[rks]

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

Spot on - but Santro ?? i found santro to one of the most comfortable cars to drive in the city !

Yes, I am surprised too. I guess most people here have newer and better models than Santro. But the Santro is not only comfortable in the city, it has plenty of zip and maneuverability for overtakes, turning, parking etc.

The cars I have driven (for extended periods) are, Ambassador, Fiat (both of 60's vintage), Maruti 800 (1995 model) and the Santro Zipdrive (2000 model, 1 lit). So Santro is easily the best and Amby is easily the worst. Maruti 800 is OK, but a bit uncomfortable. Once I had to stand on the brakes at 80-90 kph on the Maruti when a truck suddenly pulled out in front of me when I was just about to overtake it. The car skidded and swerved, but finally came under control just in time with probably inches to spare. But the Maruti (at least the 1995 model) doesn't brake or corner well at speeds over 100 kph.

The main problem with the Santro seems to be that it lacks punch on the highways and especially the ghats. As far as I am concerned, it is good enough for most highways in India, except maybe for steep ghat roads like Ooty. I have done the Mumbai-Pune run from Sion Circle to my office in Hadapsar, Pune (a distance of 173 kms, bypassing Pune city via Kateraj) in 2 hours flat in my old Santro under traffic-free conditions and in about 2.33-2.75 hours in the evenings with normal to heavy traffic.

At least on the Mumbai-Pune run, I didn't have any problems with cornering on the Santro as somebody else mentioned - I could take corners/change lanes/overtake at reasonably high speeds (including the one at the end of Expressway near Pune or the sharp corners in the Lonawala ghat section). Perhaps this is because I overinflate my tyres to 33 psi for the highway runs and carefully check the pressures each time before starting.

Regards, rks

[Steeroid]

I once drove an Amby with a Peuguot XDP engine from the MM540 (one of the few that was retrofitted by a garage in Trivandrum before M&M clamped down on them).

I now empathise with every moving part in an automotive engine - I know how it feels to be one of them.

[burjiis]

MOST DEFINITELY The Amby...
Apart from the wonderful airconditioning, that Car,
1. Had to be pushed from the showroom to get it started when BRAND NEW.
2. Returned it for repairs because the gears so hard that it was impossible to change - BRAND NEW
3. The car was put on display in National Garage - Peddar Road for one month and we could see it everyday. On enquiring about the gear problem being fixed, they say that the parts are not available....Can you believe it, Amby's parts not available.
4. The Nova engine was smooth and had a good pick up but the clutch plate had to be changed every 3 months for the 2 year duration that we had the vehicle. (Incase you are wondering, we were not clutch riders) Never have ever had this problem on any other car.
5. The gear lever once came into my Mom's hand.
6. The front seat once just fell back while accelerating. Don't ask me how I avoided an accident.
7. The car went up in fumes one day because of some electrical short and I literally ran with my pants on fire, with all the people on the road coming in and throwing water inside the car and making it worse. It din't blow up though.
8. The seats near the driver had sunk so I would sink in between the seat and the door while driving. You can imagine my plight when I would take a left turn.

But even after all this I will not say that Amby is a bad car. We got a bad piece. We have had Ambies before and they never gave us such problems.

So I will rephrase - MH-01-3077 White Amby was the worst car I have ever driven.

Burjis

[diven_b]

its has to be the tata sumo 2.0 d.......yuk
although its used only for office work,but last week i was forced to drive it to vasai as my driver wasnt there...no seat belt.....no a/c...no nuthin...it handles like a skateborad....its 1st gear is in the place of reverse....its runs out of steam at 2800 rpm....i can just go on and on....but i think u'all get the point.

[prabuddhadg]

I must say I feel a little odd posting on this thread, but I have never disliked any car, however badly constructed or badly maintained it may well have been. If it moves I love it.
But one slightly negative experience was in a Peugeot 305SR that a friend used to have. We were driving in Calcutta traffic and the road was pretty crowded, though everyone was moving at a decent 35kmph. The car in front slowed down, and I took my foot off the accelerator pedal. I panicked when I realised my car was not slowing down. My friend was sitting next to me and he shouted for me to stop. I hit the brake at the last moment with my heart in my mouth.
Then my friend tells me this car has some wierd set up because of which the accelerator when released keeps sending the same amount of fuel to the engine. Only when brakes are applied does this reduce. Like some kind of cruise control.
I have this habit of driving using only the accelerator and minimal use of the clutch or brake. In slow traffic I shall keep distance from the car in front and instead of braking, I shall just release the accelerator and let the engine slow the car down; I shall brake only when its unavoidable. So this car made me drive in a totally different way.
Apart from this, I have absolutely no complaint with any other car. I enjoyed driving an amby which seemed to have no second gear, a fiat 1100 with an ignition that kept locking and a Morris 8 that was always waiting to break down. I enjoyed every moment of all that.
The other day, my colleague asked me to test drive his old repaired maruti 800 all the way from Kandivili to Lower Parel, 31km, in rush hour traffic. It had cross ply tyres that had extra rubber pieces stuffed in to cover a cut and the wheels were so misaligned and unbalanced that the car would shake at anything over 45-50 kmph. I had to adjust my driving, but end of the day, I can't say I hated the drive.

