[joy_swift]

Samurai,you said it right....

GV is a 15L car and amazingly shares parts with a 4L Swift including the steering...Now thats shocking to say the least

MWZD,if you want a car within 14L,I would recommend Civic with eyes closed...Its a brilliant car with a punchy engine,futuristic interiors and awesome looks(now thats subjective) and a whole host of safety features.....My Dad owns one and I can assure you that FE is much more than 6kmpl...Infact,its closer to around 9(always AC on)...

And for God's sake,stay away from a Skoda by a mile!!!!!!Dont even look at those **** cars

[lamborghini]

mwzd - as umvarma said, the top of the line model comes with ABS and Airbags, alloys and leather along with a few more features. Buying the Magnum and upgrading the tyres would be a good option.
BTW, the Civic's FE will definitely be more than 6kmpl. 8-9 should be about right.

@Samurai - I apologize for writing what I meant wrongly. The thing is that i get cheesed of very easily by small things in cars. Even though the GV is a CBU, many of the interior bits share a similar design to what is offered on the Swift and SX4 and for me, that is a big turnoff. I was similarly cheesed off by the Lexus RX series, an awesome car no doubt, as some of the bits looked like they were from the corolla.

@joy swift - I said that about the GV not Samurai.

[joy_swift]

@ Lamborghini - Yes mate,you had said about the GV,was an oversight on my part

[kalpeshc]

Thumbs down for Skoda - Even though I am not a car owner - reading the various threads about Skoda makes me feel like advising everyone to stay away from that bag of troubles.

[dilipkumar7278]

I will not recommend any car for you...but only one request..buy any car but dont go for that junk called skoda

[mwzd]

I test drove the anhc yesterday and came away really impressed.

I'll leave the technical stuff to people who know more and just share my views as a layman who's been driving for a while:

The car looks beautiful, in fact my wife thought it was the civic initially. The lines are really nice and the back looks like a beemer.

The ICE is workable and even has a hidden slot for ipods, a good feature in these days. The dash was quite plain but appealing nonetheless. Though the sound cracks at higher volume and speakers etc would need changing.

The steering is almost an exact duplicate of civic and is real comfortable to hold though since i use my palm to sound the horn I didn't find too convenient but its not a major issue at all.

Seating is comfortable for people in the back seat even with my seat pushed back like I do when driving, almost 4 inches of clearance for the person sitting behind me.

Handling is rock solid, even at high acceleration. The steering is extremely responsive and the car goes exactly where you want it to go, without any margins for error. Clearance is nice and it didn't scrape anywhere even with 4 people sitting in the car and me going over an underconstruction road and a largish speed bump.

I did find the clutch a bit hard, which was surprising for a new car, even my ohc just needs a touch on the clutch to change gears, maybe this will change with usage, I'm not sure.

Another thing I found weird was that the brakes really need to be stepped on for sudden braking, had a cycle dart in front on me and for a few seconds there I didn't think I would stop in time because the car rolled even with the brake pressed, only when i pushed it all the way did it come to a halt.

The acceleration is phenomenal, the engine really sounds good. It screams with joy when you pump the gas a bit and the car really strains at the leash with even a slight touch on it.

My wife drove it too and she found it really easy to handle even though she usually drives a swift. She was a little skeptical about parking though since the back is so high.

The A/C is definitely a problem, the TD car was white and after sitting in the sun for five minutes with the windows rolled down it took some time for the rear seats to cool, even with the a/c on 3. I'm sure sun film would help even if the rear vents don't. In fact when I sat behind I couldn't feel any output from the vents at the back.

I'm td-ing the civic today and the optra LT tomorrow, LT does have abs so its back in the running. Fiat linea emotion pk diesel, innova and altis whenever the dealer gets back to me.

Thanks for all your advice and views again.

[mwzd]

Update (just in case anyone is still interested) :
Test drove the civic, the altis and the magnum.

Civic was as expected except for one thing. its a little low slung and takes some effort to get into the drivers seat. The back seat is super luxurious. The engine growl is extremely polished even though I didn't get to push her. The ride is smoothest of all till now, though i get the feeling that maintenance on this would be exceptionally high, at least for me. And the FE counter on the car I drove was showing 7.04Kmpl.

