A Nostalgic poll : Premier Padmini or Hindustan Ambassador. Which would you choose?

finneyp · 5th June 2007, 15:09

Have not driven a Amby / Padmini, but travelled in their back seats.

And in back seat, Amby offered a comfy and safe ride!

benbsb29 · 5th June 2007, 15:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rtech

Which planet are you from?!? Living in India and you haven't even sat in a Padmini?!?

Born and brought up in Dubai does make you miss out on events like these. Padmini was released in Dubai, but was the laughing stock there.

Since i havent lived in Mumbai, no chance of travelling in one of them cabs too. I belong to Lonely Planet.

Rtech · 5th June 2007, 15:19

Will somebody in Bangalore please give Benson a drive in a Padmini. Preferably around a Hedge!

planet_rocker · 5th June 2007, 15:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by amitoj

used to be so much fun pushing it in the rains over barely ankle deep waters

not to mention the fun at corners with the cross-plys

- that once turned scary but it was fun.

when i was in college, she used to get stuck everytime i tried to go through water logged areas

..learnt the trick and never got stuck again.

@benny - TBHP member outlaw (not a Hegde) is @ bangalore. he has an awesome '87 padmini (with wire mesh grill and 13 inchers with fat rubber and FFE)

navdeep · 5th June 2007, 15:25

NE .. wat else .....?

swathyd · 5th June 2007, 15:25

Have owned both these cars. 1st a fiat sold it after 6 months of use. Got one amb sold it , bought another sold it, bought 1985 maruti 800 sold it after 2months. Bought an amb in 1995 still have it with us. Amb is better especially after the matador enginer in it.

benbsb29 · 5th June 2007, 15:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rtech

Will somebody in Bangalore please give Benson a drive in a Padmini. Preferably around a Hedge!

Would be a welcome experience for sure. For once, i can think of going and tossing an auto without any care in the world.

swathyd · 5th June 2007, 15:34

Nothing can beat an ambassador if kept in good shape ( which always is an after factory affair ) and with that exotic black. Very few guys these days know that art though. You should spend like anything for that. There were many cars with upholstery from koyas (coimbatore
) which costs more than 25000 then (80s).

kvish · 5th June 2007, 15:46

This is quite a nostalgic thread indeed. My dad had a premier padmini for over 15 years. Its hard to imagine, but my dad paid more money for a second hand premier padmini than a brand new Maruti (at the time it was launched there were lot of rumours about reliability etc). !!!!

It was an amazing experience. I learnt driving on a premier padmini. Had a tough time "migrating" to a floor gear!!. We had to part away with it a couple of years back for about 15K!!. It was a sad moment indeed.

payam · 5th June 2007, 15:59

padmini for me too.sound.looks speed and ...
fiat rules.

namit · 5th June 2007, 16:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Premier padmini. Sleeker faster and love the sound.
Owned a 118NE too. Troublesome she was, but the gearshift was to die for.
A family friend owned a black Premier padmini which would zoom upto 120kmph.

--------------------------------------------------------

I owned 1 too and loved its Nissan Engine and gearbox ... infact technically it was a great car but it failed just bcoz of rusting and electrical issues.

NE used to walk on all kinds of roads with enough grace ... be it highways or bad roads.

I would also like to add here that people always had this perception that its expensive to maintain and braeks down frequently but trust me never had any major issues in my car over 5 years with 70000 kms on odo.

salilpawar1 · 5th June 2007, 16:40

Premier Padmini a.k.a. Fiat 1100D of course !!!

For those who seriously want to own one and more importantly mod one... then you can check out this thread.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...0-awesome.html

saurabh711 · 5th June 2007, 16:52

Premier Padmini.... Used to drive a petrol one during college days. Lovely sound.

118NE's gear box was simply the best I've ever driven on.

Hellcat · 5th June 2007, 16:57

Definitely a Premier Padmini for its exhaust notes...

spadival · 5th June 2007, 17:10

Have driven the Padmini, Dont like the vertical steering wheel.. its like a sailing ship's steer. And it does steer like a ship

HM atleast made some futile attempts to update the Amby.. Premier gave us the 118NE instead.

