[live2drive]

Originally Posted by newcoolgadgets

Is the handling of the Verna that bad? Even at speeds below 100 kmph?

Can be scary over 140kmph with those puny stock tires. Otherwise handles pretty well below 100kmph.

Any Verna owners here who can throw light on the city roads behavior of the car? I usually drive below 70 kmph; 50 kmph mostly, as the roads in Nagpur do not safely allow any more.

It'll take some time for you to adjust with the frequent upshifts/downshifts in the city driving. Turbo lag is minimal.

And what with all the traffic signals at every square, I do not get the opportunity to rip my Zen even. I rarely drive on highways and all I am looking for is power enough to be able to overtake anyone on the city roads, and frills like Climate Control, CD/MP3 player, Alloys, ABS.

Power is more than enough. Truckloads of torque. Once that mighty VGT kicks in, Verna is a different beast alltogether.

Overall its a great package. Take a detailed TD and decide for yourself.

[Aarman_008]

Live2drive was spot on. The VGT once kicked will rock you back to the seat. Take a test drive to know it for yourself. I beleive thats why they advertise it as "Feel it"

As I mentioned in my previous quote my friend owns a Verna and we have taken a long trip once to Coimbatore. Great car with loads of power and decent FE. Only problem is the speed boat kind of ride once you cross 120kmph. Other than that no complaints.

[Ramsagar]

Pls go for Optra magnum,its one hell of a machine with all the goodies.
Airbags,ABS,All wheel disc brakes,ACC,6-CD changer etc.
I've negotiated with a dealer in Bangalore on Magnum LT with automatic climate control for 10.5L on road price,but the actual price is 12.5 for this version with ACC.
Pls negotiate hard,you will definitely get a nice deal with Chevrolet,they are very flexible with the pricing.

[newcoolgadgets]

Thanks for the suggestions guys! As much as I would like to, I really cannot stretch my budget beyond 10 lakhs. So the Optra Magnum is out of the question. A Peted Linea sounds enticing, but it still does not match up to the stock Verna in terms of both power and torque. I am not really interested in a second-hand car. So that leaves me with the Verna CRDi SX. I understand that the Verna is not the best handling car, but it's not the worst either. I guess I will have to compromise on that. The power, the torque, the fuel efficiency, the ABS, the CD/MP3 player on offer are too good to ignore for a family guy like me with a kid in school, and a brand new apartment to pay for!

But that's not the end of it. I am planning to improve the handling of the Verna as I go on. Tyres, suspension, bigger alloys maybe; all will come in due time to make this car as fun for me as possible! I will be taking another test ride with the wife later this week before I crystallize the decision. I will also need to sit with the dealer and the bank to finalize a good deal and then the wait for the car to arrive. I will keep you guys posted. Look out for an initial ownership review from me in the near future!

[freewheelburnin]

If you consider the expenditure to upgrade to better suspension and tyres itself it will be close to 70K atleast.Also you might end up losing warranty.Linea is a good car to start with.A peted linea would be fun.Also handling and overall package is good.But try to find a peted Linea and drive it if you can.Handling could be a bottleneck in using the power available in verna to it's maximum, but you could use the available power of linea + Pete's more effectively owing to better handling. If you are a fast driver on highways then linea would be better owing to better high speed stability.Take your call based on your needs I would suggest..

[humans]

I would feel rather than compromising on handling it's better to compromise slightly in bhp.

Because there is only one life to play with, so my preference would be Peted Linea. But as always this is my preference and there is no requirement for others to compy with. (Just my 25paise, I don't use cents in India )

[ankit_chd]

Well how many years do u intend to keep the car ?? 3 years or XXX kms ??

Well my friend has a verna crdi clocking around 60k kms in 2 years and the car has lost all power it use to has, i mean its doesn't pull as well it use too . Has always given problems through out . Alignment is also a very big pain . Tyres wear out too soon in the car . Ac is not very effective in hot conditions and rear seats are so very uncomfortable on long journeys. And specially when 3 people seat at back its most uncomfortable for the one sitting in between.

I will still say think before u buy one .About Handling , i don't think i need to say anything as every one has mentioned it already .

