Is the NHC all show and no go ?

Akshay1234 · 27th January 2008, 11:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by tanmay_ambre

Lot of comments I have seen on performance. Even iDSI can reach unbelievable speeds. I have been pushed back into the seat by this humble iDSI.

you probably dont weigh much then.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hellspawn

That is very surprising because I'm 6'2" and I'm pretty comfortable.

im more than 6'3" and when i sat in the nhc i didnt find it uncomfortable but i did feel as though i was too close to the roof. it felt a bit high.

extreme_torque · 27th January 2008, 11:56

Lets go back to the car which was sold before this. I am not able to explain to myself why did that car sold at all, especially at the price they were asking for it. The interiors were horrible, not even moulded roof, the ride was harsh, the seating was too low for comfort and every car I drove with 30k+ on the clock had rattles.
Agreed the engine was and is a gem, steering razor sharp and the low seating just heightened the pleasure of it all but what else. People who bought this were not enthusiasts. I guess it was the Honda brand and the fuel average coupled with good looks... that is all an average Indian wants. That model wasnt doing bad at all when Honda again made the master move when it launched the newer generation city at a price which was considerably lower than the previous generation model. What else could you expect, the car was and is even bigger success. The enthusiats kept crying at the demise of the old car still it sold, tells me that the percentage of enthusiasts buying the city at first place was very very low indeed.
I am an enthusiasts too but even if I had the cash I would have had hard time explaining myself spending 10 lakhs on a car with horrible suspension and even horrible interiors, most insipid looking OEM alloys ever on an Indian car. In india a car is an investment (the safer the investment the better), a status symbol (Uhhhh hondah!) and means to transport people from point A to B add fuel efficiency and looks and it completes the whole picture jolly well and these are the factors which govern a purchase. The city clicks all the right boxes and hence sells.
I lost all my respect for Honda when I learnt that they want us to pay Rs. 4000 (or even more?) for gold plated outside door locks and the badges, instead of the normal chrome.
They are milking the Indian customer like there's no tomorrow. No offences to anyone but I absolutely hate and detest the City, its a souless car, it cannot talk to me.... its just a machine.

condor · 27th January 2008, 11:58

Quote:

supremeBaleno

: .... high seating (more comfortable ingress / egress)...

Ingress-Egress is a major plus point with the NHC.

Quote:

avimal

: 2. Height available to driver is very less. I could fit only 3 fingers above my head. I am only 5'8".

Head room is not directly proportional to Total height of a person. I'm 5'8" and havent found much extra headroom in an Accord either. And for that matter, my entire 40K km experience in the Accord was with the driver's seat pushed all the way back.

Quote:

avimal

: 3. In general, Bonnet is very small in honda cars and I feel it is not safe for head on collision as more impact will be passed to the passengers in case of collision. Though I am not sure of collision test results.

Bonnet length does not have that much to do with collision behaviour. Do check the collision test results. The car will (have to) be designed with crumple zones to absorb impact.

jat · 27th January 2008, 16:29

extreme_torque has put it the right way. The guys at design labs follow the market research. In India, the for majority, car is an investment. Also most of the people, don't buy car for FTD factor. Look at sales figures and the cars specs - for example, the boot space, space inside, FE, cost etc for cars in this categories. Compare them and you will immediately get the big picture. The guys there (Honda company), are out to make money and if they can make money on there brand name by providing all the factors, why not. The thread asks for average guys. And Honda has always made engines first and then the cars :-) IDSi engine is a fantastic engine. And they have never tried to woo the FTD market, because they know where the money lies. See the TATAs with Indica, Indigo and now lakhtakiya Nano. For FTD, they are keeping Accord and modification in Sonata made them run to their drawing boards.

So, instead of going gaga or thumbs down about NHC, why don't we just compare NHC with NHC only on following basis. You can give points from 1~5 for say, build quality, driveability (not formula racing), acceleration (or overtaking), space, practicality, feel (heart or head) :-) etc etc

I have driven Honda Jazz (Auto). Well, it is a good car. I can not comment on FE. However, the car is quite roomy, power delivery was quite smooth but not to push you back in the seat and air con was good. The things which I didn't like was steering - not linear with slight understeer and very light (drive Ford Icon in mountains and you will know) and brakes - they were again not gradual and linear.

sj_koova · 27th January 2008, 18:20

Anyone know how was the sales figures for NHC in 2007. I am sure it would have been heavily hit after the introduction of SX4/Fiesta and the price cut of Cedia.

