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Originally Posted by RoadTiger Many many congrats PGNarain on your new ride. The Carens in black looks really good - probably the best among all colours I've seen on it. |
Thanks a lot RoadTiger and yes, I thought as well that the black color looks best on the Carens.
Coming to your questions, most of them are very subjective and I will try my best to do justice, but would strongly suggest you ask for extended test drives to flesh out your requirements either from the showroom or within your friends circle!
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Originally Posted by RoadTiger 1. Ride - seems like Carens trumps the Hector in all conditions. Is that a marginal or noticeable difference? |
I feel it is a noticeable difference for sure. Some difference could also be because our Hector's tyres are now 37k old but would still say that the Carens has a more comfy and compliant ride. The one place I felt the Hector is better is when you bump through large potholes and my Carens suspension crashed through but the Hector was unfazed. Having said that, both are supremely comfortable and at least for the Hector I can wholeheartedly attest to the fact that it is an amazing long distance cruiser.
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Originally Posted by RoadTiger 2. Body roll - again, seems Carens has low body roll vs the Hector (not surprising). How does that impact confidence for turns/ lane changes at faster than city speeds ? |
At City speeds, I would say both are firmly tied. Out on open roads and highways, I have mixed views at least for now. The Carens has less body roll for sure, but I kept feeling it understeered or maybe it is lack of my experience in driving a diesel that makes me feel so. Same goes for sudden lane changes. However, the Hector's steering is very neutral and I surely enjoy driving it more then the Carens.
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Originally Posted by RoadTiger 3. In-cabin experience - the Carens clearly seems to have some party tricks including nicer ambient lighting, better storage spaces etc. How do you compare the two - in terms of overall cabin experience, quality of materials and creature conveniences ? |
Ooh, this is a tough one. In terms of material, creature conveniences and features, I guess both are tied. Eg - Carens has seat ventilation but my Hector has electronic seat adjust and has larger, more accommodating seats and so on.
I guess this will come down to what you want for yourself. One important thing that works in favor of the Carens are the physical buttons and their finish. Infact I feel the only chink in the otherwise very robust armour of the Hector is lack of physical buttons and a laggy touchscreen interface.
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Originally Posted by RoadTiger 4. Quality of sheet metal, window glass, roof liner etc seemed definitely better in Hector than Carens. However, the build quality, fit & finish overall seemed similar for both, perhaps slightly better in the Carens. Your experience ? |
Agree with your assessment partly in that overall I would say the Hector surely has better or at least on par materials compared to the Carens.
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Originally Posted by RoadTiger 5. When I test drove the Carens, there was some squeaky noise in the cabin - I attributed that to the tumbled down captain seat. But left me a little concerned about rattles in general in the Carens, longer term. The Hector on the other hand seemed like new even after the test drive car had done more than 13K kms. I know its very early days to ask this question - but whats your experience with the Hector ? |
A long term question, so of course can't say yet for the Carens. On the Hector, yes totally agree that after + 2 years and 37000kms, the car feels absolutely 100%. We did have a terrible squeak creep into the center tunnel around a year back, besides other small issues but each time one trip to the service centre corrected it all. Infact, and in retrospect I consider the after sales service component a VERY BIG and major factor in favor of the Hector. We have a premium plan for the Hector and it has been an absolutely brilliant experience. I dont think this thread is the right place to elaborate on it and will be off-topic but i cannot stress this enough and do factor this in your purchase.
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Originally Posted by RoadTiger 6. To me, the Hector/ Hector Plus has a higher seating position, a more commanding view of the road - and feels at least half a segment higher than the Carens in the drive, look & feel. Any comments ? |
The Carens feels a good size smaller and lacks the sheer road presence of a Hector, offers a more MUV driving position and view out the windscreen.Hands down the Hector comes out on top here.
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Originally Posted by RoadTiger 7. Given a choice for a long, expressway drive with family (other than the petrol diesel difference apart), which would you chose ? |
If FE is not to be considered, no questions about and it would be the Hector all the way!
it has more space, is a larger car, has a much better music system, the panoramic sunroof really comes into its own on those beach / mountain holidays, she even today draws jealous stares from people on the road and for a sedate driver like me, I don't even mind the atrocious Turbo lag!
Best of Luck!