In my first few days of regular commute, one thing that stood out immediately was the silence in the cabin and the zero vibrations at stand still. I refused to use the owner's manual and thus learnt more about the car each time a new situation occurred - using wash wipe, eco start-stop, hill assist, setting up the bluetooth telephony. There is a funny story - for the bluetooth set up, i had to use the central knob and gently pull it with my finger to move to the second row of menus. I did not know that a push and pull option existed. I kept rotating the dial to reach the menu but it just did not budge. Finally, I resorted to an online forum and thus succeeded.
It has been 2 years and about 11,000 Kms. Of these, almost 9,000 Kms are in Mumbai city traffic. The average speed on the MID shows 16 Km/h. Below are my observations
I LOVE:
• The silence when the you enter the car and the doors are thud shut.
• The impossible to feel shudder at the start and in idle.
• The relaxed acceleration, never letting you feel out of control. The BMW 3-series acceleration was superb but it a pretty harsh ride. Not ideal for Mumbai city traffic.
• Impressive braking, even at high speeds or during emergencies. A small story here - while doing a test drive, it started pouring heavily. My sales person got excited and asked me to move to the passenger seat. While he took the wheel, he wanted me to see the immense braking power and the sheer safety of the car in skiddish conditions and at high speeds. We took a relatively empty road which is usually used for early morning driving school students. He asked me to recline my passenger seat and be at absolute ease. Then he slammed the pump. At close to 100 Km/h speed in horribly wet conditions, he rammed the brakes. And WOW, what poise. Without any fuss, it stopped. Because the car realised that it was a hazard braking, the doors unlocked, the seat moved in an auto upright position, the hazard lights were on. WAH, what drama. Was mighty impressed.
• Incredibly small turning radius.
• Pre-Safe ready.
• Full sized spare (big gripe with the BMW, Volvo).
• Crystal clear audio sound quality.
I DON’T LIKE:
• Even on the highway, the car feels strained post reaching relatively high speeds even in the seventh gear. Do not have any issues with the stability though.
• Too many buttons make it feel old, the COMAND system feels sluggish and un-modern, the sound quality is clean though coming from 8 speakers, each and every note and acoustic sound is audible. When I asked for a software upgrade during my regular servicing, they quoted Rs. 96,000 for that. OMG!!
• Prohibitively expensive cost of any accessories or extra fittings (a sat-navigation system cost Rs. 100,000).
• Average display shows Lites per 100 Kms, not Kms per Litre.
• The volume does not have an display indicator.
• Limited AC throw for the rear seats, though the cooling by itself has no issues.
• No rear camera.
The front and rear sensors keep beeping due to pedestrians getting too close to the car.
• The Parktronic feature is terrible and very cumbersome to use. I have never been able to successfully park using this feature even once.
• No place for 1 litre bottles in the front.
• Expensive cost of service and repairs (each panel will cost you Rs. 25,000 for a paint).
• The fuel efficiency is about 7 Kmpl and on highways it adds another 4 Kmpl. This is think is average but not terrible by any stretch. The Laura with a diesel engine gave me 8.5 Kmpl so this is not completely off.
Maintained Costs:
Zero except for some paint work on scratches. In the two years, I have not heard any constant rattle, creak or niggle. The second year insurance with zero depreciation cost me Rs. 45,000.
A bit about the servicing: In one word - Superb. The staff is polite, ready to assist and informed. The service centre at Andheri East is up to date and inventories are never an issue. Even the follow up with the rep and the staff is prompt and responsive.
Driving Experience:
Within the city, it is a boon to drive this due to its light steering. Even when taking a full turn, the front wheels fall over ever so slightly, making the turn almost amazingly short.
The large bumps and craters do not feel as bad as was the case with Laura. It may not be as enthusiastic over corners as a BMW but anyone familiar with Mumbai will realise that there are not too many twisties in the city. Having said that, overtaking on highways or when short bursts of speed are needed, there is ample power on tap. I've never felt short on that front.
Most of the buttons are laid out within reach and nothing where I have to shift my gaze off the roads. The info if it were available on the windscreen, a la BMW, would have been a delighter.
For the back seat passengers as well, the ride quality is smooth and extremely WOW. Even at above average city speeds, have never complained about it being harsh. Additional features like rear passenger blinds, electronic steering adjust, electronic rear sun blind are a boon. BTW - the memory function also adjusts the rear view and the steering position as set. The rear view mirror and the wing mirrors have auto dimming option. Believe me, it is a huge feature; something that I have started taking for granted.
Under the boot, the entire set of tools and repair kit are firmly placed and it also a a big hazard light in case case of emergencies. If you want to see the gauge of the steel used, lift the hood. It is heavy and the material used is super thick. Thankfully there is a hydraulic pump to do the heavy lifting.
Other Important bits:
- Safety & related equipment: I'd give it 5 stars. Never has it given me a feeling of being unsafe. With airbags all around, plus active and passive safety, I feel assured while driving this car.
- Usage pattern: 20 Kms daily in dense traffic
- Overall build quality, fit & finish, paint quality and panel gaps: 5 stars, no panel gaps or any odd sounds. But admittedly, I never have really abused my cars.
- Wheels & tyres - 18 inch Michelin rims, superb grip and great stopping power. Actually, the last one is a bit of worry. At one time, I did a hard stop due to the car in front of me that suddenly changed lanes. While I did stop pretty comfortably, the biker behind me rammed into my bumper and scrapped the paint. No significant loss but the insurance claim was for 1.18L
Thankfully, I had to just pay 2000 for that.
- The upholstery is black and feels premium. However, it is prone to show off dirt and smudges pretty fast.
- Interior space & comfort...The front seat with its 8 way adjustable memory aided seats are superb even for longer journeys. The back seats have sufficient legroom but for 2 full sized adults only. The third one will be cramped due to the HUGE transmission tunnel.
- Overall opinion on the engine: 3.5 stars. It is not quick, almost lazy. But with my type of sedate driving, it does not give me reason to complain. The eco mode does switch the engine off but in the stop start traffic of Mumbai, it is not very effective.
- Butter smooth gearshift & clutch even on the few occasions that I have driven it in the manual mode.
- Overall NVH levels are at the levels of a library inside a church. Love it
- Suspension & ride quality is sublime. At cruising speeds it is a pleasure to drive this car.
- Steering this car is fun since its super easy in the city. Even my wife who is an occasional driver, can effortlessly maneuver it.
- Family opinions: Wife - love the snob value, mother - does not like the rear blinds since she feels claustrophobic, daughter - this 2 year old can operate the music system; its that simple, my nieces - love the sunroof and the drama that accompanies it's opening and closing.
- The cabin lights are excellent and are very powerful. For general reading, maps, dim cabin, all my needs are met.
To sum things up:
As an overall package, the C may not have the style of a Jag or the guts of a BMW. But it has dollops of charm and presence. Most salutes feel crisper, most doors open wider, the smiles are broader. In it's own way the world reasserts that you have arrived.
Does it feel WOW to drive this car – at most times. Do it feel WOW to own this car – YES.
Would I buy another one few years later? Maybe, but with one eye on the wallet.
Steering and MID view:
Shows FE in liters per 100 km, instead of Km/L:
Dashboard is nice, but a bit cluttered:
Easy ingress:
Powered passenger seat with memory:
A closer look:
From the rear view:
Front sensors:
More buttons:
Love the glow:
Low rear seats:
A parting shot: