[rambo1o1]

Originally Posted by KINI

It was 10.9L!!

Cheers

If you put a gun to the SA head maybe you can get it for 10.5!!
If Ravi krish can wait for a couple of months the ecosport may not be a bad choice.

Rambo1o1

[Sommos]

Originally Posted by Ravi Krish

Now a Bad Twist!!!

It is the end of the 'Linea' dream for me!!

Linea is a Fantastic Car! I am not built for it!

Extremely sorry to know that your Linea dreams are shattered because of the back problem. Hope that you'll find a good car with better driving posture very soon.

Originally Posted by Ravi Krish

As for SUVs...i found out that i am NOT a SUV Man having test driven the Innova, Scorpio, Quanto, Bolero and even the Safari. I hate body roll and am very nervous on the highways with small amount of body roll.

If bodyroll in SUV is your main concern then you should TD the Duster. It is a different SUV with the smoothness and handling of a sedan.

Go through GTO's review of the Duster to know more about the vehicle.

[Ravi Krish]

Dear Gurus,

I finally bought a Car! After all the research and Finalizing Linea only to end up not buying it unfortunately and doing a 'Re-Research'. I ended up in the Skoda Showroom once again and took a long test drive of the Rapid for about 40Kms.

Today a brand new Silver Skoda Rapid Ambition + is mine

I took the delivery on 30th, Nov, Friday!

Will write a detailed story once i get time, i have been extremely busy all week and working week ends too!

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by Ravi Krish

Today a brand new Silver Skoda Rapid Ambition + is mine

Congrats (in advance) on getting the Rapid. Vento and Rapid are performance leaders in this segment!

Cheers!

[Rufus_M]

Originally Posted by Ravi Krish

Dear Gurus,

I finally bought a Car! After all the research and Finalizing Linea only to end up not buying it unfortunately and doing a 'Re-Research'. I ended up in the Skoda Showroom once again and took a long test drive of the Rapid for about 40Kms.

Today a brand new Silver Skoda Rapid Ambition + is mine

I took the delivery on 30th, Nov, Friday!

Will write a detailed story once i get time, i have been extremely busy all week and working week ends too!

Congratulations Ravi Bhai :-)

Eagerly waiting for your detailed ownership report. Happy mile munching!!

[Ravi Krish]

@ Volksman Thanks!!! I took the delivery last Friday

@ Rufus: Thanks for the wishes. I hope the Rapid is the car i have been hoping to have. I would like to change the ICE Set up please. I am planning to change it as I need Reverse Parking Assistance, Touch Screen and USB compatibility.

My Choice is

Head Unit : Pioneer AVH-x2590

Speakers : Rockford Fosgate R165 and R1653 or P 165 and P165-S

Looking to add an AMP: Rockford Fosgate P500D

will this set up work well? Any one who can share his/her experience with Rockford?

Also, I have got a quote for Rs. 33K for the HU, Speakers (no AMP) and complete installation with Damping. Is this OK?

please do let me know.

cheers!

[KnightRider77]

On a related note, is it possible to put the Vento HU with touchscreen, GPS and reverse camera input into the Rapid, considering the dashboard is the same? I think I saw one such advertised in the classifieds. Or perhaps a Skoda HU from other high end models?

[MCR]

Finally after a lot of thinking and numerous test drives, I have decided on the Fluidic Verna Ex variant. I will make the booking in early 2013. I considered various cars upto 13 lakhs OTR. The list is as follows;

1. Fiat Linea
2. VW Vento
3. Nissan Sunny
4. Renault Duster
5. Safari Storme

The Fluidic Verna did not even feature in my earlier shortlist. However, decided to take a TD. The TD was very good and also I was very impressed with the car. The car is more spacious then the Linea and Vento. Also missing is the transmission tunnel which is very huge in the Vento and there by eating up a lot of space.

I consider Verna as a tremendous package in terms of Engine, Transmission, Ride, Handling, Features and Safety. Airbags (atleast driver side) and ABS was a must and Ex variant has these.

OT : Blue Hyundai, Bangalore is offering free insurance on Diesel Verna for bookings made upto 10.12.12 ( This is what the SA told me).

[F150]

Originally Posted by MCR

Finally after a lot of thinking and numerous test drives, I have decided on the Fluidic Verna Ex variant. I will make the booking in early 2013. I considered various cars upto 13 lakhs OTR. The list is as follows;

1. Fiat Linea
2. VW Vento
3. Nissan Sunny
4. Renault Duster
5. Safari Storme



I consider Verna as a tremendous package in terms of Engine, Transmission, Ride, Handling, Features and Safety. Airbags (atleast driver side) and ABS was a must and Ex variant has these.

OT : Blue Hyundai, Bangalore is offering free insurance on Diesel Verna for bookings made upto 10.12.12 ( This is what the SA told me).

Could you detail your thought process and any comparison that you did ?

How did you like the ride and handling of the Verna vis-a-vis the VENTO and Linea ?

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by MCR

I consider Verna as a tremendous package in terms of Engine, Transmission, Ride, Handling,

Since you have TD'ed the Vento too, could you relate any difference in the quoted parameters with respect to the Verna .

Thanks,

[MCR]

Originally Posted by F150

Could you detail your thought process and any comparison that you did ?

How did you like the ride and handling of the Verna vis-a-vis the VENTO and Linea ?

Originally Posted by volkman10

Since you have TD'ed the Vento too, could you relate any difference in the quoted parameters with respect to the Verna .

