[Shan2nu]

No.....i didn't get the words wrong. This section is dedicated to all the flaws and dislikes that you might have noticed in your car.

I know it's very hard to let it out so, i'm gonna start first....

Here are some of the negative points of owning a Vtec.

1. Harsh ride at low speeds.

2. The cabin gets very noisy when tackling bad roads.

3. The car gets very jerky when driving in bumper to bumper traffic, switching on the A/C at that point only worsens the case.

4. The 175/65 R14 tyres that come with the car can't match the power produced by the engine which results in unwanted wheel spin even as low as 2000rpm.

5. Car feels sluggish below 3000rpm and needs to be kept at high revvs to enjoy it.

6. Acceleration in 4th and 5th gears are not really that good "Thanks to the low Torque it produces".

7. The front wheels tend to lose allignment pretty often, this could be due to my driving style coz I drive it hard.....real hard.

8. Though braking a VTEC isn't scary and it doesn't lose composure............ it does lock it's wheels. That can be bad if you don't know how to tackle it.

9. I wouldn't call the gearbox the best, the New City and Accord have a far more superior and sure shift.

10. Shifting into reverse, early in the morning can be a problem.

11. Rear leg space is a problem.

Apart from these flaws, the VTEC is just about perfect. It's done 35K kms of running and i'm happy with it.

Regards...
Shan2nu

[v12]

Ok here goes the flaws in my Qualis :
1. Looks outdated
2. Feels very bumpy at the rear on bad roads.
3. 14 in wheels.
4. Poor pickup in 1st and 2nd.
5. Poor legroom for front passengers, especially for tall drivers [5 ft 8 +].

My Qualis has done 33800 kms , but still there hasnt been any problems with the engine.

[Aditya]

My Contessa 1.8 has run 45000km and here are its flaws.

1. Brakes: There are people who have absolutely loved my car's stopping power. I don't think much of the brakes though.
2. Gears: There's an irritating gap between the gears which is not good while shifting up rapidly. Gear ratios are good for the highway but sometimes annoying in the city.
3. Pickup: 0-60km/h takes about 7 seconds. Not good at all.
4. Electricals: Blown fuses are common. It's only because I keep checking things regularly that nothing drastic happens.
5. Soft suspension: Not the best for handling bad roads.

Otherwise, my Conti has been a nice car. It has not given me any big trouble. It is at its best on the highway where one can build up speed and cruise. The Conti's styling is obviously old - love it or loathe it. The engine however, is outstanding!

[Dippy]

Ok heres bout my Zen

1) bumpy Ride
2) cramped rear seats
3) lack of a bottom centre console I would have liked one consiering the dash is still very attractive
4) the centre grille is expensive and it comes in three pieces and u pay for each piece seperately
5) lack of boot space

Apart from these few things I love my Zen. Its fun to drive, very peppy and easy to manouvre in traffic . Its indeed a premium small car which I feel none of the new breed can still match.

Cheers

[Revvmaster]

Interesting topic Shan2nu. Well here's mine for the Matiz

1. Poor gearshift, 2nd is difficult to get into.
2. Low-down the car can't keep up with the other cars. (till around 40-50kmph)
3. A-Pillar blocks vision ( I actually nearly missed a Pandu once, scared the shit outta me)
4. Boot is small.

Besides that i can't think of anything significant, frankly even miniscule. The matiz is a great car, n now thankfully with GM taking over the plant, should live an even longer life.

Revvmaster

[GTO]

Its a pleasant surprise to see how honest everyone has come out with the flaws in their most desired possessions. Heres my take

Esteem Vx

1. Awful brakes. This is a really fast car, and was king of its times in 1996. But the brakes are really horrid, or rather the brake fade is terrible. If you go off on an aggresive drive for 15 kms.....the first 6 kms the brake feel and power will be just great. It will imbibe a lot of confidence in you. From the 7th to the 10th km you can literally feel them getting weaker and weaker until the 11th km where there is almost no braking power. I inititally had a tough time with this, until I got the hang of engine braking. Now its not that big an issue, since I have mastered the speed/gear combo with which to make the engine braking most effective.
2. Electricals - This car came with loaded with power windows, central locking et all. Butttttttttttt these along with the powerful a/c compressor and headlights totally strain the power supply. Try putting on the wipers with all of these on, and you'll know what I am talking about.