[zen-ith]

The worst
Tata Indica & Indigo diesel (the whole range of variants): 0-60kph in 3 hours flat! The thing just refuses to move, drives like a tank and feels like a bulldozer. The gear shift provides no feed-back (I don't know how better to put it) and changing gears feels so squishy. The driving position, or view from the driver's seat is all messed up.

Second worst
Tata Sumo- An experiment in crudeness. Every inch of it, except the electricals. But no complaints as it is a workhorse.

Third worst
Santro- It's not the engine or transmission or anything. Those are good infact. But I think it is the shape and setup of the car. I hate taking a 60kph turn on a highway. I expect the car to just roll away to the kerb.

[rks]

Originally Posted by zen-ith

[...]
Third worst
Santro- It's not the engine or transmission or anything. Those are good infact. But I think it is the shape and setup of the car. I hate taking a 60kph turn on a highway. I expect the car to just roll away to the kerb.

Come on. This is just your subjective prejudice and not indicative of any problem with the Santro. Of course, if I had a Ferrari, I would complain against the Santro's cornering abilities. It's all relative. Personally, I have taken the corners on the Lonawala ghat section on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway at speeds well in excess of 60 kph (some at 80-90 kph and sometimes while making simultaneous sharp overtakes of one or more vehicles) with no problems at all in my Santro ZipDrive. Your comments like "I expect the car to roll away to the kerb" or others saying that "I expect that the car is about to take off" while cornering or speeding, are not legitimate complaints against the Santro -- you just have to get used to such feelings if you get them (I don't). The only comment I can make here is that maybe you ought to carefully check your tyre pressures (overinflate them by 2-3 psi for highways) and your tyre condition, wheel alignment, suspension, etc. If these are OK there shouldn't be any serious problem at reasonable speeds. Let me give below a couple of my near-emergencies in the Santro while cornering at high speeds.

On one occasion, I was almost caught napping at the entrance to a tunnel at the ghat section where one has to take a sharp left (on the Pune-Mumbai stretch of the Expressway near Lonawala). I was approaching this tunnel very fast, (~90 kph ?), when the Qualis in front of me in the middle lane abruptly slowed down just before the entrance. I had no choice but to rapidly shift to the right lane and simultaneously brake my Santro while turning sharp left into the tunnel. The Santro handled it superbly, albeit with some very heavy screeching from the Bridgestone S322 tyres. To top it all , immediately after entering the tunnel, I run into a blinding sheet of water. This was on one of my early trips on the Expressway. Now I am older and wiser, of course ...

The only real problem I have had on the Santro while cornering is on the small series of bumps just before a sharp turn to the right on the bridge approaching the Lonawala ghat section on the Pune-Mumbai stretch of the Expressway. I think these bumps are very badly placed, almost on the sharp corner. On one occasion, I approached this corner very fast and braked exactly while going over the bumps; to my surprise, I found the rear wheels losing grip and sliding to the right, while the front wheels tugged sharply to the left. I momentarily felt that the car was going to overturn to my right, but the car instantly corrected itself when I released the brakes and steered right into the potential skid (and into the corner); again, noisy protest from my Bridgestone tyres, but the corner negotiated safely. Similarly on the small bumps as you approach the toll gates, I found that the Santro's grip on the road was poor and the car tugged to my left while I tested the brakes. It is ironic that these bumps cause the very problems that they are supposed to prevent. I would have breezed through the corner in question but for these bumps.

I don't know about others, but I am totally against speed-breakers and the very speed-breaker concept (obstruct and slow down your fellow human being). Maybe someone ought to start a new thread on the various safety hazards posed by these monsters, not to mention the grievous damgage that can be caused to your vehicle.
Regards, rks

[Boom Shiva]

Originally Posted by burjiis

7. The car went up in fumes one day because of some electrical short and I literally ran with my pants on fire, with all the people on the road coming in and throwing water inside the car and making it worse. It din't blow up though.

So how did you manage to put out the fire? Not the one in the car...the other one.

[opalcute]

Wonder! No one speaks about a 118 NE (esp. with radial tyres)!!!

( I m owing one)

[zenx]

1. chevy cavalier (louder than anything, and its context slower too)
2. accent (high boring-ness quotient)
3. santro (never felt "part" of the car)

The amby's tough to drive - but loads of character. Gypsy's fun tho a pain.

Always wondered how the Standard Herald would handle - one of my friend's dad had one - never got to drive it.

[maxbhp]

It has to be the old Scorpio in terms of handling and old indica interms of Engine.

[autozealot]

I think the Tata Indigo Diesel. Primarily for its gears. They really make you feel disgusted. Gear ratio problem, I suppose.

Cant forget the Mahindra Bolero for its unfriendly positioning of switchgears, music system, hand-brake etc.....

az

[sumitdongerkery]

For me it has to be the Diesel Indigo and Indica. It is pathetic to drive these cars especially in stop and go trffic in places like Mumbai. By the time the car starts moving it has to stop again. It makes a lot of noise but takes a lot of time to move.

[diven_b]

look like the tata's are on everyones hate list

[kpzen]

My mpfi ZEN with full blast AC n 5 adults on board....Its not the worst but still frustrating to drive bcos of its sluggishness... .
Switch of the AC n it turns into a pocket rocket...

KP