[Motoringlover]

Introduction

Guys – To all us enthusiasts, a car is very special and something that connects with us mentally and emotionally, it is very difficult for a non-car person to understand a car person and it makes it worse when you make a living preaching financial wisdom to the planet and all of it goes out of the window when it comes to a man's car, and becomes an uphill task explaining to your spouse how come all exceptions to finances are instantly acceptable.

Ladies and Gentlemen - I start my story with line from the Movie transporter "Respect a man's car - the man respects you" - I hope to keep my experience current and active. Thanks for your patience and time.

[Motoringlover]

My Story

Need for the car - Well my excuse - My car lease was running out - This meant I could either pay for new big car and pay a big lease amount [even though with tax benefits] every month or I could get myself a used car which could be equally fun minus the monthly ache when it comes to an impact to the pay check, but my issue was more a mental block when it comes to a used car than anything else - i have never bought a used car and had quite a few apprehensions in mind - what if I was to get a nuisance home - what if the car was not reliable - kept reading reviews but never could commit to a purchase decision. I kept sitting on the fence for a while - decided a mental cap on the investment and started my pursuit. I had two separate budgets one for new and other for the used. My max cap for a used car was 5L and a new car [Lease only] which intended to keep a minimum for 6-7 years I was looking at a price range between 12-14 Lacs.

New Cars that I was looking at - [Not in the order of preference]

1. Chevrolet Cruze.
2. Honda Civic
3. Laura TSI
4. Honda City
5. Corolla Altis.

Used Cars that were part of my radar

1. Honda Civic
2. Mitshubishi Cedia
3. Fiesta 1.6

[Motoringlover]

Test Drive Experience - New Cars.

Chevrolet Cruze -

The Good -

1. Had some serious power and Torque.
2. Oil burner - can offer me a good monthly range.
3. Fit my budget well - I was targeting the LT variant.
4. Driver seating position.


The not so good -

1. The clutch was not easy - I can't explain the feeling. Wife totally was not at ease driving it. I was still OK with it.
2. The car was not very easy to drive in peak traffic - my calf started aching after a short drive, i really could not attribute what the issue was - may be i was being apprehensive of the car, may be it was the clutch - combination of factors.
3. My family has never owned an American car in India - The general perception of them not retaining their value well - this perception was purely based on street talk - no real research.

Verdict - Wife was very clear - I am not at ease with this car - lets look at something else.

Honda Civic

The Good -

1. Loved the design - Felt more like a air plane cockpit than a car.
2. Driver seating position.
3. Fit my budget well - I was targeting the S variant - at the time of review the discount also was icing on the cake.


The not so good - Well not really a lot.

1. My general reluctance to commit and an overall feeling that the car may not retain its value well considering its a petrol car.
2. Low end torque a bit low - but guess i am nitpicking now.

Verdict - I was not sure if wanted to commit financially - never reviewed it again.

Laura TSI

The Good -
1. Had some serious power and Torque.
2. Fit my budget well - I was targeting the base variant.
3. Driver seating position.
4. Good Music System.
5. Awesome boot.
6. I also felt the ride quality was pretty good. No complaints from family.

The not so good - Well not really a lot.

1. My general reluctance to commit and an overall feeling that the car may not retain its value well considering its a petrol car.
2. Quite a bit of negative feedback on the support for the car, especially with a significant investment.
3. At low Revvs - both me and wife stalled the car - I got used to it sooner, but wife felt a bit of strain. It makes up for the moment you cross ~1500 [I could be wrong here]

Verdict - I was not sure if wanted to commit financially - This was a close next option.


Honda City - Very good value for money - Booked it and cancelled it. Virtues very similar to civic - but lacked excitement of a turbo charged engine from the next segment.

Corolla Altis - Took a very small drive - did not like it, this was close to the Civic drive - felt the design element/ youthfulness in the Civic were missing. Plus its was beige - not favourite colour.

At the end of the TD's - TSI was going to be the pick if it was going to be a new car.

[Motoringlover]

Test Drive Experience- Used Cars

Now i was looking for used cars in Hyderabad - My experience leads me to believe, not a whole lot of options if you are looking for an enthusiast car, the examples that i came across where not in the best of nick and the premium commanded for the cars - i simply could not reason with.

