM aspect of the car compared to Corolla & Civic...

[hellspawn]

congratulations..nice colour.
Why do i get this feeling that the mitsubishi cedia is going to be the next protected baby on team bhp like the palio/ohc/baleno....

[vid6639]

Originally Posted by GTO

Man, you are excited. Congratulations on the purchase. How is this the basic version if it has ABS, EBD, All disc brakes, 15" Alloy Wheels, leather seats etc. etc.

Or what else do the higher end versions have?

Even the lowest version gets alloy's, ABS, EBD and airbags. The only difference is that the the lowest version i.e. select has no leather and no side skirts.

The spirit has full leather, side skirts and the other goodies.

The model above spirit is the sports which has the body kit and black/alluminium finish dash and the sports leather seats.

[Maibaa]

Congratulations! Welcome to the Cedia club.

Can understand the pleasant surprise and excitement you get when you first come across the Cedia. When I was looking for a car a few months back after my return to India, I had never heard about or seen a Cedia. I had casually gone to the Scorpio dealership to check out the prices when I came across a black Cedia sports on display in the adjacent HM showroom. From that moment on, I never was interested in any other car. All that in my mind from then on was to search for details/reviews on this car and go for it if the reviews were positive. That is how I came across "Team-BHP" and very soon thereafter got myself a sports version.

[RajaTaurus]

Wow.. Great to know that Maibaa...
I am glad the Cedia Club is Growing...
Thanks for the nice comments... I am more convinced than ever now on my decision.
Take care and safe driving..
Raja

[GSHA]

Hey Guys,

Good to see many more Cedia owners join in. Good to see no negative feedback about the Cedia, so far.

=====

Today morning, on my drive to work, I was about to get into a huge traffic jam (way to Whitefield from Airport, through Marthahalli).

I know a track route away from the Airport road, going towards KR Puram and Whitefield. It has about 2 km worth of mud and clay road (unpaved). The track has lot of mounds (negative of craters), and craters on its path.

Just so that you note, Yesterday it rained heavily in these areas and the track was full of slush and mud!!!

And I decided to take it - out of pure excitement of driving my Cedia on a slush track. And boy, it was a very worthy drive!

Coming to how the Cedia handled...

Due to so much slush on the road, and me being a single ride, the wheel spins were evident even in second gear! Better still, there was torque steer due to the slippery road, and that too in second gear! Thoroughly enjoyed steering to correct!

I drove at 40~50kmph and held in 2nd gear for most of the drive. Rode through slushy fills in potholes. I could see splashes coming on to the windscreen and bonnet.

Braking was very very good. The ABS kept kicking in at each touch of the brake pedal.

Not a single instance of scrapping under chassis!

Well, I am sure my (ex-) Baleno would have bottomed out on the mounds. And my earlier Alto wouldn't have crossed some of them.

Cedia

[RajaTaurus]

Of course, Man... Cedia rules....
If you have it in you... This is the car that gives challenges to the driver...
Thanks for chipping in buddy...
Keep posting..
Raja