[Overlander]

“Art Speaks Where Words Are unable To Explain” – Threadless Artist Mathiole

One of the biggest enablers in the automotive world derive their roots from far and afar. The inspirations to such endeavors vary from need, idea, intent and some get their mojo from being passionate about the things one does. Long time back, I had heard the oft-used adage “Hone your skills on a particular hobby; and then figure out a way to make means out of it”. As I continue to struggle to make any sense of this belief in the corporate world, I came across a couple of passionate twinning personalities from God’s Own Country who have ventured into the tried and tested, but with a twist that does not engulf them in the ‘tired’. Hashim EKP and Hisham EKP are well known faces in the racing circuits since 2012, and have pocketed innumerable accolades in a short span of time. They herald from a lineage of owners of Amana Toyota, a line of dealership that criss-cross Kerala, and have decided to branch out from the family business and make their own in the art-form of automotive service with their venture – PerfAmana (HH Customs) back in 2015. My sole intent to provide a bewitching twist to the Honda Jazz interiors brought me all the way from the concrete jungle of Mumbai to Thengu-lined picturesque Kerala – more on the sojourn and experience entailed in my post, or else you can quickly scroll down to the coordinates of the nirvana right at the end.



To give a brief background, I bid good-bye to my Innova Crysta recently under a hammer of reality, and decided to be more economically prudent by laying my hands on a Honda Jazz. Although the virtues of the car in terms of practicality and space remain unperturbed, comfort was something that was largely disputed. The contours of the non-magic seats remained a sore point that would toss and slip passengers on the slightest of undulations. Although, me and my wife would largely remain oblivious to the issue occupying the front seats, the occasional passenger(s) would most definitely have a cringe-worthy ride in our car, thanks in no small measures to the Mumbai <cough> roads! So I thought ‘To hell! with practicality, let’s do something about the seats’. Unfortunately I had no luck in my quest for a good upholster in amchi Mumbai. There are some vaunted outlets including Orchis, but none of their past creations or my past interactions, gave a sense of confidence. Had the seats themselves been worthy of being bolstered and well-endowed like part of the troupe of Moulin Rouge, I would have ventured with leather and materials to make the interiors warm and inviting. Unfortunately, Honda thought the back seat of the 2018 Honda Jazz is best suited for a table or persons with no contours. Thankfully God did not intend to make people that way, and Thankfully God also had his ‘Own Country’ down in Kerala.

I can only thank @johannskaria and @cn.vishnu for their timely and, as I would find out later, wonderfully blessed suggestion to reach out to PerfAmana. Anyone in this forum, or otherwise, would whole-heartedly agree that our friends from down South are blessed with unparalleled choices in terms of modifications. From the tarmac-kissing body kits to the fender-caressing oversized alloys, Kerala has been home to bewilderment and excitement, in equal measure, of auto-enthusiasts over the years. In my time there, I witnessed all vehicles from Lamborghinis and Boxsters to the humble 800 and Padminis, fitted with kits, alloys, lights and paraphernalias that go beyond their respective class and physical attributes. It is just as awe-inspiring as frightening to have them roll around tarmacs that are less than perfect to put it mildly. A couple of calls to Hashim and innumerable WhatsApp exchanges later, I decided to drive down to Kerala to have my humble steed tended to. The objective? A rush in the amygdala of my brain and the singular eccentricity of a mad (according to many) person to make his car more comfortable. Yes, I was going to make a 2500km drive only to get my seats re-made, and also to catch a glimpse of the fettering Neelkurinji, but that for some other time and thread.

The 'DreamCatcher' Workshop










The Line-Up






Team PerfAmana





The above picture was taken at 2:00 AM in the morning. Awesome team play!


Services Provided:

Body-kits, Alloys, Accessories, Performance Tuning, Upholstery etc. for all brands, types, shapes and sizes of vehicles. I have seen a humble bumble-bee of a Toyota Etios Liva parked right next to a V40 Cross, a Boxster next to a Q7; and neither of them were left in the lurch. PerfAmana caters to modifications and auto-service primarily to all cars that come out of Amana Toyota and also to others that venture to them. They also ship pre-stenciled seat covers across the country.