And if u compare the cost of spare parts Linea is cheaper than Magnum and Verna .

[Invinsible]

Originally Posted by ankit_chd

Well my friend has a verna crdi clocking around 60k kms in 2 years and the car has lost all power it use to has, i mean its doesn't pull as well it use too .

That happens with most of diesel cars once they reach or cross 50k Kms mark. That's all due to the carbon soot that gets accumulated in the intake manifold, EGR valve gets choked, Turbo compressor wheels gets gummy and sticky, engine gets a bit of carbon, but once cleaned all these parts, power is back on track.

I would make a choice between Optra Diesel or Verna. However, when I had driven Optra I din't like the lack of feedback off the steering. Incase of verna I could feel every bit of the hP working only issue being handling. Just change the dampers to Bilstein and the handling part will be sorted out along with pete's tuning box.

I really din't like the way linea drove. It felt way to underpowered. Also, the engine sounded a bit rough to my liking. Ride and handling was good. I guess I found underpowered may be thanks to the Remapped Fabia I posses that does 105-110hp

[sizoo]

I have seen your choices, another option which i can suggest is a CHEVY OPTRA MAGNUM 2.0 LS/LT TDCi (around 9.5 lac) comes with 120 BHP Awesome Power, Rich Interior, Handling, Breaking, Silent cabin what else.

My friend just bought it and is loving it. Go get a TD, its also on a pretty good deals too....

Rgds / sizoo

[newcoolgadgets]

Originally Posted by freewheelburnin

If you consider the expenditure to upgrade to better suspension and tyres itself it will be close to 70K atleast.

I know, but I will be gradually upgrading as and when Vitamin M flows, and not as soon as I get the car. It will be an year long process.

Invinsible, I too did not like the Linea's driver feedback. It felt very sedate and I like the involved drive of the Verna.

sizoo, I have already rejected the Optra Magnum, as the base version which is under 10 Lakh does not have even ABS and none of the other frills the Verna offers.

humans, I beg to differ. I feel the Linea is too huge and too underpowered to allow any kind of enthusiastic cornering and overtaking. I would rather work the powerful Verna around corners, than try hard to accomplish the same in an underpowered Linea. I think racing enthusiasts will agree with me. Again, this is my personal opinion and no offense to Linea lovers.

[Invinsible]

I had driven the Verna diesel before closing down on fabia. Somehow preferred the ride and handling of the Fabia than the verna. Also, the steering feedback was much better on Fabia, including the cabin quality. the only put off was the lack of power from the 1.4 engine but since I had the remap and other mods on my mind and decided for the fabia. Boot space was not so important to me. In you case since you looking for Sedan go verna eyes closed, you can always add pete's tuning box, bilstein dampers, better brake pads, in the future.

[humans]

Originally Posted by newcoolgadgets

humans, I beg to differ. I feel the Linea is too huge and too underpowered to allow any kind of enthusiastic cornering and overtaking. I would rather work the powerful Verna around corners, than try hard to accomplish the same in an underpowered Linea. I think racing enthusiasts will agree with me. Again, this is my personal opinion and no offense to Linea lovers.

Absolutely no offence taken buddy. I do not own any of them and don't intend to change my ride for atleast 2 more yrs (deficiency of Vitamin M ). On second thought I think my preference are changing now a days, like just don't want to race anymore like earlier days, seems getting old

[ACM]

Would recommend a Remaped / pete boxed Fiat Linea Diesel - will save you money, get you across the 100 Bhp barrier.

A verna is likely to have poorer resale, linea looks and feels much better, yes underpowered as from factory but the pete box does wonders for it.

[KeepItSimple]

newcoolgadgets, i suggest you do a TD of the autobox verna. you might like it. pricing is below 10L. 8.65L is the ex showroom price.

Here is the ownership thread on the autobox verna.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...pressions.html

best wishes.

[d_himan]

You could come down to Mumbai over a weekend and search for a used mid 2008 Magnum LT TCDi with around 20-30K on the odo. Available for around 6-7 lacs. Carwale lists a couple right now. Local second hand dealers have a few around.