I came across 4 Civic's - only 2 worth talking about - which were at 36K and 40K [40K being automatic] - 3 year old cars with price expectation being very high. The excluded cars had too many nicks on the exterior and the interiors were also looking very tired.

1 Fiesta - The car was ok to drive - My mechanic gave me a clean chit - Price was also reasonable - kept thinking TSI - but was settling for fiesta - this was my fault - deliberated for too long and the car was gone.

No Cedia available.

[Motoringlover]

Now with no clear pick in the used car segment, i was mentally preparing my self for the Laura TSI, with the thought process of used cars are not for me. Now at this point i had alienated a significant portion of my family with my car discussions and indecisiveness and reached a point that we will have any conversation with you - but a car conversation. which meant my mates took the brunt - Especially my bhp mates -

Ardy, Raveendra,Mobike008,Milecruncher,Vnabhi,Sameerpb, RR, Chetan, Silverwood, & Spadix – Thank you very much for tolerating my indecisiveness - You guys totally rock.

As part of a normal phone conversation a fellow Tbhp member [Ardy – I can’t thank you enough mate] offered a chance to drive a 220 bhp version of Octavia VRS. Now I had heard about the VRS but never had driven one - but after the drive it was VRS or nothing - i was now looking for compelling reasons to not take the plunge. My bhp mates came to the rescue and decided to take the plunge.

[Motoringlover]

Now with my recent experience in Hyderabad looking for a used car in good nick and also with my VRS experience, i decided to expand my horizons and start looking at Delhi NCR also as market. I looked at close to 6 Octavia VRS cars as part of the search and narrowed down for a ~60K 2005 Silver VRS.

I did not want a modified car, i was able to trace down a VRS from a fellow big4 audit firm colleague, he was kind enough to let me get an independent mechanic evaluation and we closed the deal with very little haggling, the gentlemen kept the car in good nick and we closed on the deal sometime back in March-2012.

[Motoringlover]

After I got the initial paper work completed, I sent the car for the 60K service, i insisted on getting the all lubes changed, the attention was also given to hoses - i learnt that they can cause quite a bit of nuisance, if not attended to in time. Drove the car post the service and left the car in Delhi for the next 4 months, my family was using it, my father in law was very excited using the RS and almost ended up tempting one for himself too.

Overall I got to drive my RS only during my recent Delhi trip, it was an agonizing wait of 4 months before i got her to Hyderabad. In between i also decided to get the injectors cleaned i can feel the improvement in response and also decided to get the car detailed

My primary goal with the detailing was to ensure my Alloys which were looking tired, look better - I am happy with the end result. Thanks ricky_63 for the recommendation.

[Motoringlover]

Initial Driving Impressions -

The Good -

1. RS is an absolute rocket once you hit the turbo zone and decimates anything in its path with the sheer acceleration. I absolutely love it.

2. Handling - My goal was power and handling and i think i have found the right balance.

3. Driving comfort - I like the posture and feel of the road feeling via the steering [some people may find it heavy] and the front seats hold you well.

4. Gearbox - Like the slick shifting nature of the box.

5. Fuel Economy - Now i may draw criticism on this - but i am reasonably happy with the FE so far [9-10] with a light foot, i don't have a very long commute and overall drive about ~12-15K KM's a year, which will be split between two cars, so nothing much to complain on this segment.


The Bad.

1. Back seats are definitely not very parents friendly - Mom simply hates the stiff ride and also does not like the low slung nature of the car.

2. With the front bumper being really low - makes it prone to road hits and especially with respect to the poorly constructed breakers, i simply have to slow down to crawl speeds.

3. Aircon - I hate the fresh air mode on start - i wish i could disable this ?

4. The previous owner had installed a second set of tires - Yokohama A drives - after sprinted drive - i have observed tire smell - even though i was not really spinning the wheel. I might need to consider better tires.

Additional feedback from a women driver -

The Good

1. Car feels stable and you feel secure - thanks to the build quality.

2. It is like a normal car below 2200 RPM. [Turbo lag manageable]

The Bad.

