[Vid6639]

Actually I'm not sure if the transmission would compensate for the loss of power due to CNG and LPG.

Say the gearbox is designed to shift at a particular rpm for a given accelerator input. What if the engine is unable to pull for that shift point. Will it still work?

It may work as the gearbox usually takes care of uphill/downhill as well as depending on load on the car. So maybe but will be interesting to have more details.

[deetjohn]

Took TD of A-star Auto.

Nice little car for the city. Not too much lag and the performance is adequate for the city. It pulls well from a stop. And with ABS as well. Did not try any overtaking though and I was just puttering around. The car worked well in those conditions.

The problems are the high set dash, cramped rear seat and poor boot space.

Ex. showroom price: 4.54L/ 4.57L (Non Met/ Met)

Cash Discount: 20K
Corp. Discount: 3K
Ex. Bonus: 20K

The sales guy had no idea what each gears meant though. In the initial briefing, he told me 'L' was overdrive for long drives.

[manojas]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Took TD of A-star Auto.

Nice little car for the city. Not too much lag and the performance is adequate for the city. It pulls well from a stop. And with ABS as well. Did not try any overtaking though and I was just puttering around. The car worked well in those conditions.

The problems are the high set dash, cramped rear seat and poor boot space.

Ex. showroom price: 4.54L/ 4.57L (Non Met/ Met)

Cash Discount: 20K
Corp. Discount: 3K
Ex. Bonus: 20K

The sales guy had no idea what each gears meant though. In the initial briefing, he told me 'L' was overdrive for long drives.

These are the revised prices I suppose. Any details on the on road prices after discount?

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by manojas

These are the revised prices I suppose. Any details on the on road prices after discount?

The price (W.E.F 16/01/12) I got from Pratham.

Ex. Showroom: 4.54L / 4.57L
Road Tax: 66K
Insurance: 14K
Incidental Ex: 5.5K
Basic Accessories: 1.3K
Ex Warranty: 4.5K

OTR: 5.46L / 5.49L

Discount as per my earlier post.

[k_nitin_r]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

The problems are the high set dash, cramped rear seat and poor boot space.

The sales guy had no idea what each gears meant though. In the initial briefing, he told me 'L' was overdrive for long drives.

Does the A-Star AT come with a CNG or LPG option? I wonder why more vehicle manufacturers don't match a diesel engine to an automatic transmission.

A high dash is hard to deal with because for the rear you can get parktronics or a camera but there is little that you can do for the front. Infiniti has a 360-degree camera view but I haven't seen it available as an after-market option.

Oh, and perhaps you should tell the salesman providing you with a test drive that it is a long distance from your house to the showroom so he should drive on 'L' - the car would probably need a visit to their workshop by the time he does actually get to the showroom.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by k_nitin_r

I wonder why more vehicle manufacturers don't match a diesel engine to an automatic transmission.

Simple - the cost of the vehicle would be high due to diesel + AT combination, making it lack interest in the eyes of the average buyer, leading to low volumes. The diesel-mill itself is around 1lakh more than the same petrol trim. Add AT to it and price goes up by another 40-60K. Add ABS for AT, it is another 20K. The final price after taxes would be such that people would instead go for the low-end version of the next better model.

Originally Posted by k_nitin_r

A high dash is hard to deal with because for the rear you can get parktronics or a camera but there is little that you can do for the front.

In the AT version, driver seat-height adjustment is provided and this alleviates the high-dash problem. Same in Zxi too. Not sure if VXi has this.

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by k_nitin_r

Does the A-Star AT come with a CNG or LPG option?

No. It doesn't. Only petrol.

Originally Posted by k_nitin_r

Oh, and perhaps you should tell the salesman providing you with a test drive that it is a long distance from your house to the showroom so he should drive on 'L' - the car would probably need a visit to their workshop by the time he does actually get to the showroom.

.

I have seen it with most dealers. The sales guys don't bother to keep themselves updated on the spec or other details of the low volume models.

[superlux]

One thing that most people seem to be missing or simply are unaware of is that autos are also needed for physically challenged persons. A close relative of mine has a muscular dystrophy problem and it is difficult for him to change gears. The added problem is that the automatics today are out of his budget. It would do such people a world of good if companies like Maruti and Hyundai could provide AT in their base models like the Alto or Santro which could be more affordable. I believe that Maruti used to have such a policy earlier but they discontinued it later.

[supremeBaleno]

^^^ Yes, I have read on the forum about even the humble M800 coming earlier in AT version, though I have never seen one in the flesh. And I guess it was mainly to address the needs of the physically challenged as you mentioned.

Santro also used to have AT version, but was discontinued - maybe after i10-AT came in.

[manojas]

I own a Safari and in the past 5 months I am driving ~25kms in the city everyday. It affected my left knee as the Safari clutch is hard and makes it difficult to drive in the city. As an alternative, I wanted to buy an automatic car, which is the most affordable. My search ended at a-star and booked the 2012 model last week.

For me, an automatic makes the most sense as the 2nd car as my wife also can drive it around easily. And its a pity that I have to shell out close to 5.4 lakhs for the cheapest automatic car.

[simonkayar]

Originally Posted by manojas

And its a pity that I have to shell out close to 5.4 lakhs for the cheapest automatic car.

Hi, if you don't mind could you elaborate on the price. How much was the discount offered? What freebies you could get. What was the waiting period quoted. I am also looking to book a 2012 A Star Automatic for my wife.

[ash_blore]

Originally Posted by manojas

My search ended at a-star and booked the 2012 model last week.

And its a pity that I have to shell out close to 5.4 lakhs for the cheapest automatic car.

Firstly congratulations on booking the A*. You will love it inside the city.

Yes its a pity about the price. I dont see any cheaper alternative with a better cost of ownership. I booked my A* in Apr-11 and ended up paying 5L. No discounts were offered and I had to wait about 6 weeks!

[manojas]

Originally Posted by simonkayar

Hi, if you don't mind could you elaborate on the price. How much was the discount offered? What freebies you could get. What was the waiting period quoted. I am also looking to book a 2012 A Star Automatic for my wife.

25K is the flat discount for February.
2K Corp. discount (My company is small so small discount)
I am doing insurance on my own, so around 3K there.
No freebies as of now.

I am not pushing them much for the delivery and never asked the delivery date as I have a problem with the parking space for the 2nd car. Its like they are complaining that I am delaying the process...

[manojas]

Originally Posted by ash_blore

Firstly congratulations on booking the A*. You will love it inside the city.

Yes its a pity about the price. I dont see any cheaper alternative with a better cost of ownership. I booked my A* in Apr-11 and ended up paying 5L. No discounts were offered and I had to wait about 6 weeks!

Thanks ash_blore.

My requirement was simple. "The cheapest automatic". If there was a nano automatic, I would have picked that up. In fact I didnt even do a test drive of i10.

[jacksons]

For me, an automatic makes the most sense as the 2nd car as my wife also can drive it around easily. And its a pity that I have to shell out close to 5.4 lakhs for the cheapest automatic car

This must be due to higher Taxes in your City otherwise it cost me only 4.44 lakh in Gurgoan last year but this is very good car to drive, I used to drive my other car 5000 Km a year but since I bought A* Auto, I am driving more than 10000 Km a year. Once you start driving it then only will you know that its worth the money and No more worry for the Traffic on the road.