The Esteem has covered 130,000 kms to date and has never given me a serious problem. Heck, it hasnt even broken down once! It is still a lot of fun to drive, extremely reliable, fuel efficient and a great city/highway tool.

C Class

1. Some people have found the rear leg room to be a tad inadequate for a car of this size.
2. Quality of plastics - Though lightyears ahead of most other Indian cars, still they dont have the feel of the older "battletank" mercs.

My C has barely crossed over the 14000 km mark. Living with it has been an experience out of the ordinary. Everytime you get behind the wheel, you cant help but smile...and marvel at the level of engineering in this car. Though you get your own opinions of a Merc from roadtests, its when you live with it that all the million small pleasantries come up. Superb!

Mahindra Classic 4x4

This para may come across as an oxymoron or paradoxical, but the bad side of the Jeep actually contributes to its overall strengths. I'll give you some interesting examples. Its a little too hard for some of my friends buttttttttt thats what I love most about it. Its a Jeep and I love it for its harsh and rugged character.
Next, the ride quality on tarmac is far from comfortable, but then again its this very suspension spec that makes it an outstanding performer on off-road terrain. Leave aside off-road terrain, it takes every crater, pothole and high speedbreaker that the Indian roads through at it without a single hiccup.
The last is the gearing which is of a lower ratio than regular driving would prefer. Most of you will be aware that I am having this modified right now, putting in higher final drives. Lets see how that turns out.

My Jeep has covered 88000 kms now, and the mechanicals have held up brilliantly. The primary cause for this will be the higher quality levels relative to other Mahindras, since the Mahindra Classic was developed solely for the export market.

GTO

[navin]

hi aditya, u still u the conti. i loved mine. till my nephew took it. Mine had a fantastic Air Con. Best part about it was it was easy to tinker with. no computers or cramped engine compartment.

today i use an Astra. Not one major problem since I got it in sept 1996. compared with todays cars though it could be a bit more powerful and refined.

In fact I like my Astra so much that after considering a Corolla and Octavia I have reverted to holding on to it (the Astra) for a while. It has great interior space for a car of it's size.

[Dippy]

Youre right navin... The Astra was a very well built car. I really hope GM re launch it in its new avtaar

Cheers

[Aditya]

Hey Navin
Yes dude, I still use my Conti and love it very much. It's the only affordable RWD car in our country with a decent level of stability. The C-Class is out of reach for me and the Ambassador ... er ... has poor handling (that's an understatement). As you mentioned, the Conti's AC is fine and it's pretty easy to tinker with. The few things that I don't like about the car have been already stated.
Later.

[RJK]

Hi

the problems with my city are :

1) The suspension is not really the best & the ride is a bit bumpy at the back.
2) As shantanu said..engaging reverse in the morning can b a problem...in my case 2nd gear also in the morning is quite stiff which becomes alright l8r on.
3) At high speeds the car lacks sound proofing...i made a note of this on the expressway twice..after 150-160 the wind noise is really irritating

Apart from all this the car is really really sexy !

M3

[GTO]

For those who are not aware, the initial batch Honda City Vtecs had an ECM which caused the engine to jerk consistently in bumper to bumper traffic conditions. Another problem was excessive knocking above 4500 rpm. Honda received a lot of complaints from Vtec owners, and promptly upgraded the ECM in the summer of 2002. My Vtec, being a 2003 model, is silky smooth in slow conditions and there is not a hint of knocking anywhere in the revv band - even with regular fuel.

Buttttttttttt coming to the point of this topic, I only wish Honda had lavished on a few interior luxuries for Vtec owners. I cant help but feel that Honda have cut costs majorly on the interiors, and could have offered some extras if only for the higher end Vtec. Comparing my Vtecs interiors to a friends Lancers, the Hondas interiors fall short in the following areas:

1. No rest pedal for the left foot (really miss it on long drives).
2. No indicator for low fuel.
3. No automatic radio antennae (You have to open the window and pull it out yoursel)f.
4. No height adjustable drivers seat (A big plus in the Lancer)
5. No steering rack adjustment (Ditto)
6. The leather covering the gear knob reminds me of 800 levels of quality. Have you see the way the Lancers gear knob is presented?
7. The interior roof lining is not of the moulded type. C'mon Honda, even the 800 has moved upscale in this respect.

