[drive_or_die]

Good day Folks!

Please pardon me if I am late in sharing my intial ownership experience as I possessed my Maggy (Chevrolet Optra Magnum LT 2.0 TCDI, Colour- Sandrift Grey) in Jul 2010.

Disclaimer: The comments made on various cars are personal & not intended to hurt anyone's feeling w.r.t. the car s/he owns/likes
The journey so far:

Which Car to buy in 10-11 Lac bracket?
I wanted to buy a sedan in 10-11 lac category & there were some good contenders in this category. I was more interested to possess a Diesel Sedan but was open to check petrol variants as well. Started doing some market research by visiting dealerships and taking TDs.

Shortlisted Hyundai Verna Diesel AT, ANHC AT, Chevrolet Optra LT.

In fact Verna & ANHC made top of my list because of AT, as it would be easier to driver in Bangalore Traffic. Based on AT criteria, ANHC would stand out due to availability of paddle shift.

But the question is every 2nd or 3rd sedan on road is either Verna or ANHC, so these 2 cars scored lesser on exclusiveness. Another factor is that I personally do not want to own Hyundai (don't ask me why). So, the car on top of my mind was ANHC AT.

It would not be fare if I had bought ANHC uncontested, so I looked up for car reviews/ownership reviews on TBHP (Thank God! TBHP is there) and the spark to check out the Optra Magnum Diesel ignited.

Booking & Delivery:

I looked at the car in the showroom and the car was saying I will be your loyal & honest companion on road (may be I am out of the world to name my car & speak to car). The next car in the showroom was Aveo in Sandrift Grey Colour, well I imagined the colour on Optra and made up my mind- if I am buying Optra then it has to be Sand Drift Grey and not Light Gold/Platinum. So, I decided to take TD and Optra Magnum welcomed me with it's spacious interiors.

I expected the car to be noisy due to diesel engine but it was better than I had expected. Optra has good insulation to reduce cabin noise. Finally, I started to burn some rubber & I was taken aback by the sheer performance of this machine. I agree, other contenders are good but the driving experience in Optra was real

On the same day (it was June 25, 2010), I paid the booking amount for Maggy. I was told that the waiting period will be 2 weeks and I started the countdown. Unfortunately, Maggy did not show up as promised, so I escalated to VP Marketing GMI and got the first response within 15 mins of my email (I was impressed). Finally Maggy came to showroom on Jul 21, 2010 & I possessed the same on Jul 23, 2010.

Things I like about Maggy:
1. Sheer Power
2. Cabin Space
3. Thud feeling
4. Engine
5. It's exclusive (as number of Optras on road are realtively low)

Things I would expect GMI to improve:
1. Add some latest technology features like i-Pod/USB connectivity for ICE
2. Alloy Wheels on 2009 models were better looking, I do not know what made them change (and funny part is one of the service man told me that company replaced alloy design as it was difficult to clean, I do not buy this. Surely it was cost cutting effort)
3. EBD in addition to ABS would have been nice

Initial Report Card:

I have driven 7,230 KM as of now and touched 160 KMPH during this course. I must admit that Maggy gives you power with assurance of safety (in terms of stability & metal/thud). On FE front, I get 12KMPL in city limits (driving between 1200-2200 RPMs) and it returned 15.5 KMPL on a highway trip. Both the FEs are with 100% AC on.

There are people who would comment that I should have bought ANHC and I do not respond till I get chance to drive them on NICE (Nandi Infrastructure Corridor in Bangalore). I unleash the Power of Maggy & pose question to my co-passenger, can your ANHC do this?

I am building bond with Maggy and it seems to be going well. Will start a new thread on Long term Ownership review.

Happy Driving!

[brraj]

Congrats and Good decision there drive/die.

Originally Posted by drive_or_die

I unleash the Power of Maggy & pose question to my co-passenger, can your ANHC do this?

Just add a petes box to it and you will be blown away by 370nm of torque.

[suman]

Congrats, that's quite a rocket that you've got yourself there

Originally Posted by brraj

Just add a petes box to it.

Just curious - Why would he need to add a Pete's box to a car which is not deficient in the first place?

[drive_or_die]

Originally Posted by brraj

Congrats and Good decision there drive/die.



Just add a petes box to it and you will be blown away by 370nm of torque.

Originally Posted by suman

Congrats, that's quite a rocket that you've got yourself there


Just curious - Why would he need to add a Pete's box to a car which is not deficient in the first place?

@brrarj & Suman, The same decision I have been postponing for some time w.r.t Pete's Box. I did some research on Pete's Box for Magnum & the Peted Magnum would deliver 140BHP and 370NM against 120 BHP & 340NM from stock. Is 35K worth Peteing my Maggy? Suggestions are Welcome, I am searching for relevant thread and would continue advantages or not so advantages of Pete's Box for Optra Magnum.

Happy Driving!

[2500cc]

Hey Congrats on the new possession. I spotted you passing near SAP labs yesterday. Do you work some where close to that place.

Cheers,
Rajesh

[WhiteKnight]

Congratulations. The choice of color seem to be really suiting the car.

Would be great if you could answer the following
1) How is the groud clearance when the car is fully loaded, say 4 people+ luggage?
2) Dealer and on road price?
3) Who is the OEM for the tyres? Did you do any upgrade?

Thank you

[athul_S]

Cant recall seeing this colour on the road....