1. Steering is very heavy - [the comparison are being made to a Santro - Not the best benchmark, but who can argue]

2. Clutch also feels a bit heavy, but not as heavy as cruze.

3. Turning radius is long - Again comparisons being made to a Santro.

Build Quality

Interiors - I like overall feel of the car - she is now 7 years old, yet does not feel that way, not one squeak from any corner, I am now a big fan of the build quality. My wagon on the other had is also 7 years with over 100K on the ODO, but does show her age on the interior side. The dashboard looks a bit spartan in comparison to the TSI, but to be fair to RS1, she has aged beautifully, this may be a bit premature - i am starting to like the Europeans over their Japanese/Korean counterparts on interior build quality.

I do want to get my seats cleaned up - they are showing a bit of their age now, i would like to improve on that department.

Exteriors - RS1 has been well kept - Always kept in a covered garage during the previous ownerships and i am continuing the same, the paint is in reasonable good nick, there was a bit of a chip in paint next to the headlamp washer, which i took care of during my most recent interaction with the garage, overall has aged well. God willing don't think will need to be investing in that department.

[Motoringlover]

Modifications -

I don't plan on making any immediate modifications, though i am open to suggestions. This may very well change after the next Tbhp meet.

RS1 is already on her second set of tires and may have been driven about ~20K KM's on them, now they don't visually look that they need to be replaced, but what i have observed with my recent heavy right foot driving, I get a smell of burnt rubber [Without any aggressive wheel spins], I need to consult an expert for the correct speed rating for the tires and also am open to suggestions if the members feel the A-drives may not be adequate, i am open to upgrading them, I don't want to compromise on safety.

Upgrades-

I have upgraded the Audio player - to http://www.jvc.co.in/car/cd_receiver...6bt/index.html - Reasonably pleased with it. I am using them with the exiting speaker on the car. I don't like to move away from the OE look, if the members can recommend an upgrade which can fit the exiting speaker locations, I would be grateful.

[Motoringlover]

Some learning resources which helped me arrive at a decision were few of the below listed threads, it helped me immensely overcome my fear of buying a used car. My sincere thanks to the authors of the thread.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/buying...car-india.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/buying...pees-less.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/buying...-car-less.html

Note to Mod's - I wanted to include my learning/research process, Please feel free to remove it, if not required.

Please let me know if you would like to see anything specific.

Thank you very much for your time and patience reading through my review. Please pardon any amateur errors in the review.

Best - Motoringlover.

[mobike008]

Note from Mod: Thread moved to Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[blackbeast]

Congratulations !
One of the downside of picking up cars like rs, cedia and s10 is the interiors and dash in particular. The exteriors will never fade away in competition to present cars. Hope you'll live with it as other aspects make up for it. Its a dream car for many who have budget but very few pick it up. So, Have fun with it.

used civics are all over the place. plenty with <20k. any reason to go towards 7 yr old car against a newer ? Could you also post the price paid and some more pictures. One from the front with tyres turned out of the wheel arches and other with HIDs

[Motoringlover]

Originally Posted by blackbeast

used civics are all over the place. plenty with <20k. any reason to go towards 7 yr old car against a newer ? Could you also post the price paid and some more pictures. One from the front with tyres turned out of the wheel arches and other with HIDs

Thanks blackbeast - Finding used civic may be easy in the metros, I had a pretty tough time finding something in reasonable nick in Hyderabad, but I also need to confess - after a drive in the RS I was mentally looking more passionately for the VRS. I have attached some more pictures. Please let me know if you would like any more angles.

Please pardon the quality of the pictures. Cellphone camera.

Thanks - ML

[vnabhi]

Fabulous review of a marvelous car! Wish you many miles of motoring on it.

As regards the tyres, I suggest you hold on to the current ones if the tread is good. Or else you can try to go for Yoko S drives or the Michelin XM2 ones.

I have a question: what is the difference between a RS and a VRS?

[Motoringlover]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

I have a question: what is the difference between a RS and a VRS?

thanks Venu Saab - I am not sure of the exact rationale, I have used it interchangeably - I believe its is victor rally sport. May be the other members can share more on this.

Best - ML.