Hmmm.. my late grandpa owned all the above cars at some point in time. 118NE was a nightmare despite the silky gearbox. It broke down on almost every out of town trip. The Padmini is a recent addition used more as a village runabout. I have found memories of the Amby.. though never got to drive it becoz I wasnt old enough.

PS: I tried fording a river in the 118NE once.. needless to say, got stuck becoz the silencer went under water.

View Poll Results: Padmini or Ambassador which would you choose?
Premier Padmini	300	55.56%
Hindustan Ambassador	240	44.44%
Voters: 540. You may not vote on this poll

5th June 2007, 15:09	#16
finneyp Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,716 Thanked: 319 Times View My Garage	Have not driven a Amby / Padmini, but travelled in their back seats. And in back seat, Amby offered a comfy and safe ride!
	() Thanks

5th June 2007, 15:19	#18
Rtech Team-BHP Support Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 5,770 Thanked: 359 Times View My Garage	Will somebody in Bangalore please give Benson a drive in a Padmini. Preferably around a Hedge!
	() Thanks

5th June 2007, 15:25	#20
navdeep BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Pune Posts: 892 Thanked: 4 Times	NE .. wat else .....?
	() Thanks

5th June 2007, 15:25	#21
swathyd BHPian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: thiruvananthapuram Posts: 774 Thanked: 25 Times	Have owned both these cars. 1st a fiat sold it after 6 months of use. Got one amb sold it , bought another sold it, bought 1985 maruti 800 sold it after 2months. Bought an amb in 1995 still have it with us. Amb is better especially after the matador enginer in it.
	() Thanks

5th June 2007, 15:34	#23
swathyd BHPian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: thiruvananthapuram Posts: 774 Thanked: 25 Times	Nothing can beat an ambassador if kept in good shape ( which always is an after factory affair ) and with that exotic black. Very few guys these days know that art though. You should spend like anything for that. There were many cars with upholstery from koyas (coimbatore ) which costs more than 25000 then (80s).
	() Thanks

5th June 2007, 15:46	#24
kvish BHPian Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 627 Thanked: 195 Times	This is quite a nostalgic thread indeed. My dad had a premier padmini for over 15 years. Its hard to imagine, but my dad paid more money for a second hand premier padmini than a brand new Maruti (at the time it was launched there were lot of rumours about reliability etc). !!!! It was an amazing experience. I learnt driving on a premier padmini. Had a tough time "migrating" to a floor gear!!. We had to part away with it a couple of years back for about 15K!!. It was a sad moment indeed.
	() Thanks

5th June 2007, 15:59	#25
payam BHPian Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: pune Posts: 924 Thanked: 2 Times View My Garage	padmini for me too.sound.looks speed and ... fiat rules.
	() Thanks

5th June 2007, 16:40	#27
salilpawar1 BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Mumbai (MH-01) Posts: 852 Thanked: 247 Times View My Garage	Premier Padmini a.k.a. Fiat 1100D of course !!! For those who seriously want to own one and more importantly mod one... then you can check out this thread. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...0-awesome.html
	() Thanks

5th June 2007, 16:52	#28
saurabh711 BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 100 Thanked: 0 Times View My Garage	Premier Padmini.... Used to drive a petrol one during college days. Lovely sound. 118NE's gear box was simply the best I've ever driven on.
	() Thanks

5th June 2007, 16:57	#29
Hellcat BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 222 Thanked: 5 Times View My Garage	Definitely a Premier Padmini for its exhaust notes...
	() Thanks

5th June 2007, 17:10	#30
spadival Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Melbourne, AU Posts: 1,773 Thanked: 26 Times View My Garage	Have driven the Padmini, Dont like the vertical steering wheel.. its like a sailing ship's steer. And it does steer like a ship HM atleast made some futile attempts to update the Amby.. Premier gave us the 118NE instead. Hmmm.. my late grandpa owned all the above cars at some point in time. 118NE was a nightmare despite the silky gearbox. It broke down on almost every out of town trip. The Padmini is a recent addition used more as a village runabout. I have found memories of the Amby.. though never got to drive it becoz I wasnt old enough. PS: I tried fording a river in the 118NE once.. needless to say, got stuck becoz the silencer went under water. Last edited by spadival : 5th June 2007 at 17:20.
	() Thanks