Buttttttttttttttttttt use that smooth and assuring gearshift, press the accelerator pedal, turn with the precise steering wheel and you know you would have paid the money for this Vtec engine alone!! Never ever fails to amaze.

GTO

[Rtech]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (navin @ Mar. 16 2004,15:01)]today i use an Astra. Not one major problem since I got it in sept 1996. compared with todays cars though it could be a bit more powerful and refined.

hey, seeing that you had the old engined Astra, didn't you have any problems with the ignition module? As an ex-Astra user myself, that module has caused me a lot of grief, even leaving stranded at Chembur once. Another time, my fuel pump failed out in the middle of nowhere!! Luckly i managed to get it running (by knockin on it with a screw driver) just long enough to get to a main road. I then had to tow it back from Khapoli!! Not fun!

But...i loved the Astra for is ride quality, interior materials, build, and its steering (though a bit heavy) and brakes were the best there is on Indian roads. I love the way the brakes respond perfectly to the amount of pressure applied to them. Personally, I feel the City brakes are way too over-servoed, a problem with most Jap cars. Same goes for the steering too.

I really did not want to let my Astra go, but it was just getting too expensive to run, and wanted to sell it before major things came up.

To sum up the Astra:
+ ives
Great Ride/handling
Very well built interiors
Solid body
Seats are like sitting on a sofa, but with better support

- ives
Rough engine
low on outright power
Terrible fuel consumption
Not the most reliable car
bad resale value

Now got a Octavia TDi, although its a litttle too early to really list its flaws, but here they r:
Rear legroom and shape of the seat. Lacks lower thigh support.
Brakes could be better, though they still have to bed in on mine.
Rear visibility: you have to trust your mirrors a lot when parking
No CD player and only 2 speakers on a 11 lakh car!
wierd smell from the blower when the AC is off.

Thats it for the first 2500 Kms.

[manticore]

hmmmm.....i have my very own M800 which i drive to college. I bought it second-hand, with the dough I made from a couple of freelance web-developing jobs that me and my frnds did for a couple of foreign clients. so u guessed it right, the car's the light of my life now, till i get another one the next year.

an M800 is a basic, no-frills car......more of a stepping stone for the common 2-wheeler guy into the world of cars. i guess for a college student who's living off his own money, there's no car to beat an M800. flaws it may have in plenty (there are too many, and we all know about it), but it offers unbeatable economy, easy manouverability and peace of mind. moreover in delhi, with minor nicks and bumps happening every little while, you can just laugh off the cost of gettin it repaired too. put in a good aircon and decent sound system, the car suits me just right.

[Dippy]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]Buttttttttttttttttttt use that smooth and assuring gearshift, press the accelerator pedal, turn with the precise steering wheel and you know you would have paid the money for this Vtec engine alone!! Never ever fails to amaze.

Cant put it better myself pal . One small drive in your Vtec made me fall in love with. I really cant wait to get my hands on a City now

[bevada]

Well Indica v2 petrol,

1. The gearshift sucks. 1st to 2nd is a pain.
2. Very short 1st gear. I dont know the technical term for it but what i mean is that i have to change to second gear pretty fast. Cant drag the car much in first unlike the esteem which i had previously.
3. Understeers. Rolls. Cant take the curve at bandra sealink at more than 90 whereas have taken it at 130 in an accent. Cant throw the car around corners. The esteem used to slide out and was fun. Ergo cant do hand brake turns which were simple in the esteem.
4. Seats are too high.
5. Small details have been missed out. Cant reach the lever for the turn indicators and light switches except with the tips of my fingers with hand on the steering wheel, the windscreen washer washes the windscreen of the car behind me.
6. NO REV COUNTER.


Otherwise the car is surprisingly good. Suspension is suited for indian roads. Decent pick up in third and fourth gears. I dragged with sam's ikon 1.6 he ran away from me in 1st and 2nd but the distance between us remained constant after i reached 3rd.


alap.