Please note - Kindly take up any and all issues related tothis reply with Overdrive directly.
Hi Farhan,
Apologies for the delay in replying – was tied up with work.
First things first – this busa character is right about our features slip-up. The rider doesn’t have climate control while the Optra does have it. Our mistake was to rely on GM’s dealer in Pune and their call centre for updated trim levels but how that alters the verdict is hard to fathom.
Yes, we did shoot the 1.6 Optra as is evident from the pics. Tell me, do you think it’s that difficult to blank out a number plate? If we wanted to hide the fact that we’ve shot a 1.6 it takes us 10sec in photoshop to blank out a plate and 10min to change badging, colours and tail lamps. And nobody would be the wiser. The reason we shot a 1.6 was because our test 1.8 isn’t in good enough shape to be photographed. Suggesting malafide intentions is baseless and frankly stupid. Worse suggesting we’re paid off is slanderous at the very least, and organisations have sought legal recourse for far less. We earn an honest (albeit extremely enjoyable) living and anybody who suggests we’re swayed by test cars and business class tickets to exotic locales needs to examine his own morals and value system.
While we at OVERDRIVE welcome the proliferation of internet fora helping as it does to build the automotive community and brings like minded individuals together, mud flinging is something we take a very dim view of. Mistakes (bloopers like you’ll put it) do happen and we welcome readers pointing them out but end of the day criticism has to be constructive. This busa chappie isn’t being constructive in any which way and worse hasn’t taken the effort to read the whole story before shooting from the keyboard. Nowhere have we mentioned that the Octavia runs ‘widest tyres’; what we’ve mentioned is that she runs fat rubber. In any case as busa should know the Optra’s are 14-inchers, the rest all run 15s and thus wider.
Also busa doesn’t seem to be able to fathom nuances of the English language. Our verdict is a toss up between the Elantra (for its excellent pricing and equipment levels) and the Octavia (for its ride, handling, engine, fuel efficiency, rock solid feel etc). In fact the verdict page has pics of the Cedia, Elantra and Octavia. Why then does busa assume we rated the Corolla second? Pictures are as in yer face as they can be but if that fails to make an impression, well….
If busa knew anything about driving he’ll know the Corolla will blow the Optra (I’m talking 1.8 before anybody starts howling again) into the weeds up a hill or round a track. Yes, we did use the 1.6 for our recent track tests (GM couldn’t give us a 1.8 in Coimbatore) but I’m surprised he doesn’t know that the 1.6 and 1.8 run identical 185 section 14-inch rubber. In fact thanks to a more eager engine (relatively speaking of course) the 1.6 is as fast round a track as a 1.8. And as for the Corollas build, she went through unmitigated hell during the last Mumbai flooding and she held strong. Not many cars would.
Please try and understand that a 15-minute test drive round Worli seaface tells you absolutely nothing. We test every car for a minimum of 600km, put on at least two up and down Mumbai-Pune runs and that’s if time is at a premium. Our job is driving and riding and if I didn’t have to sit and write this I would be out driving or riding something. FYI, the jury for the ICOTY had more that 150 years of combined experience driving and evaluating cars; and just the top two guys from each magazine were on the jury. Now equate that experience levels with a 15-minute test drive of a dealer demo car and these are the kind of postings you get. In fact Farhan, you have been with us automotive journos on the last Raid and know the journo teams finished third and fourth, only behind professional rally drivers and their active co-drivers. Fair and square we were head and shoulders above the rest and that, unlike previous years when we won, were in cars that were on its last legs and had to be nursed with great care. Surely that proves we aren’t idiots behind the wheel and don’t have to prove our credentials, especially not to a teenager.
As to criticisms of our fuel efficiency figures – as we keep saying in the magazine, the highway figures are the best anybody could hope to achieve. Our highway runs for every car are done on the same 50km lap on the expressway that balances effects of wind, gradient and other variables. In fact I think it’s time we filmed a run and post it on our website so everybody knows what we’re doing and not go shooting off their mouths. The highway run is done in top gear keeping the engine spinning at 2-2500rpm (80-100kmph) when it’s at its least stressed and without the air-con. Before anybody starts howling as to the logic behind this test route, drive at a constant 80kmph on the Delhi-Jaipur highway (or any of the scores of beautifully paved 4-lane highways across the country), keep braking to an absolute minimum and you will get similar or maybe even better mileage figures.
If you want to know what she’ll do on your city commute go by the city figures. Our city runs are done on a fixed 60km lap in Pune city with the AC and we do a city run thrice for most cars. Pune city is so congested our city runs are easily achievable by anybody who drives with a light foot.
I hope you’ll be kind enough to post this on your forum, I’m not a member. I agree it’s a bit long but it’s best to clear all this once and for all for we aren’t going to entertain any more correspondence on this matter (we’ve got tons of driving to do). We’re not heroes but average people, average people with petrol coursing through our veins, passionate about cars and bikes like you wouldn’t believe and putting in a very hard month’s work to bring out this magazine. We’re not in the business of ramming the magazine down anybody’s throat – it brings great joy if you appreciate our job and keeps us on our toes when you point out flaws, but this dude demanding an apology for wasting his time is just OTT.
Regards,
Sirish
PS: If the Cedia doesn’t run a MIVEC engine, does that mean the Colt can’t? So if the Baleno doesn’t have airbags or ABS the Swift shouldn’t? And also read Himashu’s posting. Appalled that he can’t make out the difference between an ad and a story. If we wants to read what we really think of the Rhino please direct him to the March issue of OD or our website. And which mail id to these guys write to, none of us have seen their mails...
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SIRISH CHANDRAN
Asst. Editor,
OVERDRIVE Magazine
9A, 5th Flr, Tara Heights,
Wakdewadi,
Mumbai-Pune road,
Pune 411003
I N D I A
+91 20 30921295/6
+91 20 25811377
www.overdrive.co.in