Thanks,

Engine :

Verna - Smooth , controlled noise with Minimal Turbolag (128PS@4000RPM / 235Nm@1900-2750RPM)
Vento - Slightly noisy and gruff with Minimal turbolag (105PS@4400RPM / 250Nm@1500-2500RPM )

Transmission :

Verna - Manual six speed - Very smooth and sure slotting
Vento - Manual Five Speed - Sure slotting but not as smooth

Ride and Handling:

If you can get used the extremely light steering of Verna, you could make the car handle slightly better. I drove on Mysore road (towards Kengeri)at 100 Kmph in a Verna. This is a usual road which I take in my Punto. On this road there are a few curves( near Kengeri NICE junction for Ex.) which can tell you how a car would handle. The Verna behaved perfectly fine. The body roll was completely controlled. Much akin to Punto. Similarly there are a few large humps and on these the Verna did not bottom out, even after taking the hump at 40 Kmph. The car did not feel wallowy either.

When driving a Vento on the same road, I felt it was slightly better composed than the Verna, but not so much that it made a huge difference. The ride quality of the Vento is a bit stiff (similar to Punto) compared to Verna.

But the reason I chose Verna over Vento are :

1. Better features for the Price (VFM)
2. Better showroom experince and response
3. Better A$$ (For sure) and choice.
4. Free Service for a year(Labour charges)
5. Cheaper spare part prices

[travelex]

I am a going through the same conundrum of finalizing a diesel sedan for myself. I have gone through a few pages of this thread.
One of things that I am worried about is the new purposed government regulations with respect to diesel cars. How realistic is the threat and expected price rise? If it does occur, when is it expected to come into effect?
Say I book a diesel sedan today and I get the delivery in the first quarter of 2013, and in the meantime the new regulations (if at all) come into effect will I repent my decision to get a diesel car?

[Sommos]

Originally Posted by MCR

Ride and Handling:

If you can get used the extremely light steering of Verna, you could make the car handle slightly better. I drove on Mysore road (towards Kengeri)at 100 Kmph in a Verna. This is a usual road which I take in my Punto. On this road there are a few curves( near Kengeri NICE junction for Ex.) which can tell you how a car would handle. The Verna behaved perfectly fine. The body roll was completely controlled. Much akin to Punto. Similarly there are a few large humps and on these the Verna did not bottom out, even after taking the hump at 40 Kmph. The car did not feel wallowy either.

I do agree about all the points you mentioned about the Verna except that I don't understand how you felt the ride and handling of the Verna comparable to Vento and Punto. The handling of the Verna is scary at high speed as well as the braking (even with 4 disc brakes), I'm not sure if anything has been modified in the car after the initial launch.

May just have a look at the official review of the Verna in Tbhp :

Originally Posted by Zappo

The soft suspension raises its ugly head at high speeds though, both in ride as well as handling. Dynamically, the Verna is just like most other C segment sedans upto 130 kph. Over that limit, you get the feeling that you are floating. One does not feel very confident to go beyond, as even a small undulation on the road surface causes the new Verna to pitch and roll. Every time I reached 120 - 140, it rocked like a boat at the smallest of unevenness on the road. The twitchy behaviour at high speed is not confidence inspiring & the ride doesn't stay flat either. At this point, the diesel engine wants to go further, but the handling remains a limitation. The diesel Verna felt a little better at high speeds; it's probably the additional weight of the engine at play here. As mentioned earlier, Hyundai has reverted back to the 4 discs arrangement with ABS & EBD. No problems with the brakes on a straight road, the car stops without a fuss. However, it is on the twisties that the Verna gets nervous; brake real hard and the tail shows a tendency to step out of line.

Originally Posted by travelex

One of things that I am worried about is the new purposed government regulations with respect to diesel cars. How realistic is the threat and expected price rise? If it does occur, when is it expected to come into effect?
Say I book a diesel sedan today and I get the delivery in the first quarter of 2013, and in the meantime the new regulations (if at all) come into effect will I repent my decision to get a diesel car?

It would be heartening for you to know that the debate has been put to rest by the Finance Ministry for the time being. In a reply to the Supreme Court the ministry has said that additional tax on diesel car will not be applicable now.

Source : No additional tax on diesel cars, says India Government

[Prodigyy]

Originally Posted by travelex

I am a going through the same conundrum of finalizing a diesel sedan for myself. I have gone through a few pages of this thread.
One of things that I am worried about is the new purposed government regulations with respect to diesel cars. How realistic is the threat and expected price rise? If it does occur, when is it expected to come into effect?
Say I book a diesel sedan today and I get the delivery in the first quarter of 2013, and in the meantime the new regulations (if at all) come into effect will I repent my decision to get a diesel car?

As Sommos has rightly said above, the new regulations are more on paper than than in effect, and IMHO, i doubt those regulations would come into place before the 2014 elections. I'd say December is the best month to buy a car, and barring Verna i guess all other brands are running big discounts on there Diesel sedans for its 2012 inventory. Don't worry about the regulations just yet, go for your choice of vehicle i'd say !!

[MCR]

Originally Posted by Sommos

I do agree about all the points you mentioned about the Verna except that I don't understand how you felt the ride and handling of the Verna comparable to Vento and Punto. The handling of the Verna is scary at high speed as well as the braking (even with 4 disc brakes), I'm not sure if anything has been modified in the car after the initial launch.

I drove the Verna only at 100 kmph. The limitation was because Mysore road is not built for speeds. At 100 Kmph, the car felt really comfortable. Since I take this road regularly in my Punto, I could easily compare the two. Also, I drove my Punto on the same road after the TD just to re- check as to what I felt was true. The braking is quiet good to be honest. Its just that the feel is missing, which you get in a Linea/Punto.
As I mentioned earlier, if you could get used to the light steering, the handling is defenitely not scary! ( I did flick the steering at 80 Kmph a few times to check this. The car behaved perfectly normal)

Regarding the TBHP report, it was with the first batch of the car. Also, the speeds mentioned are in the range of 120 - 140 Kmph which I never tried to reach in the TD vehicle!