What I like:

• An absolute gem of proprietors. Hashim and Hisham, both, were an utter delight to talk with. Lack of vanity and simplicity are great pillars in their general demeanor and those are qualities that are most valued by simpletons like me and BHPians.
• They have an inkling of aesthetics that beat the very best in the business. This comes from having been able to churn out results over a period of time. No matter what bolsters and curvatures I discussed with them, their confidence was backed with an ability to get it right. They have a bunch of seats arranged neatly in the office lounge that provide designs they have worked on and for customers to gauge the prints and seams that are best suited.
• A well-appointed space for a workshop. The space was clean too, no grease and oil spluttered around giving you a workshop feel. The space is arranged with car-lifts, automated dent-puller, isolated paint booth et al.
• Lack of “no customers allowed” nonsense. If you want to sit all day next to your car, you are more than welcome. If not, there is a customer lounge where you can amble away and go off to sleep. I was too restless to do the latter.
• Eagerness to get it right and if not, then ability to work with the customer to ideate. Some of the things I wanted to be done pushed the realms a bit, I am happy to note that they did not fledge from their commitment.
• Most importantly, their workforce is an assortment of some seriously professional and well-behaved personnel, some of them are bestowed with ingenuity and enterprise that are far-reaching for the work they do. I absolutely loved talking to them and spending time, as they continued working on my car’s skeleton skins deep in the night.

What I don't like:

• The location is rather nondescript. The meandering bylanes opposite Amana Toyota near Feroke is where the magic happens. However, if you do not know the place well, I can assure you – you will miss it.
• Time management! Am sure they will agree, that the timeline given for the proposed work was shot off by folds. Having said that, I did land up there in the middle of festive season, their workforce was truncated due to absenteeism. I am assuming, it is not a problem if you go on regular days. Hashim was genuinely upfront about the issue even at the time of me dropping my car off with them.
• If one wants to be anally particular about the inches and centimeters, and plagued with OCD as I am, it is best to stick around and direct the show yourself. I was with the workers till 1:45 AM in the night, as I had to hit the road the following morning having over-spent my time there. To their credit, the staff had an un-fledging appetite to deliver, no matter what the time was. Biplab, the main stitcher working on my set, requires special mention for his tireless efforts. It is for people like him that make the difference between a ‘good’ and a ‘great’ experience.

Pricing: For the quality that these guys give and ingenious application of designs, the pricing was adequate and understandable. Each and every work done on the car was itemized in my bill. I was given a proforma right at the beginning of the job, and I did not need to spend considerably more whilst checking-out. They deal with all kinds of material, although specialize in the use of varying grades of leather and artificial material. I used both of them to keep a tab on the final cheque.


What I have Done so far:

I went there with the sole objective to the following:

• Body contouring of the rear bench seat
• Increase the padded neck (head?) rest in the rear bench
• Re-bolster the under-thigh support for all seats
• Reupholster the ‘sea of beige’ including the roof lining
• Change paint scheme of interior plastics to match the revised upholstery
• De-chromed tailgate applique

2500 Kms for this - and no regrets at all








.... and result?












On a tight leash and time, I am going back for some more next year! Nothing can be more rewarding or worth an accolade, as a client who is looking forward to the next time, as soon as he/she comes back from the first. In many ways, our existence and opinions on a forum like ours, is easy. We do hold the baton of judgment and the beacon of public opinion - and as important as it is to call out issues/ short-comings, it is equally important to sit back and applaud an effort that is truly amazing. My week at PerfAmana re-assures me that when you have a canvas and an open mind, there will be things that come of out of the blue; and inspire awe and veneration. In my humble submission, I whole-heartedly advocate for PerfAmana, and specially Hashim and Hisham. In a nondescript bylane of Kozhikode, there lies a tin laced workshop that is creating magic – and it is best witnessed in bewilderment and incomprehensible fervor in person. As I had first quoted Mathiole – Art is not confined to the precincts of words, I would have liked to have written this epilogue better.


