[himanshugoswami]

Flash back to March 2009- I owned a Safari Dicor, which was my dream car ever since I saw the first one being unveiled at auto Expo 1998.

Had the Safari for a little over 2 years and 24 K and it came with its fair share of exhilaration and frustration. by the spring of 09, the frustrations had overtaken the exhilaration by a fair margin and I decided to cut my losses and sorrows and change my ride.

So, In came a Pearl White SX4 Zxi- and she was promptly christened White Mischief by ourvery own Mod Mobike008 . (more to do with my personality than the car!) So how has life been with the White Mischief one and a half years and 16000kms down the road.....

in one word- PEACEFUL!

enough has been written about the virtues and features of the SX4, so i will not dwell upon those. but i will focus on a few areas where this car has really impressed me.

1. Performance- In the C-segment, the Fiesta is widely acknowlged to be the enthusiasts choice followed by the ANHC- however, if there was to be a dark horse in this segment, the SX4 would surely be it. its engine is a pure gem, loves to be revved and returns performance figures that edge it past a fiesta S- be it outright acceleration or ingear bursts- strangely, this aspect of the SX4 is rarely mentioned.

2. Handling- now htis is where this car truly shines....surprised? so was I. One look at the car and you would be excused for thinking that it handles like a boat. But nothing could be further from the truth- the stiff suspension coupled with those huge tyres give it tremendous cornering and lane changing ability at high speeds. it depatches bad roads with aplomb, but the downside is a stiff ride at low speeds.

3. Build quality- this is where the SX4 has shone thru. I moved from hyderababd to Mumbai and the pathetic roads in Mumbai had me really worried. but 10 motnths down the line, the car has stood up rally well and there is no rattle whatsoever from teh car. teh only alien sound is the squak in the driver seat which seems to be coming from teh seat height adjuster mechanism.

4. F.E.- this is par for the course. Hyderabad roads and traffic made this car return 12 KPL and this has come down to 9-10 KPL in Mumbai, all with AC on- could have been better for sure and htis is one relative weakness of the SX4, esp compared to the City. just fo rthe record, highway drives see it consistently returning between 15-16 KPL.

5. A.S.S.- Varun Motors Hyd- Average
Vitesse Mumbai- Brilliant
nothing more to say about that.


The features in this car have certainly spoilt me and now I feel odd driving a car with low GC, no steering audio controls, no seat height adjust etc. But I guess that is just a question of habit.....

Now, for the crux of the matter.

Am I happy with the SX4?

YES

am I smitted by the SX4?

NO
will I buy one again?

If I were in the market for a sedan- yes i would buy it over many of today's C+ segment petrol cars as well; if the segment were open (sedan/crossover/SUV) , then no.

surpised? well, you see, the thing is that this car ticks all the right boxes in the "head" dept. but just does not tick too many in the "heart" dept for me. Even today, I had ore of a bond with the safari depite all its faults and given a chance, will gladly buy a safari again if its quality improves (hoping that the Refresh addresses that). the SX4 in comparison is more clinical and does its job without complain, but does not tug at my heart strings......(maybe, it is a case of dutiful wife VS temperamental girlfriend? ).


Cheers

Himanshu

[Vik0728]

Himanshu congrats on your Pretty Peaceful Mischief with your White Pearl!!

You Said it buddy, SX4 really ticks all the boxes as far as "Head" is concerned but probably less if "Heart" is what matters.

Guess you reserved the Best for the Last!!
***...maybe, it is a case of dutiful wife VS temperamental girlfriend?...***
hahahaha

[sonirohit]

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

I had ore of a bond with the safari depite all its faults and given a chance, will gladly buy a safari again if its quality improves (hoping that the Refresh addresses that).

@himanshu - Safari is not going to be launched in refresh - it's Vista refresh, or am I wrong?

[ampere]

Its time I think you shift to Diesel Sedans. Vento/Verna etc.
Then you dont need the last statement. The two personality mix into one!

Wait for another year. You get the 2011 Verna or by that time, Vento would settled and we will know, how VW handles after sales and also how Vento handles more KMs on the odo.


But yes: The head does say stick to the current one and dont change frequently

[himanshugoswami]

LoL! I am not looking to change my ridejust yet.....

but yes, when the time comes for an upgrade, i will be more incined towards an SUV, budget permitting.

A diesel sedan is a no-no for me.....I just dont like the concept of one. If I want a mile muncher, i will buy and Suv, else for cities, a petorl sedan/big hatch is good enough.

[vnabhi]

Nice review, Himanshu! And long overdue too.

I was told that the later models of the SX4 are giving better F.E., but I am not too sure.

When it comes to SUVs, I do not like the body roll one little bit. I am more of a sedan guy and plan to stick to sedans always. The only thing I'd like to do in an SUV is to go as a passenger.

[Meer]

You summed it pretty nicely Himanshu. A rock solid feel on the highways, take it anywhere capabilities and super light on the wallet, what else do you need from a car

Happy miles crunching to you!

[himanshugoswami]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Nice review, Himanshu! And long overdue too.

I was told that the later models of the SX4 are giving better F.E., but I am not too sure.

When it comes to SUVs, I do not like the body roll one little bit. I am more of a sedan guy and plan to stick to sedans always. The only thing I'd like to do in an SUV is to go as a passenger.

Correct Venu Bhai- for an enthusiast, sedans are the way to go. Bus as you would have noticed in the many drives that we have done, i am more of a relaxed highway cruiser and lve the high seating, good GC of and SUV, plus of course the respect it gets you on the roads, both in teh city and on highways.

[himanshugoswami]

after an exceptionally hectic month at work, got some time to myself this weekend. seeing the nice weather in Mumbai, I decided to go for a short drive and headed out with the family and some friends to Lonavala for the day. after a month of bumper to bumper traffic, both me and the SX4 were thouroughly enjoying an extended 5th gear run on the expressway.

My friend was travelling in a 1.6 fiesta and although we stuck to relatively sane speeds since families were on board (120-130 kph), this drive, esp the ghat sections gave me an opportunity to pit the handling prowess of the SX4 against the much acclaimed fiesta.

What can I say?....the fiesta got trounced everytime. I could easily carry more speed into the corners, brake a bit later and accelerate faster out of the corners. this was even more evident on the climb upto amby Valley (good drvie that one!). By no means can I say that the fiesta is not a great driver's car- in fact, I drove the festa on the way back from Amby valley upto Khandala since I wanted to experience the handling first hand. However, the SX4 felt more planted, secure and confdent at all times. Maybe the fact that this was a non-ABS fiesta made the difference.

in terms of FE- I got 14 KPL overall, which included a mad traffic snarl at Vashi and at Panvel.

Other than this, life has been prety much routine for the SX4. a faint rattle has crept up from the passenger side footwell (i think it is the speaker). will get that sorted in the next service.

due to the surprisingly cool Mumbai weather, AC usage has come down and the FE is now hovering around 11 KPL in pure city running.

O.T. the absolute highlight of the trip was the sighting of a RR Ghost coming donw from Amby vally, followed shortly thereafter by a white Continental GT (With a red sarkaari beacon on top!) and a v12 Merc S600. The roller has phenominal road presence.

also saw a group of superbikers primarily on R1s and fireblades.

[MileCruncher]

Good crisp review Himanshu bhai!

So now that the THAR has been launched and since you are not smitten by the SX4 and have also burnt your fingers with TATA, should we expect to see the THAR in your plush garage soon?


P.S: BTW has the White "Mischief" lived upto its name or not