[mnemonic]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

What?
Do you remember the title you chose for this thread???

Anand- here goes the response

Originally Posted by mnemonic

Aroy- The Yeti was our first choice as I would retain my Palio 1.6 for those moments of madness that I so love. But unfortunately, even in the 4x2/110 bhp variant, it exceeds my budget by a mile ( Around 16 L OTR Mumbai with corp regn)

I shall speak to the Skoda guys on the vRS, but I don't have much hope.

I don't intend to rush through this and shall take a call post 20th on the booking. Let's see what turns up.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Wow, it's expensive even after all the discounts.
How about the vRS? No harm in asking them, who knows...

I would say wait till last week of December to actually sign the cheque. You will have better discounts by then.

The OTR mentioned by Kerala dealer for TSI Ambition was 15.5 lakhs, and vRS was 17.9 lakhs. They did not send me the breakup, and I am not sure how different it is from the Mumbai OTR, but just sharing to get gauge of the price difference.

[mnemonic]

Allright brethern, I think it is time for the next installment of my travails.

Ever since the Laura bug bit me, conversations between me and my wife are more like that between Wooster and Aunt Agatha. For those who are not Wodehouse fans, it is akin to a conversation between a free wheeled spirit and a rigid disciplinarian over how best is free time spent. Or for those contemporary folk, it is more like the last words of Heath Ledger in Batman- " What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object"?

I don't need to tell who plays which role right? I shall use the acronyms UF and IO for the above roles, so read on:

Circa 2011,December, Mumbai

UF: When do you think we should get the Laura?

IO: Well, not until we see our increments for next year. No, perhaps we should wait till 2013.

UF: But I am getting awesome discounts and it makes sense do buy now ( supplant it with a complex tax benefit worksheet of which I am immensely proud)- we can save xx thousands in income tax.

IO: I wish you had used the same skills to plan our investments! (Oops!)

UF: We need a bigger car, need to make Appu road ready ( this is our 5 month old)

IO: We already have two cars and we wont be doing any road trips for one more year ( Aaargh)

UF: But our Palio is 5.5 years old, I need a change.

IO: By that logic our marriage is 6 years old! (Gotcha)

UF: We need a car to drive to work.

IO: Huh? What work, with the targets for 2012, you will be out 5 days a week. ( Damn!)

UF: You can take the car to work (Appeal..plzzz)

IO: One eyebrow goes up....You expect me to drive a big car to BKC everyday??

UF: We can keep a driver ( Desperation)

IO: You are totally potty, now you tell me to spend 6k more for the driver.

UF: But I want the Laura, its the best way to save tax( Last ditch effort)

IO: Let us buy a Flat in Mumbai, you will save tax and it will appreciate.(Deadly counter)

UF: Tut Tut, Am legging it, have a call to take. (Vanquished)

and here I come and write this post!

I might have lost the battle, but the war is not lost. I live to fight another day......

[ajay_satpute]

Originally Posted by mnemonic

Allright brethern, I think it is time for the next installment of my travails.

Ever since the Laura bug bit me, conversations between me and my wife are more like that between Wooster and Aunt Agatha. For those who are not Wodehouse fans, it is akin to a conversation between a free wheeled spirit and a rigid disciplinarian over how best is free time spent. Or for those contemporary folk, it is more like the last words of Heath Ledger in Batman- " What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object"?

I don't need to tell who plays which role right? I shall use the acronyms UF and IO for the above roles, so read on:

So typical ! I have been trying to have similar conversation at the ministry for some time now. But, everytime it starts, it ends with pre-payment of home loan.

[mnemonic]

Another year, another start, another effort at my quenching the craving for a 3rd car in the household. I say third as my spouse and I have hit a stalemate in which one of our beauties to marry off into another family. The Palio 1.6 is our first real buy, been with us through thick (primarily) and thin, the Sparky is my wifeys buy and she is loathing to let go of it, despite just clocking 6k in 2 years.And I am becoming super obsessed about my getaway car, so the only solution is three cars under errr no roof! I traded in the luxury of a covered car park for the view of the Navi Mumbai creek. Enough said I guess.

Well, new years come with their own twist, don't they? So here goes the twist, albeit a "sticky" one. I did not take the plunge in December owing to a few reasons, some rational, some irrational:

1- Had a crazy year end and had no time to make up my mind and go through the admin formalities to buy the monster.

2- The Linea facelift was due on Jan 3rd and was hoping against hope that something interesting might be in the offing.

3- The appraisals were due and was hoping to gauge the increase income to plan the extent of my indebtedness.

Needless to say, the above ones are rational,and as all rational reasons go, turned out to be as predictable as the Empress of Blandings having her afternoon nap.

The irrational reason, was that the Yeti 4x2 had been launched at a price point which would not break the bank ( as the 4x4 would) but certainly clean out my SB account. As I had outlined in my earlier post, it was one car that both my wife and I loved from launch but could only afford if we sold a kidney or two. Now that this monster was tantalizingly close to reach, I started reading up anything and everything on the Yeti, read the excellent threads of Sushil Bajpai, Pramod, Behemoth, Contessa and last but not the least Shankar Balan's. The more I read, the more enamored I am becoming to the Yeti and more am weaning away from the Laura TSi (which still makes my knees go weak).

So to cut a long story short, the Yeti Active is in contention now with the T-Jet bowing out. In the coming weeks I shall test drive the Yeti 4x2 and do a clear comparo with the Laura and see which one manages to win my heart!

[Aroy]

Try and get the 4x4, it is a gem of vehicle. You may even consider the Duster. The only good Skoda service I have read of is in Bangalore, rest of India including NCR the Skoda service is still bad.

[shankar.balan]

So here we go again eh?
Forget everything else, just go and follow your heart old chap - you wont regret it! Here is a pic to help you along that path!
Lets just try and tip the balance a bit!
Dump the T Jet, forget the Laura and just go for the Abominable beast!

Do connect with Behemoth - he helped me a lot in making my decision.


P.S. Are you a Wodehouse fan? If so, another thing in common then!

Originally Posted by mnemonic

Another year, another start, another effort at my quenching the craving for a 3rd car in the household.
Needless to say, the above ones are rational,and as all rational reasons go, turned out to be as predictable as the Empress of Blandings having her afternoon nap.

The irrational reason, was that the Yeti 4x2 had been launched at a price point which would not break the bank ( as the 4x4 would) but certainly clean out my SB account. As I had outlined in my earlier post, it was one car that both my wife and I loved from launch but could only afford if we sold a kidney or two. Now that this monster was tantalizingly close to reach, I started reading up anything and everything on the Yeti, read the excellent threads of Sushil Bajpai, Pramod, Behemoth, Contessa and last but not the least Shankar Balan's. The more I read, the more enamored I am becoming to the Yeti and more am weaning away from the Laura TSi (which still makes my knees go weak).

So to cut a long story short, the Yeti Active is in contention now with the T-Jet bowing out. In the coming weeks I shall test drive the Yeti 4x2 and do a clear comparo with the Laura and see which one manages to win my heart!

[mnemonic]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

So here we go again eh?
Forget everything else, just go and follow your heart old chap - you wont regret it! Here is a pic to help you along that path!
Lets just try and tip the balance a bit!
Dump the T Jet, forget the Laura and just go for the Abominable beast!

Do connect with Behemoth - he helped me a lot in making my decision.


P.S. Are you a Wodehouse fan? If so, another thing in common then!

Many a thanks for the encouragement Shankar. I certainly need some impetus to push this through!

My wife and I have our date with the 4x2 on Monday courtesy Autobahn Skoda. Hoping that the test drive will win over our hearts and brush the mind under the carpet. Will take some pictures and post my impressions.

I don't remember the last time I was so excited about a date . Can't wait for Sunday to pass.

On PGW- I totally revere him. His characters are my traveling companions and more often than not I am found in terminals and in airplanes laughing to myself. My fellow travelers think I am potty,but heck,who cares.

Super glad to know that you are a fan too, would love to exchange notes when I am in Bengaluru next time.

[shankar.balan]

Enjoy the "hot" date!

OT:
PGW has been a family favourite for 3 generations now and we have the whole collection - every single book including some repeats (published in America under different titles).
There's a freebooks app. for Ipad on which one can get quite a few PGW books.
Funny, but even I do believe co-passengers on airplanes think my brains are "out to lunch" on account of my chortling to myself while reading books of the PGW genre!