Altis has a lot of bells and whistles, but its not worth 14.25L on the road. A moving drivers seat is cool, but not something you cant live without. The frills like headlamp washers etc are nice and it was nice to drive too but like I said, not worth the money. The back seat too looks a little cramped for this price point.

Magnum was a revelation. The engine is super powerful and really gives you that afterburner feel, it passes other cars as if they're standing still. Even without any pressure on the accelerator, if the car is in gear it moved. The back seat was pretty spacious, even for me, even with the front seat moved back completely.

The hand brake does cause the rear brakes to make a thunk sound. Otherwise excellent comfort etc., Alpine system etc was ok, but no cd changer etc. Their warranty package is pretty good and the price point is just right, 12.90L for the LT with automatic climate control, abs, airbags and 3 yrs/100,000km warranty, which includes 15k extra for something the sales exec called cpc, which includes even consumable parts like clutch and gear etc for 45,000 kms, unbeatable.

Can any Magnum owners please give me actual FE figures though? Company says 12 city and 15 highway.

[lamborghini]

Hey bro,

Looks like your heart is set on the Magnum.
I too found that getting in an out of the Civic + visibility to be issues in what would otherwise be a fabulous car. If only I was shorter and leaner, lol!

I am quite surprised you found the corolla cramped and over-priced. With all its features, engine, seating arrangements I was very impressed by the Altis and thought it would be perfect for a chauffeured person. We had a Corolla and I was very happy with its space, and found it better than the Civic (due to the height of the seats).

According to the Owners feedback on T-BHP, the Magnum D gives 11.5 in city and 15.6 on the highway. This can be found here:
Team-BHP - The Definitive Indian Car Community - Test Drives
The Magnum seems like a very VFM deal @ 12.9L for the top of the line model, given its features, space, and engine.

[Equus]

Innova has no fans?? I am yet to find a fault with it (my brother owns it for 2 yrs now). Its a big car - not any different from driving a magnum or any other C+/D segment sedan!

[ram_hyundai]

From my info no more GV's for the time being.The new GV will be here with a V8 engine and lesser power and more mileage.MSIL doesnt have stock of GV and if at all any dealer has then its the old one.Then the answer is clear here as laura is a good option but check out the A.S.S in your area.It should be bad as per Skoda standards.Now then you are left with one option and thats trustworthy Innova and i mean it.The top end is a good one itself with dedicated A.S.S and wonderfull performance.With a petes box it should do wonders-(one innova petted caught up with me with full load when i was in my verna and thats good thing).
question was simple so answer was simpler.lolz
ram

[Samurai]

A GV with a V8 engine? I am sure you are mistaken, it must be 3.2L V6 engine.

[sudev]

V6 is also not coming to India. AFAIK it is only in the US market that V6 is sold
The new lot is already at the Mumbai port and would be inline 4 only but 2.4liter instead of present 2.0liter.

[mwzd]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

Hey bro,
Looks like your heart is set on the Magnum.

It is, unluckily it seems the company is in trouble and might actually shut down in the US. While I don't mind spending the money, its a fairly large chunk of change for me and I want to make sure i get my 5-7 yrs worth. Which might be tough if the company does shut down or even downsize, don't want to run to chor bazaar for parts.

Originally Posted by lamborghini

If only I was shorter and leaner, lol!

I don't know how that would feel coz I've been plus size since I was a kid.

Originally Posted by lamborghini

I am quite surprised you found the corolla cramped and over-priced. We had a Corolla and I was very happy with its space

I like the old model corolla a lot more than the altis, go figure.

Thanks a lot for your input and links etc, appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Equus

Innova has no fans??

The Innova handles beautifully, even my wife found it extremely easy to drive. That said, I still can't picture myself driving it, plus unless fully loaded, the third row seats are uncomfortable, which brings us back to a four seater configuration, a sedan makes more sense if thats the case.

Originally Posted by ram_hyundai

From my info no more GV's for the time being.

Yeah, no one at the company is even willing to speculate, plus I really don't want to wait anymore.

So I've applied for a loan for the Civic, its the most 'luxury' off the lot. Should get the car soon, will keep y'all updated.

[ram_hyundai]

No samurai,i just had a chat with MSIL officials and they have confirmed that its a V6,sorry for the earlier post.And one good news is its about to be launched soon.
ram

[sudev]

Wow a V6 3.2lt...man am I wanting to sell my GV and get the new one 8-(