[raghav135]

Originally Posted by mod_to_odd

All i can say is, the City CVT doesn't feel all that special. The rubber band effect is very much there. I have driven both and from my experience the Altis super cvti is a true gem. If you don't believe it then by all means take them for a spin and you will be pleasantly surprised by the way the Altis drives Its a beautiful gearbox. Paddle shifts make it even more fun to drive.

Have a test drive scheduled for Altis cvt this week , looking forward to it. Will drive it in the hosur road elevated highway. Will check for rubber band effect and highway stability. Really hoping that it would pass with flying colours.

[mod_to_odd]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

If I was anyways spending 20+ on a car, I would go for the Jetta DSG than the Altis.

Ofcourse the Octavia 1.8 TSI is even better but if your looking for hassle free low maintenance the Octavia is at the bottom of the pile.

Trust me, I did think of the Jetta, but I have been hearing such bad ownership experiences for both skoda and VW, that I feel its best I stay away from these cars. I think hassle free ownership plays a big role. So that was one of the many reasons, the new corolla appealed more to me.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by mod_to_odd

Trust me, I did think of the Jetta, but I have been hearing such bad ownership experiences for both skoda and VW, that I feel its best I stay away from these cars. I think hassle free ownership plays a big role. So that was one of the many reasons, the new corolla appealed more to me.

Yes, hassle free ownership does play a big role but after owning an Altis for 5 years, you realise that it is at the cost of driving pleasure. After driving a Jetta, you forget hassle free ownerhsip only cause the drive is just so brilliant.

The Altis will ofcourse not disappoint when it comes to maintenance and reliability but the Jetta is not bad either. If you check all Jetta ownership reports here, people don't have much complaints.

[thesilentone]

Any idea regarding the mileage that one can expect with the 7-speed automatic Altis and how it compares with the mileage of the 5-speed Honda City automatic?

[SumitBahl]

Originally Posted by thesilentone

Any idea regarding the mileage that one can expect with the 7-speed automatic Altis and how it compares with the mileage of the 5-speed Honda City automatic?

Honda City is also 7-Speed CVT and they claim around 18kmpl.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by thesilentone

Any idea regarding the mileage that one can expect with the 7-speed automatic Altis and how it compares with the mileage of the 5-speed Honda City automatic?

My relatives own both the cars with the Honda being driven in Bangalore and the Altis is Delhi. The figures quoted by them are both around 10-12 kmpl in dense city traffic. The Honda manages marginally better than the Toyota. I would not expect more than that. Hope that helps.

[nik_kapur]

Originally Posted by SumitBahl

Honda City is also 7-Speed CVT and they claim around 18kmpl.

Claim 18, thats the operative word !!

I get 9Km/l on the City CVT and not anything better. I hope those buying a CVT Corolla will be realistic and expect max 9km/l. Do not expect miracles from Automatics.
I have owned many Automatics and i can assure you that 9KM/L is something one has to be satisfied with.

[SumitBahl]

Originally Posted by nik_kapur

Claim 18, thats the operative word !!

I get 9Km/l on the City CVT and not anything better. I hope those buying a CVT Corolla will be realistic and expect max 9km/l. Do not expect miracles from Automatics.
I have owned many Automatics and i can assure you that 9KM/L is something one has to be satisfied with.

Yup, the actual figures are no where near the claimed numbers.
City CVT owners are reporting anywhere between 9-12kmpl.

[RohanDheman]

Just a small update on the mileage front of the new corolla in the family. She has been consistently returning 10.5 kmpl in Delhi traffic with the ac on 100 percent of the time.

Also I noticed this today on another corolla and missed this earlier since I saw the car at night. The exhaust pipe is visible and looks down right early. And this was a petrol test drive vehicle I was following. Complete eyesore.


Apologies for the bad pic. But zoom in and you'd see what I mean.

Rohan





Sent from my iPhone using Team-BHP

[thesilentone]

Still no official or unofficial test drive reports. Keenly awaiting the official report since my eight year old Honda City is due for a change next year. I will most probably be going in for an automatic and the main contender, the New Honda City VX CVT, may not give the feeling of an upgrade. I am keeping an eye on the Toyota Corolla automatic, but the cost difference is huge and unless the difference is really worth the stretch, I may have to settle for the Honda only. Though the Hyundai Elantra is also fantastic, it is not to my taste and the battle is only between Honda and Toyota.

@raghav135 Did your test drive happen and how was the drive?

[StarScream]

Originally Posted by thesilentone

Still no official or unofficial test drive reports. Keenly awaiting the official report since my eight year old Honda City is due for a change next year. I will most probably be going in for an automatic and the main contender, the New Honda City VX CVT, may not give the feeling of an upgrade. I am keeping an eye on the Toyota Corolla automatic, but the cost difference is huge and unless the difference is really worth the stretch, I may have to settle for the Honda only. Though the Hyundai Elantra is also fantastic, it is not to my taste and the battle is only between Honda and Toyota.