I am a fan of Honda (experience with Accord in the US) but never a fan of NHC . It was more of a hype and promoted by brand name. Only good thing with NHC is FE, or else it is never a value for money car.

avimal · 28th January 2008, 11:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by diabloo

Why don't you turn the driver seat adjustment knob & sit comfortably?

Knob was at lowest level to give max. space when I tried.

avimal

diabloo · 28th January 2008, 12:02

Here are my test results:
My height: 5'8"
NHC driver seat height: Max height.
Gap between my head & roof: 6 inches.

Quote:

Originally Posted by avimal

Knob was at lowest level to give max. space when I tried.

avimal

Let me try in other cars.

avimal · 28th January 2008, 12:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by diabloo

Why don't you turn the driver seat adjustment knob & sit comfortably?

Quote:

Originally Posted by diabloo

Here are my test results:
My height: 5'8"
NHC driver seat height: Max height.
Gap between my head & roof: 6 inches.

Let me try in other cars.

Hi diabloo,

I can only think of one reason for this. Your legs are bigger than mine. We should see body height from sitting position. I am 100% sure about the result as I asked the dealer who was not able to help me.

I tried the same in Cedia, I could fit in 6 fingers easily. I will measure the space in inches next time so that we have quantitative data to support. Though I am not sure if head room space is that important. What is the right headroom space for driver? can this space be important in case of roll over and collisions. I know headroom space is very big in hummer and mercedes. can anybody comment?

avimal

narayan · 29th January 2008, 05:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by narasimha raju

Simply one question. Why Honda is leading in sales of almost all segments where it released it models in India and rated top in customer satisfaction survey as per ACI Jan 2008 edition?.

simple answer - the world does not work on logic or reason

pmbabu · 29th January 2008, 07:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by narayan

simple answer - the world does not work on logic or reason

To think that all NHC buyers don't go by logic and reason is too naive, I would say. As some others have pointed out already, it is the non-NHC owners who usually rake up issues against NHC. The owners are pretty comfortable with what they have spent on what they consider as worth for their money. Yes, NHC bottoms out at monster speed breakers, but with practice (and patience), one can avoid hitting them. I have suggested this to some of my colleagues who bought NHC and they don't hit speed breakers anymore. Of plastic quality and comfort, no other car in that range comes anywhere near. Next time you have access to NHC, go and check out the controls of turn signals and wipers, then compare that plastic quality with other cars, you will know what I mean. Finally, everyone compromises on something while buying a car. It is the quality and comfort for some (if VFM is the strong criteria) and it is the extra money for some. BTW, if someone can suggest what is the best Petrol sedan alternative to NHC for drive in the City (don't just compare the cost), it would be nice, isn't it?

benbsb29 · 29th January 2008, 10:06

I never did like the NHC. Somehow, i couldnt get over the spaceship like looks it sported when it was launched. With the facelift, the ZX looked a lot more complete, and not like someone had forgotten to complete his job.

It was when i got the chance to travel in my friend's NHC did i begin to go beyond the looks of the car, and appreciate the thought that went into its design, specially the interiors. The amount of storage space it provided, the feel of the interiors (non-quantifiable) all made me realize why some/a lot of people were ready to part with their money for this car. Frankly, for being driven around it makes for a good buy, if you have cash to splash for it.

Now the big question is... if i had that money would i go for the NHC?
NO. I love to drive, and in that segment it would be the Fiesta for me, followed by the SX4. Interiors arent really so much of a deciding factor for me.

GTO · 29th January 2008, 10:59

Topic has been discussed enough, with this not being the first time that such a topic on the NHC has surfaced.

Thread closed.