More pics are always welcome

[suman]

Originally Posted by drive_or_die

Is 35K worth Peteing my Maggy? Suggestions are Welcome, I am searching for relevant thread and would continue advantages or not so advantages of Pete's Box for Optra Magnum.

To be honest, it makes no sense to me. Your car isn't a slouch so why bother.

[brraj]

Originally Posted by suman

Just curious - Why would he need to add a Pete's box to a car which is not deficient in the first place?

To have more fun out of it .

Originally Posted by drive_or_die

Is 35K worth Peteing my Maggy? Suggestions are Welcome, I am searching for relevant thread and would continue advantages or not so advantages of Pete's Box for Optra Magnum.

Worth every penny dude. Power is always not enough .

You can go to hot tracks and test it on your magnum for free and you decide, I guess it should be 30k for magnum petes box.

Have driven, seen peted elantra for more than 1.5lkhs kms without any problems.

[drive_or_die]

Originally Posted by WhiteKnight

Congratulations. The choice of color seem to be really suiting the car.

Would be great if you could answer the following
1) How is the groud clearance when the car is fully loaded, say 4 people+ luggage?
2) Dealer and on road price?
3) Who is the OEM for the tyres? Did you do any upgrade?

Thank you

It's always good to recieve encouraging comments about my new possession.

The GC as such is not an issue but in Bangalore we have award winning speed breakers (sarcastically) and hence Optra faces some issues while driving with 4 people and luggage.

Other Answers, I picked Optra Magnum from Kropex Chevrolet (avg experience), On Road Price in Jul 2010 was 11.25L (now it is around 10.95 or so after price cut). The other quotes were 11.5L from Trident Chevy, 11.75 from Sundaram Chevy. All were giving same accessories free i.e. floor mats. I paid personally for 3M Windscreen sheet, no tints on other glasses (as I travel a lot of Bangalore and interstate), 3M paint protection (commonly sold as teflon coating by delaers) & under chasis rust protection coat (3M). Paid 13k for additions mentioned above.

Stock Tyres are Appolo Accelere and these are very noisy. Looking forward to upgrade to Michelin PP2 or Bridgestone Potenza. Not considering to upsize though, will stick to 195/60R15

Originally Posted by 2500cc

Hey Congrats on the new possession. I spotted you passing near SAP labs yesterday. Do you work some where close to that place.

Cheers,
Rajesh

@Rajesh, you got it right. I work with Unisys@Whitefield office. I know why I was easy to spot: Optra (not so common on road)+TBHP Sticker+Reg No. of 2200+ Colour of my Maggy (In fact Kropex Chevrolet sold first Optra in this colour to me). In case, you work close by too...we can plan a meet.

Originally Posted by athul_S

Cant recall seeing this colour on the road....

More pics are always welcome

Athul, I will not disappoint you, more pics will definitely follow. The reason I did not post many pics is because Optra Magnum is quite known vehicle but definitely I will share some more pics now. ASAF colour is concerned, Spark & Aveo also carry this colour, its called SandDrift Grey, if you check it online, one may not like it much but looks pretty neat in flesh.

Originally Posted by suman

To be honest, it makes no sense to me. Your car isn't a slouch so why bother.

The car is definitely not a slouch, its rocket. I love leaving behind most of Sumo/Indica cab drivers on Outer Ring Road (Bangalore) while they try to cut me

Originally Posted by brraj

To have more fun out of it .



Worth every penny dude. Power is always not enough .

You can go to hot tracks and test it on your magnum for free and you decide, I guess it should be 30k for magnum petes box.

Have driven, seen peted elantra for more than 1.5lkhs kms without any problems.

Very True brraj, something like additional power is priceless but haven't finalised yet. Doing some more research on Petes Box. ASAF Elantra shares the engine with Optra Magnum and hence good to know that peted Elantra has done 1.5 Lac on ODO. Thanks for sharing

[bhp_maniac]

Great looking Maggy there. It looks like a stunner in this color. In fact I was reluctant to start an ownership thread for my 5 months old swift, but you've definitely made me think about it

[drive_or_die]

Originally Posted by bhp_maniac

Great looking Maggy there. It looks like a stunner in this color. In fact I was reluctant to start an ownership thread for my 5 months old swift, but you've definitely made me think about it

I am gald to have woken up the enthusiast in you. Please share your experience and you may never know that some existing/potential Swift owner will benefit.

Thanks for appreciating the colour. If you check this colour on Chevrolet India Portal, you will be like but the colour looks neat in flesh.

Cheers

[bhp_maniac]

Originally Posted by drive_or_die

I am gald to have woken up the enthusiast in you. Please share your experience and you may never know that some existing/potential Swift owner will benefit.

Thanks for appreciating the colour. If you check this colour on Chevrolet India Portal, you will be like but the colour looks neat in flesh.

Cheers

Yes, I've seen the color and suggested to a couple friends here. Both of them kind of kicked me off I am gonna send this pic to them. Yes I will be starting off a new thread this weekend. Have a lot of sweet and sour experiences to share. Keep revving

[drvhplyevraftr]

Congratulations.

Yes, the color looks awesome. One of my colleague has bought a Spark in the
same color and it looks very elegant in this color.

[drive_or_die]

Some pics I clicked on day of delivery. For last pic, I am wearing black trousers and other guy is Deepak (SE of Kropex). The pics were taken with my phone camera, so please excuse the quality. The last photo was taken by agency using a digicam.