Originally Posted by mnemonic

On PGW- I totally revere him. His characters are my traveling companions and more often than not I am found in terminals and in airplanes laughing to myself. My fellow travelers think I am potty,but heck,who cares.

Super glad to know that you are a fan too, would love to exchange notes when I am in Bengaluru next time.

[mnemonic]

The date with the snowman happened day before and before I could elucidate my tryst with the unknown, the lady who pays my bills, i.e. work called and had to be out on a quick trip.

So, day before yesterday, on a windy afternoon in BKC, my tryst with the Snowman happened. At about 2 pm, the SE from Autobahn arrived with the Yeti 4x2 and parked the snowman discreetly away from the Range Rover showroom which is there on the ground floor of my building. Territory marking by the Rangies sleeping inside I guess!

The Looks:

As my wife and I walked up to him, we realized how compact the Yeti actually is. No image on their website would actually bring out the proportions of the Yeti as a slow walk towards the parked vehicle from the rear would. It does not scream SUV or make your neck crane like the Evoque parked some 10 metres across the pavement. The car kind of merges with the surroundings, which to me is a good thing. Coming to the looks, which tends to polarize people, works for me and I like the quirky look of the Yeti. There is absolutely nothing to distinguish it from its 4 legged brethern but for the lack of the badge.

The Interiors:

Typical Skoda, very classy, flowing lines ( love them) and top notch quality of plastics. Since there are not marked differences in the 4x2's trim level from that of the 4x4 Ambiente, I shall limit my impressions just to what me and my wife liked. The boot with the parcel tray in its place is just about right for us and is a good upgrade from the 260 odd litres of our Palio. The rear is comfortable for two passengers as the necessary evil of the rear AC vent limits leg room of the third passenger. Thankfully the vents are a tad lower and will not cause selective freezing of body parts. Again, having experienced the volume of the Laura, my wife was a bit disappointed with the compactness of the Yeti, but that was expected.

The Drive:

First up, as we approached the Yeti, our first observation was how quiet the 2.0 CR actually is. I am not a big fan of the diesel growl,so the Yeti ticked the first box in my list. Getting in is neither a Climb nor a crawl/squeeze but a slide in. Loved the driving position and was immediately comfortable. With some real good support on offer, the car will beg you to take her "into the wild" and would force you to take the longest possible route home. In my case a run from office to home would be via lonavala. Slot the car into first gear and a gentle tap on the pedal and she glides off effortlessly. No stalling gremlins here- appears that the 5 speeder is better geared for our conditions. First gear, roll off and till the revs climb to 1500 rpm there wasn't much meat and once you are there, she is off on a gallop. For a guy driving a naturally aspirated petrol, this small blip takes some getting used to I guess. The engine is so free revving, I simply loved it. It does not have the "unleash me" throbbing found in the Cruze but spins easily and smoothly, which is ideal for the CSUV that the Yeti is.There is no blur on the windows as the revs climb, but a smooth transition from slow moving frames to fast moving frames, which I like.

If one needs to applaud Skoda, it should be for the gear shift quality more than anything else. I am floored by the slick shifting of both the TSI's 6-speeder and the TDI's 5-speeder offer and I can overlook the lack of feel from the steering just for this alone. Not to take anything away from the steering which is pretty direct and weighs up well at high speeds. How I wish the Skoda had a hydraulic power steering like my Fiat, sigh!

The 15 minute test drive in BKC did not present me with any craters to test out the dirt road cred of the 4x2, but I can say that the Yeti can handle whatever our Municipal corporations and districts can throw at him. More than enough eh?

The Twist:

So, to sum up, the Yeti was up there with the Laura TSI in terms of appeal and value prop till the time, well, you guessed it, the price came into the picture. There is always a twist in the tale innit?