27th January 2008, 11:56	#47
extreme_torque Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Melbourne Posts: 4,376 Thanked: 5,105 Times	Lets go back to the car which was sold before this. I am not able to explain to myself why did that car sold at all, especially at the price they were asking for it. The interiors were horrible, not even moulded roof, the ride was harsh, the seating was too low for comfort and every car I drove with 30k+ on the clock had rattles. Agreed the engine was and is a gem, steering razor sharp and the low seating just heightened the pleasure of it all but what else. People who bought this were not enthusiasts. I guess it was the Honda brand and the fuel average coupled with good looks... that is all an average Indian wants. That model wasnt doing bad at all when Honda again made the master move when it launched the newer generation city at a price which was considerably lower than the previous generation model. What else could you expect, the car was and is even bigger success. The enthusiats kept crying at the demise of the old car still it sold, tells me that the percentage of enthusiasts buying the city at first place was very very low indeed. I am an enthusiasts too but even if I had the cash I would have had hard time explaining myself spending 10 lakhs on a car with horrible suspension and even horrible interiors, most insipid looking OEM alloys ever on an Indian car. In india a car is an investment (the safer the investment the better), a status symbol (Uhhhh hondah!) and means to transport people from point A to B add fuel efficiency and looks and it completes the whole picture jolly well and these are the factors which govern a purchase. The city clicks all the right boxes and hence sells. I lost all my respect for Honda when I learnt that they want us to pay Rs. 4000 (or even more?) for gold plated outside door locks and the badges, instead of the normal chrome. They are milking the Indian customer like there's no tomorrow. No offences to anyone but I absolutely hate and detest the City, its a souless car, it cannot talk to me.... its just a machine. Last edited by extreme_torque : 27th January 2008 at 11:59.
	() Thanks

27th January 2008, 16:29	#49
jat BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: SINGAPORE Posts: 265 Thanked: 7 Times	extreme_torque has put it the right way. The guys at design labs follow the market research. In India, the for majority, car is an investment. Also most of the people, don't buy car for FTD factor. Look at sales figures and the cars specs - for example, the boot space, space inside, FE, cost etc for cars in this categories. Compare them and you will immediately get the big picture. The guys there (Honda company), are out to make money and if they can make money on there brand name by providing all the factors, why not. The thread asks for average guys. And Honda has always made engines first and then the cars :-) IDSi engine is a fantastic engine. And they have never tried to woo the FTD market, because they know where the money lies. See the TATAs with Indica, Indigo and now lakhtakiya Nano. For FTD, they are keeping Accord and modification in Sonata made them run to their drawing boards. So, instead of going gaga or thumbs down about NHC, why don't we just compare NHC with NHC only on following basis. You can give points from 1~5 for say, build quality, driveability (not formula racing), acceleration (or overtaking), space, practicality, feel (heart or head) :-) etc etc I have driven Honda Jazz (Auto). Well, it is a good car. I can not comment on FE. However, the car is quite roomy, power delivery was quite smooth but not to push you back in the seat and air con was good. The things which I didn't like was steering - not linear with slight understeer and very light (drive Ford Icon in mountains and you will know) and brakes - they were again not gradual and linear.
	() Thanks

27th January 2008, 18:20	#50
sj_koova BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 673 Thanked: 620 Times View My Garage	Anyone know how was the sales figures for NHC in 2007. I am sure it would have been heavily hit after the introduction of SX4/Fiesta and the price cut of Cedia. I am a fan of Honda (experience with Accord in the US) but never a fan of NHC . It was more of a hype and promoted by brand name. Only good thing with NHC is FE, or else it is never a value for money car.
	() Thanks

29th January 2008, 10:06	#56
benbsb29 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Brisbane Posts: 9,968 Thanked: 13,218 Times View My Garage	I never did like the NHC. Somehow, i couldnt get over the spaceship like looks it sported when it was launched. With the facelift, the ZX looked a lot more complete, and not like someone had forgotten to complete his job. It was when i got the chance to travel in my friend's NHC did i begin to go beyond the looks of the car, and appreciate the thought that went into its design, specially the interiors. The amount of storage space it provided, the feel of the interiors (non-quantifiable) all made me realize why some/a lot of people were ready to part with their money for this car. Frankly, for being driven around it makes for a good buy, if you have cash to splash for it. Now the big question is... if i had that money would i go for the NHC? NO. I love to drive, and in that segment it would be the Fiesta for me, followed by the SX4. Interiors arent really so much of a deciding factor for me.
	() Thanks

29th January 2008, 10:59	#57
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 70,512 Thanked: 300,698 Times View My Garage	Topic has been discussed enough, with this not being the first time that such a topic on the NHC has surfaced. Thread closed.
	() Thanks