Contact Information:

Address: 7/133 A,B, Cheruvennur, Kozhikode, Kerala 673655, India

Contact: Hashim EKP @ +91 9446596666

Cornerstone: Lane right Opposite Amana Toyota, next to Total Gaz Station

Google Maps Link

[octane1002]

On a related note, I really appreciate the thought behind OP's post. Appraciation for PerfAmana apart (hope I got the name right), it also touches upon the need for that laudatory post on the forum if you are genuinely pleased with something/someone's efforts.

In a day and age where one doesn't really spare a moment to launch into online sparring with the provider of service delivered improperly, most of us are guilty of just sitting back when it comes to appreciating the right efforts. "It was par for the course"/ "I paid for good service anyways" being common thoughts leading to brushing a positive experience under the carpet. I have myself been guilty of the same on a couple of occassions (which reminds me to put in those appreciation posts this weekend).

Good service is becoming rare these days, and it warms my heart to see an appreciation post on the closure of this year for a change, instead of the routine social rants on the smallest of deficiencies.

[Latheesh]

That looks like a well executed job. Could you please post rear bench pictures? What was the total bill?

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by Overlander

[center]
What I have Done so far:

I went there with the sole objective to the following:

• Body contouring of the rear bench seat
• Increase the padded neck (head?) rest in the rear bench
• Re-bolster the under-thigh support for all seats
• Reupholster the ‘sea of beige’ including the roof lining
• Change paint scheme of interior plastics to match the revised upholstery
• De-chromed tailgate applique

Thank you for putting a very detailed review, but this thread needs more pictures of the work done - if possible, please post before and after pictures. I am especially interested to see the reupholstered roof liner and some close-ups of the interior plastic color changes.

--Anoop

[Overlander]

Originally Posted by Latheesh

That looks like a well executed job. Could you please post rear bench pictures?

Originally Posted by theexperthand

if possible, please post before and after pictures. I am especially interested to see the reupholstered roof liner and some close-ups of the interior plastic color changes.

True! Not so great with photographs, and would have loved to have clicked some, to do justice. My apologies for it.

However, remember when I had quoted this in the OP?

Originally Posted by Overlander

So I thought ‘To hell! with practicality, let’s do something about the seats’.

Well, back in 2012 (ish?), when Audi launched their much vaunted epitome of an A8, I was spell bound to see the utter pompous luxury that the back seat was. For the uninitiated, here is the (Audi launches the A8 L 4.2 TDI : Official launch report)link.

Individual rear seats? They were beautiful. It stuck around like a zephyr bearing a sweet citric smell, lingering in my thoughts. As you all would recollect, I went in for this modification to maximize rear seat comfort. Anyone getting the drift here?

Presenting to the forum and audience with probably a first! The most impractical Honda Jazz ever:







Front Seats



Rear Seats (Yup! That's right)



Beautiful Golden thread double-stitching



New black headliner



Coordinated interior scheme





Minimalistic! Who said they turn heads when you are loud?



Ps. After the seats were done, I did a 520km break-less journey from Kozhikode, KL to Davangere, KA. I guess this is where function meets form! A quagmire, but when achieved - feels good

[theexperthand]

Wow, that back seat looks stunning. The headliner and interior color changes do look like OEM and is a job well done.
Congratulations on owning the 'most comfortable' Jazz in India

--Anoop

[mithun]

Kudos for a great job :-)

What was the total bill?

[deetjohn]

Wow! That interior looks amazing! Love the colour combinations!

Really tasteful and executed well!

[Strider24]

I wonder if there is anyone doing similar kind of job in or around Pune. I will be very tempted to buy a Jazz ( which has the only con as impractical and unsupportive back seat and get it modded Iike this.