@raghav135 Did your test drive happen and how was the drive?

If Elantra- or Corolla-like space is not an absolute necessity then do give a thought to the Vento TSI. It is the best automatic in its segment and even a segment higher.

[thesilentone]

@starscream - Ours is a fairly large family and space for 3 adults at the rear is a definite requirement. I have a Swift Zdi for regular use. Also, since I have been thoroughly spoilt by Honda's service and maintenance costs for the past 8 years, it is a little difficult to look beyond the Japanese at this point in time.

[StarScream]

Originally Posted by thesilentone

@starscream - Ours is a fairly large family and space for 3 adults at the rear is a definite requirement. I have a Swift Zdi for regular use. Also, since I have been thoroughly spoilt by Honda's service and maintenance costs for the past 8 years, it is a little difficult to look beyond the Japanese at this point in time.

I came to the TSI from 9 years plus of Honda ownership as well. Maybe it was brand fatigue but the new City just didn't work for me the way the TSI did - the torque surge put a smile on my face. I also got a very good sales experience from VW and an average one from Honda (I was one of the first to book the new City).

Coming to your needs, even the City may be tight for three adults sitting abreast at the back. That leaves the Corolla and the Elantra. I almost bought the latter - tremendously more value for money than the Corolla. But do note that the Elantra has an uncomfortable bump in the middle of the rear backrest where the arm rest folds up.

[aseem]

Originally Posted by raghav135

Have a test drive scheduled for Altis cvt this week , looking forward to it. Will drive it in the hosur road elevated highway. Will check for rubber band effect and highway stability. Really hoping that it would pass with flying colours.

Unlike Honda City the Toyota Corolla CVT is leaps and bounds ahead and during my drive never gave me a feel of rubber band effect. Only after driving City CVT I understood what this effect is all about...

[mod_to_odd]

Originally Posted by thesilentone

Still no official or unofficial test drive reports. Keenly awaiting the official report since my eight year old Honda City is due for a change next year. I will most probably be going in for an automatic and the main contender, the New Honda City VX CVT, may not give the feeling of an upgrade. I am keeping an eye on the Toyota Corolla automatic, but the cost difference is huge and unless the difference is really worth the stretch, I may have to settle for the Honda only. Though the Hyundai Elantra is also fantastic, it is not to my taste and the battle is only between Honda and Toyota.

@raghav135 Did your test drive happen and how was the drive?

You may have missed out on what i said in my previous post back in the pages. I will say it again for you and others who are looking at buying a good automatic with some fun driving and who want to keep the car for long term.

First of all, no offense to any Honda City owners. I had driven the new Honda city VX (CVT petrol) top end some 2 months back. Had gone with my driver and brother in law. The sales guy in the co driver seat kept bragging about its features and how amazing i must be feeling while driving the car. I didn't show any sign of excitement because honestly, i didn't feel it.
I was waiting for some good clear road so that i could test various things. There was a car ahead of me which i wanted to overtake and even when using the paddle shifts to downshift, i was not at all impressed. The car just felt slow compared to its manual version. The CVT in the Honda city had already made a bad impression in my books and i said to myself that its better i stay away from cars with a CVT.

Now i had a budget of 12-13L where the Honda city fits perfectly. I booked the VX model which had a long waiting period till December 2014.
Just a few weeks later the 11 Gen Corolla was launched and this news came to me from my dad. We went to the showroom to check it out the next day and were extremely surprised to see how well the car has grown in terms of styling in and out. I would agree that for the price they should have added more airbags and a sunroof would have been nice too. But i got to say, this time around i felt special the moment i sat in the Corolla. The quality of the interiors are great and if you know their Lexus lineup you will feel little deja vu after sitting inside. Now let me just get to the drive part of it.
The test drive units were not registered yet so we were called a week later. I finally went and one of the sales person came with me for the test drive. If you all know Malad West, an area in Mumbai, there is a good back road where traffic is minimum. We decided to head there.

Believe it or not, unless somebody told you that this car has a CVT, you wouldn't even notice it. Its that good. And you put your foot on the accelerator the car just feels soo much better to cruise along. This was a very brief test drive i can say. Got some speed bumps which this car literally just glides over, the steering wheel feels direct and weighed well.
The best part of all was when i put the gear to M and started using paddle shifts. I was having a blast. Octavia feels better to drive no doubt but for a CVT this thing is full of surprises.

If you want to drive the car yourself, i say get the 1.8 VL automatic petrol and if you are just going to be chauffeur driven and need a diesel then buy the Diesel variant by all means.

I cancelled the booking for the Honda City, had to stretch my budget for the Corolla which i don't regret one bit because for me it was a major upgrade coming from a Lancer. Mine should arrive in 1st week Aug mostly.