The OTR Mumbai with corp regn comes to 16.88 lakhs with another 12k for drive assure making it a nice round fat 17 lakhs. With a paltry corporate discount of 25k,the Yeti can be mine at 16.75 lakhs. I turned around to look at my wife who was playing navigator and I was greeted with a raised eyebrow. I sometimes wonder how much women can communicate without even uttering a word. I wish I could use this in my presentations. Probing the SE on discounts did not yield any results as he was toeing the line that there are no discounts on the Yeti. My enthusiasm squished, i thanked him for bringing the snowman over and walked up to my office sulking. At these levels the snowman will remain a mythical figure to me, so much to cost reduction and market driven pricing.

PS:

This has left me back in the quandary that I started with and am seriously wondering what to do.

Interestingly, called up JMD today and my friendly SE offered me discounts of 40k/75k/1.1 lacs on the 4x2-Active/4x2-Ambiente/4x4 Ambiente respectively. The Laura Active/Ambition have a standard corp disc of 1.25 lakhs which the SE was more than keen to discuss sitting across the table. These are certainly lower than the discounts i got in December but I guess can be revised upward with some nego.

[Akshay1234]

The Laura tsi discounts have reduced only by 10k from December, and now there is a good discount on the RS too. The Yeti discounts I am assuming would be similar to December also. IMO if buying the Yeti the 140bhp engine is a must, or otherwise why not consider the RS since you were thinking about the Tsi?

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

The Laura tsi discounts have reduced only by 10k from December, and now there is a good discount on the RS too. The Yeti discounts I am assuming would be similar to December also. IMO if buying the Yeti the 140bhp engine is a must, or otherwise why not consider the RS since you were thinking about the Tsi?

Akshay, what is the discount offered on the RS in Mumbai?

[mnemonic]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

The Laura tsi discounts have reduced only by 10k from December, and now there is a good discount on the RS too. The Yeti discounts I am assuming would be similar to December also. IMO if buying the Yeti the 140bhp engine is a must, or otherwise why not consider the RS since you were thinking about the Tsi?

Akshay- thanks for this bit of info. The limiting factor in going for the RS is the price. I am looking at my company's leasing option and have hit upon a sweet spot of around 15 lakhs on-road. This will provide me with optimal tax benefit and allow me a decent cash flow. I have two options now, either pick up the TSI in the Active or Ambition trims or junk the idea of upgrading for now and wait for the RS or Yeti to be available at a better discount. I am not enamored by other cars in the market currently and that makes it a fix to be in.

Thoughts?

[mnemonic]

An idle mind is a devil's workshop indeed. What all ways the mind would find to keep itself engaged is quite astonishing indeed. For a guy like me,who currently is obsessed with my next car,it is natural that my mind turns to cars. It is more like a craving for alchohol, can't get beer because you are in Gujarat (bootleggers excuse), you go and try out fruit beer.

So, here I am, in good ol Navi Mumbai babysitting a toddler for 4 days with little or no work to do otherwise. With the 3Ps of life keeping me busy in intervals (for the uninitiated in the parenting world, it means pee, poo and puke),what do in those hours when the kid is asleep? I call up the neighborhood dealerships and take cars out on a spin.

Yesterday was the day of the New Ford Fiesta, a diesel one at that. I have always been a big fan of the Ford cars, especially the handling and the rear seat comfort. Having spent innumerable kilometers in the rear seat of a Flair Rocam (travelling to places like Banswara) and covered some decent mileage behind the wheel of a 1.6 Nxt, I love the way these fords hug the road.They might be small impoverished brethren of the Stang, but they are horses nevertheless. Little needs to be said about the 1.6S, as it is arguably amongst the last of the naturally aspirated delights that can be seen in our country (Cedia owners might scream bloody murder, but heck, each to his own).

I was so fascinated by the impending launch of the Mazda derived New Fiesta, I actually went to the unveiling at at local dealership with Rasna,Balloons,the works and saw the drapes being pulled off the car by a local politician, No guesses on the color of the car here! It was an entertaining event with a few aficionados, some retirees, some gaonwallaas and the extended families of the dealership employees attending the function, replete with a power point presentation by a suit shod sales executive. My wife, whom I had dragged along found all this very amusing and had a hearty laugh throughout. Checked out the car,loved 3/4 of the car, turned a blind eye towards the derriere, which was the safest thing to do with the wife around. Checked out the pricing, ouch, gulped down a Rasna and scooted out. No test drive car for the next month, so pretty much buried the thought of the NFF.

Yesterday, was reading the initial ownership experience of MAS and the thought surfaced again. Why not test drive the Fiesta and see if the DNA is being carried forward? I am not in the market for a diesel car, but was keen to know how the EPS with PDC weighed up against the old hydraulics. Called up Bhavna Ford Nerul on the board number, was quickly patched to the Sales Exev-Venkat, who showed great interest and enthusiasm in making a car available for test drive. I was supposed to land up by around 1PM, but got caught up the rigmarole till 5PM. Get a call from Venkat at 5:30 and after contemplating to push it back, I decide to take the test drive immediately. Jumped into the Sparky and in 5 minutes, reach the dealership.

Five minutes to complete formalities and we are in the test drive car, a titanium plus diesel which has clocked 8900 kms.

Since the New Ford Fiesta has been discussed threadbare in the reviews here, let me stick to a few observations:

- Call it Boron Steel or Moron Steel, this steel is heavy and is brilliant. If I were to buy this car, I need not go to Talwalkars. The car feels incredibly safe and to me is a must have,having spent the better part of my driving life in a tank,I cannot accept anything less.

- The diesel,a refined one at that, is quite rev happy and pulled cleanly. Might be the mileage on the car,I felt that the power delivery was quite linear and the torque adequate for city driving and good for stable highway runs. There is no turbo kick, no sudden power surge, it is all nice and easy. I expected a hard clutch based on the reviews, but to my surprise, found that the clutch is quite easy on the knee.

- The approach road to the showroom has its share of potholes and I purposely sent the Fiesta into one of those ruts and oh boy, she came out flying. Did I mention that we were not thrown inside the car? Since most of my commuting these days is inth rear seat of a Dzire (cabs), any car that flattens potholes gets a thumbs up from me. The steering was super light at parking speeds and weighs up, albeit eerily as speed picks up. I say eerily because I know it is an electrical unit and I don't expect these units to mimic hydraulics. Also, I did not bother myself with the gadgetary as I am not a big sucker for party tricks, If they are there, its a plus, if they aren't there, doesn't hurt.

- Since I knew this car is not a rocket, didn't want to do any speed tests. I was keen on exploring how the car handles hills and all that goes with it, which according to me is a true reflection of a car's handling prowess. It did help that Parsik hill was just round the corner and what better way to reach the Mayor's bungalow and protest on the state of the roads than land up in a tank? Started the hill climb in 2nd gear, 2500 rpm, kept climbing to 3500 rpm, a switchback comes along, swing in, don't jab the brakes, use engine braking, come out grinning at 3000 rpm. Climb up on a straight, drive over a manhole cover to dislodge the car from its line, no luck, the car holds its line, kudos. Sweeping corner, 2nd gear,ride the torque wave turn in, no understeer, keep the steering pinned get out with very less body roll. Loved it!

-Reach the top of the hill, only to find that the Mayor no longer resides in the Bungalow, turn back disappointed, no three point turn, happy again, cruise downhill and reach the dealership.

- Now back in the dealership, discuss the not to exciting aspects of the car, i.e. the price. At 13.05 lakhs ( 2012 mfg, corp regn) and 12.80 Lakhs (2011 mfg, corp regn) on road Mumbai, this car is certainly not cheap but not unaffordable either. The only thing that works against this blue oval is the lack of perceived value for money.

- To wrap up, I did check out a 2012 manufactured Fiesta and Ford seem to have worked on the feedback pertaining to quality. The rear plastics were much better than the TD car in terms of look at feel,no linings which were agape, no rusting components anywhere. Hope that this kaizen continues at Ford.

Parting thoughts- will the test drive make me a convert to the oil burning blue oval, perhaps not. What it has done is made me appreciate how much ford has done with so little. She might be a pricey dame, but which one worth her salt isn't?

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by mnemonic

....
Parting thoughts- will the test drive make me a convert to the oil burning blue oval, perhaps not. What it has done is made me appreciate how much ford has done with so little. She might be a pricey dame, but which one worth her salt isn't?

Loved this post. So is there a 4th contender into the mix now?

Interesting to know that they have actually improved on the 2012 model. Any idea if they have quietly added in extra features like ESP into the current version (Its available in the upcoming petrol AT)?